Fealty
[3] In medieval Europe, an oath of fealty (German: Lehnseid) was a fundamental element of the feudal system in the Holy Roman Empire.The oath of allegiance was usually carried out as part of a traditional ceremony in which the liegeman or vassal gave his lord a pledge of loyalty and acceptance of the consequences of a breach of trust.This relationship formed the basis of landholding, known as feudal tenure, whereby the seizin vested in the tenant (the vassal) was so similar to actual possession that it was considered a separate estate described as utile domain (dominium utile), literally "beneficial ownership", whereas the landlord's estate was referred to as eminent domain or superiority (dominium directum, lit.In the Late Middle Ages, the investiture and oath of fealty were invariably recorded by a deed; in modern times, this replaced the traditional ceremony.[2] The term is also used by English-speakers to refer to similar oaths of allegiance in other feudal cultures, as with medieval Japan, as well as in modern organized crime.