GenWestUK: A-Z Challenge 2016: K is for Knight Service

Wednesday, 13 April 2016

A-Z Challenge 2016: K is for Knight Service

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will be familiar with the Knight Bus from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The Knight Bus is a triple-decker, purple AEC Regent III RT that assists stranded individuals of the wizarding community through public transportation [from harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Knight_Bus], and contains beds, hot chocolate, and toothbrushes.

And now we turn to Knight Service (this is where the fiction stops and the genealogy begins, folks, going right back to William the Conqueror)

William the Conqueror was very dependent upon his knights. So he divided up the land among his companions, who were usually Normandy aristocracy, and the parcel of land was subdivided and subdivided until there was enough for a fief (or enough to support one knight). The knight, in return, swore to provide military service. The system disintegrated in the latter half of the 13^th century (when knights became not as essential as foot soldiers). The system was abolished completely in 1660.

4 comments:

Dianne13 April 2016 at 19:08
Interesting, thank you. I did have a couple of ancestors that were knights.
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GeniAus14 April 2016 at 00:40
Don't thnik I'll find a knight in my lot.
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Birgit17 April 2016 at 03:28
I would be surprised if there was a knight in my family tree. On my mom's side we did go back to the late 1600's and they are mainly farmers and blacksmiths. My dad's side??? I am not sure where to begin even.
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