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Retinues
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', itself from ''retenir'', from the Latin ''retenere'': to hold back or retain. Employment Such retainers were not necessarily in the domestic service or otherwise normally close to the presence of their lord, but also include others who wore his livery (a kind of uniform, in distinctive colours) and claimed his protection, such as musicians and tutors. Some were a source of trouble and abuse in the 15th and early 16th century. Often their real importance was very different from their rank: on the one hand, sinecures and supernumerary appointments allowed enjoying benefits without performing full service. On the other hand, 'having the ear' of the master can allow one to act as a confidant in an informal capacity; or in some cases, even as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wars Of The Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought between supporters of two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: Lancaster and York. The wars extinguished the male lines of the two branches, leading to the Tudor family inheriting the Lancastrian claim to the throne. Following the war, the Houses of Lancaster and York were united, creating a new royal dynasty and thereby resolving their rival claims. For over thirty years, there were greater and lesser levels of violent conflict between various rival contenders for control of the English monarchy. The War of the Roses had its roots in the wake of the Hundred Years' War. After fighting a series of armed conflicts with France, the English monarchy's prestige was weakened by emergent socio-economic troubles. This weakened ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rus (region)
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia'' (Penguin, 1995), p.14–16.Kievan Rus Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encompassing a variety of polities and peoples, including East Slavic, Norse, and Finnic, it was ruled by the , fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Affinity (medieval)
In post-classical history, an affinity was a collective name for the group (retinue) of (usually) men whom a lord gathered around himself in his service; it has been described by one modern historian as "the servants, retainers, and other followers of a lord", and as "part of the normal fabric of society". It is considered a fundamental aspect of bastard feudalism, and acted as a means of tying magnates to the lower nobility, just as feudalism had done in a different way. One form of the relationship was known as livery and maintenance. The lord provided livery badges to be worn by the retainer and "maintenance" or his support in their disputes, which often constituted obstruction of judicial processes. Origins One of the earliest identifiable feudal affinities was that of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, who by 1190 had gathered a force around him consisting of men without necessarily any strong tenurial connection to him. Rather than receiving land, these men recei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retainers And Fee'd Men Of Richard Neville, 5th Earl Of Salisbury
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (1400 – 31 December 1460) was a fifteenth-century English northern magnate. He was the eldest son by the second wife of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, from whom he inherited vast estates in Yorkshire and the North West of England. He was a loyal Lancastrian for most of his life, serving the king, Henry VI, in France, on the border with Scotland, and in many of the periodic crises of the reign. He finally joined York in his last rebellion in the late 1450s and became a Yorkist leader during the early parts of the Wars of the Roses. This led directly to his death following the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460, when he was captured and subsequently put to death in Pontefract Castle. Salisbury is one of the leading magnates for whom historians lack information regarding his expenditure on annuities while having some idea as to that on retainers. As the historian Michael Hicks has put it, Salisbury attempted to extend the power a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comitatus
''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lord and his retainers, or thanes (OE þegn). The concept is generally considered by scholars to be more of a literary trope rather than one of historical accuracy. Scholars Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson describe the ''comitatus'' more fully:An heroic warrior brought up in this 'comitatus''tradition would show a reckless disregard for his life. Whether he was doomed or not, courage was best, for the brave man could win ''lof'' lory among menwhile the coward might die before his time. This is the spirit which inspired the code of the ''comitatus''. While his lord lived, the warrior owed him loyalty unto death. If his lord were killed, the warrior had to avenge him or die in the attempt. The lord in his turn had the duty of being gener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great House
A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom and the Gilded Age in the United States. Definition There is no precise definition of "great house", and the understanding of varies between countries. In England, while most villages would have a manor house since time immemorial, originally home of the lord of the manor and sometimes referred to as "the big house", not all would have anything as lavish as a traditional English country house, one of the traditional markers of an established "county" family that derived at least a part of its income from landed property. Stately homes, even rarer and more expensive, were associated with the peerage, not the gentry. Many mansions were demolished in the 20th century; families that had previously split ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodyguard
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, wealthy people, and celebrities — from danger: generally theft, assault, kidnapping, assassination, harassment, loss of confidential information, threats, or other criminal offences. The personnel team that protects a VIP is often referred to as the VIP's security detail. Most important public figures, such as heads of state, heads of government, and governors are protected by several bodyguards or by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or police forces (e.g., in the United States, the Secret Service or the Diplomatic Security Service of the State Department). In most countries where the head of state is also their military leader, the leader's bodyguards have traditionally been royal guards, republican ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Svita
His Imperial Majesty's Retinue, ''His Imperial Majesty's Suite'' (abbr. ''H. I. M. Retinue'', ''H. I. M. Suite''; , e.g. ) was a retinue unit of personal aides to the Russian Emperor, who usually were officers of the Army or the Guards units. The aides to the Tsar were routinely assigned honorary title of ''Adjutant''; it was used in parallel with existing personal military, court or civil rank as defined in the Table of Ranks. Anna of Russia was the first Sovereign who assigned an Adjutant General () as her personal military aide in the rank of ''General-Poruchik'' (, Lieutenant General). Since 1775, Pavel I additionally honored a handful of his Guards officers (in an equivalent of Colonel ranks) with a ''Fliegel Adjutant'' (флигель-адъютант), an equivalent of Aide-de-camp. Nicholas I formally created the Suite in 1827 and introduced a title of Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Clan
A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, which regulates Scottish heraldry and coats of arms. Most clans have their own tartan patterns, usually dating from the 19th century, which members may incorporate into kilts or other clothing. The modern image of clans, each with their own tartan and specific land, was promulgated by the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott after influence by others. Historically, tartan designs were associated with Lowland and Highland districts whose weavers tended to produce cloth patterns favoured in those districts. By process of social evolution, it followed that the clans/families prominent in a particular district would wear the tartan of that district, and it was but a short step for that community to become identified ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manrent
Manrent refers to a Scottish contract of the mid-15th century to the early 17th century, usually military in nature and involving Scottish clans. The bond of manrent was commonly an instrument in which a weaker man or clan pledged to serve, in return for protection, a stronger lord or clan—in effect becoming a vassal that renders service to a superior, often made in the form of a covenant. Manrents were a ''Promise by one person to serve another, uchthat he shall be friend to all his friends, and foe to all his foes''. Some bonds of manrent, described as ''bonds of friendship'', took place between men or clans of equal power, worded in the form of treaties of offensive and defensive alliance. These contracting parties bound themselves to assist each other. Manrents always acknowledged and prioritized the signatory's duty of allegiance to the King, in terms such as: "…always excepting duty to our lord the king". In the same manner, when men who were not chiefs of clans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Druzhina
In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland, a druzhina, drużyna, or družyna ( Slovak and cz, družina; pl, drużyna; ; , ''druzhýna'' literally a "fellowship") was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain, also called ''knyaz.'' The name is derived from the Slavic word ''drug'' ( друг) with the meaning of "companion, friend". Early Rus' In Early Rus', a druzhina helped the prince administer his principality and constituted the area's military force. The first members of a druzhina were the Varangians, whose princes established control there in the 9th century. Soon, members of the local Slavic aristocracy and adventurers of a variety of other nationalities became druzhinniki. The druzhina's organization varied with time and survived in one form or another until the 16th century. The druzhina was composed of two groups: the senior members, later known as boyars, and the junior members, later known as boyar scions. The boyars were the prince's closest a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dienstmann
A ''Dienstmann'' (plural: ''Dienstleute'' or, in Austria, ''Dienstmänner'') was a medieval retainer or vassal and, later, a hired man, in German-speaking countries, particularly in Austria until the first half of the 20th century. Usage The term ''Dienstmann'' first surfaced in the Middle Ages as a Germanicization of the Latin word ministerialis, for men, who served at a court and, in the course of time, were raised to be armigers with a social status similar to that of free knights (''Ritter''). However the term ''Dienstmann'' could also refer to men who were obliged to pay duties or render socage to their liege lords a '' socager'', or ''socman''. Unlike ministeriales, they held a lower social rank equivalent to the English serf.Bachrach, Bernard S. "Charlemagne and the Carolingian General Staff" Journal of Military History 66, no. 2 (2002) p. 316-7 Later, the term described was used to describe a hired man who, in public service or in a private household, was contracte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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