frankpledge
a system of dividing a community into tithings or groups of ten men, each member of which was responsible for the conduct of the other members of his group and for the assurance that a member charged with a breach of the law would be produced at court.
a member of a tithing.
the tithing itself.
Origin of frankpledge
1Words Nearby frankpledge
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use frankpledge in a sentence
Headborough, Borsholder, and Chief-frankpledge are three words which describe the same functionary.
A History of Police in England | W. L. Melville LeeIt is not unlikely that the whole system of frankpledge grows out of this requirement.
Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William MaitlandThe servants of the Crown were not, as now, bound in frankpledge for each other.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayThe sheriff held his turn twice a year and viewed frankpledge once a year.
Our Legal Heritage, 5th Ed. | S. A. ReillyA similar conclusion has been reached as to Canute's responsibility for the institution known as frankpledge.
Canute the Great | Laurence Marcellus Larson
British Dictionary definitions for frankpledge
/ (ˈfræŋkˌplɛdʒ) /
the corporate responsibility of members of a tithing for the good behaviour of each other
a member of a tithing
a tithing itself
Origin of frankpledge
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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