Loyalty and faithful allegiance to a person, especially to a leader or ruler; a feudal obligation.
From Old French 'feelte' related to Latin 'fidelis' meaning faithful. Became common in English during the feudal period to describe obligations between lords and vassals.
Fealty oaths created the legal foundation of feudalism—a vassal literally swore bodily allegiance in front of witnesses, creating binding contracts without written paperwork through ritual and witness.
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