Re: Homage and Fealty

[PETERSR@spiegel.becltd.com (Peters, Rise J.)]

Poster: PETERSR@spiegel.becltd.com (Peters, Rise J.)

Homage and fealty are not inconsistent; Littleton cites, in Sec. 88, a 
couple doing both:

"Sec. 88. [Inter alia] Also, a man may see a good note in M. 15 E. III [I 
don't know the reference but expect it is to a Year Book], where a man and 
his wife did homage and fealty ... which is written in this form.  Note, 
that J. Lewkner and Eliz. his wife did homage to W. Thorpe in this mannner: 
 the one and the other held their hands jointly between the hands of W.T. 
and the husband saith in this form:  We do to you homage, and faith to you 
shall bear, fo rthe tenements which we hold of A., your conusor, who hath 
granted to you our services of B. and C. and other towns, &c., against all 
persons, saving the faith which we owe to our lord the king, and to his 
heirs, and to our other lords; and both the one and the other kissed him. 
 And after they did fealty, and both of them held their hands upon the book, 
and the husband said the words, and both kissed the book."

Clearly consistent with the idea of "fealty" is that fealty is taken in 
person, not by proxies, whereas an agent can take homage.  But fealty, in 
period (again, according to Littleton) did not involve kneeling or 
uncovering the head, which imply submission, whereas homage did.  Sec. 91. 
 I don't think current modern-day dictionary usage seems to have much to do 
with 
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