A piece of land granted to a vassal in exchange for oaths of loyalty and support is called a fief. The ceremony at which this was done was called commendation.
A fief.
The most important gift a lord could give to a vassal was land. During the feudal age, the ownership of land meant wealth and prestige in a society where there was little money. With the land, a lord would also give serfs to a vassal.
a piece of land
a piece of land
This is called an investiture. Investitures were common in the 11th and 12th centuries. The land the vassal was given is called a fief.
They were the serfs.
A loyal vassal is the name given to a person who enters into an agreement with a monarch or lord. They give military support and protection in exchange for certain privileges such as being given land.
By the 9th century, the grant of land made to a vassal became known as a fief. This fief was typically given in exchange for the vassal's loyalty and military service to the lord. The vassal would then manage and develop the land, while owing certain obligations to the lord.
The Latin name for the land that was given to the vassal by the king or a lord in the middle Ages (during feudalism).
No, the vassals were appointed by lords (nobles) to oversee the fief (land "given" to the vassal) and to make sure that the serfs (peasants) did their jobs.
The knights were originally the heavy cavalry. The word knight came to be a title, usually given by a monarch, and was regarded as the lowest level of the nobility. A vassal was a person who had a relationship of mutual obligation with a lord. The vassal sword loyalty and obedience, and the lord granted land and protection in exchange. A vassal could be a knight, and a knight could be a vassal, but there was nothing saying they had to be.
The vassals had a duty to give military support to the king or other lord. In exchange for this, they got protection and land.