#491 feudalism

feudalism- 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

C17 from Medieval Latin feodum, of Germanic origin, fee

America has no roots in feudalism, no notion of inherited orders of society, no instinct for deference or regard for nobility.

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