Homage — Middle Ages

The story behind the answer

Depicted is the classic feudal act in which a kneeling vassal places his joined hands between the lord’s, declaring himself the lord’s man (from Latin homo). This personal submission created the bond; the oath of fealty was the sworn promise that typically followed, investiture was the symbolic bestowal of the fief (a charter, rod, or clod of earth), and enfeoffment the legal grant itself.

Publicly performed in a hall before witnesses, it bound the lord to protection and maintenance and the vassal to counsel, court attendance, and military service, often sealed with the “kiss of peace.” The rite was foundational to medieval power structures, especially in France and Norman England, shaping networks of loyalty that held the feudal order together.