The Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism

The debate on the transition from feudalism to capitalism, published in Science and Society in the early 1950s, is one of the most famous episodes in the development of Marxist historiography since the war. It pitted many distinguished experts against each other in a common, critical discussion. Significant new materials have been added since the first publication of the original debate. Rodney Hilton has written a special introductory essay, reconsidering and summarising relevant scholarship in the two decades since the publication of the original discussion.