The system, principles, or practices of feudal landholding and the feudal organization of society.
From feodal (feudal) plus -ity (the quality or state of). This is an archaic term emphasizing the overall social system rather than individual grants of land.
Historians debate whether 'feodality' ever existed as a unified system or whether it's a modern invention imposed on messy medieval reality. But the word itself reveals how people of the 19th century—when the term gained popularity—were fascinated by defining and categorizing the Middle Ages as a distinct historical period.
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