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.