“The Faithful Vassal” Analysis
“The Faithful Vassal” was a letter that Fulbert, the bishop of Chartres, wrote in 1020, to advise Duke William of Aquitaine on the concern of “fealty” of vassals. The document states that when a vassal and a lord declare loyalty to one another they must be “harmless, safe, honorable, useful, easy, and practicable.” However, it is not just these six traits that make vassals loyal, they should also hold faithful “counsel and aid their lord.” Loyalty is not just based upon the vassal but upon the lord ruling over him. The lord, too, must reciprocate the same loyalty that the vassal is intended. It appears that this letter was produced to advice lords on how to maintain the peace between themselves and their vassals.…show more content… It also expresses that it was not just one party, lords or vassals, who struggled with their loyalty; since the letter not only guided vassals but also the lords. This can be backed up with evidence of what was occurring at the time this letter was written. During the High Middle Ages many communities were started to revolt by creating a self-government called communes. The people who lived in the communes did not care for the taxation, request of military services, and the right that courts held justice; because they saw this as their lord taking away their right and ability to be their own people. It can be interpreted from the document and knowledge of the time that, because there was a need for a bishop to step in and lend advice towards peace between lords and their vassals, feudalism was starting to fade