feudality
Medieval land hierarchy
Feudality refers to the feudal system or the quality of being feudal—the medieval arrangement where lords granted land to vassals in exchange for military service and loyalty.
The term can describe either the system itself or its characteristic features: hierarchical obligations, land-based power, and personal bonds between superior and subordinate.
The feudality of medieval Europe shaped centuries of political organization.
Titled ruling class
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
- lordshipNoble rank or domain
- suzeraintyControl without full annexation
- peerageSystem of noble ranks
aristocracy · rank · stratification · class · gentry · barony · earldom · duchy
Pledged devotion to authority
- homageExpression of deep respect
- loyaltyFaithful commitment to another
- oathFormal binding promise
- allegianceLoyalty owed to authority
duty · vassalage · bond · fidelity · pledge · troth · service · tribute
Feudal bound labor
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
- decentralizationDistributing power from center
- investitureCeremony conferring rank
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
banalities · escheat · wardship · relief · aids · commendation
nobility
Titled ruling class
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
- lordshipNoble rank or domain
- suzeraintyControl without full annexation
peerage · aristocracy · rank · stratification · class · gentry · barony · earldom · duchy · primogeniture
fealty
Pledged devotion to authority
allegiance · duty · vassalage · bond · fidelity · pledge · troth · service · tribute · liege
serfdom
Feudal bound labor
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
- decentralizationDistributing power from center
- investitureCeremony conferring rank
patronage · banalities · escheat · wardship · relief · aids · commendation
fief
Granted feudal estate
tenure · domain · seigneury · benefice · holding · leasehold · freehold · land grant · villeinage · enclosure
chivalry
Knightly code of honor
lords · heraldry · crusades · jousting · tournaments · squires · minstrels · battlements · pageantry · manor house
feudalitydemocracy
Rule by the people
modern democracy · republicanism · constitutional government · popular sovereignty · egalitarianism
feudalitycapitalism
Private profit-based economy
free market economy · industrial capitalism · modernity · industrialism · market economy
feudalityegalitarianism
Philosophy of universal equality
classlessness · social equality · free society · classless society · meritocracy
feudalism, feudalistic, feudalist, feudalizes, feudalized, feudalize, feudalization