Definition
And Guestling is an archaic English term referring to a type of assembly or court historically associated with the Cinque Ports — a medieval confederation of coastal towns in southeastern England (originally Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich, later expanded). "And Guestling" denotes the formal convocation or meeting of representatives from the member ports and their associated towns, at which matters of common concern to the confederation were deliberated and decided. The term is inseparable from the institutional body known as the Brotherhood and Guestling, of which it forms a part.
In its fuller institutional context, the Brotherhood referred to the barons and representatives of the head ports, while the Guestling referred to deputies or representatives from the subordinate or "limb" towns attached to those ports. Together, the Brotherhood and Guestling constituted the governing assembly of the Cinque Ports confederation, exercising quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions over maritime and local matters within the confederation's jurisdiction.
Common Confusion
"And Guestling" is frequently encountered as a fragment of the longer institutional name "Brotherhood and Guestling" and should not be treated as a standalone institution separate from that body. Bouvier directs readers from this entry to the fuller entry on BROTHERHOOD AND GUESTLING, COURT OF, signaling that "And Guestling" as a discrete term is essentially a cross-reference artifact rather than an independently defined legal concept. Researchers encountering "And Guestling" in historical documents should understand it as referring to the subordinate or limb-town component of the broader assembly, not to the whole body.
Why It Matters in Research
The primary research value of this entry is navigational: historical legal texts, charters, and court records relating to the Cinque Ports may refer to the "Guestling" or "And Guestling" either as part of the full assembly name or, in some contexts, as a shorthand for the subordinate members' meeting alone. Researchers working in English legal history, maritime law, or the constitutional history of borough corporations need to be alert to this ambiguity.
The Cinque Ports confederation enjoyed substantial royal privileges — including rights of self-governance, toll exemptions, and admiralty jurisdiction — that were administered through the Brotherhood and Guestling. Sources predating the gradual erosion of these privileges in the nineteenth century will use this terminology in an active, operative legal sense. Post-reform sources treat it largely as a historical curiosity.
Because Bouvier's entry is a bare cross-reference, researchers should not rely on it for substantive content and should proceed directly to the fuller treatment under BROTHERHOOD AND GUESTLING, COURT OF. The entry's truncated form in the available Bouvier text ("COURT OF CHANCERY, or CHAN-") suggests the source material is incomplete at this point, and corroborating historical sources — including works on the constitutional history of the Cinque Ports — will be necessary for thorough research.
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier's Law Dictionary provides no independent definition here, directing the reader immediately to BROTHERHOOD AND GUESTLING, COURT OF. This is consistent with the term's character: "And Guestling" is not a self-standing legal concept but a component phrase. Bouvier's treatment reflects the standard approach of nineteenth-century American legal dictionaries to obscure English institutional terms — minimal acknowledgment, with redirection to the fuller entry.
Other historical English legal dictionaries and institutional histories of the Cinque Ports provide greater depth, but those sources fall outside the present corpus. Researchers should be aware that American legal dictionaries generally give thin treatment to Cinque Ports terminology, reflecting the irrelevance of that institution to American law. The appearance of the term in Bouvier at all is attributable to Bouvier's comprehensive coverage of English legal history as background to the common law tradition.
Jurisdictional Note
This term is exclusively English in origin and application. It has no operative meaning in American, Canadian, or other common law jurisdictions outside England. Its legal significance is historical even in England, where the Cinque Ports retain largely ceremonial status. Researchers will encounter it only in connection with English medieval and early modern legal history.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See: Brotherhood and Guestling, Court of