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518:). The oath of allegiance was usually carried out as part of a traditional ceremony in which the liegeman or vassal gave his lord a pledge of loyalty and acceptance of the consequences of a breach of trust. In return, the liege lord promised to protect and remain loyal to his vassal. This relationship formed the basis of landholding, known as feudal tenure, whereby the
545:, the investiture and oath of fealty were invariably recorded by a deed; in modern times, this replaced the traditional ceremony. Where the geographical distance between the two parties was significant, the lord could name a representative before whom the oath was to be sworn.
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Fealty is distinct from other parts of the homage ceremony, and is usually used only to refer to that part of the ceremony where a vassal swore to be a good vassal to his lord.
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One part of the oath of fealty included swearing to always remain faithful to the lord. The oath of fealty usually took place after the act of
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455:. "Fealty" also referred to the duties incumbent upon a vassal that were owed to the lord, which consisted of service and aid.
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532:), literally "beneficial ownership", whereas the landlord's estate was referred to as eminent domain or superiority (
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The term is also used by
English-speakers to refer to similar oaths of allegiance in other feudal cultures, as with
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vested in the tenant (the vassal) was so similar to actual possession that it was considered a separate
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This article is about a pledge of allegiance. For the journalist, see
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The whole contract including the oath of fealty was part of a formal
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645:. Reigate, UK: Reigate Press for St Mary's College of Education.
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A Dictionary of
Medieval Terms: For the Use of History Students
447:, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a
626:(Reprint ed.). Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer.
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27:Pledge of allegiance of one person to another
8:
624:A Dictionary of Medieval Terms & Phrases
34:. For the novel by Niven and Pournelle, see
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663:A Companion to Medieval England 1066–1485
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552:that created the feudal relationship.
508:feudal system in the Holy Roman Empire
60:Harold Sacramentum Fecit Willelmo Duci
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506:) was a fundamental element of the
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316:Peerages in the United Kingdom
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622:Coredon, Christopher (2007).
593:Companion to Medieval England
500:, an oath of fealty (German:
241:Feudal land tenure in England
616:General and cited references
606:Dictionary of Medieval Terms
538:, lit. "direct ownership").
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526:described as utile domain (
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432:of one person to another.
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641:McGurk, J. J. N. (1970).
451:, or subordinate, to his
36:Oath of Fealty (novel)
661:(2000). "Feudalism".
550:commendation ceremony
256:English feudal barony
151:Feudal fragmentation
716:Oaths of allegiance
591:Saul, "Feudalism",
86:Ecclesiastical fief
428:), is a pledge of
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146:Feudal maintenance
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415:, from the
251:Land tenure
231:Free tenant
191:Manor house
171:Manorialism
32:Mick Fealty
705:Categories
516:liege lord
436:Definition
430:allegiance
351:Feudal aid
91:Crown land
711:Feudalism
575:Coredon,
563:Citations
483:feudalism
421:fidelitas
371:Feudalism
301:Gavelkind
286:Serjeanty
111:Feoffment
604:McGurk,
579:, p. 120
503:Lehnseid
442:medieval
296:Freehold
291:Copyhold
276:Baronage
211:Overlord
141:Affinity
116:Seignory
101:Appanage
608:, p. 13
541:In the
492:History
472:saint's
361:Tallage
346:Scutage
281:Peerage
226:Serfdom
221:Peasant
201:Demesne
126:Feoffee
694:fealty
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651:138858
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524:estate
520:seizin
512:vassal
460:homage
449:vassal
445:Europe
413:fealty
341:Socage
161:Livery
136:Homage
131:Fealty
106:Vassal
479:altar
475:relic
468:Bible
417:Latin
206:Glebe
667:ISBN
647:OCLC
628:ISBN
464:fief
453:lord
409:oath
216:Lord
195:List
81:Fief
496:In
470:or
440:In
411:of
407:An
707::
584:^
485:.
675:.
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396:e
389:t
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