feudal society
Lords and serfs
A feudal society is one organized around lords who hold land and the peasants or serfs who work it in exchange for protection and a share of the harvest.
The term describes medieval European civilization but applies to similar hierarchical systems elsewhere.
Figuratively, any rigidly stratified organization with powerful figures controlling those below: The company operates like a feudal society, with executives as lords and workers as serfs.
- baronLow-ranking peer
- landed gentryLandowning class living on rents
- noble birthAristocratic family lineage
- Middle AgesEurope's feudal millennium
- demesneLord's private estate
serf · peasant farmer · fealty · suzerainty · castle · chivalric code · lord · monarchy · homage · fief · vassal · oath of loyalty · divine right of kings · manor · manorialism · tithe · primogeniture · knight
- chivalryknighthood, knights, chivalry, medieval knights, honor
- societiescivilization, nation, tribe, clubs, social clubs
- medieval romancechivalric romance, courtly love, Arthurian legends, Arthurian legend, knightly quests
- medieval Frenchtroubadours, chevalier, chateau, seigneur, chansons de geste
- knighthoodknight, knights, knight errant, knights errant, Templars
- civilizationsancient, medieval, modern, tribal, imperial
feudal societyegalitarian society
Group with equal status
classless society · free society · capitalist society · liberal democracy · market economy
feudal societyindustrial society
Civilization centered on manufacturing
capitalist society · information society · nation-state · contemporary society · digital society
society, societies, societal, feudal, feudalism, socioeconomic, sociocultural, societally, feudalistic