Caput baroniae
Chief seat of a barony
In the customs and laws of the kingdom of England, the caput baroniae (from Latin 'head of the barony') was the ancient, or chief, seat or castle of a nobleman, the primary place of his baronial court. The caput baroniae was not to be divided between multiple daughters (if there was no son to inherit); instead, the whole of it was to descend entirely to the eldest daughter caeteris filiabus aliunde satisfactis, 'other daughters having been satisfied elsewhere'.
The Leges Henrici Primi stated that a lord's tenants would (when escalating disputes or like matters) have to go to the caput of their [land-] lord, even if it was in another county.
The central settlement of an Anglo-Saxon multiple estate (an estate which had main and subsidiary settlements) was called a caput (also short for caput baroniae).
The word is also used for the centre of administration of a hundred, as well as of the early feudal honour.
Sources and credits
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