A special duty in the Orient was to redeem a feudal lord from captivity among the enemies of the cross, even by pawning or selling one's own fief or that obtained through a wife. The chief duty, however, even in this case, was that of military service, and in the Venetian manuscript is to be found the rule by which this service was to be rendered.
A peculiar case deserves here to be mentioned. It might happen that a man held tenures from two different lords. This was not in itself inadmissible, and he had only, in accepting the latter fief, to make a reservation of his fidelity to an earlier lord. He could then discharge his duty to one by a substitute, and might even render service to one against the other. It was only forbidden personally to fight a feudal lord. John of Ibelin says:
'In such case the vassal shall appear before his lord, and shall say to him, in the presence of his men: 'Sire, I am your man, but with reservation of my duty to N. N. This N. N. now comes in arms against you, and I regret that I cannot help you, because my lord is on the other side, and I cannot bear arms against him, where his body is; I must, therefore, report myself as personally serving neither you nor him. I desire my people to serve you against him who would rob you, and who now leads the contest against you.''
Women to whom a fief or the guardianship of one should fall, could not of course render military service; but in place of this, they were obliged to marry—a punishment by most perhaps not deemed severe, except for the fact that they could not freely choose their own husbands.
John of Ibelin says that 'if a fief fall to a girl of twelve years or more (if younger, she is to be held under a guardian, according to law), the feudal lord can summon her to take a husband.' This may be done by the lord in person, or by his authorized attorney, who thus addresses the lady: 'My lady, I offer you, in the name of my lord (name given), three knights (names all given), and call upon you in his name, within the time of (time specified), to take one of the three whoso names have been given you.' This may not, after all, be a great hardship, for the ladies of our time and land are not sure of three candidates to choose from. These three must of course have been of the lady's own rank, and have given their own consent to the presentation of their names—otherwise it would be no offer.
'If the lady thus warned shall not, within the prescribed time, either choose one of the three candidates, or assign for not doing so a reason acceptable to the court,'—for instance, that she was more than sixty years old would be a valid reason, since if she had a husband living, he would not be required to serve after that age,—'she shall lose the fief for one year, after which time the lord may challenge her again.'
On the other hand, if the lord shall omit to make this demand, the lady can serve a warning upon him, that he must, within three times fourteen days, present her three eligible candidates for her choice in marriage, and if he shall fail to do so, she can then choose for herself. If the lord had failed, however, because he could not find the men who were willing to run the risks of this candidacy, it is difficult to perceive what additional inducements the lady's efforts could furnish.
So much for the law of the chivalry of the kingdom, I now pass to that of the burghers.
The assizes of the burghers' court offer neither in matter nor in form so complete a system as that already noticed. On the contrary, it is but a motley and confused jumble, more like a collection of decisions in concrete cases than a proper law book. They are, however, exceedingly rich in interesting matter.
The character of this burgher class, and indeed its very existence, is a most remarkable phenomenon; for this respectable class, occupying a position almost on a level with that of the nobility, was several centuries later in making its appearance in the Occident. The burgher who struck a nobleman lost his hand, while the nobleman who struck a burgher lost his horse, and must pay one hundred sols. Later, however, the burgher could commute his punishment with a fine of one thousand sols, and must pay one hundred sols as an indemnity, thus making the two cases nearly equal.