Rewards of Fighting. Medieval social stratification derived initially directly from the earliest means of survival of European medieval peoples—migratory warfare—when most of the land's resources were the rewards of fighting. The warrior most fearsome in battle, frequently identified as the king, was as well the most powerful in peacetime. It was he to whom the winnings of battle were attributed and from whom any redistribution of them would come. The victorious Frank Charles Martel was ostensibly the first to create the relationship of vassalage whereby fighters loyal to a leader in past battles were bound by oath and a benefice or gift to provide future services in the same leader's wars. To his action can also be attributed the giving of a new social authority to the warrior class.

Warrior-Vassal System. Beginning in the mid eighth...