Bastard feudalism was the system of rule that succeeded the
feudal system in
medieval Europe. The change came during the
14th century.
In feudalism, the
lord of the
manor was given his land by a
baron or by the
king in exchange for
knight service. This allowed the king to wage war when needed without personal expense. The downside was that the lords had to fight, and maybe die. With bastard feudalism, instead of knight service, the lords paid money to the king, and he used that money to hire soldiers when needed. These soldiers were presumably
mercenaries, and much more
expendable then the knights who help rule the king's land.