CHIVALRY, in Law, is used for a tenure of lands by knight's service, whereby the knight was bound to perform service in war unto the king, or the mesne lord of whom he held by that tenure. And chivalry was either general or special: general, when it was
only in the feoffment that the tenant held per servitium militare, without any specification of serjeantry, escuage, &c. special, when it was declared particularly by what kind of knight service the land was held.
For the better understanding of this tenure it hath been observed, that there is no land but is holden immediately or immediately of the crown by some service; and therefore all freeholds that are to us and our heirs, are called feuda or feoda, "fees;" as proceeding from the king for some small yearly rent, and the performance of such services as were originally laid upon the land at the donation thereof. For as the king gave to the great nobles, his immediate tenants, large possessions for ever, to hold of him for this or that service or rent; so they in time parcelled out to such others as they liked the same lands for rents and services as they thought good; and these services were by Littleton divided into two kinds, chivalry and socage; the first whereof was martial and military, the other rustic. Chivalry, therefore, was a tenure of service, whereby the tenant was obliged to perform some noble or military office unto his lord: and it was of two kinds; either regal, that is, held only of the king; or common, where held of a common person. That which might be held only of the king was called servitium or sergentia; and was again divided into grand and petit serjeantry. The grand serjeantry was where one held lands of the king by service, which he ought to do in his own person: as, to bear the king's banner or spear, to lead his host, to find men at arms to fight, &c. Petit serjeantry was when a man held lands of the king, to yield him annually some small thing towards his wars, as a sword, dagger, bow, &c. Chivalry that might be holden of a common person was termed seutagium, "escuage;" that is, service of the shield; which was either uncertain or certain.
Escuage uncertain, was likewise two-fold: first, where the tenant was bound to follow his lord, going in person to the king's wars, either himself, or sending a sufficient man in his place, there to be maintained at his expence, so long as was agreed upon between the lord and his first tenant at the granting of the fee; and the days of such service seem to have been rated by the quantity of land so holden; as, if it extended to a whole knight's fee, then the tenant was to follow his lord 40 days; and if but to half a knight's fee, then 20 days: if a fourth part, then ten days, &c. The other kind of this escuage was called castle ward, where the tenant was obliged, by himself, or some other, to defend a castle as often as it should come to his turn. And these were called escuage uncertain; because it was uncertain how often a man should be called to follow his lord to the wars, or to defend a castle, and what his charge would be therein.
Escuage certain, was where the tenure was set at a certain sum of money to be paid in lieu of such service; as that a man should pay yearly for every knight's fee 20s. for half a knight's fee 10s. or some like rate; and this service, because it is drawn to a certain rent, growth to be of a mixed nature, not merely socage, and yet socage in effect, being now neither personal service nor uncertain. The tenure called chivalry had other conditions annexed to it: but there is a great alteration made in these things by the stat. 12 Car. II. c. 24. whereby tenures by knight's service of the king,
Chivalry. or any other person in capite, &c. and the fruits and consequences thereof, are taken away and discharged; and all tenures are to be construed and adjudged to be free and common soccage, &c.