Hódoltság

Hódoltság is a historical political and social term in Hungarian history referring to the state or condition of subordination in a feudal system, typically expressed through formal homage to a higher lord or suzerain. The word stems from hódolni, meaning to bow, to pay homage, with the suffix -tság forming a noun of state.

In practice, hódoltság signified a vassalage-like relationship: a subject held land or status from a lord (often the king or a powerful magnate) in exchange for obligations such as military service, counsel, payments, and other duties. The suzerain, in turn, was obliged to offer protection, justice, and certain autonomies within the granted domain. The arrangement could apply to individuals, noble families, or broader territories and towns within the feudal framework.

Historically, hódoltság was embedded in the Kingdom of Hungary’s medieval and early modern order and shaped by royal charters and customary law. The concept also interacted with the region’s shifting power dynamics, including periods of heightened central authority and times of competing influence among powerful magnates, as well as external pressures and suzerainties in the broader Central European context.

With the decline of feudal structures and the modernization of legal systems in the 18th and 19th centuries, formal hódoltság diminished as a legal category. Nevertheless, the term remains a reference point for understanding the kinds of subordinate vassalage relationships that characterized medieval Hungarian governance and social organization.

See also: feudalism, vassalage, homage, suzerainty.