Fealty

Definition

In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fealty" also referred to the duties incumbent upon a vassal that were owed to the lord, which consisted of service and aid.[1]

One part of the oath of fealty included swearing to always remain faithful to the lord. The oath of fealty usually took place after the act of homage, when, by the symbolic act of kneeling before the lord and placing his hands between the hands of the lord, the vassal became the "man" of the lord. Usually, the lord also promised to provide for the vassal in some form, either through the granting of a fief or by some other manner of support.[2] Typically, the oath took place upon a religious object such as a Bible or saint's relic, often contained within an altar, thus binding the oath-taker before God. Fealty and homage were key elements of European feudalism.

Fealty is distinct from other parts of the homage ceremony, and is usually used only to refer to that part of the ceremony where the vassal swore to be a good vassal to his lord.[3]

History

In medieval Europe, an oath of fealty (German: Lehnseid) was a fundamental element of the feudal system in the Holy Roman Empire. It was sworn between two people, the feudal subject or liegeman (vassal) and his feudal superior (liege lord). The oath of allegiance was usually carried out as part of a traditional ceremony in which the liegeman or vassal gave his lord a pledge of loyalty and acceptance of the consequences of a breach of trust. In return the liege lord promised to protect and remain loyal to his vassal. This relationship formed the basis of landholding, known as feudal tenure, whereby the seizin vested in the tenant (the vassal) was so similar to actual possession that it was considered a separate estate described as utile domain (dominium utile), literally "beneficial ownership", whereas the landlord's estate was referred to as eminent domain or superiority (dominium directum, lit. "direct ownership").

In the Late Middle Ages, the investiture and oath of fealty were invariably recorded by a deed; in modern times this replaced the traditional ceremony. Where the geographical distance between the two parties was significant, the lord could name a representative before whom the oath was to be sworn.

The whole contract including the oath of fealty was part of a formal commendation ceremony that created the feudal relationship.[2]

The term is also used by English-speakers to refer to similar oaths of allegiance in other feudal cultures, as with medieval Japan, as well as in modern political contexts.

Notes
  1. Coredon A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases p. 120
  2. Saul "Feudalism" Companion to Medieval England pp. 102-105
  3. McGurk Dictionary of Medieval Terms p. 13
gollark: Oh, I see.
gollark: How is that devilish?
gollark: Create a new section "Bees" %bees.Create a rule "Bee utilization part 1" (%bees-1) in %bees:> The deployment status of bees is considered part of the Game State. No bee action (except for bee deployment) may be taken unless bees are currently deployed. Bee actions include deployment of bees, which makes bees become deployed, cessation of bees, which makes bees not be deployed, and use of bees against a player. The player bees are to be used against must be indicated in the Bee Poll authorizing this action. Use of bees against players causes their Points quantity to be reduced by 1, unless it is already 0, in which case there is no effect.Create a rule "Bee Poll" (%bee-poll) in %polls:> A Bee Poll is required to authorize bees to perform actions, as described in %bees. The default allowed reactions for a Bee Poll are 👍 (representing a vote for) and 👎 (representing a vote against). Bee Polls may be closed if they have existed for 12 hours or more, rather than the usual 24. If a Bee Poll is passed, the action it describes is taken. Players are permitted to use multiple reactions on a Bee Poll.Due to the passage of proposal #207, bees are to be considered "deployed" initially.
gollark: I've had to write up very precisely specified bee utilization/deployment rules for Quonauts, and I'm still worried there might be exploits!
gollark: ++delete the internet

References
  • Coredon, Christopher (2007). A Dictionary of Medieval Terms & Phrases (Reprint ed.). Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer. ISBN 978-1-84384-138-8.
  • McGurk, J. J. N. (1970). A Dictionary of Medieval Terms: For the Use of History Students. Reigate, UK: Reigate Press for St Mary's College of Education. OCLC 138858.
  • Saul, Nigel (2000). "Feudalism". A Companion to Medieval England 1066–1485. Stroud: Tempus. pp. 102–105. ISBN 0-7524-2969-8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.