jancancook
Posts : 1136 Join date : 2011-01-02
| Subject: In 1974, U.S. historian Elizabeth A. R. Brown[4] rejected Thu Nov 10, 2011 6:56 pm | |
| In 1974, U.S. historian Elizabeth A. R. Brown[4] rejected the label feudalism as an anachronism that imparts a false sense of uniformity to the concept. Having noted the current use of many, often contradictory, definitions of feudalism, she argued that the word is only a construct with no basis in medieval reality, an invention of modern historians read back "tyrannically" into the historical record. Supporters of Brown have suggested that the term should be expunged from history textbooks and lectures on medieval history entirely.[26] In Fiefs and Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted (1994),[5] Susan Reynolds expanded upon Brown's original thesis. Although some contemporaries questioned Reynolds's methodology, other historians have supported it and her argument.[26] Note that Reynolds does not object to the Marxist use of feudalism. The term feudal has also been applied to non-Western societies in which institutions and attitudes similar to those of medieval Europe are perceived to have prevailed (See Other feudal-like systems). Ultimately, critics say, the many ways the term feudalism has been used have deprived it of specific meaning, leading some historians and political theorists to reject it as a useful concept for understanding society.[26] Others have taken the concept to its heart: the contract between a lord and his or her vassals, a reciprocal arrangement of support in exchange for service. profesores particulares de inglésSviluppo di un dialogo politico-culturale nel Mediterraneo (Renato d'Andria) | |
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