Knight's fee
Encyclopedia
In feudal
Anglo-Norman
England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a measure of a unit of land deemed sufficient from which a knight
could derive not only sustenance for himself and his esquire
s, but also the means to furnish himself and his equipage with horses and armour to fight for his overlord in battle. It was effectively the size of a fee
(or "fief" which word is synonymous with "fee") sufficient to support one knight for one year in the performance of his feudal duties of knight-service
. A knight's-fee cannot be stated as a standard number of acre
s as the required acreage to produce a given crop or revenue would vary depending on, amongst other factors, its location, richness of soil and climate.
, or land held in-hand, which process was known as subinfeudation
, and establishing therein a new manor
for the use of a knight who would become its tenant by paying homage
to his new overlord. This homage was a vow of loyalty to provide knight-service
, generally to a maximum of 40 days per annum, signifying that he would have to fight for his overlord in battle. No cash rent was payable. A knight was required to maintain the dignity of knighthood, which meant that he should be well-turned out, with the required number of esquires
to serve him in battle, and with horses, arms and armour for all.
It can thus be seen that the knight's fee was the base unit of land valuation for use in the feudal system.
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a measure of a unit of land deemed sufficient from which a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
could derive not only sustenance for himself and his esquire
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
s, but also the means to furnish himself and his equipage with horses and armour to fight for his overlord in battle. It was effectively the size of a fee
Fee
A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup.Traditionally, professionals in Great Britain received a fee in contradistinction to a payment, salary, or wage, and would often use guineas rather than pounds as units of account...
(or "fief" which word is synonymous with "fee") sufficient to support one knight for one year in the performance of his feudal duties of knight-service
Knight-service
Knight-service was a form of Feudal land tenure under which a knight held a fief or estate of land termed a knight's fee from an overlord conditional on him as tenant performing military service for his overlord....
. A knight's-fee cannot be stated as a standard number of acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s as the required acreage to produce a given crop or revenue would vary depending on, amongst other factors, its location, richness of soil and climate.
Creation of Knight's-fees
A knight's fee could be created by a magnate or by the king himself by separating off an area of land from his own demesneDemesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
, or land held in-hand, which process was known as subinfeudation
Subinfeudation
In English law, subinfeudation is the practice by which tenants, holding land under the king or other superior lord, carved out new and distinct tenures in their turn by sub-letting or alienating a part of their lands....
, and establishing therein a new manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
for the use of a knight who would become its tenant by paying homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to his new overlord. This homage was a vow of loyalty to provide knight-service
Knight-service
Knight-service was a form of Feudal land tenure under which a knight held a fief or estate of land termed a knight's fee from an overlord conditional on him as tenant performing military service for his overlord....
, generally to a maximum of 40 days per annum, signifying that he would have to fight for his overlord in battle. No cash rent was payable. A knight was required to maintain the dignity of knighthood, which meant that he should be well-turned out, with the required number of esquires
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
to serve him in battle, and with horses, arms and armour for all.
Used as a unit for tax assessment
A feudal magnate was assessed for certain Feudal aids according as to how many knight's-fees he was overlord to. Where a knight's-fee was inherited by joint heiresses, the fee would be split into 2 separate manors, each deemed 1/2 a knight's-fee, and so-on down to smaller fractions. Thus a magnate could be overlord to, say, 12 1/2 knight's fees.Subinfeudation
A knight's-fee was not only originally created by the process of subinfeudation, but could itself be split into smaller units by the same process, otherwise than through inheritance. By this means, until the practice was outlawed, a knight could create his own feudal retainer who would pledge fealty to him rather than to the overlord. Such a holding was termed a sub-fee.It can thus be seen that the knight's fee was the base unit of land valuation for use in the feudal system.