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A vassal swears the oath of fealty before Count Palatine Frederick I of the Palatinate. A vassal [1] or liege subject [2] is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain.
A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to the era of the Egyptian, Hittite, and Mitanni conflict, as well as in ancient China.
By the middle of the 10th century, feudal land grants (fee, fiefs) had largely become hereditary. [41] The eldest son of a deceased vassal would inherit, but first he had to do homage and fealty to the lord and pay a "relief" for the land (a monetary recognition of the lord's continuing proprietary rights over the property). By the 11th century ...
The owner was the so-called liege lord or feudal lord (German: Lehnsherr Lehnsgeber; Latin: dominus feudi, senior), who was usually the territorial lord or reigning monarch. The beneficiary was his vassal, liegeman or feudatory (German: Vasall, Lehnsmann, Knecht, Lehenempfänger or Lehensträger; Latin: vassus or vasallus).
The Middle Colonies had much fertile soil, which allowed the area to become a major exporter of wheat and other grains. The lumber and shipbuilding industries were also successful in the Middle Colonies because of the abundant forests, and Pennsylvania was moderately successful in the textile and iron industries.
Using the resources provided by his fief, the vassal was expected to supply armor, weapons, horses, and provisions to fulfill his military obligations when summoned by his lord. The specifics of the military service—such as its duration and the number of knights or soldiers required—were typically agreed upon in advance.
The vassal's principal obligation to the lord was to provide aid or military service. Using whatever equipment the vassal could obtain by virtue of the revenues from the fief, the vassal had to answer calls to military service by the lord. This security of military help was the primary reason the lord entered into the feudal relationship.
The Middle Colonies consisted of the present-day states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware and were characterized by a large degree of religious, political, economic, and ethnic diversity. [59] The Dutch colony of New Netherland was taken over by the English and renamed New York.