Protofeudalism

Protofeudalism (Spanish:protofeudalismo or feudalismo prematuro) is a concept in medieval history, most especially the history of Spain, according to which the direct precursors of feudalism can be found at the height of the Dark Ages. Spanish historiography relies heavily on the concept and projects it onto the late Visigothic Kingdom, but its usage is generally deprecated in the English-language historiography of Spain (or anywhere else). The current tendency in English scholarship to downplay feudalism and reduce the usage of related terminology, especially its application to the Early Middle Ages, is in direct conflict with recent trends in Spanish historiography to push the start of feudalism back into the Visigothic period, sometimes seen as part of a tendency to "Europeanise" Spanish history.