What do we call the ceremony where a vassal becomes the lord’s man?

The story behind the answer

This was the formal rite where a vassal knelt, placed his hands within the lord’s, and declared “I become your man” (Latin: homo), creating a personal bond of service and protection. It typically preceded or accompanied the oath of fealty (the promise of loyalty), which is why fealty isn’t the ceremony itself. Investiture and enfeoffment refer instead to the symbolic and legal granting of the fief—often a clod of earth, a charter, or a staff.

Rooted in the Latin word for “man,” the ritual publicly marked who owed whom military aid, counsel, and hospitality. Variants like “liege homage” prioritized a principal lord when a vassal served several masters, helping structure the overlapping allegiances of medieval feudal society.