VASSAL. - A medieval legal term denoting a free man of low social condition who placed himself in the feudal service of a powerful man who became his dominus or senior (lord).
The origin of the term v. has been traced to the Celtic gwass, from which gwassal (=servant); the corresponding Latin term is puer or homo. The relationship established between the v. and the lord was called "vassalage" or "commendation"; to accept such a bond was expressed as in vassalatico se commendare or simply se commendare; the act by which the vassalic relationship was established was called "homage." Vassalage was personal and for life and could not be dissolved without the consent of both parties; the lord had to provide the v. with food, clothing, and protection; the latter was bound to respect, obedience, and the various services that were compatible with his status as a free man. Vassalage appears among the Franks in the 8th century and is a replacement and extension of the trustis of the Merovingian monarchy, inheriting its obligations of fidelity in war. Among the Lombards there were the "gaundi" with analogous obligations; among the Anglo-Saxons the "thegns." Frankish vassalage from the 9th century, with its spread to all the countries subject to Carolingian influence, acquired a new character thanks to its union with the institution of the beneficium, consisting in the assignment by princes to their v. of lands held in precarious tenure by act of simple and gratuitous favor. In this way the Carolingian kings drew into their vassalage social elements of the upper classes, who in turn had v. dependent on them. The term v. was then used for the holders of royal benefices. The vassalic relationship in the development of feudalism became hereditary; v. were forbidden to abandon their lord except in certain cases; the cases were established in which the v. lost the benefice (v. FEUDALESIMO).
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Francesco Cognasso