Info about feudalism

[Kralizec]

As the title says, I'm looking to learn more about (central/western European) feudalism: usage and origin of different titles, the subtleties of lord-vassal relationships, how rivalries among the nobility within a larger unity (i.e. a kingdom or a dukedom) were fought out, et cetera.

No wiki-links, please. Book recommendations are especially welcome

[Adrian II]

As the title says, I'm looking to learn more about (central/western European) feudalism: usage and origin of different titles, the subtleties of lord-vassal relationships, how rivalries among the nobility within a larger unity (i.e. a kingdom or a dukedom) were fought out, et cetera.

No wiki-links, please. Book recommendations are especially welcome

What is your age and reading capacity?

Oh, but regardless of your answer, any book by Georges Duby would serve the purpose. AFAIK nearly all of his stuff has been translated into English and should be widely available.

EDIT
Bingo. Georges Duby, The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined (1978). Best book eva in the genre.

[Kralizec]

What is your age and reading capacity?

...?

Early twenties, student. I'd say that my "capacity" is good enough, as long as it's in English or Dutch.

Georges Duby, The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined (1978). Best book eva in the genre.

Thanks! It looks good and I'm certainly going to order it via my library, but my interest isn't just about France. And to clarify, my current interest is mostly about internal politics. Books about the domestic troubles and policies of the (Austrian) Habsburgs would be particulary good, if you happen to know any.

[Adrian II]

Thanks! It looks good and I'm certainly going to order it via my library, but my interest isn't just about France. And to clarify, my current interest is mostly about internal politics. Books about the domestic troubles and policies of the (Austrian) Habsburgs would be particulary good, if you happen to know any.

I see. Well, feudalism as a social ideal was crystallised to the purest degree in France. Duby is famous for analysing the interplay of mentality and practice.

Oh man, there is a wealth of literature on early Habsburg, on Rudolph, Albrecht, Maximilian and Joan the Crazy, on the Habsburg marriages, Habsburg battles, Habsburg women, Habsburg idiosyncracies, Habsburg mental diseases, Habsburg you-name-it - but it's all in German! I wouldn't know a good translation of any of that. I think you had bst go to a library, take out a very recent book and study its bibliography.