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form vassus was at first uniformly employed in the sense of slave, this explanation is the more acceptable of the two. If it is correct we may say that "vassal" was analogous in origin to the name of " boy given to a coloured servant by Europeans. in See also:

ASIA

Asia and See also:

Africa, The word gained in dignity under the Frankish See also:

EMPIRE

empire through the vassi dominici, i.e. servants of the royal See also:

HOUSEHOLD, ROYAL

household, See also:

GREAT

great See also:

OFFICERS

officers of See also:

state, who were sent on extraordinary See also:

MISSIONS (Lat. missio, a sending)

missions into the provinces, to See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act as assessors to the See also:

COUNTS

counts in the courts, or generally to See also:

settle any questions in the interests of the central See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power. Sometimes they were sent to organize and govern a See also:

march, sometimes they were rewarded with benefices, and as, with the growth of See also:

feudalism, these See also:

DEVELOPED

developed into hereditary fiefs, the word vassus or vassallus was naturally retained as implying the relation to the See also:

king as overlord, and was extended to the holders of all fiefs whether See also:

capital or mediate. As feudal See also:

independence increased, the word vassal lost every vestige of its. See also:

ORIGINAL

original servile sense, and, since it had come to imply a purely military relation, acquired rather the meaning of " free See also:

WARRIOR

warrior." Thus in See also:

MEDIEVAL

medieval See also:

French See also:

POETRY

poetry vasselage is commonly used in the sense of " prowess in arms," or generally of any knightly qualities. In this sense it also became acclimatized in See also:

England, and "vassal " came to be used as See also:

EQUIVALENT

equivalent to free-See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born, soldierly, valiant and loyal, in which sense it is commonly used in medieval poetry. Tn countries which were not feudally organized-in See also:

CASTILE, or CASTILLE (Castilla)

Castile, for instance—vassal meant simply subject, and during the revolutionary See also:

period acquired a distinctly offensive significance as being equivalent to slave. The diminutive form vasseletus, for the son of a vassal, after See also:

STRANGE, SIR ROBERT (1721-1792)

strange fortunes returned to something of its original sense of " household servant " in the See also:

MODERN

modern " See also:

VALET (Fr. valet; O. Fr. vaslet)

valet" (q.v.) (see also See also:

VAVASSOR (Med. Lat. valvassor, vasvassor; Fr. vavassour, vavassor, vasseur, &c.)

VAVASSOR). Set Dictionnaire' de l`ancienne Ian See also:

GLEE

glee fraricaise (See also:

Paris, 1895), for numerous examples of the use of the word vassal; also Du Cange; Glossatium, s.

End of Article: VASSAL (Fr. vassal, vassaut, vassault, &c,)

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