Subvassals

Subvassals are a type of feudal vassal who hold land from a vassal rather than directly from a sovereign lord. In a typical feudal arrangement, a lord grants a fief to a vassal in return for loyalty, military service, and various services. The vassal may, with the lord's permission, grant a portion of his fief to a subvassal, establishing a secondary layer of tenure.

The subvassal's oath of homage and fealty runs to the immediate grantor—the vassal—while the ultimate liege remains the overlord above. The vassal, in turn, is responsible to the overlord for the subvassal's fidelity and conduct. Obligations commonly attached to subvassals include military service, relief or payments on succession, aid, and the maintenance of the fief's defenses and status. In practice, the chain of obligation travels upward through the vassal to the overlord, with enforcement and disputes typically handled by the intermediate lord.

Subinfeudation, the creation of subvassals, allowed landholders to distribute control and revenue but could complicate loyalty and revenue flows. Kings and higher lords sometimes regulated or curtailed subinfeudation to prevent fragmentation of fiefs and to preserve control. By the late medieval period, many jurisdictions reduced or abolished subvassals as centralized authority increased.

Today, subvassals are mainly discussed in historical or legal contexts. The term appears in studies of feudal law and land tenure and is sometimes used metaphorically to describe layered subordinate relationships in organizations.