Caput baroniae

In the customs and laws of the kingdom of England, the caput baroniae (from Latin 'head of the barony') was the ancient, or chief, seat or castle of a nobleman — the primary place of his baronial court. The caput baroniae was not to be divided between multiple daughters (if there was no son to inherit); instead, the whole of it was to descend entirely to the eldest daughter caeteris filiabus aliunde satisfactis, 'other daughters having been satisfied elsewhere'.

The Leges Henrici Primi stated that a lord's tenants would (when escalating disputes or like matters) have to go to the caput of their [land-] lord, even if it was in another county.

The central settlement of an Anglo-Saxon multiple estate (an estate which had main and subsidiary settlements) was called a caput (also short for caput baroniae).

The word is also used for the centre of administration of a hundred, as well as of the early feudal honour.

References

↑ Corèdon, Christopher (2004). "Honour". A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-84384-023-7. JSTOR 10.7722/j.ctt14brrmq. OCLC 316719708.
↑ Aston, Michael (1997) [First published 1985]. Interpreting the Landscape (Revised ed.). London; New York: Psychology Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-415-15140-5. LCCN 97196478. OCLC 37626605.

Bibliography

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "CAPUT: Caput Baroniæ". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. pp. 156–7.

[middictionary-1] Corèdon, Christopher (2004). "Honour". A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-84384-023-7. JSTOR 10.7722/j.ctt14brrmq. OCLC 316719708.

[2] Aston, Michael (1997) [First published 1985]. Interpreting the Landscape (Revised ed.). London; New York: Psychology Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-415-15140-5. LCCN 97196478. OCLC 37626605.