Legal Definitions - de scutagio habendo

de scutagio habendo

De scutagio habendo is a historical legal term that means "for having scutage." It refers to a writ, or written order, that was given to a tenant-in-chief by knight's service to either serve in a war, send a substitute, or pay a sum of money. If the tenant-in-chief paid the required fine, they could then receive a writ authorizing them to recover the scutage from their knight's fees.

For example, if a baron was ordered to serve in a war but could not go, they could pay a fine instead. Once they paid the fine, they could receive a writ de scutagio habendo, which would allow them to recover the scutage from their tenants.

Another example would be if a lord had already served in a war or paid the required fine, they could use the writ to recover the scutage from their knight's fees. This meant that they could collect money from their tenants to help pay for the war.

These examples illustrate how de scutagio habendo was used in medieval times to help fund wars and ensure that knights fulfilled their duties to their lords and the king.