vassallët

Vassallët, in feudal terminology, were individuals who held land from a lord in exchange for service and loyalty. The land, or fief, could confer economic rights and sometimes jurisdiction over peasants living on it. The vassal’s tenure was established by a formal act such as homage and fealty and was often sealed by investiture, the lord granting control of the land to the vassal.

Obligations of the vassal typically included military service or leasing soldiers to the lord, providing counsel at the lord's court, and paying rents, taxes, or other dues. Vassals could also grant portions of their fief to sub-vassals, creating a hierarchy of allegiance. In return, the lord was expected to protect the vassal, uphold the grant, and administer justice within the fief's boundaries.

The relationship was legally binding and could be forfeited by breach of its terms, such as failure to render service or acts of disloyalty. Vassals and lords could restructure arrangements through renewal, dispute resolution, or extinction of the fief. The balance of protection and obligation varied by region and period, reflecting local custom and royal or noble authority.

By the later Middle Ages, rising centralized monarchies and standing armies reduced the practical role of vassals in many regions. The feudal contract gradually gave way to new forms of state administration, property rights, and professional military forces, though vestiges of the vassalage system persisted in custom and landholding practices in some areas.