In feudalism, people who pledged loyalty and service to a more powerful noble in exchange for protection and land.
From Old French 'vassal,' possibly from Celtic 'gwas' meaning servant. The term structured medieval European society for over a thousand years.
The vassal system created a chain of loyalty stretching from peasants up to the king—it's why chess has a hierarchy of pieces, why corporations have hierarchies, and why we still talk about 'serving' a leader!
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