knight service en · NOUN
Etymology
From Middle English knyght service.
Meanings
-
(historical, uncountable) The military service a knight owed to his chief lord as a condition of holding title to his lands and rank.
Land became fully devisable with the abolition of knight-service in 1660, but magnates continued to inherit property which was tied up in strict settlements, giving the current representative of the family no more than a life-tenancy.
1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 585:If they were not heiresses, a lord's daughters were sometimes married off to his knights, but the latter […] might well need an incentive such as a cash payment, land or a reduction in their knight service.
2002, Christopher Gravett, English Medieval Knight 1200-1300, page 43:
- (historical, qualifier:inexact, uncountable) Synonym of knight's fee, the system of land tenure based on such service.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| knight-service | alternative | lexicographic |