While they were free to marry, they could not marry anyone that lived outside their manor without their lord's permission. This type of landed estate began to cause problems of loyalty just before feudalism began to crumble under the popularity of capitalism. Some vassals were multiplied in the sense that they would attempt to acquire as much land as possible. This caused a conflict in loyalties, as one vassal could owe loyalty to many lords. This situation brought forth the term "liege lord" (335), which identified one lord that had power over the other lords should a conflict ever arise.

Noble points out how the feudal system "shows vertical bonds in its hierarchy of vassalic ties and its command of the peasant population" (353). It should also be noted that nobility also "joined in horizontal associations" (353) as well. Noble groupings were a "kind of substitute kinship, especially for the...
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