scutage or shield-money was commutation in lieu of knight service as a fixed levy on the fee. From an early period after the Norman Conquest it became difficult to raise an adequate number of knights to form the royal army, nor was their military prowess necessarily satisfactory. The person holding the fee might be old, infirm, or even a female. There were therefore advantages to both sides in allowing landowners to buy themselves out, and as early as 1100 the term scutage had come into use. But the temptation to monarchs to raise the levy and to impose scutage more often made the issue controversial. John increased both the rate of scutage and the frequency of demands and an article of Magna Carta declared that scutage must be imposed only ‘by common counsel of our kingdom’. When Edward I revived scutage in 1279 for his Welsh expedition he met with opposition, and Edward III's attempts to levy scutage for a Scottish campaign in 1327 were largely unsuccessful, the arrears of payment having to be wiped off.

J. A. Cannon

scutage (hist.) tax levied on knights' fees, esp. in lieu of military service. XV. — medL. scūtāgium, f. L. scūtum shield; see -AGE.