Feudalism and manoralism were political systems that dominated Medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. These were ways of structuring society that revolved around the exchange of land for service or labor.
There are several events that allowed feudalism to dominate the continent. This development was possible because of the decentralization of the Carolingian Empire in the 8th century CE. The lack of bureaucratic structure led to a system of hereditary rule that encompassed land for soldiers. Moreover, this meant that feudalism declined with the rise of a more defined political structure (as in European monarchies).