A
vassal or
feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a
lord or
monarch in the context of the
feudal system in
medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held as a
fiefdom. The term can be applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies. In contrast, a fidelity, or
fidelitas, was a sworn loyalty, subject to the king.