Describe the feudal system.

• A. Lords grant land to serfs in exchange for service
• B. Serfs paid the lords to work on their lands so that the lords will use their paid knights to defend said land from threats
• C. Merchants owned all land and controlled defense
• D. Knights paid peasants to farm

Answer: (B)

Feudalism centers on land and reciprocal obligations. The person who owns land (a lord) grants portions of it to vassals in return for military service and loyalty, and those living on the land—serfs or peasants—work the fields and pay dues to the lord. The lord, in turn, provides protection, with knights serving as the armed defense for the manor. Describing the arrangement as serfs working on the lord’s lands so the lord can deploy knights to defend that land captures the core dynamic: labor and dues in exchange for protection and governance. The other descriptions misstate who owns land, who owes labor, or who provides defense, so they don’t fit the feudal system as well.