knight service

knight-service. Hist. A type of lay tenure in which a knight held land of another person or the Crown in exchange for a pledge of military service.

— Also termed knight’s service; (Scots law) ward holding. Cf. BASE SERVICE; SOCAGE; VILLEINAGE.

“By far the greater part of England is held of the king by knight’s service (per servitium militare): it is comparatively rare for the king’s tenants in chief to hold by any of the other tenures. In order to understand this tenure we must form the conception of a unit of military service. That unit seems to be the service of one knight or fully armed horseman (servitium unius militis) to be done to the king in his army for forty days in the year, if it be called for.” 1 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I 254 (2d ed. 1898).

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译者Jessie，毕业于亚洲顶尖的高级翻译学院，擅长翻译各种与能源、自然资源与利用相关的法律文件。