Battels meaning : A single combat. (Oxford University, chiefly in the plural) Fees charged by a college for accommodation and living expenses. (Oxford University, chiefly in the plural) Provisions ordered from the kitchen and buttery. (Eton College) A small allowance of food collegers receive from their dames (matrons) in addition to their college allowance A contest, a struggle. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement. A division of an army; a battalion. The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia.