In medieval times, the church granted the use of land to individuals in exchange for service, but could revoke it at any time. Kings could use the church to grant land to followers, but the church could limit the duration of the grant to maintain autonomy. Land ownership was complicated and often temporary.
In medieval times, a precariat was a grant of the use of church land for the life of the beneficiary, in exchange for service rendered to the church. Such grants were, as the origins of this word imply, of a precarious nature; the user held the grant by the will of the church, and the church could revoke the permission to use the land. Such grants are sometimes referred to as fiefs, although this is not technically correct because the land was owned and granted by the church, not a lord.
During the Middle Ages, the church obtained control of substantial plots of land, exploiting the system of granting precarious work to its advantage. Warriors could receive land in exchange for military protection, while lords could essentially lease land with such grants, providing payments for the church in exchange for the right to use the land. The user had to remain in good standing with the church to keep the land, and thus the church had a high degree of control.
However, the benefits of this arrangement were not all on the side of the church. The king could compel the church to grant lands, and he would have no choice but to comply, whether the order was issued as a suggestion or an absolute request. Kings could allocate particularly itchy real estate to their favorite followers through the church, without having to lose any of the lands they controlled. The church, in conceding precarious workers, would lose the right to any ground rent, even if it depended on them to finance ecclesiastical operations.
While the land use term usually extended over the life of the owner, sometimes a precaria lasted for a shorter period of time, such as five years. Some ecclesiastical officials recommended this change of policy to make forced temporary workers less palatable to the monarch; few loyal followers would like to be rewarded with the right to use the land for only five years, with no guarantee that they can continue to use it after that time. This diluted the usefulness of enforced land grants from the king’s point of view and allowed the church greater autonomy over the disposition of her lands.
Land ownership during medieval times was a complicated subject. Many people only owned land for the duration of their lives and did not have the power to grant lands or the right to use them to survivors. This sometimes created situations where wives and children were effectively left penniless because their family wealth came from income from lands held only for the lifetime of the lord.
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