Specialists do not agree among themselves as to what "truly" constituted feudalism, so it's no surprise there are disagreements here.
I was more interested to hear what people *think* feudalism was about. That is, what's the stereotype in your mind, no matter how superficial or wrong you might think it is. I'm not really interested in that, either, but in how this understanding informs someone's desire to break away, to have an alternative.
To put it another way, what specifically do you want to set aside or transform? And why? Is it because it's over-done (in your own estimation)? Or because it's done badly? Are you looking for alternatives in order to create something new? Or are you simply looking to avoid a trope?
Because the really interesting aspect to me is to look at those alternatives, to look at what we're trying to do differently, what parts are worth keeping (or at least not worth changing) and what parts seem really important to transmute. You can't really do something different from an abstraction. You can't come up with an "alternative to the feudal system." You have to get down to specifics. If power isn't inherited, why isn't it? What's the alternative? If notions regarding nobility are to be set aside, what replaces them? If land-for-service is out, what's in? (Aldarion has a couple of proposals there)
There are likely some perceptions of feudalism that go beyond the narrow scope so far discussed. I'd love to hear about them.
I was more interested to hear what people *think* feudalism was about. That is, what's the stereotype in your mind, no matter how superficial or wrong you might think it is. I'm not really interested in that, either, but in how this understanding informs someone's desire to break away, to have an alternative.
To put it another way, what specifically do you want to set aside or transform? And why? Is it because it's over-done (in your own estimation)? Or because it's done badly? Are you looking for alternatives in order to create something new? Or are you simply looking to avoid a trope?
Because the really interesting aspect to me is to look at those alternatives, to look at what we're trying to do differently, what parts are worth keeping (or at least not worth changing) and what parts seem really important to transmute. You can't really do something different from an abstraction. You can't come up with an "alternative to the feudal system." You have to get down to specifics. If power isn't inherited, why isn't it? What's the alternative? If notions regarding nobility are to be set aside, what replaces them? If land-for-service is out, what's in? (Aldarion has a couple of proposals there)
There are likely some perceptions of feudalism that go beyond the narrow scope so far discussed. I'd love to hear about them.