What this meant for Handy in real terms was the fact that he had somewhere in the region of a dozen families, supposedly 'clans' in their own right, sworn to him as their baron. The previous feudal lord who ruled this land had passed away without issue, and in a legal loophole, the land didn't default to the king but fell into the hands of a merchant who was only too keen to sell it on. The clansworn, lacking a lord, went with the land and ended up swearing to Handy. However, you did not have over a thousand years of serfdom without traditions, rules, and laws building up over time.