Legal Definitions - castle-guard

Castle-guard refers to a historical system in feudal England related to the defense and maintenance of castles. It encompassed several aspects:

• The duty of a tenant, often a knight or landowner, to provide military service by guarding a lord's castle for a specified period.
• The specific type of land tenure or agreement that obligated a tenant to perform this defensive service.
• A payment or tax that could be made to the lord as an alternative to physically performing the guard duty, allowing the lord to hire professional soldiers instead.
• The territory or land from which this duty or tax was levied.

In essence, castle-guard was a fundamental part of the feudal system, ensuring the continuous protection of vital strongholds.

Examples:

• Imagine a knight named Sir Reginald, who holds a small estate from the Baron of Blackwood. As part of his feudal agreement, Sir Reginald is obligated to perform "castle-guard" for 40 days each year at Blackwood Castle. During this time, he would oversee patrols, man the ramparts, and ensure the castle's defenses were secure against potential threats.

  This illustrates castle-guard as the direct military service or duty a tenant owed to their lord for the protection of the castle.

• Lady Eleanor inherited a manor from her father, which was subject to castle-guard service to the Earl of Stonehaven. However, Lady Eleanor, being a woman and not trained for military service, could not personally fulfill the duty of guarding the Earl's castle. Instead, she paid an annual sum of silver to the Earl. This payment allowed the Earl to hire a mercenary to stand watch in her place, fulfilling the castle-guard obligation financially.

  This demonstrates castle-guard as a tax or payment made in place of the actual military service, a common practice when personal service was impractical or undesirable.

• The village of Oakhaven was historically part of the "castle-guard lands" associated with the formidable Fortress of Ironpeak. Every household within Oakhaven, by virtue of their tenancy on these lands, was collectively responsible for contributing either labor or a specific levy of grain and livestock to support the garrison at Ironpeak. This arrangement ensured the continuous readiness of the fortress, with the entire village's tenure tied to its defense.

  This example highlights castle-guard as a form of land tenure where the obligation to support the castle's defense (either through direct service or contributions) was tied to the land itself, and also illustrates the concept of a "territory" subject to this duty.