One of the challenges with feudalism (yes, we could have a long debate about what it actually is) is that there were so many different obligations and chains of obligations between different people in a society that it often became difficult to keep track of it all. Whatever our debates on what feudalism was or was not, I think we can all agree that it was messy.
So, what if the printing press was introduced earlier? Lets say very shortly after paper reached Europe, so the 11th century. This makes it much much easier to have a paper trail on who owes whom what in exchange for what, be it services, privileges, etc. How might this influence feudal society?
So, what if the printing press was introduced earlier? Lets say very shortly after paper reached Europe, so the 11th century. This makes it much much easier to have a paper trail on who owes whom what in exchange for what, be it services, privileges, etc. How might this influence feudal society?