vassallus

Forms

vassallus m (genitive vassallī); second declension^[1] Variant spellings include vasallus, vassalus, vassallis, bassallus, fasellus and fassellus.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vassus (“servant, vassal”) with an added suffix.^[1][3][2] The DMLBS gives vassal, the Anglo-Norman word, as the source of the form used in Britain.^[4] That noun is from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), which goes back to Proto-Celtic *uɸostos (“servant”).^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In British sources it first appears in Asser, about 893: King Alfred is described as living with a few of his nobles, some soldiers and fasellī, his vassals or retainers.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Niermeyer's senses run from an unfree serf of the manor house and a servant of low rank in the lord's household to a servant of the royal palace who had received a fief, and finally to the vassal in the technical sense, a lord's man holding a fief.^[2] The king's or emperor's vassals (vassallus dominicus, regis) often acted as public officials, on a level with bishops and counts, and churches and ecclesiastical lords had vassals of their own.^[2] Wiktionary dates the feudal sense to the 9th century.^[1]

In medieval Britain it meant one who held land from a superior in return for homage and allegiance;^[4] Glanvill states that a vassal may not attack his lord without breaking the faith he owes for his homage.^[4] The many spellings include vasallus, vassalus, bassallus and fasellus.^[2][1]

Timeline

• 893 – Asser uses fasellus for the retainers of King Alfred.^[4][5]
• 9th century – The sense “feudal vassal” is recorded.^[1]
• 967 – A charter of King Edgar grants land to “my faithful vassal” Wulfnoth.^[4]
• early 14th century – English takes vassal from Old French, which had it from the medieval Latin word.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) An unfree servant of the manor house, a serf.^[2][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) A servant of low rank in a lord's household, not necessarily unfree.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) A servant of the royal palace who has received a fief.^[2]
4. (Medieval Latin) A vassal: a lord's man who holds land from him in return for homage and allegiance.^[2][4][1]
5. (Medieval Latin) vassallus dominicus, regis: a vassal of the king or emperor.^[2]

Word family

• vassallāticum

Related words

• English vassal

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de