"The Problem With Feudalism" Topic
8 Posts
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| Tango01 | 17 Dec 2020 8:36 p.m. PST |
"Medieval historians generally aren't bothered by words. The intrepid medievalist is always ready to leap into the rough-and-tumble milieu of Old English word origins, medieval French literature, and Latin Church documents. Icelandic sagas hold no terror for the medieval scholar. Next to these challenges, the esoteric terminology of medieval studies is mundane, no threat to the historian of the Middle Ages. But one word has become the bane of medievalists everywhere. Use it in discussing medieval life and society, and the average medieval historian's face will screw up in revulsion. What word has this power to annoy, disgust, and even upset the ordinarily cool, collected medievalist?…"
Main page
link Amicalement
Armand |
 Editor in Chief Bill   | 17 Dec 2020 11:13 p.m. PST |
Snell, Melissa. "The Problem With Feudalism." ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020 |
| newarch | 18 Dec 2020 2:58 a.m. PST |
Has poor old Bill got to provide all of Tango's references from now on? Full time job! |
| dapeters | 18 Dec 2020 10:45 a.m. PST |
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| Tango01 | 18 Dec 2020 12:17 p.m. PST |
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| Huscarle | 19 Dec 2020 8:51 a.m. PST |
What's in a name? I don't recollect this word being the bane of medieval historians. It's just one of those all-encompassing words that can mean many things to different people. You could ask the same about capitalism, consumerism, imperialism, ad infinitum. |
| Legionarius | 19 Dec 2020 9:23 a.m. PST |
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| 42flanker | 29 Dec 2020 11:03 a.m. PST |
The objections outlined in the article amount to more than the simple matter of a suffix label. As the author makes clear, continuing use of the term 'feudal' has perpetuated a false image of how medieval society was structured and the nature of social and economic relationships. Of course, among other things, this relates to how military activity was organised. However, as she also points out, scholars have yet to come up with a replacement model which presents a more accurate picture. On the same page as the article, is a another piece entitled: Feudalism – A Political System of Medieval Europe and Elsewhere
link -not to mention:
Feudalism in Japan and Europe link appropriate emoticon |
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