Feud

Feud, long-continued state of hostility between two social groups, such as tribes, clans, or families, and usually characterized by acts of violence. Feuds are generally motivated by an initial episode involving an insult or injury that must be avenged, and frequently continue even after the event that triggered the hostilities has passed out of the memory of the participants. In most cases the feud occurs in isolated areas, where legal means of redress of grievances are either not available or are deemed inadequate by the affected groups. The peoples of northern Europe carried on feuds for many centuries, but these private wars have in modern times been declared illegal in most countries. Family feuds are, however, still known in such areas as the Balkans, Corsica, Sicily, and the mountain regions of the south-eastern United States.