Bastard feudalism as well as recruiting local gentry into their affinities. By offering money instead of land, lords could afford to retain more followers. In return for becoming retainers, the gentry would expect to rely on their lord's influence in local and national politics. This practice was known as "maintenance". The retainer might wear his lord's livery badge or the grander form, a livery collar, which could be very useful in a courtroom. Under a weak king, such as Henry VI (reigned 1422–1461 and 1470–1471), the rivalries of magnates might spill over from the courtroom to armed confrontations, thereby perverting justice. Since
Ralph Hastings (died 1495) to the crown by the attainder on 4 November 1461 of Sir William Vaux, later slain at Tewkesbury. He held numerous offices during the reign of Edward IV, including Keeper of the Lions and Leopards in the Tower of London. In 1470 he was Controller of Customs in Lynn, Norfolk, as well as Controller of Petty Customs in London. He was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1471, and represented the county in Parliament as Knight of the Shire in 1472. In 1472 he and his eldest brother, William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, were granted licence to found a guild at