Faida

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Faida

 

under Germanic barbarian law, enmity between families or groups of kinsmen, in particular, between the family of a murdered man and that of his murderer; also, part of the compensation paid to the family of the injured party to end the feud. In Western Europe during the Middle Ages, faida was a private feudal war initiated by an injured party in order to avenge a wrong. As state power became centralized, the practice of faida was curtailed; with the establishment of absolute monarchies, the practice was banned.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.