Feudalism

Feudalism wis a combination o legal an militar customs in medieval Europe that flourished atween the 9t an 15t centuries. Braidly defined, it wis a wey o structurin society aroond relationships derived frae the hauldin o laund in exchynge for service or labour. Awtho derived frae the Latin wird feodum or feudum (fief),^[1] then in uise, the term feudalism an the seestem it descrives war nae conceived o as a formal poleetical seestem bi the fowk leevin in the Middle Ages.^[2] In its clessic defineetion, bi François-Louis Ganshof (1944),^[3] feudalism descrives a set o reciprocal legal an militar obligations amang the warrior nobility revolvin aroond the three key concepts o lairds, vassals an fiefs.^[3]

A braider definddtion o feudalism, as descrived bi Marc Bloch (1939), includes nae anerly the obligations o the warrior nobility but an aw thae o aw three estates o the realm: the nobility, the clergy, an the peisantry boond bi manorialism; this is sometimes referred tae as a "feudal society". Syne the publication o Elizabeth A. R. Brown's "The Tyranny of a Construct" (1974) an Susan Reynolds's Fiefs and Vassals (1994), thare has been ongaein inconclusive discussion amang medieval historians as tae whither feudalism is a uisefu construct for unnerstaundin medieval society.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}