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distraint of knighthood
distraint of knighthood. The post-Conquest military obligations attached to knighthood were not necessarily welcome and increasingly avoided. In theory landowners of a certain status were required to present themselves at coronations to be knighted. Henry III began campaigns to oblige freeholders with estates worth £20 p.a. to take up knighthoods, issuing writs of distraint. At this stage, the motive was primarily military but later monarchs were more interested in the revenue they could raise by allowing subjects to compound or pay fines. By Tudor times the estate value had been raised to £40 p.a., but distraints were little used. Charles I, in his search for extra-parliamentary revenue, ordered the records of the Tower to be inspected to discover devices, and from 1630 began distraining, allowing the victims to compound at less than the cost of a fine. Considerable revenue was raised and even more considerable animosity. When the Long Parliament met, John Selden in 1641 carried an Act declaring distraints unlawful and Charles was obliged to give his assent. At the Restoration knight service was abolished.
J. A. Cannon |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "distraint of knighthood." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "distraint of knighthood." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-distraintofknighthood.html JOHN CANNON. "distraint of knighthood." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-distraintofknighthood.html |
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distraint of knighthood
distraint of knighthood Post‐Conquest military obligations attached to knighthood were increasingly avoided. In theory landowners of a certain status were required to present themselves at coronations to be knighted. Henry III began campaigns to oblige freeholders with estates worth £20 p.a. to take up knighthoods, issuing writs of distraint. At this stage, the motive was primarily military but later monarchs were more interested in the revenue they could raise by allowing subjects to compound or pay fines. Charles I, in his search for extra‐parliamentary revenue, recommenced distraining. Considerable revenue was raised and even more considerable animosity.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "distraint of knighthood." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "distraint of knighthood." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-distraintofknighthood.html JOHN CANNON. "distraint of knighthood." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-distraintofknighthood.html |
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