Legal Definitions - milites

The term milites is a historical legal term that refers to individuals with military obligations or roles, primarily in ancient Roman and medieval European legal systems.

• In Roman law, milites referred to members of the military, essentially soldiers.
• In medieval European feudal systems, particularly in England, milites designated knights who were part of a royal army. Their military service was a condition of their feudal tenure, meaning they held land from the crown or a lord in exchange for providing armed service.
• In Scots law, the term similarly applied to freeholders—landowners who held their estates from barons—and were obligated to provide military service as a condition of their landholding.

Examples:

• Imagine a young man in the 2nd century AD who enlists in a Roman legion stationed along the Rhine frontier. He undergoes rigorous training and dedicates his life to military service for the Empire.

  Explanation: This individual, as a professional soldier in the Roman army, would be referred to as a miles (the singular form of milites), directly illustrating the Roman law definition of a military member.

• Consider Sir Geoffrey, a knight in 13th-century England, who holds a large manor directly from the King. The terms of his land ownership (his feudal tenure) require him to personally serve in the King's army for forty days each year, bringing with him a specified number of armed men and horses.

  Explanation: Sir Geoffrey, by virtue of his landholding and the accompanying obligation to provide military service as a knight to the royal army, embodies the historical definition of one of the milites.

• In 15th-century Scotland, a landowner named Ewan holds a significant estate from a powerful local baron. The legal agreement for Ewan's land explicitly states that he must provide military assistance to the baron, including joining his retinue with his own arms and armor, whenever the baron is called upon for defense or royal service.

  Explanation: Ewan, as a freeholder obligated to military service under his baron due to his land tenure, fits the description of one of the milites within the context of Scots law.