 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
When two members of nobility entered into a feudal relationship, they underwent a ceremony known as commendation ceremony. The purpose of the commendation was to make a chosen person a vassal of a lord. The commendation ceremony is composed of two elements, one to perform the act of homage and the other an oath of fealty.
The person who was to become the vassal of the lord appeared bareheaded and weaponless as a sign of his submission to the will of the lord and would kneel before him. The vassal would clasp his hands before him in the ultimate sign of submission, the standard Christian prayer of today, and would stretch his clasped hands outward to the lord.
The lord in turn grasped the vassals hands on the outside, squeezing hard to cause the vassal pain, showing he was the superior in the relationship. The vassal would announce he wished to become "the man", and the lord would announce his acceptence. The act of homage was complete.
Interestingly, the physical position for Christian prayer that is thought of as typical today -- kneeling, with hands clasped -- originates from the commendation ceremony. Before this time, European Christians prayed in the orans , which is the Latin, or "praying" position that people had used in antiquity: standing, with hands outstretched, still used today in many Christian rituals.
The vassal would then place his sore hands on a Bible, or a saint's relic, and swear he would never injure the lord in any way and to remain faithful.
An example oath of fealty: "I promise on my faith that I will in the future be faithful to the lord, never cause him harm and will observe my homage to him completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit."
Once the vassal hard sworn the oath of fealty, the lord and vassal had a feudal relationship.
The relationship after the vow was given was often referred to as the lord-vassal relationship, or vassalage.
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|