Welcome to Feudal England!
Feudalism was introduced in England in 1066 following the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest12. It changed the way of life for the English people1.
Cover Image: By Smalljim – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14246000
The date is 1332 and the King’s aids were making the rounds collecting taxes from the layman (aka citizens) of Devon. Along the way they picked up 10,000+ names of those living in Devon at this very early date. I’ve written on this subsidy before, but today I bring you what I believe is a connection to Phillip Babb (1) and the Lions of the Sea.
At the time Highweek was a neighboring community to Newton Abbot, but today it has been completely enveloped by its larger sister, Newton Abbot. On modern maps the distance between the two town centers is only a 6-minute walk.
Amongst them are a Thomas Babb, Sr. and his apparent son Thomas Babb, Jr. (Sound familiar?) It should! After seeing the long parade of Thomas’ in our tree, this fragment contains only two names, and they are both Thomas’.
The exact connection cannot be known as the records have been lost to time and war. However, there is little doubt that this line connects to the earliest Babb families of Newton Abbot.
At this moment, I’m unable to take the Lions of the Sea Lineage any further back. So, this is the end of the road. Or should I say, the beginning?
More about Feudalism
Feudalism was based on the exchange of land for military service1. King William the Conqueror used the concept of feudalism to reward his Norman supporters for their help in the conquest of England1. The lives of everyone were affected by the feudal system1. The feudal pyramid was made up of the king at the top with the nobles, knights, and vassals below him2. Before a lord could grant land to a tenant he would have to make him a vassal at a formal ceremony2. The feudal system demanded that everyone owed allegiance to the King and their immediate superior1.
The end of feudalism in England was a slow process over a matter of centuries1. The Tenures Abolition Act of 1660 is generally acknowledged as the end of feudalism in England21. It was followed by further uprisings in 1450 and 1450-1451 (Jack Cade Revolt)1. The fall of feudalism began with the 1381 Peasant’s Revolt1. It finally ended in 1485 when the last surviving Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor, defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and married Elizabeth of York to unite the warring houses2.