Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776Reilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
When the king wanted to raise an army, he summoned his major
baron tenants-in-chief, who commanded their own armed dependent
vassals, and he directed the sheriffs to command the minor
tenants-in-chief and supply them with equipment. A baron could assemble
an army in a day, but might use it to resist any perceived
misgovernment by a king. Armed conflict did not interfere much with
daily life because the national wealth was still composed mostly of
flocks and herds and simple buildings. Machinery, furniture, and the
stock of shops were still sparse. Life would be back to normal within a
week.
Henry wanted to check this power of the barons. So he took over
or demolished their adulterine castles and restored the fyrd, which was
a military draft of every freeman to serve in defense of the realm. At
the King's call, barons were to appear in mail suit and helmet with
sword and horse, knights and freeholders with 213s.[16 marks] of rent
or chattels in coat of mail with shield and lance, freeholders of
133s.[10 marks] with lance and hauberk [coat of armor] and iron
headpiece, burgesses and poorer freemen with lance and headpiece and
wambais, and such as millers with pike and leather shirt. The spiritual
and other baronies paid a commutation for personal service, called
"scutage", at the rate of 27s. per knight's fee. Barons and knights
paid according to their knight's fee a scutage ranging from 10s. to
27s. As of 1181, the military obligations of villeins were defined. The
master of a household was responsible for every villein in his
household. Others had to form groups of ten and swear obedience to the
chief of the group. The sheriff was responsible for maintaining lists
of men liable for military service and procuring supplies. This
national militia could be used to maintain the peace. The sheriff could
call upon the military array of the county as a "posse comitatus" to
take a band of thieves into custody or to quell disorder. For foreign
wars, Henry decided to use a mercenary army and a mercenary fleet.
However, the nobility who were on the borders of the realm had
to maintain their private armies for frequent border clashes. The other
nobility now tended towards tournaments with mock foot battles between
two sides. Although subject to knightly rules, serious injury and death
often resulted. For this reason, the church opposed them, but
unsuccessfully.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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