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
Noun (Plural: Vassals) A feudal landowner who is obliged to pay homage and loyalty to another feudal Lord in return for being allowed to occupy that Lords land and recieve protection
disapproval If you say that one country is a vassal of another, you mean that it is controlled by it. Opponents of the treaty argue that monetary union will turn France into a vassal of Germany
The grantee of a fief, feud, or fee; one who holds land of a superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him, normally a lord of a manor; a feudatory; a feudal tenant
{i} tenant-farmer, one who gave total allegiance to a feudal lord in return for protection and the right to occupy and cultivate land, serf; subordinate; servant, enslaved person
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
one who receives the use of and lordship over a certain territory (a fief) from a higher lord, in return for service and loyalty The vassal is subordinate to his lord, but the term should not be misunderstood as indicating low social status in any broad sense A vassal is noble; an individual might have high rank and extensive holdings in his own right, and still accept one particular fief from some other lord, thus becoming his vassal
A feudal tenant who, in return for military service or its equivalent, occupies and manages a feudal estate or fief at the pleasure of a superior lord, king or emperor See "Feudalism "
Vassal Free man who held land (fief) from a lord to whom he paid homage and swore fealty He owed various services and obligations, primarily military But he was also required to advise his lord and pay him the traditional feudal aids required on the knighting of the lord's eldest son, the marriage of the lord's eldest daughter and the ransoming of the lord should he be held captive
[ 'va-s&l ] (noun.) 14th century. Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin vassallus, from vassus servant, vassal, of Celtic origin; akin to Welsh gwas young man, servant.