I’m forwarding this post to everyone I know. You break down — in the clearest language possible — the term feudal and link it to its nasty origin, patriarchy and it’s medieval sidekick, Christianity.
I get supercharged angry when people toss around the word “feudal" to make themselves feel proud that 2025 is not the year 1000. I call BS on that. I might even ‘get medieval’ on them and toss some evidence IN LATIN that proves your point about what women were doing. But I really save my nastiest ire for those who use a handful of cherry-picked evidence from the past as a way to justify their hatred of women.
Some people who love to say “feudal” are simply ignorant and need to read this to comprehend the nasty origins of the word. Those who are not ignorant need to be sent to live on an ice berg.
Patriarchy thrives in the abstraction of language, and fascism takes root in language that prizes might over right.
I so appreciate this level of support, Theresa! Thank you so very much 💜💜
YES, yes, yes! They held hands and walked into the middle ages together for the ultimate oppression duo. At the end of the voice note I kind of talked about how I don't disagree that we are walking into a hyper-oppressive society, but that isn't feudalisms doing and as you said, naming it is so dang important at moving past it.
Although I also think it's important to look at where the patriarchy ultimately comes from, which is Judaeo-Christianity (or the monotheistic ideology, we could call it), which places a patriarchal tyrant at the top of the hierarchy (demon-pretending-to-be-a-god) - in direct opposition to pre-monotheistic, pagan ways of viewing the world, and indeed the universe. A feminine view of the solar system, for example, would perceive balance and harmony, not a hierarchy. A family, even.
If I were to define 'feudalism' I would go for a broad, loose definition like 'totalitarian control over society by a small minority group' then add 'exclusively for their own benefit'. Thus they control all the resources and the 'supply' side of the supply-demand equation (restricting resources for purposes of social control, including money - 'neoliberalism' is exactly the same system). They also control all the legal and political functions of course, as well as the media (propaganda), 'education' (also propaganda and indoctrination) and, well, you get the picture. In other words, we are still very much living in the same type of society. It never went away, it only 'looks different' solely due to advancing technology.
And of course it can't obviously call itself feudalism, or it would expose itself, and sheer weight of numbers of the masses would revolt and win the day.
The reason why this 'feudalism' or social hierarchy has been historically patriarchal is, I would argue, solely down to the monotheistic ideology. It is evil, suppressive, anti-spiritual, anti-human, anti-nature (nature as a female), and obviously misogynist. One might also perhaps argue that feudalism itself comes from the same ideology. It is its social manifestation, and everyone on this planet, apart from that small minority group itself, of course, not to mention the planet herself, are still suffering as a result.
And we shall continue to suffer until that ideology has been purged from this world.
"In other words, we are still very much living in the same type of society. It never went away, it only 'looks different' solely due to advancing technology." YES, YES and yes! That is my whole point - we've just named it different things and ignore the patriarchal roots of it all. It is like we see the invasive plant and instead of digging out the roots to remove it altogether, we keep clipping it down in hopes it will just magically stop growing though all the conditions are right for growth.
I truly believe because monotheistic religion has played such a huge part in getting us where we are, we will need them to get us out of it too. Not in the sense of keeping the church the same, but that the church will need to undergo its own reckoning and help usher in a more equitable future. Though chances of that look bleak at the moment. In my LOTR piece, I likened the transition of Gandalf to this. Spirituality will need to seek guidance from those it has long deemed 'weak' in order to nurture a better community for the future.
I so, so appreciate this thoughtful comment and the kind words the preceded them. Thank you so very much for spending such thoughtful, intentional time with my words. What an honor, really. 💜
You’re very welcome! I love reading your essays. Not just for the great research but because I keep agreeing completely with your sentiments!
I do agree also about what you say regarding the church, in the sense that it has to change. It has to soften and bring in the feminine. The Goddess, in other words. The original Goddess in this sense being Isis (is the closest idea I’m thinking about here) - what the patriarchal version of Christianity did was ‘demote’ the Goddess to the Virgin Mary - i.e. not a deity, just a helpless damsel in distress in need of some strong man to look after her. Thus, if a new (or return to the original/ancient) version of Christianity was to spring up and offer some kind of harmony and healing, then it should (re)elevate that female in the story to her rightful place. See also the story of Isis-Osiris-Horus for the obvious parallels.
I do like to think that the ‘original’ Jesus, having spent time in Egypt, did in fact understand all this, just that we have been left with a narrative written by and for the patriarchs.
So I do agree with you that humanity does need to adopt a more spiritual path, and that can only be done via the feminine/the Goddess.
I think so too. In Jewish mysticism the Shekhina is the feminine face of God and it's said that when the feminine and masculine are united the world will be repaired. This is an old concept not a new one!
Oh absolutely! I'm glad you added this, if my comment seemed to imply otherwise I'm grateful you clarified. Religion (tm) in general will need to undergo a serious reckoning to the misogynistic harm it has perpetuated.
Substack notified me this was in response to my comment, but now that I look closer, it may not have been - I'm unsure so I'm leaving it up just in case. The notifications are rough to follow sometimes 😅
True, yes. Part of me is going back a little further though in terms of religions, but it’s also because I’m schooled in the unorthodox forms of classical religions, which were more esoteric or mystery-school type affairs. The popular Greek religion was indeed patriarchal and somewhat puritan, in the sense of enforcing a kind of hierarchy in which humans were inferior to the gods. The mystery religions defied this and encouraged followers to understand (psychologically) and identify with some of the deities (Dionysus, for example - who has a similar narrative to Jesus).
Similarly there’s the idea of ‘the kingdom of god is within’, which is a mystery/gnostic-school idea.
I think what it may come down to is people who are already inclined to being patriarchal (for purposes of social control as much as anything) use or misuse religions for their own ends. Many of these originally holistic and balanced spiritual system have been corrupted, in other words (which is pretty obvious I guess!). But I do think the further back in time/history we go, the more holistic and balanced things are. So at some point, there was indeed some small minority of patriarchal/feudalist types who managed to obtain social control. And we are still suffering as a result.
I think I need to clarify a bit. Patriarchy is very good at justifying it's existence and religion became an excellent propaganda tool.
There were goddesses in Greek and Roman religion, but they were gradually sidelined and demoted from their original positions of power in favour of male gods. These changes were a reflection of social dynamic. At least that's my understanding.
In Christianity, there's virgin Mary and many saints and some are known to originate from pagan deities.
That's a good way of putting it, I agree. I was kind of on the same lines there. The older, more harmonious ways became increasingly sidelined until they became 'occult' in a way. Certainly perceived as blasphemous anyhow. Kind of like 'alternative' today.
St. Brigid of Ireland is another figure who springs to mind.
Most interesting and thought-provoking! I always, I think, accepted feudalism as a symptoms or aspect of patriarchal oppression that bore down heavily on actual men of the non-clerical estates. The medieval romances, at least the ones I know best, encode this under the guise of chivalry, particularly the quest motif. I could go on!
Absolutely spot on! There is so much evidence of male oppression within the contemporary literature, but it is lost under the romantic cloak of chivalry. What an excellent point! Thank you for adding that here.
I really appreciate you spending time with my words with morning, Lynn! Thank you for the gift of your time and the thoughtful comment. 💜
What an interesting piece. Our modern societies may not be as far removed from the feudal past as one might think. I'm struck by the fact that our contemporary forms of economic and social control are populated by wanna be feudal overlords. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for spending time with it, Jonathan! And I so agree with you—we can see all of these mechanisms of domination still today, and I’d argue that’s because patriarchy is still the flavor of the era. We all deserve to live beyond hierarchies. Thanks for sharing and for constantly supporting! I so appreciate you 💜
This was amazing and insightful for me. I appreciated how our categorizing shapes realities for others' opportunities. Thank you for untangling the tentacles of patriarchy.
Hans! I’m glad you restacked as id absolutely missed this notification! I really appreciate you spending your time with this one, I know it was long but it felt necessary to slowly work through. I’m so glad you were able to find some connection and investigation within it. Thank you so very much for that.
Thank you for spending your time with it, Simon! This one had me spending a lot of time in my memories thinking back to my own university experiences and the feudalism/not-feudalism arguments my professors put forth. I don’t think I’d write what I’d do without my one plague lit professor who fiercely challenged academias use of feudalism—seeing it used so colloquially really ruffled my feathers!! Appreciate your time!
Absolutely! I use to teach “if you find yourself saying ‘that’s the way it has always been’ as an explanation, it is probably worth investigating who made it that way.”
And some people to this day actually have the GALL to claim that medieval society was "patriarchy in name only" (riiiiiiiight!) and conveniently elide, minimize, or gloss over all of the all too rampant misogyny back then. Granted, things got worse during the Burning Times, especially after the Malleus Maleficarum, and the enclosures of the commons, but life for the vast majority of women was hardly idyllic before that as well.
100% Yes! Have you read For the Love of my Kin by Amy Livignstone? It was an absolute resource for the archival work that she did, but woof the overall argument almost glosses over the very real misogyny of the time. Like, the two can coexists -- women could have possessed very real, realized power, but misogyny could also rule the day. You'd think our modern reality would teach us this, but alas...
Well said overall. But whatever one chooses to call it, it is clear that the tradcons, manospherians, Alt-Reich, oligarchs, Broligarchs, MAGA, and the Trump-Putin-Musk Axis of Evil are all trying to drag women (and men indirectly as collateral damage) back to it these days.
I completely agree with you, though i think it is so important to identify the differences as patriarchy thrives in the abstractions (as another commenter so perfectly put so I am absolutely borrowing it here!) Clarifying the oppressions help us identify what they truly are in hopes that perhaps we can dream of something different. I so appreciate you adding your thoughts here!!
This was so interesting. I know about the enclosures but I didn't know about the privatization of land in the middle ages even though I took medieval history in university (a long time ago). And I know about the patriarchal telling of history. When I was writing historical fiction about women, it took a lot of effort and ingenuity to dig out research. But I never connected that patriarchal narrative to "feudalism." This post enlivened my brain on a gloomily raining day!
I’m forwarding this post to everyone I know. You break down — in the clearest language possible — the term feudal and link it to its nasty origin, patriarchy and it’s medieval sidekick, Christianity.
I get supercharged angry when people toss around the word “feudal" to make themselves feel proud that 2025 is not the year 1000. I call BS on that. I might even ‘get medieval’ on them and toss some evidence IN LATIN that proves your point about what women were doing. But I really save my nastiest ire for those who use a handful of cherry-picked evidence from the past as a way to justify their hatred of women.
Some people who love to say “feudal” are simply ignorant and need to read this to comprehend the nasty origins of the word. Those who are not ignorant need to be sent to live on an ice berg.
Patriarchy thrives in the abstraction of language, and fascism takes root in language that prizes might over right.
Thank you!
I so appreciate this level of support, Theresa! Thank you so very much 💜💜
YES, yes, yes! They held hands and walked into the middle ages together for the ultimate oppression duo. At the end of the voice note I kind of talked about how I don't disagree that we are walking into a hyper-oppressive society, but that isn't feudalisms doing and as you said, naming it is so dang important at moving past it.
Great essay.
Although I also think it's important to look at where the patriarchy ultimately comes from, which is Judaeo-Christianity (or the monotheistic ideology, we could call it), which places a patriarchal tyrant at the top of the hierarchy (demon-pretending-to-be-a-god) - in direct opposition to pre-monotheistic, pagan ways of viewing the world, and indeed the universe. A feminine view of the solar system, for example, would perceive balance and harmony, not a hierarchy. A family, even.
If I were to define 'feudalism' I would go for a broad, loose definition like 'totalitarian control over society by a small minority group' then add 'exclusively for their own benefit'. Thus they control all the resources and the 'supply' side of the supply-demand equation (restricting resources for purposes of social control, including money - 'neoliberalism' is exactly the same system). They also control all the legal and political functions of course, as well as the media (propaganda), 'education' (also propaganda and indoctrination) and, well, you get the picture. In other words, we are still very much living in the same type of society. It never went away, it only 'looks different' solely due to advancing technology.
And of course it can't obviously call itself feudalism, or it would expose itself, and sheer weight of numbers of the masses would revolt and win the day.
The reason why this 'feudalism' or social hierarchy has been historically patriarchal is, I would argue, solely down to the monotheistic ideology. It is evil, suppressive, anti-spiritual, anti-human, anti-nature (nature as a female), and obviously misogynist. One might also perhaps argue that feudalism itself comes from the same ideology. It is its social manifestation, and everyone on this planet, apart from that small minority group itself, of course, not to mention the planet herself, are still suffering as a result.
And we shall continue to suffer until that ideology has been purged from this world.
"In other words, we are still very much living in the same type of society. It never went away, it only 'looks different' solely due to advancing technology." YES, YES and yes! That is my whole point - we've just named it different things and ignore the patriarchal roots of it all. It is like we see the invasive plant and instead of digging out the roots to remove it altogether, we keep clipping it down in hopes it will just magically stop growing though all the conditions are right for growth.
I truly believe because monotheistic religion has played such a huge part in getting us where we are, we will need them to get us out of it too. Not in the sense of keeping the church the same, but that the church will need to undergo its own reckoning and help usher in a more equitable future. Though chances of that look bleak at the moment. In my LOTR piece, I likened the transition of Gandalf to this. Spirituality will need to seek guidance from those it has long deemed 'weak' in order to nurture a better community for the future.
I so, so appreciate this thoughtful comment and the kind words the preceded them. Thank you so very much for spending such thoughtful, intentional time with my words. What an honor, really. 💜
You’re very welcome! I love reading your essays. Not just for the great research but because I keep agreeing completely with your sentiments!
I do agree also about what you say regarding the church, in the sense that it has to change. It has to soften and bring in the feminine. The Goddess, in other words. The original Goddess in this sense being Isis (is the closest idea I’m thinking about here) - what the patriarchal version of Christianity did was ‘demote’ the Goddess to the Virgin Mary - i.e. not a deity, just a helpless damsel in distress in need of some strong man to look after her. Thus, if a new (or return to the original/ancient) version of Christianity was to spring up and offer some kind of harmony and healing, then it should (re)elevate that female in the story to her rightful place. See also the story of Isis-Osiris-Horus for the obvious parallels.
I do like to think that the ‘original’ Jesus, having spent time in Egypt, did in fact understand all this, just that we have been left with a narrative written by and for the patriarchs.
So I do agree with you that humanity does need to adopt a more spiritual path, and that can only be done via the feminine/the Goddess.
I think so too. In Jewish mysticism the Shekhina is the feminine face of God and it's said that when the feminine and masculine are united the world will be repaired. This is an old concept not a new one!
You're right about monotheism, however, patriarchy and misogyny were embedded in Greek and Roman politheistic religion. Hinduism as well
Oh absolutely! I'm glad you added this, if my comment seemed to imply otherwise I'm grateful you clarified. Religion (tm) in general will need to undergo a serious reckoning to the misogynistic harm it has perpetuated.
Substack notified me this was in response to my comment, but now that I look closer, it may not have been - I'm unsure so I'm leaving it up just in case. The notifications are rough to follow sometimes 😅
I'm a little confused with replies too 😅
True, yes. Part of me is going back a little further though in terms of religions, but it’s also because I’m schooled in the unorthodox forms of classical religions, which were more esoteric or mystery-school type affairs. The popular Greek religion was indeed patriarchal and somewhat puritan, in the sense of enforcing a kind of hierarchy in which humans were inferior to the gods. The mystery religions defied this and encouraged followers to understand (psychologically) and identify with some of the deities (Dionysus, for example - who has a similar narrative to Jesus).
Similarly there’s the idea of ‘the kingdom of god is within’, which is a mystery/gnostic-school idea.
I think what it may come down to is people who are already inclined to being patriarchal (for purposes of social control as much as anything) use or misuse religions for their own ends. Many of these originally holistic and balanced spiritual system have been corrupted, in other words (which is pretty obvious I guess!). But I do think the further back in time/history we go, the more holistic and balanced things are. So at some point, there was indeed some small minority of patriarchal/feudalist types who managed to obtain social control. And we are still suffering as a result.
I think I need to clarify a bit. Patriarchy is very good at justifying it's existence and religion became an excellent propaganda tool.
There were goddesses in Greek and Roman religion, but they were gradually sidelined and demoted from their original positions of power in favour of male gods. These changes were a reflection of social dynamic. At least that's my understanding.
In Christianity, there's virgin Mary and many saints and some are known to originate from pagan deities.
That's a good way of putting it, I agree. I was kind of on the same lines there. The older, more harmonious ways became increasingly sidelined until they became 'occult' in a way. Certainly perceived as blasphemous anyhow. Kind of like 'alternative' today.
St. Brigid of Ireland is another figure who springs to mind.
We can go even further back to a more female focused Vinča culture, before the Indo-European invasion and arrival of male gods
Very true
Most interesting and thought-provoking! I always, I think, accepted feudalism as a symptoms or aspect of patriarchal oppression that bore down heavily on actual men of the non-clerical estates. The medieval romances, at least the ones I know best, encode this under the guise of chivalry, particularly the quest motif. I could go on!
Absolutely spot on! There is so much evidence of male oppression within the contemporary literature, but it is lost under the romantic cloak of chivalry. What an excellent point! Thank you for adding that here.
I really appreciate you spending time with my words with morning, Lynn! Thank you for the gift of your time and the thoughtful comment. 💜
Patriarchal feudalism. The two work together.
And then it was followed by patriarchy's favorite brainchildren of all: capitalism, militarism, and imperialism.
Very true
What an interesting piece. Our modern societies may not be as far removed from the feudal past as one might think. I'm struck by the fact that our contemporary forms of economic and social control are populated by wanna be feudal overlords. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for spending time with it, Jonathan! And I so agree with you—we can see all of these mechanisms of domination still today, and I’d argue that’s because patriarchy is still the flavor of the era. We all deserve to live beyond hierarchies. Thanks for sharing and for constantly supporting! I so appreciate you 💜
You're welcome. Thanks for all the great articles!
Wait is that Minerva ? Not Venus?! Ahhh
This was amazing and insightful for me. I appreciated how our categorizing shapes realities for others' opportunities. Thank you for untangling the tentacles of patriarchy.
Hans! I’m glad you restacked as id absolutely missed this notification! I really appreciate you spending your time with this one, I know it was long but it felt necessary to slowly work through. I’m so glad you were able to find some connection and investigation within it. Thank you so very much for that.
Wow. I really enjoyed this. It’s just as well I’m not teaching “feudalism” any more…….
Thank you for spending your time with it, Simon! This one had me spending a lot of time in my memories thinking back to my own university experiences and the feudalism/not-feudalism arguments my professors put forth. I don’t think I’d write what I’d do without my one plague lit professor who fiercely challenged academias use of feudalism—seeing it used so colloquially really ruffled my feathers!! Appreciate your time!
That is the curse of school history teachers - knowing that what you have to teach is half-true, grossly oversimplified, or repeating outdated tropes.
Absolutely! I use to teach “if you find yourself saying ‘that’s the way it has always been’ as an explanation, it is probably worth investigating who made it that way.”
Thank you for clarifying this. I feel better armed for the war ahead.
Thank YOU for spending your time with my words, Sharon. I am so grateful! 💜 May we walk into the future hand in hand and recognize we deserve better.
And some people to this day actually have the GALL to claim that medieval society was "patriarchy in name only" (riiiiiiiight!) and conveniently elide, minimize, or gloss over all of the all too rampant misogyny back then. Granted, things got worse during the Burning Times, especially after the Malleus Maleficarum, and the enclosures of the commons, but life for the vast majority of women was hardly idyllic before that as well.
100% Yes! Have you read For the Love of my Kin by Amy Livignstone? It was an absolute resource for the archival work that she did, but woof the overall argument almost glosses over the very real misogyny of the time. Like, the two can coexists -- women could have possessed very real, realized power, but misogyny could also rule the day. You'd think our modern reality would teach us this, but alas...
I have never read it, but it sounds interesting. Indeed, what you say is very true.
Well said overall. But whatever one chooses to call it, it is clear that the tradcons, manospherians, Alt-Reich, oligarchs, Broligarchs, MAGA, and the Trump-Putin-Musk Axis of Evil are all trying to drag women (and men indirectly as collateral damage) back to it these days.
Thank you for spending your time with my words 💜
I completely agree with you, though i think it is so important to identify the differences as patriarchy thrives in the abstractions (as another commenter so perfectly put so I am absolutely borrowing it here!) Clarifying the oppressions help us identify what they truly are in hopes that perhaps we can dream of something different. I so appreciate you adding your thoughts here!!
You're very welcome 😊
This was so interesting. I know about the enclosures but I didn't know about the privatization of land in the middle ages even though I took medieval history in university (a long time ago). And I know about the patriarchal telling of history. When I was writing historical fiction about women, it took a lot of effort and ingenuity to dig out research. But I never connected that patriarchal narrative to "feudalism." This post enlivened my brain on a gloomily raining day!