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A vassal is a person in the European feudal system who is loyal to a lord or monarch (and will often provide military support) in exchange for privileges, usually including land. In the play, the townspeople in Fuente Ovejuna are the Commander’s vassals, as he is a member of the Spanish nobility.
Vassal Quotes in Fuente Ovejuna
The Fuente Ovejuna quotes below are all either spoken by Vassal or refer to Vassal. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 3
Quotes
The people there
Have mercilessly killed their lord
And master: Fernán Gómez murdered by
His faithless subjects, vassals who,
Believing they’d been wronged, rose up
Without good cause. These people called
Him tyrant, and on the strength of that
Committed this foul deed. They broke into
His house, and though he offered, as
An honourable man, to see
To their complaints, not only did
They fail to heed his words but rained
Upon the Cross upon his breast
A thousand cruel blows.
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ESTEBAN: Your Majesty, we wish
To be your loyal vassals. You are
Our rightful King, and so we have displayed
Your coat of arms in our town,
We pray you will be merciful,
Accepting our innocence as our defence.
KING: There is no written evidence
As proof of your guilt, and so,
Although this was a serious crime,
You must be pardoned.
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Vassal Term Timeline in Fuente Ovejuna
The timeline below shows where the term Vassal appears in Fuente Ovejuna. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
...Though the Commander might be able to garner a few soldiers, he explains that his vassals are humble people who are more accustomed to fields than battles. The Master and Commander...
(full context)
Act 3
Esteban concludes by saying that they want to be the King’s vassals—they even displayed his coat of arms in the town. He asks the King to be...
(full context)
