An Anglo-Saxon term for the obligation or duty imposed on landowners to serve in the fyrd, or the tax paid in place of military service.
From Old English fyrd plus a suffix denoting obligation or action, this compound term reflected the feudal system where military service could sometimes be commuted to payment.
Fyrdung shows how even ancient warfare involved bureaucracy—wealthy landowners could sometimes pay money instead of showing up with weapons, creating the first military 'exemption fees' in English history!
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