FAMILIA REGIS

Lit. 'king's household'. In the AnNor. kingdom, this was basically a military establishment, because from before the Normans and long after, as the king was commander-in-chief, his household was necessarily military. It functioned both as the fighting and the administrative heart of the king's army and the realm. Senior army officers were often also senior government officials. In William I's case the army was the means by which he had acquired the throne, and certainly the means by which he, and later his sons, held, maintained and defended it. Usually referred to as the familia. -

Cf. Constitutio Domus Regis; Domus Regis; Leges Henrici Primi