Manorialism and feudalism were interconnected systems in medieval Europe but are conceptually distinct. Feudalism was primarily a political and military system defining the relationship between lords and vassals, based on the exchange of land (fiefs) for military service and loyalty. Manorialism, in contrast, was the economic system that organized agricultural production on the lord's estate, or manor. It defined the economic and social relationship between the lord and the peasants (serfs) who worked the land, focusing on self-sufficiency rather than the broader political obligations of feudalism.