All 3 Uses of
vassal
in
The Magic Mountain
- Craftsmen and peasants, no matter in what honor they may be held, own no land, they are vassals of those who do own it.†
Chpt 6.3 *
- Indeed, until well into the late Middle Ages, the majority of people, even those in the cities, were vassals.†
Chpt 6.3
- There was Clavdia Chauchat herself, that charming, softly treading patient and traveler, who was Peeperkorn's vassal, by choice and conviction, to be sure—yet the sight of a cavalier from a long-ago Mardi Gras night on such good terms with her lord and master always made her somewhat uneasy, honing her emotions to a point.†
Chpt 7.4
Definition:
someone subservient to and dependent upon another -- especially part of the hierarchy in feudal times