InfeudalAnglo-NormanEngland and Ireland, aknight's feewas a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support aknight.It would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish himself and hisretinuewith horses and armour to fight for hisoverlordin battle. It was effectively the size of afief(or "fee" which is synonymous with "feif" ) sufficient to support one knight in the ongoing performance of hisfeudal duties(knight-service).
A knight's fee cannot be stated as a standard number ofacres,as the required acreage to produce a given crop or revenue would vary depending on many factors, including its location, the richness of its soil and the local climate, as well as the presence of other exploitable resources such as afishing weir,quarriesof rock, or mines of minerals. If a knight's fee is deemed coterminous with amanor,an average size would be between 1,000 and 5,000 acres, of which much in early times was still "waste", forest and uncultivated moorland.
Creation
editA knight's fee could be created by the king himself or by one of histenants-in-chiefby separating off an area of land from his owndemesne(land held in-hand), which process when performed by the latter was known assubinfeudation,and establishing therein a newmanorfor the use of a knight who would by the process ofenfeoffmentbecome his tenant by payinghomageand fealty to his new overlord. This homage and fealty was a vow of loyalty to his overlord, with corresponding vow of protection received, and an undertaking to provide a specified form of service commonly due underfeudal land tenure in England.Broadly speaking such service was either military (knight-service) or non-military (serjeanty,etc.). Military service was 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, although military service was later transformable intoscutage.A knight was required to maintain the dignity of knighthood, which meant that he should live in suitable style and be well-turned out in battle, with the required number ofesquiresto serve him and with horses, arms and armour for all.
Used as a unit for tax assessment
editA feudaltenant-in-chiefof the king was assessed for certainfeudal aidsaccording as to how many knight's fees heheld,whether tenanted or held in demesne. Where a knight's fee was inherited by joint heiresses, the fee would be split into two or moremoieties,that is two separate parts, each a manor of itself with its ownmanorial court,each deemed half a knight's fee, and so-on down to smaller fractions. Thus a magnate could be overlord to, say, 121⁄2knight's fees.
Subinfeudation
editA 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 in 1290 by the statute ofQuia Emptores,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.
See also
edit- Examples of feudalismfor historic examples of knight's fees
- Seigneurialism