But historical research demonstrated that the presuppositions governing the use of the term dark ages were false: Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages did experience a degree of learning trade had not ceased and law prevailed – albeit a legal system influenced by the Church, the barbarians, and scraps of Roman law. In rudimentary form, feudalism was a part of those dark ages. Hence, feudalism cannot be properly understood simply as a generalization or through the prism of independent historiography focusing solely on one aspect of the system.Ī partially relevant example might be the discarded use of the term “Dark Ages” to label the period of the Early Middle Ages. Attempting to Define the Feudal “System”įeudalism in France was different from feudalism in England, and this, according to medieval historians, may account for the eventual emergence of societies tied to different concepts of law, social relationships, and royal power. The notion of a feudal lord and his vassals, for example, is part of that overall system, although the specifics beyond generalizing must account for geographic differences as well as other factors. The so-called “feudal society,” however, can refer to various elements of that transformation period, including social relationships, the economic and legal systems, and the impact of Christian influences. Feudalism, as a generalization, describes those forces in Western Europe during a period of transformation following the dissolution of the Roman Empire.
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