fyrd

[furd]

noun

the militia in Anglo-Saxon England.
the duty to serve in this militia.

Origin of fyrd

< Old English fyrd, fierd, akin to faran to go, fare

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fyrd

Historical Examples of fyrd

Nevertheless, the main defence of the country rested with the "fyrd."
Freedom In Service
Fossey John Cobb Hearnshaw
Harold got together a large fleet to guard the Channel, and called out the fyrd of the southern counties to defend the coast.
Battles of English History
H. B. (Hereford Brooke) George
The English army at Hastings consisted of the fyrd and the corps of huscarles.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6
Various
By the laws of King Ine161 the gesithcundmen were fined and forfeited their land if they neglected their 'fyrd:'
The English Village Community
Frederic Seebohm
If a gesithcund man owning land neglect the fyrd, let him pay cxx.
The English Village Community
Frederic Seebohm

British Dictionary definitions for fyrd

fyrd

noun

history the local militia of an Anglo-Saxon shire, in which all freemen had to serve

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012