ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Fealty

Fealty is a big word that means being loyal to someone or something.

Imagine you have a best friend who you really like. You enjoy being around them, playing games with them, and having fun. You might say that you are loyal to your friend because you always want to be with them and you never want to betray them. This is a lot like fealty.

Fealty was very important a long time ago, like in medieval times. The king would ask his knights to give him their fealty, which meant that the knights promised to always support the king and be loyal to him.

When a knight gave their fealty to the king, they would usually kneel in front of him and place their hands on a holy book. They would say some special words to show that they were serious about their promise.

Fealty was a way to show that you were a trustworthy person who could be counted on to help out when needed. It was a bit like making a promise to always be there for someone, even when things got tough.