I found this nice little article that highlights the Roman influence on the development of Feudalism, and how the culture varied in different regions of Europe. It does a great job comparing Common Law, Statutory laws, and Customary laws.

http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/h113_2001/feudalism.htm

I think this is an online post by a college instructor for student reference. I found it very informative. Cheers!

Michele

That's the overview one typically finds in surveys of Western Civ. Keep in mind that the word "feudalism" never existed in the Middle Ages and there has been quite a lot of debate in the last thirty years about what historians actually mean when they say it.

Melissa Snell at about.com has a summary of the academic bunfight here: http://historymedren.about.com/od/feudalism/a/feudalism.htm