fief

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
(fēf) pronunciation
n.
  1. See fee (sense ).
  2. A fiefdom.

[French, from Old French feu, fief. See fee.]



In European feudalism, a vassal's source of income, granted to him by his lord in exchange for his services. The fief usually consisted of land and the labor of peasants who were bound to cultivate it. The income it provided supported the vassal, who fought for his lord as a knight. Dignities, offices, and money rents were also given in fief.

For more information on fief, visit Britannica.com.

Fief (or fee). An estate held by feudal tenure from a lord—in the case of tenants-in-chief the obligation was knight service to the king. In the early Norman period, some 2, 500 knights were required. The archbishop of Canterbury was to provide 60, the abbot of Bury St Edmunds 40: Robert of Gloucester was to provide 100, the honour of Totnes some 75. The tenant-in-chief usually subcontracted to his own vassals. As the cost of maintaining horse and armour rose, the complement of the feudal levy declined, and the proportion of hired men increased.

In feudal England, the tenure of land or an estate subject to the feudal obligation of service and homage to the lord of the estate.


(feef)

Under feudalism, a landed estate given by a lord to a vassal in return for the vassal's service to the lord. The vassal could use the fief as long as he remained loyal to the lord.

  See crossword solutions for the clue Fief.
Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - len, lensgård

Nederlands (Dutch)
land van een horige, eigendom, terrein

Français (French)
n. - fief

Deutsch (German)
n. - Lehen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ιστ.) φέουδο, τιμάριο

Italiano (Italian)
feudo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - feudo (m)

Русский (Russian)
вотчина

Español (Spanish)
n. - feudo, estado feudal

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förläning

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
封地, 采邑

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 封地, 采邑

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 봉토, 영지

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 封土, 地盤

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) إقطاعه , من ضمن ممتلكات الشخص‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אחוזה פיאודלית, שטח שליטה של אדם‬


Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Mentioned in

Lemert (family name)