A vavasour (also vavasor;

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Modern French ''vavasseur'';

Italian ''valvassore'', ''varvassore''; Late Latin">Italian_language.html" ;"title="French language">Modern French ''vavasseur''; Italian language">Italian ''valvassore'', ''varvassore''; Late Latin ''vavassor'') is a term in feudalism">feudal law Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring societ ...

. A vavasour was the

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

or leasehold estate#History, tenant of a feudal baron, baron, one who held his tenancy under a baron, and who also had tenants under him.

Definition and derivation

The derivation of the word is obscure. It may be derived from ''vassi ad valvas'' (at the folding-doors, valvae), i.e. servants of the royal antechamber. Du Cange regarded it merely as an obscure variant of ''vassus'', probably from ''vassus vassorum'' "

of the vassals". Alternative spellings include vavasor, valvasor, vasseur, vasvassor, oavassor, and others. In its most general sense the word thus indicated a mediate vassal, i.e. one holding a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

under a vassal. The word was, however, applied at various times to the most diverse ranks in the feudal hierarchy, being used practically as the synonym of vassal. Thus tenants-in-chief of the crown are described by Emperor Conrad II as ''valvassores majores'', as distinguished from mediate tenants, ''valvassores minores''. Gradually the term without qualification was found convenient for describing sub-vassals, tenants-in-chief being called ''capitanei'' or ''barones''; but its implication, however, still varied in different places and times.

Bracton Henry of Bracton (c. 1210 – c. 1268), also known as Henry de Bracton, Henricus Bracton, Henry Bratton, and Henry Bretton, was an English people, English Catholic priest, cleric and jurist. He is famous now for his writings on law, particular ...

ranked the ''magnates seu valvassores'' between

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s; for him they are "men of great dignity," and in this order they are found in a charter of King

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

(1166). But in the '' regestum'' of King

Philip II Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

of France we find that five vavassors are reckoned as the equivalent of one knight. Finally, Du Cange quotes two charters, one of 1187, another of 1349, in which vavassors are clearly distinguished from nobles. Vavasours subdivide again to vassals, exchanging land and cattle, human or otherwise, against fealty. - ''Motley''.

In fiction

* Used as a Christian name (Colonel Vavasour Devorax) in the novel ''A Crowning Mercy'' by Bernard Cornwell and Susannah Kells (aka Judy Cornwell). * Used twice as a surname by Dorothy L. Sayers, once in '' Murder Must Advertise'' (Miss Ethel Vavasour, Jim Tallboy's girlfriend), and once in '' Have His Carcase'' (Maurice Vavasour, a pseudonym of the murderer). * Used as a surname by

John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, Literary adaptation, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Marcel Proust, Proust, via Vladimir Nabokov, Nabokov", ...

in '' The Sea'' (Miss Vavasour). * Used in Arthurian Romances, by Chretien de Troyes in ''Perceval: The Story of the Grail'' (Everyman Classics 1991). "You can say that the vavasor who fitted on your spur taught and instructed you." p. 397. * Vavasor is a surname in Anthony Trollope's '' Can You Forgive Her?'' * Used in '' The Sandman'' graphic novel (1989, issue 10) as well as its television adaptation (2022, episode 7) * Vavasor is the surname of a '' Some Girls'' character - Holli Jane Vavasor, played by Natasha Jonas. * Used as the Christian name of Sir Vavasour Firebrace, a proud baronet, in Disraeli's '' Sybil''. * Used in William Morris' The Well at the World's End where King Peter's subjects are described as "sturdy vavassors" who would not accept "masterful doings".

In popular culture

In the 1980s

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

'' The Paper Chase'', Season 2, Episode 16 ("My Dinner with Kingsfield"), Contract Law Professor Charles W. Kingsfield plays the word "vavasor" and earns 60 points in a

Scrabble ''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a Board game, game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, re ...

game with his student James T. Hart while staying at Hart's residence during a snowstorm that has immobilized Kingsfield's car. He defines the word to Hart (who has never heard it before) as a "medieval term for 'tenant slightly below a baron.''The Paper Chase,'' Season 2, Episode 16: "My Dinner with Kingsfield" (YouTube)
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References

{{reflist Feudalism in France he:ווסור

Definition and derivation

In fiction

In popular culture

See also

References