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grant of a quantity of land called a knight’s fee, which in extent 
was twelve plough lands, or as much as could be reasonably 
ploughed in one year by twelve ploughs. By some it was said to 
be eight hundred acres, and by others six hundred and eighty. Its 
value in those days was about #20 per annum; and the fee was 
granted by solemn and public delivery of the land itself by the 
lord to the vassal, and perfected by homage and fealty. Now, I 
dare say some of you would like to know in what homage and 
fealty consisted. Lord Lyttleton tells us that homage is the most 
honourable service of reverence that a frank tenant may do to his 
lord, and this is how he described homage to have been done by 
aman: “He should be ungirt and his head uncovered, and his 
lord shall sit and the tenant shall kneel before him on both his 
knees, and hold his hands jointly together between the hands of 
his lord and say thus:—‘I become your man from this day forth, of 
life and limb and earthly worship, and unto you shall be true and 
faithful, and bear to you faith for the tenements that I claim to hold 
of you, saving the faith that I owe to our sovereign lord the king,’ 
and then the lord so sitting shall kiss him.” But in the case of a 
lady doing homage, she only said :—“I do you homage, and to 
you shall be faithful and true, and faith to you shall bear for 
the tenements I hold of you, saving the faith I owe to our 
sovereign lord the king.” But here no kiss was administered. 
When a freeholder did fealty, he held his hand upon the book 
and said, ‘“‘ Know ye this, my lord, that I shall be faithful and 
true to you, and that I shall lawfully do to you the customs 
and services which I ought to do at the times assigned, so 
help me God and his saints,” and he then kissed the book; but 
he did not kneel. There was also this great difference between 
homage and fealty, homage could not be done to any but to the 
lord himself, but the steward or bailiff could take fealty for the 
lord. Other services were afterwards added by the lord very 
similar to those which they in their turn had to render to the king. 
The first were aids, three in number :—To ransom the lord’s 
person if taken prisoner; to make his eldest son a knight, 
