ehhh kinda. a lot of "kings" were first among equals, and had shaky loyalty from their underlings at best. the difference between a "fair and just tax levied

ehhh kinda. a lot of "kings" were first among equals, and had shaky loyalty from their underlings at best. the difference between a "fair and just tax levied by the local lord" and "thugs beating you until you cough up the gold, then giving a cut to their mafia boss" is small. feudalism makes a lot more sense if you think about it as loose groups of warlords and mafia dons stabbing each other and leaning on The Church for clout.