Editing State (polity) (section)

===Feudal state===
{{See also|Feudalism|Middle Ages}}
During medieval times in Europe, the state was organized on the principle of [[feudalism]], and the relationship between [[lord]] and [[vassal]] became central to social organization. Feudalism led to the development of greater social hierarchies.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jones, Rhys|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7OgODkcZgIIC&pg=PA52|title=People/states/territories: the political geographies of British state transformation|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4051-4033-1|pages=52–53|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502081027/https://books.google.com/books?id=7OgODkcZgIIC&pg=PA52|archive-date=2 May 2016|url-status=live}} ... see also [https://books.google.com/books?id=7OgODkcZgIIC&pg=PA54 pp. 54-] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516192300/https://books.google.com/books?id=7OgODkcZgIIC&pg=PA54|date=16 May 2016}} where Jones discusses problems with common conceptions of feudalism.</ref>

The formalization of the struggles over taxation between the monarch and other elements of society (especially the nobility and the cities) gave rise to what is now called the [[Corporate statism|Standestaat]], or the state of Estates, characterized by parliaments in which key social groups negotiated with the king about legal and economic matters. These [[estates of the realm]] sometimes evolved in the direction of fully-fledged parliaments, but sometimes lost out in their struggles with the monarch, leading to greater centralization of lawmaking and military power in his hands. Beginning in the 15th century, this centralizing process gave rise to the [[Absolute monarchy|absolutist]] state.<ref name="Poggi" />