Vavasors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Referring to feudal tenants who held land from a lord by subinfeudation rather than directly; describing individuals of lower vassal status in medieval hierarchy; denoting holders of fiefs subordinate to greater vassals rather than directly to the crown
2. Identifying persons in a feudal system who possess land granted by a lord who is himself a vassal, thus being indirect tenants; characterizing lower-ranked vassals beneath chief lords; indicating landholders reliant on intermediary overlords instead of sovereigns
3. Describing noble tenants who hold their estates not directly but through an intermediary lord; referring to subordinate vassals in a hierarchical land tenure system; designating feudal holders who owe allegiance through another vassal rather than a direct superior

Etymology: Vavasors is the plural of "vavasor," a term for a lower-ranked feudal tenant, one who held land from a greater lord and in turn had tenants or subordinates of his own. The word sits in the middle of a feudal chain, neither a great baron nor a common peasant, which is why it appears in medieval legal and land records to describe that intermediate rank. The singular "vavasor" is the form that gives the plural its meaning, so the word is best understood as a single rank that appears in the plural when several such tenants are being discussed together. Writers who use "vavasors" are usually referring to a group of these middling landholders, rather than to any one individual.

Synonyms: vassals, tenants, subtenants