1. A tax or fee paid by a feudal vassal to his lord in lieu of military service.
Usage: archaic; historical; chiefly British history

Examples

• In medieval England, a knight could pay escuage instead of serving in the king's army.
• The lord collected escuage from his vassals who were unable or unwilling to fight.
• Escuage became an important source of royal revenue during the 12th and 13th centuries.
• Some nobles preferred to pay escuage rather than leave their estates for extended military campaigns.
• The practice of escuage gradually declined as feudalism weakened in Europe.