Glossary

Allod . In feudal tenure, lands held without obligation to any suzerain (overlord) were termed held in allod.

Corvée, The oldest form of taxation, under the feudal system corvée labor, was extracted from members of society who were too cash poor to pay taxes in coin. A good lord would use corvée labor to construct irrigation or other forms of infrastructure which would be beneficial to the whole community. A less abstemious lord might use it for self-aggrandizement by building monuments to his illustrious person or ostentatious palaces.