Editing Fief (section)

==Terminology==
{{main|Feudalism}}
{{wiktionary}}
In ancient Rome, a "[[benefice]]" (from the Latin noun {{lang|la|beneficium}}, meaning "benefit") was a gift of land ({{lang|la|[[precaria]]}}) for life as a reward for services rendered, originally, to the state. In medieval Latin European documents, a land grant in exchange for service continued to be called a {{lang|la|beneficium}} (Latin).<ref name=lubetski>Meir Lubetski (ed.). ''Boundaries of the ancient Near Eastern world: a tribute to Cyrus H. Gordon''. "Notices on Pe'ah, Fay' and Feudum" by Alauddin Samarrai. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dO4rbfA_WVIC&pg=PA248 Pg. 248-250] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029132531/https://books.google.com/books?id=dO4rbfA_WVIC&pg=PA248 |date=2015-10-29 }}, Continuum International Publishing Group, 1998.</ref> Later, the term {{lang|la|feudum}}, or {{lang|la|feodum}}, began to replace {{lang|la|beneficium}} in the documents.<ref name=lubetski/> The first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one hundred years earlier.<ref name=lubetski/> The origin of the {{lang|la|feudum}} and why it replaced {{lang|la|beneficium}} has not been well established, but there are multiple theories, described below.<ref name=lubetski/>

The most widely held theory is put forth by [[Marc Bloch]]<ref name=lubetski/><ref name=bloch-ety1>Marc Bloch. ''Feudal Society'', Vol. 1, 1964. pp. 165–166.</ref><ref name=bloch-ety2>Marc Bloch. ''Feudalism'', 1961, p. 106.</ref> that it is related to the Frankish term ''*fehu-ôd'', in which ''*fehu'' means "cattle" and ''-ôd'' means "goods", implying "a moveable object of value".<ref name=bloch-ety1/><ref name=bloch-ety2/> When land replaced currency as the primary [[store of value]], the Germanic word ''*fehu-ôd'' replaced the Latin word {{lang|la|beneficium}}.<ref name=bloch-ety1/><ref name=bloch-ety2/> This Germanic origin theory was also shared by [[William Stubbs]] in the 19th century.<ref name=lubetski/><ref>[[William Stubbs]]. ''The Constitutional History of England'' (3 volumes), 2nd edition 1875–1878, Vol. 1, p. 251, n. 1</ref>

A theory put forward by [[Archibald R. Lewis]]<ref name=lubetski/> is that the origin of 'fief' is not {{lang|la|feudum}} (or {{lang|la|feodum}}), but rather {{lang|la|foderum}}, the earliest attested use being in [[Astronomus]]'s {{lang|la|[[Vita Hludovici]]}} (840).<ref name=arlewis>[[Archibald R. Lewis]]. ''The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society 718–1050'', 1965, pp. 76–77.</ref> In that text is a passage about [[Louis the Pious]] which says {{lang|la|"annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant"}}, which can be translated as "(Louis forbade that) military provender which they popularly call 'fodder' (be furnished)."<ref name=lubetski/>

In the 10th and 11th centuries the Latin terms for 'fee' could be used either to describe dependent tenure held by a man from his lord, as the term is used now by historians, or it could mean simply "property" (the [[Manorialism|manor]] was, in effect, a small fief). It lacked a precise meaning until the middle of the 12th century, when it received formal definition from land lawyers.{{No source|date=January 2025}}

In English usage, the word "fee" is first attested around 1250–1300 (Middle English); the word "fief" from around 1605–1615. In French, the term {{lang|fro|fief}} is found from the middle of the 13th century (Old French), derived from the 11th-century terms {{lang|fro|feu}}, {{lang|fro|fie}}. The odd appearance of the second ''f'' in the form {{lang|fro|fief}} may be due to influence from the verb {{lang|fro|fiever}} 'to grant in fee'.<ref>"fee, n.2." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 18 August 2017.</ref> In French, one also finds {{lang|fro|seigneurie}} (land and rights possessed by a {{lang|fro|seigneur}} or "lord", 12th century), which gives rise to the expression "seigneurial system" to describe feudalism.{{No source|date=January 2025}}