A particular kind of officially constituted, hierarchical, socio-political system frequently found in the premodern world and similar to the hierarchical forms of the European middle ages.
Feudalism in Europe
European feudalism involved the delegation of authority over a specific region (the "fief") from a lord (a "suzerain") to a chosen subordinate (a "vassal"), who held the land "in fee" (or "in feud" or "in fief"), that is, on indefinite loan.
The feudatory vassal owed legal and military support, as well as honor, to the lord, but governed the fief pretty much as he pleased and enjoyed its revenues. A vassal could divide the fief among sub-vassals, who might divide it yet further.
In the course of time, many of these designations were inherited by the sons of the original vassals and came to be experienced as permanent rights, which a weak lord could be hard-pressed to withdraw even when support from a vassal diminished.
The Term Today
The term "feudalism" is a modern one, initially applied specifically to Europe (which exhibited variation) and then extended to similar systems, such as the kingdom of Bunyoro in what is today Uganda. Today many scholars object to the application of the term outside Europe because it tends to obscure differences, and some object to using it at all, considering it to be too vague to be useful even in Europe.
Others argue that the comparisons can nevertheless be instructive and justify a common label, even if it remains somewhat vague.
The problem being solved in both medieval Europe and other "feudal" societies is how a monarch can govern a large territory by "farming it out" to subordinates without losing control. In many cases we see the important use of charter myths and of rituals of mystification and especially of fealty. The details vary, but in terms only of social structure, feudal (or "feudal") societies are often surprisingly similar.
Definition Revised: 2007-11-11
Script Last Modified: 2025-02-04
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