liegeadj.n.
/liːdʒ/, U.S. /li(d)ʒ/ A. adj.
1. The characteristic epithet of persons in the relation of feudal superior and vassal.† c. transferred of persons in other relationships: Entitled and bound to mutual fidelity. Obsolete.
a. Of the superior: Entitled to feudal allegiance and service. Now rare except in liege lord, which is also used figuratively.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > lord > [noun] > feudal lord
lordOE
liege lord1297
seignior1393
liegec1440
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > lord > [adjective] > feudal
liege1297
seigneurial1656
seignorial1818
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > lord or lady > [adjective] > entitled to feudal allegiance service
liege1297
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > lord or lady > [noun] > lord > feudal lord
lordOE
liege lord1297
seignior1393
liegec1440
seigneur1592
señor1845
flaith1861
flath1873
1292 Britton iii. iv. §18 Si aucun deive fere homage a autre seignur lige qe a nous.]
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9376 Vr lige louerd þat yeled is And ismered to ihesu crist.
1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 33 Owre lige Lorde the Kyng.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 144 Men schull don him reverence As to here liege soverein.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 346 Þat my legge lady lyked not ille.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 30 Not so my liege lorde.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 248 Oure lyge lorde, kynge henry the Fyfte.
1549 H. Latimer 1st Serm. before Kynges Grace sig. Bvii It hath pleased god to graunt vs a naturall liege kynge and Lorde.
c1620 T. Robinson Mary Magdalene (1899) ii. lxxxiv. 1566 Shee..followes her Leige-Lorde ye villages throughout.
1770 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xli. 116 You deserted the fortune of your liege Lord.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles ii. xx. 63 Who, vassals sworn, ’Gainst their liege lord had weapon borne.
1845 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 I. i. 97 Originally a feudatory of Jaypur, the Raja had taken advantage of the enfeebled condition of his liege lord.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake II. ii. 36 That is the rule of our liege lord King William.
b. Of the vassal: Bound to render feudal service and allegiance. (Cf. liegeman n.) †Also, owing allegiance to (law).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal power > [adjective] > liable to legal authority of
liege1362
amenable1765
society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > [adjective]
liege1362
lordfasta1500
vassal1565
feudary1587
feudatory1592
feudatary1614
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > [adjective] > bound or under obligation > to a lord
liege1362
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. iv. 147 Al my lige leodes.
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 290 Kyngis schulde constreyne..here lyge freris & here oþere clerkis.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1174 Þe lawe þat he was lege tylle.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur ii. i [They] brente and slewe the kynges true liege peple.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 105 They shoulde be arreasted by the Kings liege people as vagabondes.
c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 80 A false traitor to his Praynce..and a seditious person to the kinges leighe people.
1689 S. Johnson Remarks Dr. Sherlock's Bk. 19 Every Leige-Subject of England has a Legal Property in his Life.
1823 W. Scott Peveril II. i. 21 I had..a right to call on every liege subject to render assistance.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon 379/1 Liege, bound by some feudal tenure; subject.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > [adjective] > bound or under obligation > of persons in other relationships
liegea1375
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 4128 I schal loue him lelli as my lege broþer.
a1555 J. Philpot in M. Coverdale Certain Lett. Martyrs (1564) 236 The lyuyng lord, which..hath begotten you to be my liege syster, geue you grace so to grow in that generation, that [etc.].
d. Used for: Loyal, faithful. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > fidelity or loyalty > [adjective]
holdc893
trueOE
leala1300
truefula1350
faithfula1375
true-hearted1465
liege1478
well-wishing1548
allegiant1556
vowed1560
lewtifull1563
whole-chested1576
devotious1583
devote1597
loyal-hearted1599
devoted1600
resolved1600
real1639
fidelious1650
liegeful1872
1478 Certificate in Surtees Misc. (1888) 37 He is a trewe, lige Inglis man.
1890 C. A. Ansell tr. A. da Montefeltro Confer. in Rome 46 The materialist, liege to his own system, is incapable of doing anything but put one after another the results of his observations.
2. Of or pertaining to the bond between superior and vassal.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > [adjective] > of or relating to bond
liege1399
1399 Rolls of Parl. IV. 424/2 Homage liege and Feaute.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 367 Land held by this exalted species of fealty was called feudum ligium, a liege fee.
1856 Bouvier's Law Dict. U.S.A. (ed. 6) I. 588 Homage was liege and feudal. The former was paid to the king, the latter to the lord.
1970 M. Jones Ducal Brittany ii. 47 The formula used on this occasion, despite the recitation of two former homages obviously liege, was ambiguous.
B. n.
1. The superior to whom one owes feudal allegiance and service; = liege lord at sense A. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > lord > [noun] > feudal lord
lordOE
liege lord1297
seignior1393
liegec1440
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > lord or lady > [noun] > lord > feudal lord
lordOE
liege lord1297
seignior1393
liegec1440
seigneur1592
señor1845
flaith1861
flath1873
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 302/2 Lyche, lady or lorde,..ligius.
1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid xii. Prol. 247 The larkis..Lovys thar lege with tonys curyus.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 42/2 Ye my liege quod the Duke of Buckingham thei haue [etc.].
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 134 Þe lege þat hom lede shuld.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. iii. sig. O7v The Miser threw him selfe..Streight at his foot in base humilitee, And cleeped him his liege, to hold of him in fee.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing i. i. 273 My liege, your Highnesse nowe may doe mee good. View more context for this quotation
1623 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie (rev. ed.) v. sig. L2 Shee..Most humbly begging in hir Dorik straines..Of hir deare Liege leaue to be gone.
1637 R. Humfrey tr. St. Ambrose Christian Offices ii. 41 He would not be profuse and prodigall of another mans good, much lesse of his Leiges.
1705 J. Philips Blenheim 396 The Natives, dubious whom They must Obey, in Consternation wait, Till rigid Conquest will pronounce their Liege.
1706 J. Addison Rosamond i. vi Nay, good my Liege, with patience hear.
1785 W. Paley Moral & Polit. Philos. (1818) I. 191 The form of doing homage at this day, by putting the hands between the knees, and within the hands of the liege.
1788 J. Wolcot Peter's Pension 1 No less, my Royal Liege, than You and Me.
1823 W. Scott Peveril IV. x. 243 ‘In the name of God, my liege,’ said the Duke of Ormond, ‘let’ [etc.].
1837 R. Browning Strafford ii. ii. 35 My liege, do not believe it! I am yours.
2. A vassal bound to serve his superior, a liege man. Hence in a wider sense: A loyal subject of the king.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > [noun] > vassal
manlOE
subjectc1350
liegemana1375
liege1377
feudary1387
servant?a1400
vassala1400
feedmanc1460
sidesman1462
feeman1517
feudatary1586
feudatory1765
leud1812
geneat1861
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xix. 56 Alle his lele lyges.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 338 The kinges founde here oghne liege..That hem forsoke and desobeide.
1414 Rolls of Parl. IV. 22/2 Youre humble and trewe lieges that ben come for the Co[mmun]e of youre lond.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 303/1 Lyche, man or womann (P. ligius).
1450–80 tr. Secreta Secret. 47 God almyȝty kepe oure kynge to ioye of his ligeys.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 661 Xxti thousand off lele legis off Frans.
1549 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 271 Tha had offendit..to the quenis grace of Scotland, in the taking,..of the said William..he beand hir fre liege and subdict.
1648 D. Jenkins Wks. Contents sig. A4v His Leidges are bound by Oath to remove the King.
1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar ii. 148 For kings and all that are in authority we may..pray for peaceable reign, true lieges, strong armies [etc.].
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. ii. 21 Her Majesty being detained by her gracious desire, to receive the homage of her lieges.
1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) I. 97 The emperor's lieges.
1880 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea (ed. 4) VI. ix. 380 In future campaigns the lieges shall not be the marplots they were in the days of Lord Raglan.
Compounds
liege homage n. Feudal Law (now historical) homage between a vassal and a liege.A vassal would typically do liege homage to one person only as the obligations it entailed took precedence over other types of homage; cf. simple homage n. at simple adj., n., adv., and int. Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > feudal homage or allegiance > [noun] > types of
liege homagec1400
homage ancestral?1538
simple homage1606
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 163 In presence of þe wise man Pandolf, þe Popis Suthdekne, we makeþ liege homage, as it were in þe Popes presence.
1750 T. Carte Gen. Hist. Eng. II. 401 The French maintaining it was a lige homage.
1765 Act 5 Geo. III xxvi. Preamb. To hold to the said John..by liege homage.
1818 H. Hallam View Europe Middle Ages I. i. 97 They..always refused to pay liege-homage, which implied an obligation of service to the lord.
1922 Studies: Irish Q. Rev. 11 170 Liege homage could be due to only one lord, while simple homage might be due to every lord under whom land was held.
1996 Speculum 71 698 He [sc. the Scots king] was released only after performing liege homage to Henry for Scotland.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > feudal homage or allegiance > [noun] > one who
homagerc1425
liege homager1608
1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 71 They would acknowledge them~selves..liege-homagers for it to the Crowne of France.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† liegev.
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To render (homage) as a liege.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > serve feudal superior [verb (transitive)]
servec1300
to serve and suea1375
liege1570
1570 J. Foxe tr. P. de Valois Epist. in Actes & Monuments (rev. ed.) I. 474/1 You are entred into our homage by you lieged vnto vs, acknowledgyng your selfe..a liege man vnto the kyng of Fraunce.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
<
adj.n.1297
v.1570