Legal Definitions - tenure in chivalry

Tenure in chivalry refers to a historical system of landholding prevalent during the feudal era, where a person (the tenant) held land from a superior lord or the king in exchange for military service. Rather than paying rent in money or goods, the tenant's primary obligation was to provide armed men, knights, or personal military service when summoned. This system was fundamental to medieval society, ensuring that rulers had a standing force available for defense and warfare.

Here are some examples illustrating how tenure in chivalry operated:

• Imagine a powerful baron in medieval England who was granted a vast estate directly by the King. Under the terms of his tenure in chivalry, the baron was obligated to supply the King with twenty fully armed knights, complete with their horses and squires, for forty days of service each year whenever the King called upon them for battle or defense. In return for this military commitment, the baron held the land and its revenues.

• Consider a knight who held a smaller manor from a local lord, who himself held land from the King. This knight's tenure in chivalry meant that he was personally required to serve in his lord's retinue for a specific period annually, bringing his own armor, weapons, and warhorse. His right to live on and profit from the manor was contingent upon fulfilling this personal military duty to his immediate lord.

• Picture a strategic castle located near a volatile border. A noble was granted control over this castle and the surrounding lands by the monarch. His tenure in chivalry stipulated that he must not only maintain the castle's fortifications but also keep a garrison of a certain number of soldiers ready at all times to defend the realm against invasion. The land and its income supported this military readiness, which was the core condition of his holding.