Definition of Court of chivalry

Court of Chivalry
Strictly speaking, a court of military affairs concerned with the conduct of soldiers under the constable and marshal, the two principle military officers in England or France, or by their representatives. Although the term 'court of chivalry' did not exist formally prior to the 1389, when the English parliament declared the purview of the court to be,
'Cognizance of contracts touching deeds of war out of the realm, and also to things that touch arms of war within the realm, which cannot be determined nor discussed by common law, with other usages or customs to the same matters pertaining, which other constables heretofore have duly and reasonably used in their time.'
So this declaration of 1389 merely formalized a process which was already been in place. During the 15th century, when the feudal terms of service had been replaced by a knight's tenure of service, such courts heard disputes in the contracts of such service, the cases argued by lawyers rather than the knights themselves.
Criminally, the court could hear cases of treason and murder, and it is in cases where there is no direct evidence, where it is the word of one against the other, that trial by combat could be used. Such trials were complicated affairs, growing from such cases to also include disputes over heraldic rights and over matters of honor.