VASSAL

Vassal

A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held as a fiefdom. The term can be applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies. In contrast, a fidelity, or fidelitas, was a sworn loyalty, subject to the king.

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vassal

Noun

  1. The grantee of a fief, feud, or fee; one who keeps land of a superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him, normally a lord of a manor; a feudatory; a feudal tenant.
  2. A subject; a dependant; a servant; a slave.

Verb

  1. To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
  2. To subordinate to someone or something.

Adjective

  1. Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: vassal
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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