The system was never as neat and tidy as it sounds on paper many vassals were lords of their own vassals, with the king simply being the highest lord. This system arose because of the absence of other, more effective forms of government and the constant threat of violence posed by raiders. William claimed that Harold had pledged fealty to him, which justified his invasion (while Harold denied ever having done so). \): Depiction of a feudal pledge of fealty from Harold Godwinson, at the time a powerful Anglo-Saxon noble and later the king of England, to William of Normandy, who would go on to defeat Harold and replace him as king of England.
