Could a nobleman's land be enclosed within another noble's land?

Question

In medieval (in the broadest sense, I'm not thinking of a specific decade) Europe, lands were split up amongst noblemen, and these noblemen had a hierarchy. Barons are lesser than earls which are lesser than dukes and so on. I see two ways of this happening, and surely only one is correct. Method One: The King gives (for example) 10% of his land to his trusted Earl, and 5% each to three barons. Method Two: The King gives 10% of his land to his trusted Earl and then cuts 1% of **that** land to give it to a Baron. Thus the Baron's land is inside the Earl's and the Baron has some kind of fealty to the Earl. In time of war the king would call on his earls who would in turn call on their barons. Which of these (if either) is more accurate? I realise "medieval Europe" is an enormous scope so answers in general of examples from any time/place in that rough area would be great.

Answer 1

The concepts behind feudalism in the Medieval Era (~400-1400, by many considerations) were incredibly complicated, and that includes hierarchy. These societies were largely designed around ritual and class, in order to maintain some semblance of authority, despite there not being any clear reasoning -- there was no idea of shared culture, borders, or national identity at this point.

That being said, the general hierarchy in what would eventually become the UK, France, and Spain tends to follow this definition:

King --> Duke --> Count/Earl --> Baron/Burgher.

Now, the Holy Roman Empire makes this much, MUCH more complicated -- far too complicated for a quick answer, but the general trend that one should remember is that the king, theoretically, just has too much going on, so they give out big parcels of land (or, more accurately, Dukes and Kings make an agreement to send money and troops for defense). Then, the Duke (who also has too much going on) gives land to local counts, and maybe even barons, depending on the number of sons and relationships/rivalries in the area.

The way I was taught it, to maintain an easy level of understanding, is consider a school district.

At the top is the superintendent, or the Emperor

1. Chances are you don't know this person's face or name. If you're older, you might, but the likelihood of you seeing them on a random day in a random week is SUPER low if there isn't something big going on.

The Principal is like the King

1. Realistically, you know this guy's name and what he looks like (you see him on the coins)
2. Honestly, if you were a peasant, you definitely wouldn't see either of these guys. People used to brag about seeing the king when they were a kid, even decades later, but this is where it starts to get more realistic.

The Teachers are like the Dukes and even counts

1. Important people that you (the peasants/students) are supposed to listen to
2. Realistically, the dukes would come around every once in a while, but you'd probably see them every important festival, and every couple of holidays!

Assistant Teachers are the Barons

1. You see these guys everywhere. You know some of them well and, if you're at a very weird age, you may have grown up with some of them.

Students are the serfs

1. I'm sorry, but you go where you're told, when you're told. You have a desk, or a farm, and you and other serfs probably farm the common land, and your whole classroom may even work together (and have pizza parties!)
2. Otherwise, sadly, life isn't always awesome. Lots of homework, and your teachers ask for most of the stuff you do, then grade it, and tell you to keep doing it, do it better, or do it differently.

Hope that clears it up!