vasallaje

Forms

vasallaje m (plural vasallajes)^[1] Old Spanish wrote uassallage, vasallage and vasallaxe.^[2] The spelling vassallage is in Covarrubias and vasallage in Autoridades.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish vasallo + -aje.^[5][6][7] Corominas derives the noun from Proto-Celtic *vassallos (“like a servant”), a derivative of *vassos (“servant”).^[6] Wiktionary takes the Medieval Latin vassallus as an extended form of vassus, from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”).^[1] The REW has the word reach Spanish from Occitan, but Corominas argues that the institution of vassalage was rooted in Castile by the 11th and 12th centuries, so that there is no reason to think the word was taken from France.^[8][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Berceo uses it in the Vida de San Millán (c. 1230, known from an 18th-century copy), for the host of Abderramán: desamparó el campo todo so vassallage “all his host left the field”.^[9][10] The first record in a manuscript of its own time is Alfonso X's Espéculo (before 1260), on homage due to the king por naturaleza & por vassallaje.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Alfonso X's prose it already has the three senses the DLE gives: the bond between a vassal and his lord, the submission of one person or thing to another, and the tribute a vassal pays;^[11][5] fazer vasallaje meant to enter into feudal relations.^[11][5] The Cantar de mio Cid describes the formal recognition of vassalage by a kiss on the lord's hand.^[6] Covarrubias defines it as the recognition one person makes to another, and Autoridades gives the extended sense of any dependence.^[3][4] In the Americas it is used from 1533 of the vassalage the native peoples owed the Crown.^[12] Today it also names a relationship of excessive dependence on someone.^[13]

Timeline

• 1206 – DEMel lists a record in a charter of the Colección diplomática of Alfonso IX.^[2]
• c. 1230 – Berceo uses it in the Vida de San Millán.^[9][7]
• before 1260 – the Espéculo of Alfonso X, the first record in a manuscript of its own time.^[9]
• 1270–1284 – the Estoria de España uses it for the tribute paid by vassals.^[11]
• 1533 – first record from the Americas, in Cartagena.^[12]
• 1611 – Covarrubias, under the spelling vassallage.^[3]
• 1739 – Autoridades gives the three senses.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. vassalage: the bond of dependence and loyalty of a vassal (vasallo) to his lord, made with special ceremonies such as kissing the lord's hand.^[5][1]
2. Submission or dependence of one person on another, or of one thing on another: Aquel país vivía en vasallaje económico.^[5][14]
3. (historical) The tribute a vassal paid to his lord.^[5][14]

Related words

• avasallar
• Medieval Latin vassallus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. vasallaje
3. ^ a b c Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1372
4. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 6, 426
5. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. vasallaje
6. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 748
7. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. vasallo
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. vasallaje
10. ^ Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 775
11. ^ a b c Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. vasallaje
12. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. vasallaje
13. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. vasallaje
14. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. vasallaje