the.com/feudal
the social pyramid scheme where everyone owed someone, and the someone at top owed God.
latin rootcomes from feudum, meaning cattle or property
loyalty taxvassals paid in military service, not coins
slow deaththe Black Death gutted it by killing the labor force
land ladderkings rented land to lords who subrented to knights
made-up wordfeudalism coined centuries later, never used at the time