Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in

medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships that were derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although it is derived from the Latin word ''feodum'' or ''feudum'' (fief), which was used during the Medieval period, the term ''feudalism'' and the system which it describes were not conceived of as a formal

political system In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state. It defines the process for making official government decisions. It usually comprizes the govern ...

by the people who lived during the Middle Ages. The classic definition, by

François Louis Ganshof François Louis Ganshof (14 March 1895, Bruges – 26 July 1980, Brussels) was a Belgian medievalist. After studies at the Athénée Royal, he attended the University of Ghent, where he came under the influence of Henri Pirenne. After studies wi ...

(1944),

(1944). ''Qu'est-ce que la féodalité''. Translated into English by Philip Grierson as ''Feudalism'', with a foreword by F. M. Stenton, 1st ed.: New York and London, 1952; 2nd ed: 1961; 3rd ed.: 1976. describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

and revolved around the three key concepts of

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

s, and

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s. A broader definition of feudalism, as described by

Marc Bloch Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch (; ; 6 July 1886 – 16 June 1944) was a French historian. He was a founding member of the Annales School of French social history. Bloch specialised in medieval history and published widely on Medieval France ov ...

(1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility but the obligations of all three

estates of the realm The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

: the nobility, the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, and the

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

ry, all of whom were bound by a system of

manorialism Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...

; this is sometimes referred to as a "feudal society". Since the publication of

Elizabeth A. R. Brown Elizabeth Atkinson Rash Brown (born February 16, 1932) is a professor emerita of history at Brooklyn College, of the City University of New York, a scholar and published author, known for her writings on feudalism. She received her B.A. from S ...

's "The Tyranny of a Construct" (1974) and

Susan Reynolds Susan Reynolds FBA (27 January 1929 – 29 July 2021) was a British medieval historian whose book ''Fiefs and Vassals: the Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted'' (1994) was part of the academic critique on the concept of feudalism as classically por ...

's ''Fiefs and Vassals'' (1994), there has been ongoing inconclusive discussion among medieval historians as to whether feudalism is a useful construct for understanding medieval society.

Definition

There is no commonly accepted modern definition of feudalism, at least among scholars."Feudalism"
by

. ''

Encyclopædia Britannica Online An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...

''."Feudalism?"
by Paul Halsall.

Internet Medieval Sourcebook The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the Fordham University History Department and Center for Medieval Studies. It is a web site with modern, medieval and ancient primary source documents, maps, secondary sources, bibliographies, ...

. The adjective ''feudal'' was in use by at least 1405, and the noun ''feudalism'', now often employed in a political and propagandist context, was coined by 1771, paralleling the French . According to a classic definition by

(1944), feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility and revolved around the three key concepts of

s and

s, though Ganshof himself noted that his treatment was only related to the "narrow, technical, legal sense of the word". A broader definition, as described in

's ''Feudal Society'' (1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility but the obligations of all three

: the nobility, the

, and those who lived off their labour, most directly the

ry which was bound by a system of

; this order is often referred to as a "feudal society", echoing Bloch's usage. Outside its European context, the concept of feudalism is often used by

analogy Analogy (from Greek ''analogia'', "proportion", from ''ana-'' "upon, according to" lso "against", "anew"+ ''logos'' "ratio" lso "word, speech, reckoning" is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject ( ...

, most often in discussions of

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to Japanese Paleolithic, prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millenni ...

under the ''

shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

s'', and sometimes in discussions of the

Zagwe dynasty The Zagwe dynasty ( Ge'ez: ዛጔ ሥርወ መንግሥት) was an Agaw medieval dynasty that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, after the historical name of the Lasta province. Centered at Lalibela, it ruled large parts of the t ...

medieval Ethiopia The history of Ethiopia in the Middle Ages roughly spans the period from the decline of the Kingdom of Aksum in the 7th century to the Oromo migrations beginning in the mid-16th century.Kelly, "Introduction", p. 16 Aksum had been a powerful empir ...

, which had some feudal characteristics (sometimes called "semifeudal"). Some have taken the feudalism analogy further, seeing feudalism (or traces of it) in places as diverse as China during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

(771-476 BCE), ancient Egypt, the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...

, feudalism in the Indian subcontinent and the

Antebellum South In History of the Southern United States, the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit=Status quo ante bellum, before the war) spanned the Treaty of Ghent, end of the War of 1812 to the start of ...

and

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. The term ''feudalism'' has also been applied—often pejoratively—to non-Western societies where institutions and attitudes which are similar to those which existed in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Europe are perceived to prevail. Some historians and political theorists believe that the term ''feudalism'' has been deprived of specific meaning by the many ways it has been used, leading them to reject it as a useful concept for understanding society. The applicability of the term feudalism has also been questioned in the context of some

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a term encompassing the countries in the Baltics, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe (mostly the Balkans), usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe. ...

an countries, such as Poland and Lithuania, with scholars observing that the medieval political and economic structure of those countries bears some, but not all, resemblances to the Western European societies commonly described as feudal.

Etymology

The root of the term "feudal" originates in the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

word ''*péḱu'', meaning "cattle", and possesses cognates in many other Indo-European languages: Sanskrit ''pacu'', "cattle"; Latin ''pecus'' (cf. ''pecunia'') "cattle", "money"; Old High German ''fehu, fihu'', "cattle", "property", "money"; Old Frisian ''fia''; Old Saxon ''fehu''; Old English ''feoh, fioh, feo, fee''. The term "féodal" was first used in 17th-century French legal treatises (1614) and translated into English legal treatises as an adjective, such as "feodal government". In the 18th century,

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

, seeking to describe economic systems, effectively coined the forms "feudal government" and "feudal system" in his book ''

The Wealth of Nations ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', generally referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is the ''magnum opus'' of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1 ...

'' (1776).Fredric L. Cheyette. "FEUDALISM, EUROPEAN." in ''New Dictionary of the History Of Ideas'', Vol. 2, ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz, Thomas Gale 2005, . pp. 828–831 The phrase "feudal system" appeared in 1736, in ''Baronia Anglica'', published nine years after the death of its author

Thomas Madox Thomas Madox (1666 – 13 January 1727) was a legal antiquary and historian, known for his publication and discussion of medieval records and charters; and in particular for his ''History of the Exchequer'', tracing the administration and record ...

, in 1727. In 1771, in his book ''The History of Manchester'', John Whitaker first introduced the word "feudalism" and the notion of the feudal pyramid.Elizabeth A. R. Brown
"Reflections on Feudalism: Thomas Madox and the Origins of the Feudal System in England,"
in ''Feud, Violence and Practice: Essays in Medieval Studies in Honor of Stephen D. White'', ed. Belle S. Tuten and Tracey L. Billado (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2010), 135-155 at 145-149. The term "feudal" or "feodal" is derived from the

medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

word . The etymology of is complex with multiple theories, some suggesting a Germanic origin (the most widely held view) and others suggesting an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

origin. Initially in medieval Latin European documents, a land grant in exchange for service was called a (Latin).Meir Lubetski (ed.). ''Boundaries of the ancient Near Eastern world: a tribute to Cyrus H. Gordon''. "Notices on Pe'ah, Fay' and Feudum" by Alauddin Samarrai
Pg. 248–250
Continuum International Publishing Group, 1998. Later, the term , or , began to replace in the documents. The first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one-hundred years earlier. The origin of the and why it replaced has not been well established, but there are multiple theories, described below. The most widely held theory was proposed by

Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern (6 April 1833 – 4 July 1917) was a Dutch linguist and Orientalist. In the literature, he is usually referred to as H. Kern or Hendrik Kern; a few other scholars bear the same surname. Life Hendrik Kern was born to ...

in 1870, being supported by, amongst others, William Stubbs and

.Marc Bloch. ''Feudal Society'', Vol. 1, 1964. pp.165–66.Marc Bloch. ''Feudalism'', 1961, pg. 106. Kern derived the word from a putative

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

term ''*fehu-ôd'', in which ''*fehu'' means "cattle" and ''-ôd'' means "goods", implying "a movable object of value". Bloch explains that by the beginning of the 10th century it was common to value land in monetary terms but to pay for it with objects of equivalent value, such as arms, clothing, horses or food. This was known as ''feos'', a term that took on the general meaning of paying for something in lieu of money. This meaning was then applied to land itself, in which land was used to pay for fealty, such as to a vassal. Thus the old word ''feos'' meaning movable property changed little by little to ''feus'' meaning the exact opposite: landed property. It has also been suggested that word comes from the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

''faihu'', meaning "property", specifically, "cattle". Another theory was put forward by

Archibald Ross Lewis Archibald Ross Lewis (1914–1990) was a historian, World War II Veteran, professor, and author. He wrote 14 books, and more than 100 articles. As a professor he taught at the University of South Carolina, University of Texas, and University of M ...

. Lewis said the origin of 'fief' is not ''feudum'' (or ''feodum''), but rather ''foderum'', the earliest attested use being in '' Vita Hludovici'' (840) by Astronomus.

Archibald R. Lewis Archibald Ross Lewis (1914–1990) was a historian, World War II Veteran, professor, and author. He wrote 14 books, and more than 100 articles. As a professor he taught at the University of South Carolina, University of Texas, and University of M ...

. ''The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society 718–1050'', 1965, pp. 76–77. In that text is a passage about

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

that says , which can be translated as "Louis forbade that military

provender Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (includ ...

(which they popularly call "fodder") be furnished." Another theory by

Alauddin Samarrai Alauddin (Arabic: علاء الدين) is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, also a surname. This name derives from the Arabic ''“ʻAlāʼ ad-Dīn”'', meaning “servant of Allah, nobility of faith, nobility of religion, nobility of ...

suggests an Arabic origin, from ''fuyū'' (the plural of ''fay'', which literally means "the returned", and was used especially for 'land that has been conquered from enemies that did not fight').

. "The term 'fief': A possible Arabic origin", ''Studies in Medieval Culture'', 4.1 (1973), pp. 78–82. Samarrai's theory is that early forms of 'fief' include ''feo'', ''feu'', ''feuz'', ''feuum'' and others, the plurality of forms strongly suggesting origins from a

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...

. The first use of these terms is in

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

, one of the least Germanic areas of Europe and bordering

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...

(Muslim Spain). Further, the earliest use of ''feuum'' (as a replacement for ''beneficium'') can be dated to 899, the same year a Muslim base at Fraxinetum ( La Garde-Freinet) in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

was established. It is possible, Samarrai says, that French scribes, writing in Latin, attempted to transliterate the Arabic word ''fuyū'' (the plural of ''fay''), which was being used by the Muslim invaders and occupiers at the time, resulting in a plurality of forms – ''feo, feu, feuz, feuum'' and others – from which eventually ''feudum'' derived. Samarrai, however, also advises to handle this theory with care, as Medieval and Early Modern Muslim scribes often used etymologically "fanciful roots" in order to claim the most outlandish things to be of Arabian or Muslim origin.

History

Feudalism, in its various forms, usually emerged as a result of the

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

of an empire: especially in the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...

in 9th century AD, which lacked the bureaucratic infrastructure necessary to support

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

without allocating land to these mounted troops. Mounted soldiers began to secure a system of hereditary rule over their allocated land and their power over the territory came to encompass the social, political, judicial, and economic spheres.Gat, Azar. ''War in Human Civilization'', New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. pp. 332–343 These acquired powers significantly diminished unitary power in these empires. However, once the infrastructure to maintain unitary power was re-established—as with the European monarchies—feudalism began to yield to this new power structure and eventually disappeared.

Classic feudalism

The classic

version of feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs. In broad terms a lord was a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and the land was known as a fief. In exchange for the use of the fief and protection by the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord. There were many varieties of

feudal land tenure Under the English feudal system several different forms of land tenure existed, each effectively a contract with differing rights and duties attached thereto. Such tenures could be either free-hold, signifying that they were hereditable or perpet ...

, consisting of military and non-military service. The obligations and corresponding rights between lord and vassal concerning the fief form the basis of the feudal relationship.

Vassalage

Hommage du comté de Clermont-en-Beauvaisis

Before a lord could grant land (a

) to someone, he had to make that person a vassal. This was done at a formal and symbolic ceremony called a

commendation ceremony A commendation ceremony (''commendatio'') is a formal ceremony that evolved during the Early Medieval period to create a bond between a lord and his fighting man, called his vassal. The first recorded ceremony of ''commendatio'' was in 7th century ...

, which was composed of the two-part act of

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

and oath of

fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin ''fidelitas'' (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fea ...

. During homage, the lord and vassal entered into a contract in which the vassal promised to fight for the lord at his command, whilst the lord agreed to protect the vassal from external forces. ''Fealty'' comes from the Latin ''fidelitas'' and denotes the fidelity owed by a vassal to his feudal lord. "Fealty" also refers to an oath that more explicitly reinforces the commitments of the vassal made during homage. Such an oath follows homage.''Medieval Feudalism''
, by Carl Stephenson. Cornell University Press, 1942. Classic introduction to Feudalism. Once the commendation ceremony was complete, the lord and vassal were in a feudal relationship with agreed obligations to one another. The vassal's principal obligation to the lord was to "aid", or military service. Using whatever equipment the vassal could obtain by virtue of the revenues from the fief, the vassal was responsible to answer calls to military service on behalf of the lord. This security of military help was the primary reason the lord entered into the feudal relationship. In addition, the vassal could have other obligations to his lord, such as attendance at his court, whether

manorial Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...

, baronial, both termed

court baron The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, primarily ...

, or at the king's court. Map France 1477-en

It could also involve the vassal providing "counsel", so that if the lord faced a major decision he would summon all his vassals and hold a council. At the level of the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

this might be a fairly mundane matter of agricultural policy, but also included sentencing by the lord for criminal offences, including capital punishment in some cases. Concerning the king's feudal court, such deliberation could include the question of declaring war. These are

examples of feudalism Examples of feudalism are helpful to fully understand feudalism and feudal society. Feudalism was practiced in many different ways, depending on location and time period, thus a high-level encompassing conceptual definition does not always provid ...

; depending on the period of time and location in Europe, feudal customs and practices varied.

The feudal revolution in France

In its origin, the feudal grant of land had been seen in terms of a personal bond between lord and vassal, but with time and the transformation of fiefs into hereditary holdings, the nature of the system came to be seen as a form of "politics of land" (an expression used by the historian

). The 11th century in France saw what has been called by historians a "

feudal revolution The Kingdom of France in the Middle Ages (roughly, from the 10th century to the middle of the 15th century) was marked by the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and West Francia (843–987); the expansion of royal control by the House of C ...

" or "mutation" and a "fragmentation of powers" (Bloch) that was unlike the development of

feudalism in England Feudalism as practiced in the Kingdoms of England during the medieval period was a state of human society that organized political and military leadership and force around a stratified formal structure based on land tenure. As a military defense a ...

or Italy or in Germany in the same period or later: Counties and duchies began to break down into smaller holdings as

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

s and lesser ''

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

s'' took control of local lands, and (as comital families had done before them) lesser lords usurped/privatized a wide range of prerogatives and rights of the state, including travel dues, market dues, fees for using woodlands, obligations, use the lord's mill and, most importantly, the highly profitable rights of justice, etc.Wickham, ''The Inheritance of Rome'', p. 518. (what

Georges Duby Georges Duby (7 October 1919 – 3 December 1996) was a French historian who specialised in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages. He ranks among the most influential medieval historians of the twentieth century and was one of Franc ...

called collectively the "''seigneurie banale''"). Power in this period became more personal. This "fragmentation of powers" was not, however, systematic throughout France, and in certain counties (such as

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

), counts were able to maintain control of their lands into the 12th century or later. Thus, in some regions (like

and

), the vassal/feudal system was an effective tool for

ducal Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

and comital control, linking vassals to their lords; but in other regions, the system led to significant confusion, all the more so as vassals could and frequently did pledge themselves to two or more lords. In response to this, the idea of a "liege lord" was developed (where the obligations to one lord are regarded as superior) in the 12th century.

End of European feudalism (1500–1850s)

Most of the military aspects of feudalism effectively ended by about 1500. This was partly since the military shifted from armies consisting of the nobility to professional fighters thus reducing the nobility's claim on power, but also because the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

reduced the nobility's hold over the lower classes. Vestiges of the feudal system hung on in France until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

of the 1790s. Even when the original feudal relationships had disappeared, there were many institutional remnants of feudalism left in place. Historian Georges Lefebvre explains how at an early stage of the French Revolution, on just one night of August 4, 1789, France abolished the long-lasting remnants of the feudal order. It announced, "The

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

abolishes the feudal system entirely." Lefebvre explains: Originally the peasants were supposed to pay for the release of seigneurial dues; these dues affected more than a quarter of the farmland in France and provided most of the income of the large landowners. The majority refused to pay and in 1793 the obligation was cancelled. Thus the peasants got their land free, and also no longer paid the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

to the church. In the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

, following the French Revolution, feudalism was abolished with a decree of August 11, 1789 by the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, a provision that was later extended to various parts of Italian kingdom following the invasion by French troops. In the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

, Joachim Murat abolished feudalism with the law of August 2, 1806, then implemented with a law of September 1, 1806 and a royal decree of December 3, 1808. In the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

the abolishing law was issued by the Sicilian Parliament on August 10, 1812. In

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

feudalism ceased by virtue of the edicts of March 7, and July 19, 1797 issued by

Charles Emmanuel IV Charles Emmanuel IV (Carlo Emanuele Ferdinando Maria; 24 May 1751 – 6 October 1819) was King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802. He abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I. Biography Carlo Emanuele Ferdinando Maria di Savoia was b ...

, although in the Kingdom of Sardinia, specifically on the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, feudalism was abolished only with an edict of August 5, 1848. In the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, feudalism was abolished with the law of December 5, 1861 n.º 342 were all feudal bonds abolished. The system lingered on in parts of Central and Eastern Europe as late as the 1850s.

Slavery in Romania Slavery existed on the territory of present-day Romania from the founding of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in 13th–14th century, until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s before the independence of the United ...

was abolished in 1856. Russia finally abolished serfdom in 1861. More recently in Scotland, on November 28, 2004, the

Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 was a land reform enforced by an Act of the Scottish Parliament that was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 3 May 2000, and received Royal Assent on 9 June 2000. Provisions The Act of ...

entered into full force putting an end to what was left of the Scottish feudal system. The last feudal regime, that of the island of Sark, was abolished in December 2008, when the first democratic elections were held for the election of a local parliament and the appointment of a government. The "revolution" is a consequence of the juridical intervention of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, which declared the local constitutional system as contrary to

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

, and, following a series of legal battles, imposed

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

Feudal society

The phrase "feudal society" as defined by

Bloch, Marc, ''Feudal Society.'' Tr. L.A. Manyon. Two volume. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961 offers a wider definition than Ganshof's and includes within the feudal structure not only the warrior aristocracy bound by vassalage, but also the

ry bound by manorialism, and the estates of the Church. Thus the feudal order embraces society from top to bottom, though the "powerful and well-differentiated social group of the urban classes" came to occupy a distinct position to some extent outside the classic feudal hierarchy.

Historiography

The idea of ''feudalism'' was unknown and the system it describes was not conceived of as a formal political system by the people living in the medieval period. This section describes the history of the idea of feudalism, how the concept originated among scholars and thinkers, how it changed over time, and modern debates about its use.

Evolution of the concept

The concept of a feudal state or period, in the sense of either a regime or a period dominated by lords who possess financial or social power and prestige, became widely held in the middle of the 18th century, as a result of works such as

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...

's ''De L'Esprit des Lois'' (1748; published in English as '' The Spirit of Law''), and Henri de Boulainvilliers's ''Histoire des anciens Parlements de France'' (1737; published in English as ''An Historical Account of the Ancient Parliaments of France or States-General of the Kingdom'', 1739). In the 18th century, writers of the Enlightenment wrote about feudalism to denigrate the antiquated system of the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

'', or French monarchy. This was the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

, when writers valued reason and the Middle Ages were viewed as the " Dark Ages". Enlightenment authors generally mocked and ridiculed anything from the "Dark Ages" including feudalism, projecting its negative characteristics on the current French monarchy as a means of political gain. Robert Bartlett. "Perspectives on the Medieval World" in ''Medieval Panorama'', 2001, For them "feudalism" meant seigneurial privileges and prerogatives. When the

French Constituent Assembly French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

abolished the "feudal regime" in August 1789, this is what was meant.

used the term "feudal system" to describe a social and economic system defined by inherited social ranks, each of which possessed inherent social and economic privileges and obligations. In such a system, wealth derived from agriculture, which was arranged not according to market forces but on the basis of customary labour services owed by

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

s to landowning nobles.

Karl Marx

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

also used the term in the 19th century in his analysis of society's economic and political development, describing feudalism (or more usually feudal society or the feudal mode of production) as the order coming before

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

. For Marx, what defined feudalism was the power of the ruling class (the

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

) in their control of arable land, leading to a class society based upon the exploitation of the peasants who farm these lands, typically under

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...

and principally by means of labour, produce and money rents. Marx thus defined feudalism primarily by its economic characteristics. He also took it as a paradigm for understanding the power-relationships between capitalists and wage-labourers in his own time: "in pre-capitalist systems it was obvious that most people did not control their own destiny—under feudalism, for instance, serfs had to work for their lords. Capitalism seems different because people are in theory free to work for themselves or for others as they choose. Yet most workers have as little control over their lives as feudal serfs." Some later Marxist theorists (e.g. Eric Wolf) have applied this label to include non-European societies, grouping feudalism together with

imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

and the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

, in the

pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the Migration to the New World, original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, w ...

, as 'tributary' societies .

Later studies

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,

J. Horace Round (John) Horace Round (22 February 1854 – 24 June 1928) was an historian and genealogist of the English medieval period. He translated the portion of Domesday Book (1086) covering Essex into English. As an expert in the history of the British ...

and

Frederic William Maitland Frederic William Maitland (28 May 1850 – ) was an English historian and lawyer who is regarded as the modern father of English legal history. Early life and education, 1850–72 Frederic William Maitland was born at 53 Guilford Street, Lon ...

, both historians of medieval Britain, arrived at different conclusions as to the character of Anglo-Saxon English society before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

in 1066. Round argued that the Normans had brought feudalism with them to England, while Maitland contended that its fundamentals were already in place in Britain before 1066. The debate continues today, but a consensus viewpoint is that England before the Conquest had commendation (which embodied some of the personal elements in feudalism) while

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

introduced a modified and stricter northern French feudalism to England incorporating (1086) oaths of loyalty to the king by all who held by feudal tenure, even the vassals of his principal vassals (holding by feudal tenure meant that vassals must provide the quota of

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s required by the king or a money payment in substitution). In the 20th century, two outstanding historians offered still more widely differing perspectives. The French historian

, arguably the most influential 20th-century medieval historian, approached feudalism not so much from a legal and military point of view but from a sociological one, presenting in ''Feudal Society'' (1939; English 1961) a feudal order not limited solely to the nobility. It is his radical notion that peasants were part of the feudal relationship that sets Bloch apart from his peers: while the vassal performed military service in exchange for the fief, the peasant performed physical labour in return for protection – both are a form of feudal relationship. According to Bloch, other elements of society can be seen in feudal terms; all the aspects of life were centred on "lordship", and so we can speak usefully of a feudal church structure, a feudal courtly (and anti-courtly) literature, and a feudal economy. In contradistinction to Bloch, the Belgian historian

defined feudalism from a narrow legal and military perspective, arguing that feudal relationships existed only within the medieval nobility itself. Ganshof articulated this concept in ''Qu'est-ce que la féodalité?'' ("What is feudalism?", 1944; translated in English as ''Feudalism''). His classic definition of feudalism is widely accepted today among medieval scholars,

Philip Daileader Philip Daileader is a professor of history at The College of William & Mary in Virginia. He was born in Queens, New York, on October 25, 1968, and grew up in Central Islip, New York. He attended St. Anthony's High School in Smithtown and then So ...

, "Feudalism", ''The High Middle Ages'', Course No. 869,

The Teaching Company The Teaching Company, doing business as Wondrium, is a media production company that produces educational, video and audio content in the form of courses, documentaries, series under two content brands - Wondrium and The Great Courses. The compa ...

, though questioned both by those who view the concept in wider terms and by those who find insufficient uniformity in noble exchanges to support such a model. Although he was never formally a student in the circle of scholars around Marc Bloch and

Lucien Febvre Lucien Paul Victor Febvre (, ; 22 July 1878 – 11 September 1956) was a French historian best known for the role he played in establishing the Annales School of history. He was the initial editor of the ''Encyclopédie française'' together wit ...

that came to be known as the Annales school,

was an exponent of the ''Annaliste'' tradition. In a published version of his 1952 doctoral thesis entitled ''La société aux XIe et XIIe siècles dans la région mâconnaise'' (''Society in the 11th and 12th centuries in the

Mâconnais The Mâconnais district is located in the south of the Burgundy wine region in France, west of the Saône river. It takes its name from the town of Mâcon. It is best known as a source of good value white wines made from the Chardonnay grape; the ...

region''), and working from the extensive documentary sources surviving from the Burgundian monastery of Cluny, as well as the dioceses of

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as M� ...

and

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, Duby excavated the complex social and economic relationships among the individuals and institutions of the Mâconnais region and charted a profound shift in the social structures of medieval society around the year 1000. He argued that in early 11th century, governing institutions—particularly comital courts established under the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

monarchy—that had represented public justice and order in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

during the 9th and 10th centuries receded and gave way to a new feudal order wherein independent aristocratic knights wielded power over peasant communities through strong-arm tactics and threats of violence. In 1939, the Austrian historian subordinated the feudal state as secondary to his concept of a '' Personenverbandsstaat'' (personal interdependency state), understanding it in contrast to the territorial state. This form of statehood, identified with the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, is described as the most complete form of medieval rule, completing conventional feudal structure of lordship and vassalage with the personal association between the nobility. But the applicability of this concept to cases outside of the Holy Roman Empire has been questioned, as by Susan Reynolds. The concept has also been questioned and superseded in German historiography because of its bias and reductionism towards legitimating the Führerprinzip.

Challenges to the feudal model

In 1974, the American historian

rejected the label ''feudalism'' as an anachronism that imparts a false sense of uniformity to the concept. Having noted the current use of many, often contradictory, definitions of ''feudalism'', she argued that the word is only a construct with no basis in medieval reality, an invention of modern historians read back "tyrannically" into the historical record. Supporters of Brown have suggested that the term should be expunged from history textbooks and lectures on medieval history entirely. In ''Fiefs and Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted'' (1994),Reynolds, Susan, ''Fiefs and Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994

expanded upon Brown's original thesis. Although some contemporaries questioned Reynolds's methodology, other historians have supported it and her argument. Reynolds argues:

Too many models of feudalism used for comparisons, even by Marxists, are still either constructed on the 16th-century basis or incorporate what, in a Marxist view, must surely be superficial or irrelevant features from it. Even when one restricts oneself to Europe and to feudalism in its narrow sense it is extremely doubtful whether feudo-vassalic institutions formed a coherent bundle of institutions or concepts that were structurally separate from other institutions and concepts of the time.

The term ''feudal'' has also been applied to non-Western societies, in which institutions and attitudes similar to those of medieval Europe are perceived to have prevailed (see:

). Japan has been extensively studied in this regard. Karl Friday notes that in the 21st century historians of Japan rarely invoke feudalism; instead of looking at similarities, specialists attempting comparative analysis concentrate on fundamental differences. Ultimately, critics say, the many ways the term ''feudalism'' has been used have deprived it of specific meaning, leading some historians and political theorists to reject it as a useful concept for understanding society. Richard Abels notes that "Western Civilization and World Civilization textbooks now shy away from the term 'feudalism'."Richard Abels, "The Historiography of a Construct: 'Feudalism' and the Medieval Historian." ''History Compass'' (2009) 7#3 pp: 1008–1031.

References

External links

"Feudalism"
by

. ''

''.
"Feudalism?"
by Paul Halsall.

.
"Feudalism: the history of an idea"
by Fredric Cheyette (Amherst), excerpted from ''New Dictionary of the History of Ideas'' (2004)
''Medieval Feudalism''
by Carl Stephenson. Cornell University Press, 1942. Classic introduction to Feudalism. * , by Robert Harbison, 1996, Western Kentucky University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Feudalism Feudalism, 9th-century establishments in Europe 1861 disestablishments in Europe Economic systems Political systems Social systems

Definition

Etymology

History

Classic feudalism

Vassalage

The feudal revolution in France

End of European feudalism (1500–1850s)

Feudal society

Historiography

Evolution of the concept

Karl Marx

Later studies

Challenges to the feudal model

See also

General

Non-European

References

Further reading

Historiographical works

End of feudalism

France

External links