Fealty

Fealty, from the Latin fidelitas or faithfulness, refers to a form of oath given from one person to another, pledging the allegiance of one to the other.

In medieval Europe, fealty was sworn by the obligated person (vassal) to a person of rank (lord). The most usual form had the vassal kneeling

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and placing his hands between the hands of the lord. The vassal pledged support (often, military and financial) and faithfulness, while the lord often responded with a corresponding oath of protection (and, often, a grant of land called a fief). This ceremony is thought to date back to, at least, 7th-century France.

The term is also used by English speakers to refer to similar oaths of allegiance in other cultures, as with Japan prior to about 1500.

See also: homage, feudalism, vassallage