Quote Originally Posted by Talakeal View Post
Most landowners in my setting are going to be part of the nobility in a fairly strict federal system. Trying to hold onto more land than you can successfully manage or manipulating your children's personal relationships or bodilly autonomy is a dangerous game as your superior can simply remove you from power. It is typically far better to simply share the land with a brother or cousin.

Also, IIRC Charles Martel divided his Empire between his three sons, which is why there is such a strong divide between Frankish and Germanic cultures in Europe and why they are always warring over the lands between.
I am not sure I'd call a system where ruler can just remove a noble landholder from power without any crime being committed by a nobleman a "feudal" system, but it obviously has precedents aplenty, whatever you call it. In that case it is obviously an option (though going the other way such partition will likely require an approval of aforementioned superior instead of being at-will done).

And it was Charlemagne (Charles the Great, Carolus Magnus), the grandson of Charles Martel. In which case it was mostly because he was a strong king who could do whatever he wanted (and also a little bit earlier than mandatory primogeniture enforced on noble in some places probably starting as late as Renaissance, not sure).