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Simple English definitions for legal terms
knight-service
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A quick definition of knight-service:
Knight-service is a type of land ownership where a knight holds land from someone else or the king in exchange for promising to fight in the military. This is called a pledge of military service. The knight has to serve for forty days in a year if the king needs them. Most of the land in England was held by knight-service. It was rare for the king's tenants to hold land by any other type of ownership.
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: Knight-service is a type of land tenure where a knight holds land from another person or the Crown in exchange for a promise to provide military service. It is also known as knight's service or ward holding in Scots law. This is different from other types of land tenure such as base service, socage, and villeinage.
For example, in medieval England, a knight might hold land from the king in exchange for providing military service for forty days each year. This was known as the service of one knight or fully armed horseman.
This type of land tenure was common in medieval Europe and was used to ensure that the king or lord had a ready supply of trained soldiers in times of war. The knight would be responsible for providing his own armor and weapons and would be expected to fight on horseback.