Feudalism Unraveled: The Power Struggle in Medieval England Since the fiefs given to lords were hereditary, it caused a permanent class divide between the owners of the land, the lords and the tenants (knights and freemen) with no opportunity for social movement. In the event of a noble dying without an heir the land would go back to the monarch who would either keep the land or redistribute it to another noble. It became difficult to keep track of the fiefs and so in England the Domesday Book w