The Watford Knight's Fee

One source of funds for the king’s treasury in the Middle Ages was a fee or tax on landholdings across the nation. Most often this was levied as an amount per knight’s fee, for example two marks or twenty shillings per knight’s fee. However, the quantum of land represented by a knight’s fee was notoriously variable. A knight’s fee was the service (read = fee) owed to the king in respect of land granted. Further complicating matters, there was no fixed relationship between

Or perhaps both? Who was John de Swynford? John was the son of William de Swynford of Newbold in Northamptonshire and should not be confused with another of the same name. Our John de Swynford makes several appearances in medieval England during the time of Edward III and his eldest son, Edward, the Black Prince. What did John do to right a wrong? Sometime in or before 1353, our John de Swynford had served King Edward in Brittany, presumably in the furtherance of one of the

The gift of a new book came to me recently. A great demonstration that so many events in The Watford Knight’s Fee directly reflect England’s history. This was The Black Prince, by Michael Jones, published 2018. Sub title: England’s Greatest Medieval Warrior. One of those “sorry dear, can’t put this down”, kind of books. For those, like me, who barely had any perception of this man’s existence, he was Edward, eldest son of King Edward III, therefore, the Prince of Wales, b