Feudalism

the , or its principles and practices.
Contemporary Examples

Then she and Red got into an argument about Putin, the Russian character and when Tsarism and feudalism truly ended in Russia.
Vegan Strippers Let It All Hang Out Kelly Williams Brown March 28, 2014

Historical Examples

A very brief glance at Continental feudalism and its influence upon statute law may now be given.
Legal Lore Various

feudalism is the essential politico-economic system of the Middle Ages.
Socialism John Spargo

The remnants of feudalism were swept away—the landed proprietors being indemnified by the state for the loss they sustained.
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine Vol. IV, No. 19, Dec 1851 Various

Was the overthrow of feudalism in Europe a gain or a loss to commerce?
Commercial Geography Jacques W. Redway

The restoration of the Meiji had ended the age of feudalism, at least on the surface.
A history of China., [3d ed. rev. and enl.] Wolfram Eberhard

Japanese feudalism was as bloody, as ruthless, as hard as European.
Appearances Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson

It was simply an episode in the extension of feudalism and sacerdotalism.
A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume III Henry Charles Lea

Sardinia preceded France in solving the problem of feudalism.
Lectures on the French Revolution John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

feudalism in unemancipated countries, and oligarchy in the communes, made nearly the same ravages.
What is Property? P. J. Proudhon

noun
Also called feudal system. the legal and social system that evolved in W Europe in the 8th and 9th centuries, in which vassals were protected and maintained by their lords, usually through the granting of fiefs, and were required to serve under them in war See also vassalage, fief
any social system or society, such as medieval Japan or Ptolemaic Egypt, that resembles medieval European feudalism
n.

a coinage of historians, first attested 1839; see feudal. Feudal system attested from 1776.
feudalism [(fyoohd-l-iz-uhm)]

A system of obligations that bound lords and their subjects in Europe during much of the Middle Ages. In theory, the king owned all or most of the land and gave it to his leading nobles in return for their loyalty and military service. The nobles in turn held land that peasants, including serfs, were allowed to farm in return for the peasants’ labor and a portion of their produce. Under feudalism, people were born with a permanent position in society. (See fief and vassal.)

Note: Today, the word feudal is sometimes used as a general term for a set of social relationships that seems unprogressive or out of step with modern society.