subvassals
/sʌbˈvæsəlz/
noun
- Plural of subvassal; multiple people or groups that hold land or authority from a vassal.
- In the feudal system, subvassals could be knights or minor nobles.
- Subvassals often paid taxes to their immediate lord rather than to the crown.
- The king's vassals had their own subvassals who managed smaller territories.