Commendation ceremony

A commendation ceremony (commendatio) is a formal ceremony that evolved during the Early Medieval period to create a bond between a lord and his fighting man, called his vassal (Latin vassus). The first recorded ceremony of commendatio was in 7th century France, but the relationship of vassalage was older, and predated even the medieval formulations of a noble class. The lord's "man" ("vassal" comes from a Celtic word for "boy") might be born unfree, but the commendatio freed him. (See Vassal).

When two men entered into a feudal relationship, they underwent a ceremony known as commendation ceremony. The purpose of the commendation was to make a chosen person a vassal of a lord. The commendation ceremony is composed of two elements, one to perform the act of homage and the other an oath of fealty. In some countries, such as the Kingdom of Sicily, the commendation ceremony came to be referred to as investiture.

Act of homage

The would-be vassal appeared bareheaded and weaponless as a sign of his submission to the will of the lord and knelt before him. The vassal would clasp his hands before him in the ultimate sign of submission, the typical Christian prayer pose, and would stretch his clasped hands outward to his lord.

Ulmus 'Morton Stalwart' Commendation

Ulmus 'Morton Stalwart' (selling name Commendation™), is a Morton Arboretum hybrid cultivar arising from a controlled crossing of Accolade with the hybrid of a Field Elm U. minor (syn. carpinifolia) from eastern Russia and a Siberian Elm Ulmus pumila.

Description

The branches are upright, but the form of the tree is more oval than vase-shaped; the leaves are relatively large. However, examples grown in the warmer climes of the southern United States have not impressed, and it was dismissed, along with its Morton stablemates Triumph and Vanguard, as 'ugly' by Michael Dirr, Professor of Horticulture at the University of Georgia , on account of its 'wild' growth and splaying branches.

Pests and diseases

Although resistant to Dutch elm disease, the tree is moderately susceptible to insects, notably elm leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola,Japanese beetle and Gypsy moth.

Cultivation

Commendation is vigorous and robust, adjudged the third fastest-growing cultivar of 17 assessed by the University of Minnesota and fourth out of 15 in trials at U C Davis. The tree is also extremely tolerant of drought and cold; in artificial freezing tests at the Morton Arboretum the tree was found cold-hardy to -40 °C.