Feudalism was the system of landholding, service, and loyalty that is commonly associated with medieval European society. In its classic form, a lord granted a fief—often land or rights over land—to a vassal in return for loyalty, military service, counsel, or other obligations.
The system developed in varied forms between roughly the 9th and 15th centuries. It grew partly from the political decentralization of the Carolingian world, when rulers and powerful nobles relied on personal bonds and land grants to organize military power and local government.
Feudalism was not one identical legal system across all of Europe. Customs differed between France, England, the Holy Roman Empire, and other regions. Historians also distinguish feudalism from manorialism: feudalism primarily describes relationships among lords and vassals, while manorialism concerns the management of rural estates and the labour obligations of peasants.
A common misconception is that feudalism meant every medieval person occupied a single rigid pyramid. Medieval society included overlapping legal, economic, religious, and local arrangements, and many communities did not fit the textbook model perfectly.