Who were the vassals of the king?

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. The obligations often included military support by knights in exchange for certain privileges, usually including land held as a tenant or fief.

What was a vassal in medieval Europe?

vassal, in feudal society, one invested with a fief in return for services to an overlord. Some vassals did not have fiefs and lived at their lord’s court as his household knights.

What did Kings give vassals?

If a lord acted in the service of a king, the lord was considered a vassal of the king. As part of the feudal agreement, the lord promised to protect the vassal and provided the vassal with a plot of land. This land could be passed on to the vassal’s heirs, giving the vassal tenure over the land.

Who is the king a vassal to in the Middle Ages?

During the medieval period, kings ruled large areas of land. In order to protect these lands from invasion, the king would give portions of their lands to the local lords which were called the Vassals. They governed the lands granted to them by the king and promised to defend it against conquerors.

What was a vassal in feudal Europe quizlet?

The vassal has to provide the lord with a service in return for the land. This became known as the feudal system. in feudal Europe, a person who received a grant of land from a lord in exchanged for a pledge of loyalty and services. a person who was receiving the fief is called an vassal.

Who was the unifying force in Europe?

the Catholic Church
After the collapse of the western Roman Empire, the main unifying force in Europe was the Catholic Church. The church was under the supreme authority of the Bishop of Rome, or Pope, who was seen as the successor of St. Peter.

Is a knight a vassal?

Knights did not exist at the beginning of the Middle Ages but began to emerge as the period progressed. Land given to a knight for service was called a fief. Anyone accepting a fief was called a vassal. The person from whom he accepted the fief was his lord.

What were vassals and Lords in the Middle Ages?

Vassals and Lords | The Early Middle Ages in Western Europe. Feudal practices varied from place to place and developed and altered with the passage of time. Nonetheless, certain general conceptions were accepted almost everywhere. One of the most significant was that of a feudal contract.

What is the origin of the word vassal?

The word vassal is believed to have been derived from the Medieval Latin term vassallus, the Roman and Latin term vassus, meaning servant, and the Celtic and Welsh term gwas, which means a young man who is a servant or feudal tenant.

How did the Lord of a vassal fief receive revenue?

If the vassal’s heir was still a minor, the lord exercised the right of wardship, or guardianship, until the minor came of age; this meant that the lord received the revenues from the fief, and if he was unscrupulous he could milk it dry. Within a feudal kingdom, the king theoretically occupied the top position in an imaginary pyramid of society.

What was the position of the king in a feudal society?

Within a feudal kingdom, the king theoretically occupied the top position in an imaginary pyramid of society. Immediately below him would be his vassals, men who held fiefs directly from the king, called tenants-in-chief.