sergeanty, in European feudal society, a form of land tenure granted in return for the performance of a specific service to the lord, whether the king or another. Sergeants included artisans, bailiffs within the lord’s realm, domestic servants, and sometimes those who provided the lord with some form of military service. When land was not available, the sergeants were maintained in the lord’s household. Those who were tenants were subject to many feudal dues but were relieved of paying taxes and performing certain labours.
Land held by sergeanty was not to be sold or divided among heirs, but in practice there was much alienation and subdivision. In England attempts were made in the 13th century to control these activities. As a result, the holders of the alienated portions were required to pay rent or do a quota of knight service, and the unalienated portion remained charged with the original duty. Later a fine was charged to sergeants who alienated their land without the king’s permission.
Conflict and rivalry often occurred between sergeants and the lord’s regular vassals, largely because the former were often of a lower class, quite often serfs, yet they had many of the rights and privileges of the free vassals. Many indeed were free, particularly in England, or became so by the 13th century, as in France.
The sergeants themselves were often divided into two well-defined groups. In England there was a grand sergeanty, a tenure so noble that it ranked socially above knight service, and a petty sergeanty, a tenure so meagre that it ranked with the peasants’ tenure, called socage. In origin there was no distinction between sergeanties, but inevitably those bringing their holders into immediate contact with the sovereign acquired prestige and became known as grand sergeanties.