Editing Feudalism (section)

=== Vassalage ===
[[File:Hommage du comté de Clermont-en-Beauvaisis.png|thumbnail|[[Homage (feudal)|Homage]] of [[Clermont, Oise|Clermont-en-Beauvaisis]]]]
Before a lord could grant land (a [[fief]]) to someone, he had to make that person a vassal. This was done at a formal and symbolic ceremony called a [[commendation ceremony]], which was composed of the two-part act of [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] and oath of [[fealty]]. During homage, the lord and vassal entered into a contract in which the vassal promised to fight for the lord at his command, whilst the lord agreed to protect the vassal from external forces. ''Fealty'' comes from the Latin ''fidelitas'' and denotes the [[fidelity]] owed by a vassal to his feudal lord. "Fealty" also refers to an oath that more explicitly reinforces the commitments of the vassal made during homage; such an oath follows homage.<ref name=stephenson>{{cite book |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/28860952/Mediavel-Feudalism |title=Medieval Feudalism |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209083705/http://www.scribd.com/doc/28860952/Mediavel-Feudalism |archive-date=9 February 2012 |author-link=Carl Stephenson (historian) |first=Carl |last=Stephenson |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |date=1942 |chapter=Classic introduction to Feudalism}}</ref>

Once the commendation ceremony was complete, the lord and vassal were in a feudal relationship with agreed obligations to one another. 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. In addition, the vassal could have other obligations to his lord, such as attendance at his court, whether [[Manorial court|manorial]], baronial, both termed [[Manorial court#Court baron|court baron]], or at the king's court.<ref>Encyc. Brit. op.cit. It was a standard part of the feudal contract (fief [land], fealty [oath of allegiance], faith [belief in God]) that every tenant was under an obligation to attend his overlord's court to advise and support him; [[Sir Harris Nicolas]], in ''Historic Peerage of England'', ed. [[William Courthope (officer of arms)|Courthope]], p.18, quoted by Encyc. Brit, op.cit., p. 388: "It was the principle of the feudal system that every tenant should attend the court of his immediate superior".</ref>

[[File:Map France 1477-en.svg|thumb|France in the late 15th century: a mosaic of feudal territories]]
It could also involve the vassal providing "counsel", so that if the lord faced a major decision he would summon all his vassals and hold a council. At the level of the [[Manorialism|manor]] this might be a fairly mundane matter of agricultural policy, but also included sentencing by the lord for criminal offences, including capital punishment in some cases. Concerning the king's feudal court, such deliberation could include the question of declaring war. These are [[examples of feudalism]]; depending on the period of time and location in Europe, feudal customs and practices varied.