The economic system that dominated Europe during the medieval period was feudalism. This hierarchical structure hinged on the relationship between lords, vassals, and serfs. Lords owned large estates and granted portions of land to vassals in exchange for military service and protection. Serfs worked the land and were bound to it, providing labor and a portion of harvests to their lords in return for protection. Feudalism shaped social, political, and economic interactions throughout medieval Europe, and it created a system where wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of the land-owning elite.