Editing Commendation ceremony (section)

{{Short description|Feudal ritual}}
[[File:David Bruce, king of Scotland, acknowledges Edward III as his feudal lord.jpg|thumb|[[David II of Scotland|David Bruce, King of Scotland]], acknowledges [[Edward III of England]] as his feudal lord (1346), in a manuscript of [[Froissart]]'s Chronicles, c. 1410]]

A '''commendation ceremony''' (''commendatio'') is a formal [[ceremony]] that evolved during the [[Early Middle Ages|Early Medieval]] period to create a bond between a [[lord]] and his fighting man, called his [[vassal]]. The first recorded ceremony of ''commendatio'' was in 7th century France, but the relationship of ''vassalage'' was older, and predated even the medieval formulations of a [[Nobility|noble]] class.  The lord's "man", might be born unfree, but the ''commendatio'' freed him.

When two men entered into a [[feudal]] relationship, they underwent the ceremony. The purpose of the commendation was to make a chosen person a vassal of a lord. The commendation ceremony is composed of two elements, one to perform the act of [[Homage (medieval)|homage]] and the other an oath of [[fealty]]. In some countries, such as the [[Kingdom of Sicily]], the commendation ceremony came to be referred to as [[investiture]].