[nl]

It was the King who decided who was a Baron, an Earl or a Lord, and it was on the King's grace that they kept that position. Piss him off, act disloyal and you'll be stripped of your rank.

This dramatically understates the dependency a King had upon his Lords. Yes, a King could strip someone of his rank, but if he did it too often or too capriciously and he'd soon been replaced.

You see this in democracies too: interest groups (whether they be companies or other groups) are quite happy to remove their support for a member if their interests no longer align and if another credible candidate appears that is more aligned with their interests.

[mc32]

From what I've read that's spot on. Royalty had powers, but they were not all that despotic --they could not afford to be. They had to keep a good balance with their financiers, supporters, the church, asf., all the while keeping an eye out for shifting allegiances internally and specially externally.