Original: The development of the vassal , in a society that was increasingly organised around the concept of '' lordship '' -- in French the seigneur -- provides one of the threads by which the onlooker can see the Early Middle Ages evolving out of Late Antiquity .
Simplified: Western vassalage The development of the vassal , in a society that was increasingly organised around the concept of '' lordship '' -- in French the seigneur -- is one sign that Antiquity ended and the Early Middle Ages began .