The role of a vassal was to pay homage to a knight.
Homage was a special ceremony of allegiance. A vassal was in a subordinate position, pledging his loyalty and homage to the knight he served. A vassal could give "fealty" -- a lesser oath of loyalty -- to more than one lord. But "homage" was a personal relationship of loyalty to one specific "liege-lord." The knight or lord would be the "liege-lord" of the vassal.
Feudalism was a complex system of relationships between people of different classes. The king stood at the top of the complex system, and nobles were viewed as holding their lands in exchange for their military service to the king. The nobles then had vassals underneath them. And at the bottom of the system, depending on the upper classes for protection and laws, were the peasants, who gave a share of their produce to the lords above them as their part of the exchange.
<span>The role of vassal is to be ready to serve in a standing army. A vassal is a special servant of a lord, who is a powerful and rich landowner. A lord's gives a share of his land to a vassal for his promise to follow all the laws stated by the lord and be ready to fight for him. Also, a lord could be another lord's vassal, there was no limits for such a deal.</span>
