English Feudal Terms

The following are common English feudal terms of Medieval times.
Credit for this body of work is hereby given to Michael Adams aka Morgoth from November 1988

A

ABBEY: A monastic community of either monks or nuns. Ruled by either an (m.) Abbot or (f.) an Abbess. Many times they owed some form of feudal obligation to a lord or lady or some higher organization. Basically they were self contained units, with all basic functions performed by their residents, and all their needs supplied locally. See also: "Priory" and "Monastery."

ABBOT/ABBESS: Ruler of a monastic abbey. The abbot or abbess generally lived in their own house on the abbey's grounds, eating and sleeping apart from the rest of the community. They also had their own income, again apart from the rest of the monastic lands. Up to the late middle ages,most abbots and abbesses were politically more important than most bishops.

ABJURATION: A renunciation, under oath, of heresy to the Christian faith, made by a Christian wishing to be reconciled with the church.

ADULTERINE CASTLE: A castle build with out a persons liege lords approval.

ADVOCATE: Cleric with a doctorate in Roman or Canon Law with a monopoly of pleading in the Church courts.

ADVOWSON: The right to present a cleric to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice. A valued source of patronage, such rights often came as part of a fief, though it could be granted on its own.

ALDERMAN: Most towns were divided into wards, and each ward had its own elected alderman. The names and functions of Borough Courts varied slightly from town to town, but generally the courts of the aldermen (often called a ward moot) dealt with the settlement of minor offenses.

ALIEN PRIORY: A religious house subject to control of a monastery on the Continent.

ALLOD: Land not held of any feudal superior. In England after 1066 there were no allods.

ALMONER: See: "Obedientiary."

AMERCEMENT: A financial penalty inflicted at the MERCY of the king or his justices for various minor offences. The offender is said to be "IN MERCY" and the monies paid to the crown to settle the matter is called "amercement" (See also Fines).

ANATHEMA: A condemnation of heretics, similar in effect to major excommunication. It inflicts the penalty of complete exclusion from Christian society.

ANCHORITE/ANCHORESS: A person (not necessarily a cleric) living a solitary religious life involving abstinence, chastity, and solitude. Sometimes they are attached to a monastery or church,living in a cell attached to the structure, and sometimes they live alone in the wilderness.

APPEAL: Private accusations by an injured party or his or her kinsmen for a criminal offence.Through the Middle Ages, the majority of criminal cases were brought on appeal.

APOSTATE: The term used to describe one who leaves religious orders after making solemn profession. It is considered a serious crime in the eyes of the church, being not only a breach of faith with God but also with the founders and benefactors of their religious house.

ARD-RIGH (Ir.): High King in Gaelic. RIGH meaning King.

ARPENT: A measure of land roughly equal to a modern acre.

ASSART: To turn woodlands into pasture or cropland. To assart lands within a forest with out license is a grave offence.

ASCETICISM: Severe self-denial undertaken for spiritual reasons.

ASSIZE: The meeting of feudal vassals with the king; it also refers to decrees issued by the king after such meetings. In English contexts it can also signify an inquest into certain matters held under authority of an Assize law, such as the Assize of Bread and Beer, or the Assize of Weights and Measures.

ASYLUM, Right of: (Also called Right of Sanctuary) The right for a Bishop to protect an fugitive from justice or to intercede on his behalf. Once asylum is granted the fugitive cannot be removed, until after a months time. Fugitives who find Asylum must pledge an oath of adjuration never to return to the realm, after which they are free to find passage to the borders of the realm by the fastest way. If found within the borders after a months time they may be hunted down as before with no right of asylum to be granted ever again.

ATTORNEY: The attorney represented clients in formal aspects of litigation, managing suits for absent clients, representing their interests in the various Courts of Law, taking out writs, and instructing pleaders. Professional attorneys appeared much earlier than professional pleaders, and down to the fifteenth century any person (usually a family member or friend) could represent another as his or her attorney even though they themselves were neither professionally trained nor retained.

AUGUSTINIAN CANONS (also AUSTIN CANONS): "Clerical Monks" who followed the Rule of St. Augustine--based on Love of God and Neighbor, respect for authority, care of the sick, and self-discipline. Commonly called "Black Canons" from the color of their habits.

AUSTIN FRIARS: See: "Mendicant Orders."

B

BAILIFF: (1) A manorial official, frequently charged with collecting rents for the landlord or exercising other administrative responsibilities, including the oversight of the agricultural and pastoral activities of the manor. Sometimes a salaried employee, in contrast to the Reeve, who was usually a serf and rewarded with rent reductions or a tenement. (2) A town official, usually in charge of raising the borough farm owed the king or the local lord, along with being the mayor's principal aides. In many towns the bailiff also had his own criminal court. See also: "Borough Courts."

BAN: A King's power to command and prohibit under pain of punishment or death, mainly used because of a break in the King's Peace. Also a royal proclamation, either of a call to arms, or a decree of outlawry. In clerical terms, an excommunication on condemnation by the church.

BANALITIES: Fees which a feudal lord imposes on his serfs for the use of his mill, oven, wine press, or similar facilities. It some times includes part of a fish catch or the proceeds from a rabbit warren.

BARBER-SURGEON: Monastic who shaves faces/heads and performs light surgery.

BARD: A minstrel or poet who glorifies the virtues of the people and chieftains.

BARON: A vassal who holds directly from the crown and serves as a member of the king's great council. It is not, of itself, a title, but rather a description of the Tenants in Chief class of nobility.

BARONS OF THE EXCHEQUER: See: "Exchequer."

BARROW: An earthen burial mound.

BASTARD FEUDALISM: In the Late Middle Ages, the fief (usually land) given in return for military service, evolved into an annual monetary payment by a Lord to his vassal in return for service.

BELTANE EVE: The night of April 30, one of the two times of the year when mortal rules are believed to be suspended and supernatural occurrences are most common. Sometimes called May Day Eve. See Samhain Eve.

BENEDICTINE ORDER: Monastic order founded by St. Benedictine. Benedictine monks took vows of personal poverty, chastity and obedience to their abbot and the Benedictine Rule. There was no overall governing structure for Benedictine monasteries, other than supervision (often disputed)by the local bishop. Commonly called "Black Monks" from the color of their habits.

BENEFICE: (L. beneficium) A grant of land given to a member of the aristocracy, a Bishop, or a monastery, for limited or hereditary use in exchange for services. In ecclesiastic terms, a benefice is a church office that returns revenue. Also known as a the fee, feud, or fief coming from the Germanic feofum which comes from the Frankish "fehu" and "od" meaning live stock and movable possessions or property "chattel".

BENEFIT OF CLERGY: A privilege enjoyed by clerics, including tonsured clerks in minor orders,placing them beyond the jurisdiction of secular courts. All one had to do was claim benefit of clergy,and prove it by reading a line of scripture in Latin. Those who managed to read correctly were remanded to the custody of their bishop, under whom they would, presumably, be tried and punished by incarceration (in the king's courts every felony was punishable by death). In the later middle ages,as lay literacy rates rose, this became an item of abuse.

BISHOP: The holder of this administrative Church office, an ordained priest, having authority over other secular clergy and most regular clergy and friars within his diocese, along with spiritual authority over those lay people within the diocese as well. Hence, a powerful personage within any medieval kingdom.

BLACK CANON: A common name for Augustinian Canons, derived from the color of their robes.

BLACK FRIARS: See: "Mendicant Friars."

BLACK MONKS: A common name for members of the Benedictine Order derived from the color of the habits.

BOOKLAND: In Anglo-Saxon times, land held by charter and normally alienable. See also:"Folkland" and "Laenland."

BOOKS OF HOURS: The most common book to survive from the Middle Ages, this was a portable and usually highly decorated and illuminated prayer book for lay people, especially for women. They are usually the size of the modern pocket-book.

BORDERS, The: Name given to the Border lands between the Avalonian Empire and elsewhere.

BOROUGH: (also burg, burgh and burh) In Anglo-Saxon England, specifically a planned town designed as a military strong point and center of political control in a designated region. Later, a town with the right of self government granted by royal charter.

BOROUGH COURTS: See: "Courts of Law."

BOROUGH-ENGLISH: A term which designates the custom of ultimogeniture (All lands inherited by the youngest son).

BREHON LAWS: (also called Feinechus) An ancient Gaelic legal system.

BURGESS: The holder of land or house within a borough.

C

CANON: A member of the chapter of a cathedral; or of a collegiate church; or of certain religious orders.

CANON LAW: The system of governing The Church, including its clerics and lay persons in areas governed by Church jurisdiction. The latter generally included what today would be termed "Family Law" (marriage, divorce, bastardy), slander and defamation, the making and enforcement of wills,and other matters. Canon law was administered by the Church Courts.

CANONS: See elsewhere for definition.

CANTREF: A welsh political and administrative division, similar to English shires.

CARDINAL VIRTUES: Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice.

CARMELITES: See: "Mendicant Friars."

CARTHUSIANS: A late medieval order of regular clergy, known for their emphasis on learning,contemplation, asceticism, and solitude. In England their houses were usually known as"charterhouses."

CARTULARY: Volume containing copies of charters, deeds, and other legal documents giving title to property. Commonly compiled by monks for their monasteries, but lay lords had them too.

CARUCATE: A measurement of land, equal to a hide (used in Danelaw)

CASTLE: The main center of military and political control in the High and Later Middle Ages. Castles consisted of the following:

• Arrow Loop: A narrow vertical slit cut into a wall through which arrows could be fired from inside.
• Bailey: The yard or ward within the walls.
• Barbican: The gateway or outworks defending the drawbridge.
• Bastion: A small tower at the end of a curtain wall or in the middle of the inner curtain.
• Batten: A sloping part of a curtain wall. The sharp angle at the base of all walls and towers along their exterior surface.
• Battlement: A narrow wall built along the outer edge of the wall walk for protection of the defenders.
• Berm: Flat space between the base of the curtain wall and the inner edge of the moat.
• Cesspit: The opening in a wall in which the waste from one or more garderobes was collected.
• Corbel: A projecting block of stone built into a wall during construction.
• Crenelation: Another term for a battlement.
• Curtain Wall: The outer wall, usually lower and not as strong as the inner curtain.
• Daub: A mud and clay mixture applied over wattle to strengthen and seal it.
• Drawbridge: A heavy timber platform built to span a moat between a barbican and the surrounding land. It could be raised when required to block entrance to the castle.
• Dungeon: The jail, usually found in the base of the main tower.
• Embrasure: The low segment of the alternating high and low segments of a battlement.
• Finial: A slender piece of stone used to decorate the tops of the merlons.
• Garderobe: A small latrine or toilet either built into the thickness of the wall or projected out from it over the moat.
• Gate House: The complex of towers, bridges, and barriers protecting entrance to a castle.
• Great Hall: The building in the inner ward that housed the main meeting and dining area for the castle's residents. Often the residents slept here as well.
• Half-timber: The common form of medieval construction in which walls were made of a wood frame structure filled with wattle and daub.
• Hoarding: A temporary wooden balcony suspended from the tops of walls and towers before a battle, from which missiles could be fired toward the base of the wall.
• Inner Curtain: The high wall that surrounds the inner ward.
• Inner Ward: The open area in the center of a castle.
• Merlon: The high segment of a alternating high and low segments of a battlement.
• Moat/Motte: A deep trench dug around a castle to prevent access from the surrounding land. It could be either left dry or filled with water.
• Mortar: A mixture of sand, water, and lime used to bind stones together permanently.
• Outer Curtain: The wall that encloses the outer ward.
• Outer Ward: The area around the outside of and adjacent to the inner curtain.
• Palisade: A sturdy wooden fence usually built to enclose a site until a permanent stone wall could be constructed.
• Portcullis: A heavy timber grille that could be raised or lowered between the towers of each gatehouse to open or close the passage.
• Postern Gate: A side or less important gate into a castle.
• Putlog Hole: A hole intentionally left in the surface of a wall for insertion of a horizontal pole.
• Rubble: A random mixture of rocks and mortar.
• Scaffolding: The temporary wooden framework built next to a wall to support both workers and materials.
• Siege: The military tactic involving surrounding and isolating a castle, town or strong point by an army until the trapped forces are starved into surrender, or taken by treachery or assault.
• Truss: One of the timber frames built to support the roof over the great hall.
• Turret: A small tower rising above and resting on one of the main towers, usually used as a look out.
• Wall Walk: The area along the tops of the walls from which soldiers defend both castle and town.
• Wattle: A mat of woven sticks and weeds.

CATHEDRAL CHURCH: The church of the diocese where a Bishop has the throne (cathedra) and where he presides. Simplified to Cathedral.

CELLARER: See: "Obedientiary."

CENOBITISM: The monastic life lived in a community as opposed to the solitary life. See:"Eremiticism."

CEORL: In Anglo-Saxon England, the free tenantry. Occasionally, if these could acquire enough land, they might move up to become thegns.

CESSPITS: Though most towns provided some sort of public latrines for the population (often projecting out over a river or bridge), these were mostly inadequate for the size of the town (e.g.,London had sixteen public latrines in a population of 25-30,000). Thus private cesspits proliferated,dug in the yards behind the houses, sometimes even beneath the floorboards of a house, lined by either masonry or wickerwork. At intervals these would be cleaned and the contents either dumped in the local river or spread as manure in the vegetable gardens beyond the walls.

CHAMBER: One of the departments of the Household. Originally the king's personal quarters were his "chamber"--his apartments where he slept, as opposed to the Great Hall, where most of his household ate and slept. By the thirteenth century the chamber had developed into an office with clerks and servants. The importance of the Chamber in royal administration rose and fell over the centuries several times. The Chamber was presided over by the Chamberlain of England (a.k.a. of the Household). By the late fourteenth century the Chamberlain was one of the five main officers of the royal government, along with the Chancellor, the Treasurer, the Keeper of the Privy Seal, and the Steward.

CHAMBERLAIN: An officer of the royal household. He is responsible for the Chamber, meaning that he controls access to the person of the King. He is also responsible for administration of the household and the private estates of the king. The Chamberlain is one of the four main officers of the court, the others being the Chancellor, the Justiciar, and the Treasurer.

CHAMBERLAIN OF ENGLAND (or THE HOUSEHOLD): See: "Chamber."

CHANCERY: Originally part of the Household, by the thirteenth century it had gone "out of court."Its function was to issue charters, letters, and writs under the Great Seal of England. In combination with the Office of the Privy Seal, it provided the essence of a Department of State, Interior, and Defense. It kept copies of its letters on ten major rolls (membranes of parchment sewn together head to foot and rolled up for storage--though the lack of any index made these difficult to use): Charter,Close, Fine, Gascon, Liberate, Patent, Redisseisin, Scottish, Scutage, and Treaty. The officer responsible for the Chancery was the Chancellor. Up until the sixteenth century, most Chancellors were bishops. By 1380 over 100 clerks worked in this office, including some who came to play a significant role in later governmental administration, such as the Master or Keeper of the Rolls and the Keeper of the Hanaper. This office wrote the most formal letters, including appointments to office (from the highest to lowest), major grants (of land, money, privileges, franchises, annuities,etc.), and the many writs required to initiate legal action in the royal Courts of Law, or to conduct various types of judicial and criminal investigations.

CHANCELLOR: The officer of the royal household who serves as the monarch's secretary or notary. The chancellor is responsible for the Chancery, the arms of the royal government dealing with domestic and foreign affairs. Usually the person filling this office is a Bishop chosen for his knowledge of the law. See: "Chancery."

CHANTRY: The endowment, either in perpetuity or for a term of years, of a priest to celebrate mass for the soul of the founder.

CHAPTER: (1) as prescribed in the Benedictine Rule, the daily meeting of a monastic community,which took place in the chapter house, for the reading of a chapter of the Rule, confession of faults,imposition of penance, and any other business of the community such as finances, property management, ongoing legal matters, and so forth. (2) Body of clerics, monks, or regular canons serving a cathedral church.

CHARTER: This is a public letter issued by a donor recording a title to property, frequently addressed to the general public.

CHARTER OF FRANCHISE: Documents granting liberty to a serf by his lord. The term also applies to the freedom granted to the inhabitants of a town or borough. the issue of a Charter of Franchise frees the town from servitude to feudal lords.

CHIROGRAPH: This recorded an agreement between two parties, on virtually any subject. Each party received a copy of the agreement- written out in duplicate on the same piece of parchment,sealed, then cut in half by a wavy or indented line. Forgery could thus be checked by aligning the severed halves with each other.

CHIVALRY: The noble qualities a knight was supposed to have, such as courage, honor, loyalty,and readiness to help the poor and weak, especially women. See also: "Knight."

CHURCH: (1) The Catholic Church; (2) The most important building in any medieval town,village, or monastic complex. The nave was the western end of the church, with its own altar, used as a parish church. The choir was set off from the nave by a rood screen; in the choir the monks or nuns or priests sat in wooden stalls facing each other. East of the choir lay the high altar with its own carved screen or reredos behind it. Further to the east was the apse, where might be found a number of shrines and altars, including tombs of founders and patrons, abbots or abbesses (or bishops if this was a cathedral church), and perhaps a king or member of royalty.

CHURCH COURTS: See: "Courts of Law."

CINQUE PORTS: From the time of Edward the Confessor, these boroughs located on the English Channel gained special privileges in return for providing ships in time of war. From their position,the leaders of these boroughs, the "Barons of the Cinque Ports," came to have enormous political influence during the various civil wars of the Middle Ages.

CISTERCIANS: A reform order of Benedictines. Also known as the "White Monks."

CLAS: In Wales, a church staffed by secular canons (claswyr), who provided pastoral care for the church and its dependent chapels.

CLERICS OR CLERGY: Term used to include all members of the Church--both regular and secular clergy. The clergy are generally exempt from jurisdiction of royal courts as well as from military service. See also: "Benefit of Clergy."

CODEX: The usual form of book in the middle ages was the codex--the typical modern book. In medieval times this would consist of gatherings of parchment sewn together. A number of these gatherings could be bound together to form a book, with covers of either limp parchment or wooden boards, often covered by leather. Medieval books might range in size anywhere from small, palm-sized highly-portable volumes, to excessively large, stationary ones. Books could also, though, exist in roll or other specialized formats.

COLLATION: The act by which a bishop presented and instituted a cleric to a benefice in the bishop's jurisdiction.

COMMON LAW: The term referring to laws and procedures common to the entire realm; often also known as "Royal Law." In England, the term specifically applies to the system of law based on both statutory law and judicial precedent and administered by professional judges drawn from the ranks of professional lawyers.

COMMUNE CONCILIUM: Norman equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon Witan. Decisions taken at such meetings, either judicial or military, are binding on the vassals. This later developed into the"King's Council."

COMPURGATION: The clearing of an accused by the sacred oaths of others as to his or her innocence. See also: "Ordeal."

CONFESSION: The public or private acknowledgment of sinfulness regarded as necessary to obtain divine forgiveness.

CONFRATERNITY: An agreement reached between monasteries, or a house and a lay person, for the sharing of spiritual benefits.

CONSTABLE: The title of an officer given command of an army or an important garrison. Also the officer who commands in the king's absence.

CONVENT: See: "Nunnery."

CONVERSUS: (1) Adult convert to the religious life (cf., "oblate"); (2) Lay brother (in the Cistercian and other "new" regular orders).

CORONER: There were four coroners for each county (though many boroughs also had their own coroner). Their primary duties were to keep a separate roll of the pleas of the Crown (or Corone--hence Coroner) as a check on the Sheriff. But they also came to have the duty of examining all dead bodies and determining cause of death, along with any possible amercements.

CORRODY: A pension, in the form of lodging at a monastery, or an allowance of food, clothing, etc., granted to a lay person.

COTTAGER: A peasant of lower class, with a cottage, but with little or no land.

COUNT: (L. Comes) The continental equivalent of the English Earl. Originally an office, it evolved into a title of nobility, ranking below a Duke but above both Baron and Knight.

COUNTY: An administrative unit stemming from Late Roman government originally governed by a Comes. In time, this evolved first into the region governed by the Count, then into the hereditary lands held by the Count (which by this time had become a title of nobility). In England, this is equivalent to the "shire"--originally governed by the Shire-Reeve or Sheriff (in Latin known as the Vice-Comes to designate the man who did the actual work, from the Comes/titular sheriff who held the title as a matter of honor and profit but did no work--under the Angevins the titular English sheriff disappeared leaving the Vice-Comes with both the title and power of "Sheriff").

COUNTY PALATINE: See PALATINATE

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS: A common law court to hear please involving disputes between individuals. Almost all civil litigation is within its term of reference, as is supervision of manorial and local courts.

COURTS OF LAW: The medieval English, like most medieval people, were subject to a wide variety of courts. Though the "central royal courts" which met at Westminster were the most important for the future development of the Common Law, most medieval Englishmen only had contact with one of the many others.

• BOROUGH COURTS: These were developed forms of hundred, county, or manorial courts, with some additional privileges granted by charter. The precise rights and constitution of these courts varied from borough to borough. Generally, the aldermen (ward-moots), bailiffs, and mayors had their own courts, with additionally a Hustings Court (or its equivalent with a different name) which acted similarly to a county court. Boroughs with their own sheriffs, such as London, also had courts presided over by the latter officer.
• CHURCH COURTS: The system of courts set up by the Church to enforce Canon Law. Generally deacons trained in the law served as the judges, advocates pled the cases, and proctors prepared the cases. Summoners served, in essence, as process servers. Church Courts had jurisdiction over most family matters and wills, sexual offenses, marriage and divorce, bastardy, testate and intestate succession to personal property, defamation, battery of a cleric, and breach of faith. In case of conflict, the king's law prevailed.
• COUNTY or SHIRE COURTS: From Anglo-Saxon times, each shire had its own court to which all freemen of the county had an obligation to attend. Its jurisdiction was originally limitless, including the right to outlawry, but these did not develop into royal courts until Angevin times. Shire courts usually only met twice a year--at Easter and Michaelmas- and judgments and pronouncements were given by those designated as "suitor" or "juror." Originally the local Earl, Bishop, or Abbot (or their representatives) presided, but in Norman times the sheriff took on this function, and with the Angevins a royal justice had to be present. Thus, by Late Medieval times, in practice the meeting of this court would involve the sheriff and some of his clerks and officers, the coroners, some of the bailiffs, the lords' stewards, those involved in suits, a royal justice, and enough of freemen owing suit of court to conduct business. By the fourteenth century rolls and files were kept of the proceedings, and professional pleaders and attorneys practiced before it. This court did not deal with criminal matters, though it did pronounce outlawry. Most intra county disputes between the freemen of the shire were heard in these courts, along with criminal proceedings, tax collections, and so forth.
• COURTS BARON: See: "Manorial Courts."
• COURT OF CHANCERY: In the fourteenth century, the Chancellor, sitting in Chancery, began to hear various pleas for legal redress either not actionable in any other court (such as suits against the king or his officers), or for which no remedy existed (since the Chancery issued the writs which began every legal case in the royal courts--there existed a specific form of writ for each action, so where no writ existed the Chancellor might order one granted to fit the facts of a peculiar case). This court followed a modified form of informal complaint and procedure common to the Church Courts,though it was never a court of Canon Law. This informal procedure, with no limits on evidence or procedural matters, allowed the Chancellor to provide swift and inexpensive justice, especially for the poor and oppressed, the weak and foolish. Each case turned on its own facts, and there was no interference with any of the central royal courts (Common Pleas, Exchequer, King's Bench). By the end of the fifteenth century the Court of Chancery had became so flooded with suits that it became the third major court in the kingdom, ahead of the Court of Exchequer.
• COURT OF COMMON PLEAS: In England, a court applying Common Law to hear disputes (or"pleas") between individuals but not involving the king. Almost all civil litigation was within its term of reference, as was supervision of manorial and local courts. This was the court which more than any other made the Common Law, and the chief of the "central royal courts." From the early thirteenth century (with brief exceptions) this court met in Westminster Hall for 15-20 weeks during the four law terms (Hilary, Easter, Trinity, and Michaelmas), and only in the mornings. When not in session, the justices of this court would be sent out on various commissions and circuits in the counties. The "Serjeants-of-the-Law" had a monopoly of pleading in this court.
• COURT OF EXCHEQUER: Probably the oldest of the three "central royal courts," it normally held pleas relating to revenue or debts owing the king (or those where a plaintiff claimed to be "in debt to the king").
• COURT OF KING'S BENCH: In England, a court applying Common Law to hear disputes (or"pleas") between individuals and the king, or in cases in which the king had an interest (thus including criminal law). This was the second of the "central royal courts" and met in Westminster Hall as well, for about the same periods as the Court of Common Pleas. Both attorneys and serjeants-of-the-law could plead in this court.
• COURT OF THE EARL MARSHAL: This began in the mid-fourteenth century with jurisdiction over martial affairs such as treason, prisoners of war, ransom, and army contracts. It was presided over by the Marshal of England.
• HIGH COURT OF ADMIRALTY: This began in the mid-fourteenth century with jurisdiction over naval affairs, but also many mercantile matters, especially involving those between foreign merchants on English soil, or between foreign and English merchants. It was presided over by a judge of the Admiralty, usually a Doctor of Law applying the Roman Law of the Sea.
• HIGH COURT OF CHIVALRY: This had jurisdiction over disputed coats of-arms, and followed Roman Law.
• HUNDRED COURTS: Dating from ancient times, these met every three weeks or so in each hundred, and were attended by 40-50 people (those owing suit of court, bailiffs, various officials,and others with business to be heard), presided over by the hundred's bailiff. This court dealt summarily with minor criminal and civil cases, trespasses, debt less than 40s., breaches of contract,slander, and offenses against the Assizes of Bread, Beer, and Weights and Measures. See also:"View of Frankpledge."
• HUSTINGS COURTS (O. Eng., "House-Things"): Often but not always found in most boroughs, this court originally was set up for the settlement of trading matters and disputes arising from trade.
• MANORIAL COURTS: Usually each manor held its own court, which regulated the agricultural affairs of the community and the enforcement of the bye laws, labor services, transfer of manorial land, petty offenses within the manor and against the servile dues, election of a reeve,etc. Such courts usually followed Customary or Manorial Law. In theory there should have been two types of manorial court, the Court Baron for free tenants, and the Court Customary for servile tenants, but in practice there was normally but one, meeting every three weeks or so,presided over by the lord's steward. The court also sometimes dealt with assault, trespass, and slander intra-manorially, and if the lord had a franchise, those rights were exercised through this court too.
• PIE POUDRE COURTS: Courts held during the course of a fair, for resolution of disputes between merchants.
• VIEW OF FRANKPLEDGE: A court held twice annually (at Easter and Michaelmas) by the sheriff in the hundred court in his tour (or "tourn") of the county or, especially by the thirteenth century, by a manorial lord including the right to oversee the activities of the members of local tithing groups and the enforcement of the assizes of bread and beer. Additionally, lesser offenses such as failures in the Frankpledge system, obstructing highways, diverting watercourses, failing to raise the hue and cry, assaults, and breaches of local customs could be tried here and punished by pillory, stocks, or amercement.
• WARD-MOOTS (or COURTS): Usually found in most boroughs, each ward usually had its own court over which its alderman would preside. These courts dealt with the settlement of minor offenses.

CRANNOG: An Irish dwelling residing on a natural or man-made island.

CROFT: A small piece of arable land, sometimes, but not always, next to a house.

CROP ROTATION: In those areas that practiced 3-field crop rotation, the cycle consisted of 1)fall-sown grain, 2) spring-sown grain, 3) fallow. The principal fall-sown crops were wheat and rye, sown in October and harvested in mid-summer. The spring-sown field would get barley or oats or peas, and be harvested soon after the fall-sown field. The third field would lie fallow.

CRUSADES: Self explanatory.

CULDEES: Religious ascetics "Culdee means servant of god" Irish/Scottish preservers of old Gaelic Customs. In Scotland, either a hermit or a member of a collegiate-type establishment.

CUSTOMARY LAW: See: "Manorial Law."

CYMRAEG: Welsh Language Name for itself.

CYMRU: Welsh name for the Welsh. (CUMREE)

D

DANEGELD: Tribute originally paid to the Danes (Dane Gold); later the system of personal taxation used to finance the king's activities.

DANELAW: That part of England roughly North and East of a Line from London to Chester where the Danes settled and hence where Danish Law held sway.

DEACON: The order just below a priest, one of the Major Orders. Deacons (and Archdeacons)assisted in matters of the parish not having to do with worship, such as care of the sick and poor,administration and maintenance of the local church and its lands, and administration of the Canon Law in the Church Courts.

DEMESNE: The part of the lord's manorial lands reserved for his own use and not allocated to his serfs or free tenants. Serfs work the demesne for a specified numbers of days per week. The demesne may either be scattered among the serfs' land, or a separate area, the latter being more common for meadow and orchard lands.

DENARIUS: The English silver penny, hence the abbreviation "d." and the coin most common in circulation. See: "English Money."

DIOCESE: A district subject to the jurisdiction of a bishop (with the "Archdiocese" governed by an "Archbishop"). The name is derived from the administrative districts created by the Roman emperor Diocletian. As Roman rule collapsed, often the local bishops either took control themselves in the face of anarchy, or were deputized to so govern by one of the Roman Emperors.

DISSEISIN: The forcible dispossession of a lawful possessor of land from enjoyment of the rights and profits of that land or other valuable perquisites.

DOMINICANS: See: "Mendicant Friars."

DOUBLE MONASTERY: Peculiar to England, a combined monastery for men and women,with separate sleeping quarters for them. Sometimes this took the form of two foundations side by side having their own buildings and cloisters but with a church in common. In either form both would be ruled in common by an abbot or abbess.

DOWER: In England, an amount of property or money or goods conveyed as a gift from the bridegroom to his bride upon marriage. Such property was controlled by her husband subject to the laws of waste, but upon divorce or his death it remained the property of the bride.

DOWRY: (1) A gift of land or an entrance fee offered to a religious house (especially a nunnery)with a new entrant. (2) The amount of land or money that accompanied a bride upon marriage from her family to her husband. cf. "Dower."

DRENG: The name given to a free peasant in Northumbria and sometimes in Yorkshire and Lancashire. The name usually implies that land is held in return for military service.

DUKE: A title deriving from the Roman Dux, originally designating the governor of a special military district. Like comes, in time this first evolved into an office with supervisory powers over a number of counts and counties, and then into an hereditary title of nobility with rank superior to the count and second only to the King. In England, where the title did not appear until the time of Richard II, the title was reserved for members of the royal family until Tudor/Stuart times.

DUN: Scottish single family hill fort.

E

EARL: The highest title attainable in medieval England by a nobleman not of royal blood. Also known in earlier times as Ealdorman, which evolved into Eorl (or "Jarl") with the coming of the Danes. Originally an office, with supervisory powers over a number of sheriffs.

EIRE: The name for Ireland in Irish.

ENCLOSURE: The ceremony by which an enclosed one, anchorite or anchoress, is immured in a cell.

EREMITICISM: The religious life as lived by hermits, individually or in groups (cf."cenobiticism").

ERSE: The Irish name for the Irish Language.

ESCHEAT: The right of a feudal lord to the return of lands held by his vassal, or the holding of a serf, should either die with out lawful heirs or suffer outlawry.

ESCHEATOR: The escheator's main duty was to safeguard the revenues gained from royal escheats. The escheator was to take the lands into the king's hands, discover their value by inquisition, and collect the revenue arising from the lands until he was commanded to deliver the lands to the rightful landholders.

EXCHEQUER: The financial department of the royal government, originating as an office in the twelfth century. It had two parts: the Lower Exchequer of Receipt (where the money was received and issued), and the Upper Exchequer (where accounts were rendered on the chequered cloth table). The head of this office was the Treasurer (usually a bishop until the fifteenth century). Under him were the 4-5 Barons of the Exchequer (who heard accounts and judicial pleas in the Upper Exchequer), two deputy chamberlains in the Lower Exchequer, and over 10 clerks and servants. Sheriffs, in their role as regional chief accountants, presented reports to the exchequer at Easter and Michaelmas, and received tally sticks as their receipt, one half of the stick to the sheriff, the other to the Exchequer. Additionally, accounts were enrolled on the Pipe Rolls (membranes of parchment laid one on top of another and stitched together at the top) and kept as the Exchequer's own record, along with two sets of Memoranda Rolls, a Teller's Roll,and three sets of Receipt Rolls. Besides the sheriffs, most offices of the Household and the government had to render account as well. Money was paid out only through warrants issued either by the Chancery or the Office of the Privy-Seal (with payments recorded on Issue Rolls).

EXCOMMUNICATION: Exclusion from the membership of the church or from communion with faithful Christians. Those judged "tolerati" may still mingle with the faithful, but those "vitandi" cannot and are exiled.

EYRE: (Latin Iter) The right of the king (or justices acting in his name) to visit and inspect the holdings of any vassal. This was done periodically, usually at irregular intervals of a few years.These were all-inclusive, comprehensive affairs, during which the powers of local officials such as sheriffs and coroners were suspended (and required to render account subject to heavy amercement). Large numbers of people would attend, to make account or to seek justice, and the justices would inquire into all manner of things--crimes and unexplained deaths, misconduct and negligence by officials, irregularities and shortcomings of all kinds, the feudal and fiscal rights of the Crown, and private disputes. Such eyres were known to provoke utter terror among the populace, many boroughs and counties preferring to pay heavily to ensure the eyre would not visit them (the 1233 Eyre of Cornwall caused most of the populace to flee to the woods to escape the eyre).

F

FAIR: A market held at regular intervals, usually once to twice a year. Fairs tend to offer a wider range of goods than normal markets. They are generally licensed by either the king, a local lord (including a bishop or abbot/abbess, or a borough). The Law of Merchants, often held in the Pie poudre courts, held sway over all trade conducted during the Fair.

FARM: A fixed sum, usually paid annually, for the right to collect all revenues from land; in effect, rents or taxations paid in advance. Lords may farm land to vassals, receiving a fixed annual rent in place of the normal feudal obligation. Many sheriffs farmed out their shires,contracting in advance to pay a fixed annual sum to the crown, thus obtaining the right to collect any additional royal revenues for their own profit.

FEALTY, Oath of: The oath by which a vassal swore loyalty to his lord, usually on a relic of saints or on the Bible.

FELONY: In feudal law, any grave violation of the feudal contract between lord and vassal. Later it was expanded in common law to include any crime against the King's peace and has come to mean any serious crime. Example: Murder is now a Felony, taking the burden off prosecution from the victim's family and giving it to the crown. See also: "Trespass."

FEUDALISM: The system of governing whereby semiautonomous landed nobility have certain well defined responsibilities to the king, in return for the use of grants of land (fiefs) exploited with the labor of a semi-free peasantry (serfs).

FIEF: Heritable lands held under Lordship tenure; the lands of a tenant-in chief. Sometimes this can apply to an official position. Often called a Holding. Normally a land held by a vassal of a lord in return for stipulated services, chiefly military. Sometimes unusual requirements were stipulated for transferring a fief. For example: Henry de la Wade held 42 acres* of land in Oxfordby the service of carrying a gyrfalcon (see: falconry birds) when ever Kind Edward I wished to go hawking.*

FIEF DE HAUBERT: 11 c. French term equivelant to the knight term Knights Fee (see: knighthood) becuase of the the coat (hauberk*) of mail* which it entitled and required every tenant to own and wear when his services were needed. This provided a definite estate in france, for only persons who had this estate or greater were allowed to wear hauberks.

FIEF-RENTE: money paid by a lord in an annual manner to a vassal in return for homage*, fealty*, and military service (usually knight service) and it could include various other things than money, such as wine, cheese, provide chickens, or woodThis became more common in the later middle ages, under the system known as Bastard Feudalism.

FINE: A sum of money paid to the Crown to obtain some grant, concession, or privilege. Unlike amercement, a fine is not a monetary penalty, although failure to offer and pay a customary fine for some right, will undoubtedly lead to an amercement.

FITZ: (Latin Filius, French Filz) An Anglo-Norman prefix meaning son, most commonly associated with sons of the nobility.

FOLKLAND: In Anglo-Saxon times, land held by Folkright. See also: "Bookland" and"Laenland."

FOLKRIGHT: In Anglo-Saxon times, the term applied to Customary Law.

FORFEITURE: The right of a feudal lord to recover a fief when a vassal fails to honor his obligations under the feudal contract.

FORMARIAGE: (also called merchet) The sum commonly paid by a serf to his lord when the serf's daughter marries a man from another manor.

FRANCHISE: A grant of royal judicial authority to a private individual. Over and above the right of each lord/bishop/abbot to exercise judicial authority over his or her own vassals or tenants (both free and servile), some exercised the authority of royal jurisdiction as limited or unlimited according to the nature of the original grant. The most frequently specified juridical rights included: sake and soke (jurisdiction in general -usually over the hundred court--which in practice included most police, social, and economic functions); toll (the right to take tolls on goods sold within the franchise, and to hear questions of dispute over such tolls); team (the right to supervise vouching to warranty or the presentation of evidence of the right to sell presented goods); and infangenetheof (the right to hang a thief caught red-handed within the franchise with the goods on him). Some also had jurisdiction over pleas of the Crown (i.e., criminal offenses against the King's Peace).

FRANCISCANS: See: "Mendicant Orders."

FRANK PLEDGE: The legal condition under which each male member of a tithing over the age of twelve is responsible for the good conduct of all other members of the tithing. Failure to control tithing members can lead to amercement of the entire tithing.

FRIARS MINOR/FRIARS PREACHERS: See: "Mendicant Orders."

FYRD: The Anglo Saxon Militia. Special King's Peace prevailed while to or from or during Fyrd service.

G

GAEL: The name given to Celtic inhabitants of Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Not dissimilar to "Welsh" (Gwael=Wales=Welsh) or "Gaul" (Gael=Gaul).

GELD: See: "Danegeld."

GENERAL CHAPTER: Annual meeting of the heads of all houses of an order of regular clergy.

GENTRY: See: "Knight."

GRANGE: (1) A farm estate of a monastery, worked by hired labor and supervised by lay brethren; (2) a system of farming, created by the Cistercians and followed by other orders, which existed outside the manorial system.

GREYFRIARS: See: "Mendicant Orders."

GUILD: A term applied to medieval trade associations. The aims of such associations were to protect members from the competition of foreign merchants and maintain commercial standards.The first guilds were merchant guilds, then later came craft guilds as manufacturing became more specialized. Guilds maintained a system of education, whereby apprentices served a master for five to seven years before becoming a journeyman at about age nineteen. Journeymen then.worked in the shop of a master until they could demonstrate to the leaders of the guild that they.were ready to become masters. Guild members were forbidden to compete with each other, and.merchants were required to sell at a just price. There was a heavy religious component to most.guilds, each of which honored their own patron saint through sponsoring festivals, and floats or.even plays on major feast-days.

H

HANSEATIC LEAGUE: An association of merchants and towns of northern Germany.

HEPTARCHY, Seven Kingdoms of the: Names given to the seven pre-Viking Kingdoms of.England: Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, East Anglia, Essex and Sussex (Lindsey never.counted).

HERESY: Any religious doctrine inconsistent with, or inimical to, the orthodox beliefs of The church.

HERIOT: A payment which a feudal lord may claim from the possessions of a dead serf or other tenant, essentially a death tax. There are various forms of heriot. Generally if a tenant dies in battle the heriot is forgiven.

HIDE: A unit of measurement for assessment of tax, theoretically 120 acres, although it may.vary between 60 and 240 acres. It is by custom the amount of land that can be cultivated by one eight-ox plow-team in one year.

HOMAGE: The ceremony by which a vassal pledges his faith to his lord, and acknowledges all other feudal obligations, in return for a fief.

HONOR: The lands held by a tenant-in-chief of the Crown, which comprised a complex of rights and duties. A holding or group of holdings forming a large estate, such as the land held by an Earl.

HORARIUM: The monastic timetable for daily liturgy: Matins: 2-3 am winter, 1-2 am summer;Lauds: 6-7 am winter, 4-5 am summer; Prime: 7-8 am winter, 5-6 am summer; Terce: 9-10 am winter, 7-8 am summer; Sext: 12-1 pm winter, 11 am-12 pm summer; None: 1-2 pm winter, 2-3pm summer; Vespers: 4-5 pm winter, 6-7 pm summer; Compline: 6:15-6:30 pm winter, 8:15-8:30 pm summer. In between time was set aside for two masses, dinner and supper, listening to lectio divina, daily chapter, and work. Bedtime in winter was 6:30 pm, 8:30 pm in summer.

HOSPITAL: The medieval hospital was especially common in towns. These were places for the elderly and infirm to live out their days in some relative comfort--essentially a church, with the sick lying on their beds in the nave, from which they could observe and profit from the liturgy of as performed daily. Some hospitals were reserved for certain groups, such as guild members or women. Leper hospitals were commonly sited near the town gate or beyond the town walls, to isolate the lepers from the rest of the population.

HOUSEHOLD: Specifically, the King's Household. Because medieval government was originally directed personally by the king, his household and its members had a role in government. All medieval governmental departments began as a division of the Household,including Chancery, Exchequer, the Chamber, the Wardrobe, and the royal Courts of Law. At some point, some of these "went out of court" and ceased to be part of the Household; that is,they had permanent offices at Westminster and no longer traveled with the king, though remaining subject to his authority (often prescribed by statute) in some way. These latter included, notably, the Chancery, the Exchequer, the Courts of Law, and the Office of the Privy Seal. The size of the king's household varied from 400-700 men and women in the Middle Ages--servants, clerks, and officials, along with the latter's own servants and hangers-on. Most worked in the network of departments that provided food, drink, laundry, stable, beer, music, medicine,chaplains, and so forth, each department responsible for keeping and rendering their own accounts. The Steward of England (or of the Household (normally a nobleman)) had overall responsibility for running the Household, and, hence, became one of the five principal officers of State (along with the Treasurer, Chancellor, Chamberlain, and Keeper of the Privy Seal.

HOUSE STEADS: Forts strategically placed on a craggy precipice.

HOWDEN: A college of secular priests.

HUE AND CRY: The requirement of all members of a village to pursue a criminal with horn and voice. It was the duty of any person discovering a felony to raise the hue and cry, and his or her neighbors were bound to assist in pursuing and apprehending the felon. Those who did not partake in the pursuit were subject to amercement, as was the entire village if the felon managed to escape.

HUNDRED: An Anglo-Saxon institution, and subdivision of a shire. Theoretically, it equaled one hundred hides; but hardly ever did so in practice. Generally each hundred had its own court which met monthly to handle disputes between its residents. In those parts of England where the Danes settled the Hundred was called a wapentake, in Kent a leet, and in Sussex a rape. See:"Courts of Law."

I

INDULGENCE: Originally the remission of a temporal penalty incurred as a canonical penance for sin. By the late middle ages it had come to mean the commutation of a deed of penance for a payment of money.

INFIDEL: Any one having a strong adversity to Christianity.

INLAND: Land exempt from tax (See Warland).

INNS OF COURT AND CHANCERY: By the mid-fourteenth century the professional attorneys and pleaders of the central courts in Westminster had formed themselves into a kind of guild, based around their residences in various inns located in and around Chancery Lane in London. Effectively they functioned as the Common Law university (as only Canon Law was taught at the two English universities of Oxford and Cambridge). The Inns of Court were: The Inner Temple, The Middle Temple, Gray's Inn, and Lincoln's Inn, along with Serjeants' Inn (for the exclusive use of the Serjeants-at-Law). The Inns of Chancery were: Barnard's Inn, Clement's Inn, Clifford's Inn, Thavies' Inn, Furnival's Inn, Lyon's Inn, New Inn, Staple Inn, and Strand Inn.These latter were of lesser status, for attorneys and chancery clerks who could not gain admission to the Inns of Court, and for students new to the study of the Common Law. In Tudor times these came under the control of the Inns of Court.

INTERDICT: The ecclesiastical banning in an area of all sacraments except for baptism and extreme unction. In general it does not ban high feast days. Used to force persons, institutions,communities, or secular lords to a view dictated by The Church.

J

JONGLEUR: A wandering minstrel in medieval France and England, who entertained by reciting or singing.

JURY: In essence, a body of men sworn to give a true answer (a "vere dictum" or verdict) to some question. There were juries of accusation, juries of inquest, grand juries, and petty juries.The latter became the jury of 12 common in criminal trials. Jurors were sworn to try evidence in court, and were expected to know about the case before coming to be sworn. However, if any communicated with a sworn juror during a trial, their verdict could be quashed. After hearing all evidence and charged to render a verdict, jurors were confined "without meat, drink, fire or candle" or conversation with others until they agreed on a verdict; and if they did not do so they were to be carried round the circuit in a cart until they did. The merest suspicion of juror misconduct was punishable by heavy amercement.

JUS PRIMAE NOCTIS: The right by which a lord may sleep the first night with the bride of a newly married serf; HOWEVER, this was a mythic invention of 19th Century writers of historical fiction: THIS NEVER OCCURRED IN THE MIDDLE AGES!!!

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE: Essentially a fourteenth-century creation, and originally known as the Keepers of the Peace, these were lawyers, magnates, and especially members of the Gentry appointed to suppress disorder, seek out and try felonies and trespasses, and enforce labor laws.These, along with royal justices sent on commission, became the major means of enforcing law and order in the countryside. They tried these cases four times a year (known as the "quarter sessions"--in effect miniature eyres), along with occasional shorter ad hoc sessions. Trials were normally by jury, and convicted felons hung, convicted trespassers fined or put in stocks. They could not hear appeals, or civil actions. The creation of this new office led to the further decline of the sheriff and the county courts, and especially of the hundred and private courts.

JUSTICIAR: The head of the royal judicial system and the king's viceroy when absent from the country. After the time of King John in England, there were no more Justiciars.

K

KEEPER OF THE PEACE: See: "Justices of the Peace."

KEEPER OF THE PRIVY-SEAL: See: " Privy-Seal."

KEEPER OF THE WARDROBE: See: "Wardrobe."

KING'S PEACE: Originally the zone of protection around the king, violation of which was subject to penalty as a felony with trial before the king himself. Gradually English kings extended this zone of protection to their entire realm, and hence all criminal matters came under their jurisdiction (though in practice trespasses and lesser offenses were handled by local courts).

KNIGHT: Originally the companion of a noted warrior who could afford to equip himself with arms and armor. As military tactics changed to favor the warrior mounted on a heavy warhorse,these evolved first into warrior retainers given at least enough land to support themselves and their warhorses as full-time professional warriors. Their status was below that of the barons (or nobility) of the realm, but above that of free peasants. With the rise of Chivalry and its ideals of loyalty and martial prowess within the context of generosity and "courtesy" the knighthood-- until then considered thuggish and uncouth by the baronage--took on an idealism so powerful that not only did knightly behavior change, so did that of the baronage who now took up the new"knightly values" as their own. Over the course of time, knighthood evolved into an hereditary status, and stratified by 1500 into three hereditary ranks: knights, squires, and gentlemen. In the sixteenth century these "knightly classes" came to be called the Gentry. The retainer of a feudal lord who owes military service for his fief, usually the service of one fully equipped, mounted warrior. The ideals to which a knight may aspire are notably prowess, loyalty, generosity and courtesy.

KNIGHT'S FEE: In theory, a fief which provides sufficient revenue to equip and support one knight. This is approximately twelve hides or 1500 acres, although the term applies more to revenue a fief can generate than its size; it requires about thirty marks per year to support a knight.

KNIGHT HOSPITALLER: Holy order of knights pledged to administer to the sick and protect holy places during the Crusades.

KNIGHT TEMPLAR: Similar to the Knights Hospitallers, but more likely to provide protection and currency exchange for travelers to the Holy Lands. These were suppressed throughout Europe at the instigation of the King of France (who desired their wealth) in 1316.Their monastery in London, "the Temple," was then split into three, and the Inner and Middle Temples became the site for two of the five Inns of Court.

L

LAENLAND: Land held on conditional lease. See also: "Folkland," and "Bookland."

LAW COURTS: See: "Courts of Law."

LEASE FOR THREE LIVES: A term of lease of land, usually for the life of its holder, his son or wife, and a grandson.

LECTIO DIVINA: A "sacred reading;" reading of the Scriptures and works of the Christian Fathers, for which St. Benedict allotted portions of the day, including during meals.

LEET: The term used for a subdivision of land in Kent equivalent to a hundred.

LITURGY: Public, as opposed to private, prayer.

LIVERY: To be given land as a gift from the king. Also the means to be given the right to wear a lord's livery (a modified form of his coat of arms).

LORDSHIP: The system of governing whereby semiautonomous landed nobility have certain well-defined responsibilities to the king, in return for the use of grants of land (fiefs) exploited with the labor of a semi free peasantry (serfs).

M

MAJOR ORDERS: The orders of Priest, Deacon, and Subdeacon. Progression upwards through the Minor Orders were required for entry into one of these orders.

MAN: In this sense to be a lord's man, to owe obligations to, in the forms of labor or service. A woman can be someone's "man."

MAN-AT-ARMS: A soldier holding his land, generally 60-120 acres, specifically in exchange for military service. Sometimes called a Yeoman.

MANOR: An administrative agricultural unit, which could be both exceedingly tiny or exceedingly large. Generally it had its own manorial court for 1) the settlement of disputes between peasants (both free and serf) holding land in the manor, and 2) for the regulation of the manor by the lord's bailiff or steward. It probably had its own hall, but not necessarily a manor house. The manor as a unit of land is generally held by a knight (knight's fee) or managed by a bailiff for some other holder. Often several manors might be under the supervision of a steward. A small holding, typically 1200-1800 acres, with its own court and probably its own hall, but not necessarily having a manor house. The manor as a unit of land is generally held by a knight (knight's fee) or managed by a bailiff for some other holder.

MANORIAL LAW: The system of law controlling tenure of servile land, inheritance, marriage practices, and personal relationships within a manor. Though this system was not recognized as a valid form of "law" by the king's courts at Westminster (See: "Courts of Law"), its various restrictions and requirements were recognized de facto by the manor's lord, and was the system under which the majority of medieval Englishmen lived.

MANUMISSION: The act of freeing a serf.

MARCHER LORDS: The name commonly given to Norman landholders on the Welsh border.In Germany a Marcher Lord was known as a Markgraf or Margrave, and in France as a Marquis,from which this spread to Britain in Tudor/Stuart times as the Marquis, an intermediate title of nobility between Duke and Earl.

MARK: A measure of account accepted throughout western Europe as equivalent to 8 oz. of silver (no coins known as Marks ever circulated in England). In England a mark was two-thirds of a pound or 13s. 4d. or 66.66 pence.

MARKET: A place where goods may be bought or sold, established in a village or town with the authorization of a king, or secular or ecclesiastical lord. This noble extends his protection to the market for a fee, and allows its merchants various economic and judicial privileges. See also:"Fair."

MAYOR: Most boroughs or towns were headed by a mayor, elected annually by the burgesses in the borough court, as administrative chief and representative to the king or the local lord(depending on the status of the town). The mayor usually had his own court.

MENDICANT ORDERS: A general term for the various orders of Friars, indicating they lived by begging. 1) Friars Minor or Franciscans: Founded by St. Francis of Assisi, these emphasized preaching.As a consequence, they were instrumental in the establishment of the University. Commonly called the "Greyfriars" from the color of their habits. 2) Friars Preacher or Dominicans: Founded by St. Dominic, these emphasized the pursuit of learning and intellectual activity for combating heresy, and were equally important to the development of the University. Commonly called "Blackfriars" from the color of their habits. 3) Austin Friars: Originally eremetical, these followed the Rule of St. Augustine, and emphasized urban preaching. 4) Carmelites: Originally eremetical in Palestine, they were another urban mendicant order, but allowed more time for study and meditation than the others. Commonly called "Whitefriars"from the color of their habits.

MESSUAGE: A piece of land, varying in size, but large enough to accommodate a dwelling.

MICHAELMAS: Feast of St. Michael on the 29th of September.

MILITARY RELIGIOUS ORDERS: See: "Knights Templar" and "Knights Hospitaller."

MIME: An evil evil being. The lowest of the 'entertainers of doom / death / mediocrity'. kill on sight!

MINOR ORDERS: Any of the four lower orders preceding the subdiaconate, required for entry into the Major Orders. All those matriculated into a university or college at the minimum were in one of these orders: Porter (i.e., doorkeeper), Lector, Exorcist, and Acolyte.

MINSTER CHURCH: A parish church or cathedral staffed by a chapter of regular clergy,instead of the more usual secular clergy.

MINSTREL: A poet and singer, also called a jongleur or troubadour, who lives and travels off of the largess of the aristocracy.

MONASTERY: A place where Monks or Nuns live for a religious life. The physical components consisted of:

• Chapter House: The place where the daily meeting of the community took place.
• Church: The most important building in the monastic complex where much of the day was spent in prayer and worship. For the components of a Church, see: "Church."
• Cloister: The arched walkways built around a square of grassy land where the monks spent much of their time, especially in warmer days. On all four sides the central area was surrounded by a low wall with arcades and a roof which thus provided covered passageways all around.
• Dormitory: The barracks-style sleeping quarters of the monks on the second floor of a building,generally on the east range of the cloister (novices usually had separate quarters). Below this was usually located the monks' Day room.
• Infirmary: A place of recuperation for the sick, and retirement for the elderly monks.
• Lavatorium: Trough with running water where the monks washed their hands before meals.
• Library: Adjacent to the church, the books were usually kept here (including those liturgical books normally used for the liturgy). At first kept in chests, then in cabinets, eventually the books came to be chained on shelves with sloping desks.
• Refectory: Building where the monks ate their meals in common and in silence, while listening to a reading.
• Reredorter: Building containing the monastic latrines--usually located over a ditch or stream.
• Scriptorium: Sometimes a special building, sometimes just a place on the south wall of the cloister, where the monks copied books and documents.
• Warming Room: Particularly common in northern countries, a place next the fireplaces of the kitchen, for the monks to gather and warm-up.

MONEY: The common currency in England in the late middle ages and until decimalization in 1971 was the Pound consisting of a pound of silver which was divided into 20 shillings (20s.) or 240 pence (240d.). One penny equaled two half-pence or four farthings.

MONEYER: A person licensed by the crown to strike coins, receiving the dies from the crown,and keeping 1/240 of the money coined for himself.

MONK: See: "Regular Clergy."

MORMAER: A Gaelic Title (Great Steward) given to the rulers of the seven provinces of Celtic Scotland.

MORTMAIN: The grant of land into the "dead hand" of a corporate body, which, on account of its perpetual existence, could not be liable for the payment of succession dues. This applied to churches, monasteries, and universities.

MUND: The Old English term for the King's Peace. Breaches of the mund were punished by a fine called a "mundbryce."

MURDRUM: Originally, a heavy fine of 46 marks assessed on the hundred which did not apprehend the killer of a Norman in its area. Later, a killing done in ambush or in secret.

N

NOVICE/NOVITIATE: (1) Member of a religious house who has not yet taken final vows; (2)the period spent as a novice.

NUN: Women dedicated to the religious life usually a member of a religious order.

NUNNERY: A monastery for women. Also know as a Convent.

O

OBEDIENTIARY: Monk, Canon, or Nun who has been assigned particular administrative responsibilities in the running of the monastery:

• Almoner: Distributed alms to the sick and poor.
• Cellarer: Had charge of all the property, rents, and revenues of the house, supervised the servants and any lay brethren, and bought supplies.
• Chamberlain: Provided clothes, shoes, and bedding for the monks and lay brethren.Infirmarian: Oversaw the welfare of the sick and elderly in the Infirmary.
• Kitchener: Oversaw preparation of all meals.
• Novice-Master: Prepared postulants and novices for taking their vows.
• Precentor: Responsible for the correct number of books for the liturgy.
• Prior or Sub-Prior: The second-in-command to the Abbot/Abbess, who had general oversight of the monastery itself and those in it.
• Sacrist: Responsible for the security and cleanliness of the monastic church, and the provision of vessels for the altar.
• Succentor: Responsible for music and chant in the monastic church, and for the monastic library.

OBLATE: Child placed by parents in a religious house with a view to taking vows when he or she reached the required age; the practice was rejected by the Cistercians and gradually died out.

OPEN FIELDS: The normal system of cultivation in medieval Europe. These fields were made up of bundles of long narrow strips, the length of each representing the distance that the plow could be expected to travel before turning, with the width the amount of plowing that could be done in a day. Each community would normally have several such open fields, and each peasant possessed strips (determined by wealth and status) in each of them. See: "Crop Rotation."

OPUS DEI: Literally, the "Work of God"; the performance of the liturgy, the daily round of services in the monastic church.

ORDEAL: A method of trial in which the accused was given a physical test (usually painful or dangerous) which could only be met successfully if he or she was "innocent" in the eyes of God.For this a cleric had to be present. At the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 clerics were forbidden to take part in such trials, which in turn spurred the creation of the jury system in England and the tribunal system of Roman Law on the Continent (in England Trial by Combat remained until technically outlawed in the early nineteenth century--but since a cleric was never a part of this type of trial the 1215 decision had no effect on its use). See also: "Compurgation."

ORDINARY: The bishop of a diocese.

OUTLAW: Originally, a man declared to be "outside the law" and hence no wergild or other penalty might be attached to his killing. The king received all of his goods and chattels and his lord any land he held (of little deterrent to those who had none). From 1329 onwards, the outlaw could no longer be killed at will.

P

PALATINATE: In England, a county in which the tenant in chief exercises powers normally reserved for the king, including the exclusive right to appoint judges, hold courts of law, and coin money. The king's writ was not valid in a County Palatinate.

PARCHMENT: Usually the soaked and scraped skin of a sheep, but it could be prepared from the skin of any animal. With proper care, parchment can last virtually forever.

PARISH: Each diocese was divided at its ultimate level into parishes, each with its own church and priest.

PATRON: Founder of a religious house, his or her heir, or the person to whom his or her estates passed; the patron had responsibility for protection of the interests of a religious house in secular affairs.

PIPE ROLL(S): A record of an audit of the accounts of each sheriff held at Michaelmas each year at the Exchequer.

PITTANCE: Small dishes of food and drink allowed to members of a religious community on special occasions, for example, on the anniversary of a patron.

PLEADER(S): The pleader, also know as the narrator (in Latin) or the count or (in French),stood beside a litigant in court and narrated his tale (Fr., "count"), according to precise formulaic phrases, subject to correction. Use of the wrong plea or the wrong words in a plea could lead to dismissal or loss of the case--with no right of appeal. See also: "Serjeants-at-Law."

PLEDGE: A personal surety. An individual who guarantees the appearance in court or performance of an obligation by another.

POSTULANT: One seeking admission to a religious community.

PREBEND: A benefice in a cathedral or collegiate church.

PREMONSTRATENSIAN: Also known as the White Canons, A reform order of regular clergy, founded in North-Eastern France in the twelfth century, based upon a stricter observance of the Rule of St. Augustine. Thus an austere version of the Austin Canons.

PRIMOGENITURE: The right of the eldest son to inherit the estate or office of his father. This did not become fully the custom until the thirteenth century. Before, inheritance was originally split equally among the surviving sons (called "Coparcenary" in East Anglia and "gavelkind" in Kent) or passed to the oldest surviving brother (witness King John's taking the throne instead of his older brother's eldest son), or to the youngest surviving son ("Ultimogeniture" or "borough English").

PRIORY: Any monastic house administered by a prior or prioress. A smaller monastic establishment than an Abbey.

PRIOR/PRIORESS: (1) Head of a monastic house of lesser status than an abbey; (2) in an abbey, the second-in-command of the abbot or abbess; sometimes called the claustral prior or prioress.

PRIVY-SEAL, OFFICE OF THE: After the Chancery with its Great Seal went "out of court,"the king, still requiring a seal to authenticate less formal letters than those issued by the Chancery or to send order to the latter, came to use his personal seal, or privy-seal. At first under the control of the Keeper of the Wardrobe, in 1313 a Keeper of the Privy-Seal was appointed, and soon the Privy-Seal Office too "went out of court." This office was created to supplement Chancery, was closer to the king and his Council, and gave effect to their decisions by sending out instructions and warrants to officials along with less formal records. This office had only 10-12 clerks.

PROCTORS: Legal representatives of individuals or corporate bodies, usually in association with the Church Courts, but also to the king's council. Effectively the equivalent of the attorney.

PURPRESTURE: A piece of land illicitly appropriated from the land of another.

R

RAPE: 1) The Sussex equivalent of a Hundred. 2) Originally, the abduction (Latin raptus) of a woman for purposes of marriage. Mostly this did NOT involve any non-consensual sexual intercourse; though when it did it constituted a capital felony. Occasionally the rape was a consensual act between lovers frustrated by the woman's father's or guardian's plans for her arranged marriage to another (thus in some sense similar to an elopement).

RECTOR: The incumbent of a parish in receipt of all its income, responsible for the pastoral care of parishioners.

REEVE: A manorial official charged with responsibility for the economic and agricultural management of a manor, similar in function to a bailiff, except that reeves were often of villein or servile status and were usually not paid a salary but instead released from labor services or granted a piece of property or both. Effectively, the manorial foreman.

REGULAR CANONS: Communities of Secular Clergy living under a monastic rule, especially the Rule of St. Augustine.

REGULAR CLERGY: Monks or Nuns--whether Benedictines, Carthusians, Cistercians,Premonstratensians, etc., so called because they follow a rule (Latin, regula).

RELIEF: Monetary payment by the heir to a freehold tenement, paid to the lord for permission to enter into the property.

S

SACRIST: See: "Obedientiary."

SCUTAGE: The sum that the holder of a knight's fee may pay his lord in lieu of military service.Sometimes used as a form of tax.

SECRETARY OF STATE: See: "Signet-Seal."

SECULAR CANONS: Communities of clergy, for example those serving a cathedral chapter,who do not live under a monastic rule, and may be allowed to hold private property.

SECULAR CLERGY: A cleric admitted to one of the Major or Minor Orders, not living under a monastic rule, for example, the parish priest.

SELION: A narrow strip of land of variable length lying between two furrows in the open field.

SERF: A semi-free peasant who works his lord's demesne and pays him certain servile dues in return for the use of land, the possession (not ownership) of which is heritable. Also known variously as villeins (French, from whence villain), boors (Old English gebur), churls (Old English ceorl), and naifs (Latin nativus)(or knaves).

SERJEANT: A servant who accompanies his lord to battle, or a horseman of lower status used as light cavalry. Also means a type of tenure in which service of a non-knightly character is owed a lord. The holders of such tenure in serjeanty might carry the lords' banner, serve in the wine cellar, make bows or arrows or any other of a dozen occupations. Serjeants pay the feudal dues of wardship, marriage, and relief but are exempt from scutage. (nonknightly).

SERJEANT-AT-LAW: The specialized form of professional pleader in the central royal courts,especially the Court of Common Pleas, where they held a monopoly of pleading. These appeared especially at the end of the thirteenth century, and developed their own guild based on the Inns of Court in the fourteenth century. In medieval times they wore a "coif"--a white silk or linen head-covering tied under the chin. In conjunction with the justices of the Court of Common Pleas(appointed from their ranks by the beginning of the fourteenth century), they made the Common Law.

SERVILE DUES: Besides labor duties on the landlord's demesne and public roads--which usually amounted to three days of work per week, except during planting and harvesting, servile tenants were usually required render other rents and fines as follows:

• Capitage: A cash payment rendered by servile tenants of a manor excusing their personal appearance in courts at views of frankpledge.
• Chevage: A cash payment rendered for license to live or travel outside the manor, payable annually.
• Fysilver: A cash payment to the landlord as a substitute for an earlier payment of fish to meet the landlord's needs during Lent.
• Gersuma: An entry fine by an incoming tenant to the landlord for permission to take possession of a tenement.
• Hennesilver: A customary rent, originally a payment of hens to the landlord, later commuted to a cash payment.
• Heriot: A payment by the widow of a tenant of servile land to the landlord upon the death of her husband, often being a surrender of their best beast, frequently commuted to a cash payment.
• Hewethyr: A customary rent involving sheep.
• Leyrwite: A monetary penalty imposed on servile female tenants for fornication.
• Maltsilver: A customary rent; originally a payment of malt to the landlord, later commuted into a cash payment.
• Merchet: A cash payment to the landlord for permission to marry outside the manor.
• Millage: Tenants were required to grind their grain at the landlord's mill for a fee; those who did not were heavily amerced at the meeting of the Manorial Court.
• Pannage: A cash payment for the right to let pigs forage in the wood.
• Suit of Court: All serfs had the obligation to attend the manorial court, with amercement for those who did not.
• Wethersilver: A customary rent, originally the payment of a wether to the landlord's flock, but commuted to a cash payment.
• Winesilver: A customary rent, substituting a cash payment for personal service in the landlord's vineyard.

SERVILE LAND: Land requiring servile dues. Free peasants could hold servile land as long as they performed the servile dues required (dangerous for a free peasant as a lord might then claim the free peasant as his serf--with the evidence the performance of these servile dues), and serfs could hold free land (which had no servile dues--and again was dangerous, but this time for the lord as the serf could claim freedom- with evidence his lack of performance of servile dues).

SHAMBLES: The area of a town where the butchers threw out their waste products in the street to be consumed by dogs and other scavengers. Usually this was near the river, and thus drained directly into the town's water supply.

SHERIFF: (from "Shire Reeve") The official who is the chief administrative and judicial officer of a shire. Many of the sheriff's duties were taken over by the royal justices, the coroners,and the keepers (later justices) of the peace. Sheriffs notably collected the king's taxes and forwarded them to the Exchequer. The sheriff also was responsible for administering justice and enforcing the laws; summoning jurors; apprehending felons; maintaining royal castles; enforcing various mercantile matters; executing judicial and administrative writs and decrees; holding inquests, assizes, the county court, the sheriff's tourn, and the view of frankpledge; seizing and attaching persons, lands, and chattels; supervising elections; enforcing obligations for public works; and keeping extensive administrative records.

SHERRIFF'S RENT: A customary cash rent often paid by both free and serf, assessed on virgate holdings and originally intended to help pay the expenses of the sheriff while he performed his duties.

SHILLING: Measure of money used only for accounting purposes and equal to 12 pennies.

SHIRE: See: "County." English county. The shire court conduct the administrative, judicial and financial business of of people living in the county.

SIGNET-SEAL, OFFICE OF THE: After the Office of the Privy-Seal went "out of court" in the fourteenth century, the signet-seal was developed to allow the king to continue to send instructions. Its keeper came to be called the Secretary of State by the sixteenth century--in medieval times he was always a clerk, never a bishop, with 4-10 clerks under him. This office wrote the king's more personal letters, along with instructions from the king to the Privy-Seal to issue letters or warrants, including warrants to get Chancery to issue a letter (thus, to make an appointment, the king would have to instruct the Secretary of State to issue a letter under the Signet-Seal to send to the Keeper of the Privy-Seal, ordering the latter to send a letter under the Privy-Seal to the Chancellor, ordering the latter to issue a letter of appointment under the Great Seal--a practice done for the benefit of the clerks of each office who largely worked under a form of commission).

SIMONY: The buying or selling of spiritual things, particularly Church offices and benefices.

SMALL HOLDER: A middle class peasant, farming more land than a cottager but less than a villein. A typical small holder would have 10-20 acres.

SOKEMAN: Another name for a free tenant.

SPIRITUALIA: Church property such as churches, glebe (church land), tithes, burial dues, etc.,from which income is derived (cf. "temporalia").

STEWARD: The man responsible for running the day to day affairs of the lord's lands (usually supervising several manors).

STEWARD OF ENGLAND (or OF THE HOUSEHOLD): See: "Household."

SUBDEACON: A member of one of the Major Orders, ranking below a Deacon. Essentially an assistant to the latter.

SUFFRAGANS: Bishops who were ordained so that they could conduct such services as required the possession of episcopal orders, such as ordinations and confirmations. They did not,however, possess jurisdictional powers such as those enjoyed by a diocesan bishop.

SULUNG: A measurement of land in Kent. Equal to two hides.

T

TALLAGE: A tax levied on boroughs and on the tenants living on royal estates.

TALLY STICK: "When the sheriff (or anyone else) paid in money at the Exchequer, he was given a tally stick as a receipt on which the sum was recorded by notches cut in the wood. The payer gave the money to one of the Tellers in an upper room at the Exchequer; the teller wrote a bill of receipt which was dropped through a pipe to the floor below where the tally cutter struck a tally and the details written on two of its faces; the junior deputy chamberlain struck with a mallet a cleaver held by his senior to split the tally lengthwise; the senior read out one part (the stock which the payer would receive) and the junior checked the other (which was kept in the Exchequer), and clerks checked the written records." Tally sticks continued to be used until 1826;when they were used at last to fire the boilers in old Westminster Palace in 1834 they caused a massive fire which burnt the medieval palace to the ground (only Westminster Hall survived).

TEMPORALIA: Possessions such as land, rent, mills, etc., from which income is derived (cf.,"spiritualia").

TENANT IN CHIEF: A lord or institution (the Church being most common) holding land directly from the king. All Earls are Tenants in Chief.

TEUTONIC KNIGHTS: German Fighting Order with main bases in Prussia, Hungary and Germany. Recruits almost exclusively from German Speaking peoples of Europe.

THEGN OR THANE: Originally meaning a Military Companion to the King in Anglo-Saxon England. It has come to mean a land-holding administrative office.

THIRD PENNY: the local earls one third share of fines in shire or hundred courts, often allocated afterwards to a particular manor or church as income.

TITHE: One tenth of a persons income given to support the church.

TITHING: A group in rural society consisting of ten or more males twelve years of age and older responsible for producing its members in court and for reporting illicit acts by group members to the sheriff or his representative at the annual view of frankpledge.

TONSURE: The rite of shaving the crown of the head of the person joining a monastic order or the secular clergy. It symbolizes admission to the clerical state.

TOURNEY: Mock combat for knights. Regulated by the 1270 Statute of Arms, which aimed to prevent such tourneys from turning into the rape, pillage, and murder of the villages and towns where the tourney took place.

"TOWN AIR IS FREE AIR": Words used in many franchisal charters to proclaim the freedom of any serf who managed to live there for a year and a day with out being claimed by his or her lord.

TREASURER: The chief financial officer of the realm, and senior officer of the "Exchequer". See: "Exchequer."

TRESPASS: The medieval term for our modern "misdemeanor." In the Middle Ages these included assault, wounding, damage to property and others down to selling bad beer and bread.Most of these were heard in the various local courts. Punishment for trespassers consisted of an amercement, or time in the stocks. See also: "Felony."

TROUBADOUR: Any of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians who lived in Provence,Catalonia, Southern France, and Northern Italy in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries who wrote poems of courtly love and chivalry , usually with intricate stanza form and rhyme scheme.

U

USURY: The interest charged on a loan. Forbidden by Canon Law (based upon biblical injunction) to all Christians (thus Jews and others were exempt). Usually gotten around by giving the lender actual possession of property and its income during the life of the loan--thus the income served as the interest.

V

VASSAL: A free man who holds a fief from a lord to whom he pays homage and swears to be faithful. He owes various services and obligations, primarily military. But he is also required to advise his lord, attend his lord's court (i.e. suit of court), and pay him the traditional feudal aids required on the knighting of the lord's eldest son, the marriage of the lord's eldest daughter and the ransoming of the lord should he be held captive--wardship, relief, scutage, etc. Commonly used by Knight Hospitallers and Knight Templars in Later Medieval Times.

VIEW OF FRANKPLEDGE: See: "Courts of Law."

VICAR: Incumbent of a parish church which has been appropriated to a religious corporation;the religious house receives all the income, and gives a portion of it to the vicar in return for his undertaking pastoral duties.

VILLEIN: The wealthiest class of peasant. they usually cultivate 20-40 acres of land, often in isolated strips.

VIRGATE: A unit of arable land, varying in size from 18-40 acres, though the "average" virgate was a 30-acre unit of land. Approx one quarter of a hide

W

WAPENTAKE: In northern England and the Midlands, a subdivision of a shire; the equivalent of a Hundred. See Hide.

WARDROBE: That part of the king's Household which was originally the space in the Chamber where the king's clothes and personal possessions were stored. Over the course of time it evolved and came to have its own clerks and servants, run by a Keeper of the Wardrobe, and his subordinates, the Controller of the Wardrobe, and the Cofferer of the Wardrobe. The Keeper of the Wardrobe was particularly important, as he was responsible for receiving money for the Household's expenses, for checking the accounts of its departments, and for rendering these accounts in the Exchequer. The Controller kept a second set of accounts as a control on the Keeper. The Cofferer was responsible for holding coin and accounting for it. The Wardrobe came to have two main subsidiary departments: the Privy Wardrobe in the Tower of London for military supplies, and the Great Wardrobe near Baynard's Castle for civil supplies such as cloth,furs, and spices. Like the Chamber, the Wardrobe's importance in royal administration rose and fell several times over the course of centuries.

WARDSHIP: The right of a lord to the income of a fief during the minority of its heir. The lord is required to maintain the fief and to take care of the material needs of the ward. When the ward comes of age, the lord is required to release the fief to him or her in the same condition in which it was received, without wasting it.

WARLAND: Land liable for tax, as opposed to inland, which is generally exempt from tax.

WASTE: The term generally given to land which is unusable or uncultivated with in a holding. It is not taxed. It is sometimes referred to land destroyed by war or raids, which is like wise not subject to tax. Land can also be wasted by the feudal guardian, or a lender to whom it was pledged as collateral for a loan. Such wasting was actionable at Common Law.

WAX TABLETS: This was the commonest form of writing surface in the middle ages--a wood tablet covered with a layer of wax in which were scratched letters using a stylus. The wax could be smeared over and prepared for new writing at will. Often tablets would be joined together with 1-5 other tablets.

WERGILD: In Anglo-Saxon times, all society was graded according to blood-price or wergild--the sum of money reckoned as proper compensation in case of homicide.

WHITE CANONS: See: "Premonstratensians."

WHITE FRIARS: See: "Mendicant Orders."

WHITE MONKS: See: "Cistercians."

WITAN: (also called the Witenagemot) Council composed of nobles and ecclesiastics which advised the Anglo-Saxon Kings of England. By custom it also "elected" or ratified the successor to the throne. Resembles the commune concilium.

WRIT: In England writs took the form of a letter couched in the form of a command. The king was the most frequent issuer of writs, usually in the form "Henry, king of the English, to ____,greeting. Do _____. Witness, the Chancellor. At Gloucester." Writs could be issued either"patent" (meaning any and all could look at it), or "closed" (meaning it was intended only for the person to whom it was addressed).

Y

YEOMAN: See: "Man-at-Arms."

YOKE: A measurement of land in Kent equal to one quarter of a sulung.