In post-classical history, an affinity was a collective name for the group (retinue) of (usually) men whom a lord gathered around himself in his service; it has been described by one modern historian as "the servants, retainers, and other followers of a lord", and as "part of the normal fabric of society". It is considered a fundamental aspect of bastard feudalism, and acted as a means of tying magnates to the lower nobility, just as feudalism had done in a different way.
One form of the relationship was known as livery and maintenance. The lord provided livery badges to be worn by the retainer and "maintenance" or his support in their disputes, which often constituted obstruction of judicial processes.
Origins
One of the earliest identifiable feudal affinities was that of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, who by 1190 had gathered a force around him consisting of men without necessarily any strong tenurial connection to him. Rather than receiving land, these men received grants of office and the security of Pembroke's proximity to the king. Historian Michael Hicks has described it as a "personal, not feudal" connection, which David Crouch called an early example of a bastard feudal relationship. On the other hand, a hundred years later, the earl of Lincoln gathered bodies of men—often from among his tenants—from his estates in Lincoln, who were still linked to the earl feudally through their tenure of his land.
Composition
Central to a noble affinity was the lord's indentured retainers, and beyond them was a more amorphous group of general supporters and contacts. The difference, K. B. McFarlane wrote, was that the former did the lord "exclusive service" but the latter received his good lordship "in ways both more and less permanent" than the retainers. Christine Carpenter has described the structure of the earl of Warwick's affinity as "a series of concentric circles" with him at the centre. It has been noted that a lord only had to gather a relatively small number of people around in areas where he was strong, as members of his affinity supported not only him but also each other; thus, the number of men who could come to his aid was often far greater than the number of men he actually knew. These were men the lord trusted: for example, in 1459, on the verge of the Wars of the Roses, the earl of Salisbury gathered the closest members of his affinity to him in Middleham Castle and took their advice before publicly coming out in support of the rebellious duke of York.
The lord would often include men in positions of local authority, for example Justices of the peace, within his affinity. On the other hand, he might, as John of Gaunt did in the later fourteenth century, recruit people into his affinity regardless of their social weight, as an expression of his "courtly and chivalric ambitions", as Anthony Goodman said. A contemporary described these as "kin, friendis, allys and parttakaris" ("kin, friends, allies, and partakers") to the lord. Members of the affinity could usually be identified by the livery the lord would distribute for their identification with him; this could range from simple armbands to "a more exclusive form of livery—exclusive metal mounted riband bands"; high-ranking members of John of Gaunt's retinue—a "highly prized" position—wore the Collar of Esses. The members of the affinity closest to the lord were those of most use: the estate officials, treasurer, stewards, and often more than one lawyer.
Later Middle Ages
By the late Middle Ages, kings such as Richard II and Henry IV had created their own affinities within the regional gentry, for political as well as martial motives. They were therefore at a greater distance from the royal court, but they were also more numerous than the household knights of earlier kings. By the fifteenth century, most regional agents of the crown were considered to be in the king's affinity, as they had a closer connection to the crown than ordinary subjects. By the reign of Henry VI, E. F. Jacob estimated that the number of squires employed by the king in the localities increased from 150 to over 300.