Knight service

Knight service
Knight service Knight" serv"iceAlso Knight's service Knight's service . 1. (Feud. Law) The military service by rendering which a knight held his lands.

2. (Eng. Feud. Law) A tenure of lands held by knights on condition of performing military service. See {Chivalry}, n., 4. [1913 Webster]

By far the greater part of England [in the 13th century] is held of the king by knight's service. . . . In order to understand this tenure we must form the conception of a unit of military service. That unit seems to be the service of one knight or fully armed horseman (servitium unius militis) to be done to the king in his army for forty days in the year, if it be called for. . . . The limit of forty days seems to have existed rather in theory than practice. --Pollock & Mait. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

3. Service such as a knight can or should render; hence, good or valuable service. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Knight-service — was the dominant and distinctive tenure of land as a fief associated with a knight under the English feudal system.Early historyIt is associated in its origin with that development in warfare which made the mailed horseman, armed with lance and… …   Wikipedia

  • knight service — noun also knight s service Etymology: Middle English knightes service 1. : the military service by rendering which a knight held his lands; also : the tenure of lands held on condition of performing military service …   Useful english dictionary

  • knight service — ▪ feudal law       in the European feudal system, military duties performed in return for tenures of land. The military service might be required for wars or expeditions or merely for riding and escorting services or guarding the castle. To… …   Universalium

  • knight-service — A species of tenure under the feudal system under which each knight or soldier held a knight s fee and was bound to attend the king in his wars forty days in each year. This service in time degenerated into pecuniary commutations or aids until… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • knight service — noun (in the Middle Ages) the tenure of land by a knight on condition of performing military service …   English new terms dictionary

  • Knight Service — ♦ Unpaid military service, usually of forty days duration, owed to lord or king in return for tenure of land. (Frame, Robin. Colonial Ireland, 1169 1369, 144) Related terms: Knight s Fee …   Medieval glossary

  • knight-service — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Knight's service — Knight service Knight serv iceAlso Knight s service Knight s service . 1. (Feud. Law) The military service by rendering which a knight held his lands. 2. (Eng. Feud. Law) A tenure of lands held by knights on condition of performing military… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Knight's fee — (Feudal Law) The fee of a knight; specif., the amount of land the holding of which imposed the obligation of knight service, being sometimes a {hide[1](b)} or less, sometimes six or more hides. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • knight — n. & v. n. 1 a man awarded a non hereditary title (Sir) by a sovereign in recognition of merit or service. 2 hist. a a man, usu. noble, raised esp. by a sovereign to honourable military rank after service as a page and squire. b a military… …   Useful english dictionary

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