frankpledge
Americannoun
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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.
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a member of a tithing.
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the tithing itself.
noun
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the corporate responsibility of members of a tithing for the good behaviour of each other
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a member of a tithing
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a tithing itself
Etymology
Origin of frankpledge
1250–1300; Middle English fra ( u ) nkplegge < Anglo-French frauncplege. See frank 1, pledge
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
About this time these societies, each having its headman, were called frithborhs, or peace-borhs, and the Normans translated the Anglo-Saxon word by frankpledge.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language" by Various
Tithing and surety, two Old English institutions which were the roots of the later frankpledge, are mentioned in the laws of Canute; but they were still distinct.
From Canute the Great The Rise of Danish Imperialism during the Viking Age by Laurence Marcellus Larson
In a formal fashion courts leet for the view of frankpledge were held in the time of the jurist Selden, and a few of these have survived until the present day.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language" by Various
A bailiff and receiver of profits arising from the sale of woods was paid £4 and the steward of the abbot of Cirencester was paid 6s. 8d. for holding the abbess’ view of frankpledge.
From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Eileen Power
The system of frankpledge prevailed in some English boroughs.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
