Not much. You could kill your restive lords, but that risked the rest uniting against you and deposing you and your head. Sycophants really came down to how insecure a lord was. Unscrupulous ministers depended on how well a lords own information gathering capabilities were then the corruption was weighed against the overall effectiveness. Remember, in those days it was expected for people to take their cut.

This is where the Church often came in, and for a brief period, cough early 13th century cough it was almost working. The Church served as a kind of uniting force and a counterbalance, in theory. IN practice, the Church often just became a nother boot on your neck if you were a peasant, another hand in your pocket if you were a merchant, and another restive competing lord if you were a ruler.

Not much. You could kill your restive lords, but that risked the rest uniting against you and deposing you and your head. Sycophants really came down to how insecure a lord was. Unscrupulous ministers depended on how well a lords own information gathering capabilities were then the corruption was weighed against the overall effectiveness. Remember, in those days it was expected for people to take their cut.

This is where the Church often came in, and for a brief period, cough early 13th century cough it was almost working.