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Feudalism
A lucid, concise, and authoritative exposition of feudal institutions prevalent in western Europe from the ninth to the thirteen century. 'He has a complete mastery of his material, sure historical judgment, creative imagination, and a gift for clear and precise exposition. A subject that is often treated in rather abstract terms is here given reality and concreteness ...'
...morePaperback, 0 pages
Published
June 1st 1977
by HarperCollins Publishers
(first published 1944)
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Feb 04, 2013
Lauren Albert
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history-european,
history-british
I know there has been a lot of controversy over the idea and history of feudalism and that many might consider this dated. But it is still an excellent overview of the legal side of the concept--Ganshof limits his discussion to the higher levels of society (you don't see serfs here). He makes sure to define all the terms and to explain the use of alternate terms for the same ideas.
I found it interesting to imagine the audience the publisher foresaw. It is an inexpensive paperback. All of the Lat...more
I found it interesting to imagine the audience the publisher foresaw. It is an inexpensive paperback. All of the Lat...more
Jan 26, 2012
Ryan Patrick
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
medieval-history,
non-fiction-2012
A fine and lucid exposition of the development of feudalism. What makes this better than other books on feudalism that I have read is that Ganshof provides a lot of specific examples from the original sources, rather than making up imaginary situations that might work better as an illustration but result in a distorted view of the reality. Despite the efforts of Elizabeth Brown and Susan Reynolds, it is hard to dismiss the concept of feudalism presented herein, as long as you understand that Gan...more
If you're looking for a quick, accessible, and intelligent introduction to feudalism this is a good place to go. Ganshof's book is probably a little bit more circumscribed than most books on feudalism, as he only examines the legal/political relationship between lords and their vassals - no serfs or wider social implications here. But that's okay: you can't cover the whole of medieval feudalism in 150 pages, and what Ganshof does address he does so very clearly. It's the perfect place to go if y...more
Best contrasted with Bloch's Feudal Society Ganshof develops a narrow definition of Feudalism that is focused on the a type of legal relationship between people living between the Rhine and the Seine in and around the tenth century. Very detailed and very specific, it's a good starting point towards understanding the workings of Feudal states.
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Apr 17, 2012
Charlotte
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
own-but-not-read-yet
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François-Louis Ganshof, Belgian medievalist who specialised in the study of the Franks under the Carolingian monarchy.
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