Herefare. An old term from the Saxon, signifying the same as warfare.
Hereford. The chief town of Herefordshire, England, on the Wye. During the Saxon era, the Welsh inflicted considerable damage on this city; it also suffered greatly in the wars of the barons, and under the Plantagenets. During the civil war it held loyally to the cause of the king, and was one of the last places that yielded to the Parliament.
Heregeld. A term derived from the Saxon, signifying a tax which was formerly levied for maintaining an army.
Herera. In Aragon. Here Don Carlos of Spain, in his struggle for his hereditary right to the throne, at the head of 12,000 men, encountered and defeated (August 24, 1837) Gen. Buerens, who had not much above half that number of royal troops.
Hereslita, or Heresilia. A term derived from the Saxon, signifying a soldier who abandons his colors, or deserts the service.
Heretoch, or Heretog. The leader or commander of an army; also, a constable; a marshal.
Heretum. A court in which the guards or military retinue that usually attended the old British nobility and bishops were accustomed to parade or draw up.
Hergate. A term derived from the Saxon, signifying a tribute which was paid in ancient times to the lord of the soil, to enable him to carry on a war.
Herisson. A formidable hedge or chevaux-de-frise; made of one stout beam fenced by a number of iron spikes, and which, being fixed upon a pivot, revolves in every direction upon being touched, always presenting a front of pikes.
Hermandad (Sp.). “Brotherhood.” An association of the principal cities of Castile and Aragon, bound together by a solemn league and covenant for the defense of their liberties in seasons of trouble. The most noteworthy (called Santa Hermandad, or Holy Brotherhood) was established in the middle of the 13th century in Aragon, and in Castile about thirty years later; while in 1295, 35 cities of Castile and Leon formed a joint confederacy, and entered into a compact, by which they pledged themselves to take summary vengeance on every noble who had either robbed or injured a member of their association, and refused to make just atonement for the wrong; or upon any one who should attempt, even by the order of the king, to levy an unjust tax. Isabella of Castile, seeing the beneficial effects which an extension of the institution was capable of producing, obtained the sanction of the Cortes for its thorough reorganization and extension over the whole kingdom in 1496. In 1498, the objects of the Hermandad having been obtained, and public order established on a firm basis, the brotherhood was disorganized and reduced to an ordinary police, such as it has existed, with various modifications of form, to the present century.