Some Suggestions on Feudalism.
A good vantage point from which to approach the subject is to look upon feudalism as the result of the need of protection in an age of disorder and confusion; then to follow this idea with an explanation of its relation to the holding of land. When these elementary facts have been made reasonably clear, they will serve as an excellent basis for what must necessarily follow, namely, an explanation of how the various factors involved each played its part in building up an organization which though called a system is very often extremely puzzling for its very lack of the same. The “feudal grant” has now been made clear and the entering wedge has been driven for an understanding of vassalage. It is now easy to explain immunity and to pass from this to the practice of subinfeudation, and the mutual responsibilities involved in the feudal relation. The diagram on page 115 of Robinson’s “Western Europe” will serve to give the student an excellent notion of the complexity of the feudal relation.