What was feudalism?

Feudalism was the political, economic, and social system that organized much of Western European society during the Middle Ages, roughly from the 9th to the 15th centuries. At its core was a hierarchical chain of obligations: a king or powerful lord granted land (a fief) to a vassal, who in return pledged military service, loyalty, and counsel. The vassal might in turn grant portions of his land to lesser vassals, creating a pyramid of mutual obligation.

The system emerged from the chaos of the post-Roman period. After the Carolingian Empire fragmented and Viking, Magyar, and Muslim raids devastated Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries, there was no central authority capable of providing security. Local lords with castles and armed retainers became the effective government. Peasants surrendered their freedom, becoming serfs bound to the land they farmed, in exchange for protection from raiders and rival lords.

The manor — a self-sufficient agricultural estate — was the basic economic unit of feudal society. Serfs worked the lord's land and their own plots, paying rent in labor, crops, or money. They could not leave the manor without permission, but they also could not be evicted. The system provided stability and security in a dangerous world, but at the cost of personal freedom for the majority of the population.

Feudalism was never as neat or uniform as textbook descriptions suggest. It varied enormously by region and period, and medieval people didn't use the word. But the basic dynamic — political power fragmented among local lords, sustained by personal bonds and land grants — shaped Western European civilization for centuries and left lasting marks on law, culture, and political thought.