Who is a vassal to a lord?

A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain.

Who was a king a vassal to?

A vassal king is a king that owes allegiance to another king or emperor. This situation occurred in England after the Norman invasion of 1066. Duke William of Normandy was a vassal of the king of France. He later went on to conquer England and become its king.

What is an example of a vassal?

Use vassal when referring to a servant, or anyone wholly dependent on another, or to describe a place that is controlled by one that is more powerful. For example, during World War II, Poland was a vassal of Germany.

Who can be a vassal?

(in the feudal system) a person granted the use of land, in return for rendering homage, fealty, and usually military service or its equivalent to a lord or other superior; feudal tenant. a person holding some similar relation to a superior; a subject, subordinate, follower, or retainer. a servant or slave.

What makes someone a vassal?

In feudal society, a vassal was a man who gave military service to a lord, in return for which he was protected by the lord and received land to live on. If you say that one country is a vassal of another, you mean that it is controlled by it.

The Roles of Lords, Vassals, and Peasants

Can a person be a vassal and a lord?

A person could be both lord and vassal. Some knights with large fiefs gave small pieces of land to other knights; this created many levels of obligations. One knight could serve many lords; no prohibition against knight accepting fiefs from more than one noble.

What does vassal mean in simple terms?

vassal. noun. vas·​sal ˈvas-əl. : a person in the Middle Ages who received protection and land from a lord in return for loyalty and service.

Are vassals above lords?

In England, the feudal pyramid was made up of the king at the top with the nobles, knights, and vassals below him. Before a lord could grant land to a tenant he would have to make him a vassal at a formal ceremony. This ceremony bound the lord and vassal in a contract.

Is A lord higher than a vassal?

A lord was in broad terms a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and a fief was what the land was known as. In exchange for the use of the fief and the protection of the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord.

Which is higher lord or vassal?

The lesser lord was called the 'vassal' of the greater one, whom he called his 'liege lord'. The vassal had to perform an act of 'homage' to his liege lord by kneeling down and putting his hands between his lord's hands and promising to be loyal to him.

What are the two types of vassals?

An "upper" group comprised great territorial magnates, who were strong enough to ensure the inheritance of their benefice to the heirs of their family. A "lower" group consisted of landless knights attached to a count or duke.

What are 3 duties of a vassal?

Duties owed by a vassal to his lord can be categorised into four types: Military (auxilium), which included personal service, providing troops (raising levies), and later scutage in lieu of service. Military duties also included work on fortifications and roads and bridges, thus the trinoda necessitas.

What is the difference between a lord and a vassal?

In broad terms a lord was a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and the land was known as a fief. In exchange for the use of the fief and protection by the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord.

Who controls vassals?

Under the feudal contract, the lord had the duty to provide the fief for his vassal, to protect him, and to do him justice in his court. In return, the lord had the right to demand the services attached to the fief (military, judicial, administrative) and a right to various “incomes” known as feudal incidents.

Are vassals above knights?

Knights and Vassals

As higher ranking people, knights often presided over an entire manor, while vassals presided only over the land needed to support their families. In both cases, the knights and vassals had command over the serfs that worked the land.

What is the synonym of vassal?

On this page you'll find 25 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to vassal, such as: beneficiary, bondman, dependent, helot, liege, and liegeman.

What is a king's right hand man called?

History. Esquires in Ordinary of the King's Body, often abbreviated to Esquires of the Body, became a formal position and title in the English royal household.

How many vassals can a lord have?

A player may have one (1) vassal once they reach the rank of Freeman (8), up to a maximum of 69 vassals, once they reach the rank of Crown Prince (23). While vassals and liege lord relationships are made between two (2) specific villages, the number of vassals a player can have is per player, not per village.

What rank is below a lord?

peerage, Body of peers or titled nobility in Britain. The five ranks, in descending order, are duke, marquess, earl (see count), viscount, and baron. Until 1999, peers were entitled to sit in the House of Lords and exempted from jury duty. Titles may be hereditary or granted for life.

Can vassals fight each other?

With level 3 in the Feudal or Clan government type, High Crown Authority forbids vassals from fighting each other unless they have a hook on their liege, whilst Absolute Crown Authority, the maximum level, forbids them from fighting any war at all without your permission.

Can a duke be a vassal?

For example, a duke was the vassal of the king and owed him allegiance, which meant that the duke had to defend the king if the king was attacked. In turn, the king had to come to the aid of the duke if he was attacked. The lord below the duke was the duke's vassal and owed the duke allegiance.

Can knights be a vassal?

Answer and Explanation: A vassal could be a peasant, knight, nobleman, or, sometimes, even a king. In the feudal system, a vassal was someone who owned a piece of land and owed allegiance to a feudal lord. Knights were often vassals to a feudal lord, such as a baron or count.

Why did vassals have to serve lords?

1b. Why did the vassals have to serve lords? The vassals had to serve lords because he promised to serve a lord in exchange for land.

What is a lord's land called?

A demesne (/dɪˈmeɪn, -ˈmiːn/ di-MAYN, -⁠MEEN) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support.

What happens if you become a vassal?

Becoming a Vassal for a faction will allow you to call other banners under your command and lead them into battle under only your control. You'll also be able to obtain fiefs and govern them however you see fit, benefiting from their prosperity and taxes.