The Land Based Web of Feudalism

Feudalism was not just a historical era but a rigid business contract where survival depended on land. People traded their labor and military loyalty for the right to live on a small plot of ground.

During the Middle Ages, there was no centralized government to keep people safe. Instead, the social hierarchy was built entirely on personal relationships between lords and their servants. If you wanted protection from invaders, you essentially had to sign away your freedom to a local landholder. This system effectively turned all of medieval society into a complex web of mutual, binding promises.