Who were the first of the feudal lords in Europe, and how did they become lords?

by Computedbeast27
ScarecrowKrone

In order to answer your question, I need to better understand and establish exactly what you mean by ‘lord’. Are we talking about lordship in a strictly feudal sense (land and levies), or more generally people in positions of power related to their bloodline and heritage? Or perhaps another form of lordship I haven't immediately considered?