In the customs 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, which was not to be divided among the daughters upon his death, in case there be no son to inherit. Instead, 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 have to go to the caput of the lord, even if it was in another county.[1]
The central settlement in an Anglo-Saxon multiple estate was called a caput[2](also short for caput baroniae). The word is also used for the centre of administration of a hundred as well as the early feudal honour.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "CAPUT: Caput Baroniæ". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. pp. 156–7.
