Manorialism was a system in which a lord received a piece of land from another more powerful lord. As a vassal, he would own all that was on the land and pay his lord taxes in the form of a portion of what his land produced as well as a promise of loyalty. Loyalty was often demonstrated through military service.

This promise of loyalty was one of the central tenets of the code of chivalry. Knights were usually lower-ranking nobles who were given a piece of landed property in exchange for faithful service to the lord who provided the land. Chivalry served to reinforce this bond between lord and vassal. Chivalry required a knight to be loyal to his heavenly lord (God), his earthly lord, and his chosen lady. By abiding by chivalry, a knight was reinforcing the bond of loyalty in which manorialism is based by agreeing to heroically and loyally fight for his feudal lord.