Not to defend feudalism, but the total detachment from morality we see is more of a modern phenomenon. While I’m not going to pretend the Habsburg had an inkling of genuine respect for the lower classes, part of the reason for the power of the church was a shared belief or at least need to pretend to a belief system in which your excesses were bad. The ruling powers of feudalism did just as much virtue signaling, if not more. Things like kings pretending to wear hair shirts under their silks, engaging in performative displays of humility to the church, or isolated displays of charity, were all things the aristocracy did to show their virtue and justify their own rule.

Not every person in the medieval ages was a serf, like Frisia or even parts of northern germany & Tyrol/alpine peoples didnt have feudalism and were run by local villagers. Without having to mention russia and the whole obshchina spiel. It was a harsh and cruel world, yes. But not the grimdark victorian miseryfeast that people (especially liberals due to the whole “great chain of progress” narrative) believe.