MMDF Glossary

A glossary of terms appearing in Macnamara’s Memorials of the Danvers Family.

advowson The right of presenting a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice.

aet. or aetat Of age or aged. (Example Rev. Thomas Knightley died 15 October 1688 æt 90.)

alderman Co-opted member of a county or borough council.  Next in dignity to a Mayor.

almshouse house Founded by charity for the reception of the poor.

ancient demesne Land held by the king in 1066 or 1086.  Proof of the tenure was normally in Domesday Book.

architectural periods The following is a list of the architectural periods, the latter few used by Macnamara when describing the churches he encountered. 

Roman 43 - 420

Jutish 450 - 550

Saxon 550 - 1066

Norman 1066 - 1200

Early English 1200 - 1280

Decorated 1280 - 1350

Perpendicular 1350 - 1550

assart To clear woodland for agricultural purposes.

assize Periodic session in each county for administration of civil and criminal justice.

attainder Consequences of a sentence of death.  (Forfeiture of estate, loss of civil rights).  A Bill of Attainder might be brought into one or other of the Houses of Parliament.  After passing through both Houses and receiving the Royal Ascent it became law.  Thomas Cromwell first suggested the method, and was the first to suffer by it.  Sir John Fenwick, in 1697, was the last to be put to death by attainder.

baronet (Bt., Bart.) In 1611, James I, being in need of money, created this title.  It could be bought on a payment of £1,080 and the title is hereditary.

benefice An ecclesiastical office to which the revenue from an endowment is attached.  Feudal property held by an ecclesiastical officer (rector or vicar).

benevolence A means of raising money by forced loans.  Edward IV owing to his personal popularity, did much to familiarise his people with this method of raising money.  It was used by Henry VII, Henry VIII, and James I, but was declared illegal by the Petition of Right, 1628.

bocland Land held in Anglo-Saxon times by charter.  The holder was required to perform certain services,  e.g., to maintain  fortifications, repair bridges, and give military service.  See also hide.

bordar (bordarius) Land cultivator of inferior status, usually with a little land.  (Smallholder.)

borough A town with customs and privileges and with its own court.

BM or BL British Museum.  Most manuscripts are now held by the British Library.

c. or ca. (circa) About the time specified.

caruca A plough with the oxen, usually eight, that pulled it.

carucate Measurement of land varying between 60 and 120 acres and originally denoting the amount of land ploughable by a plough team (eight oxen) in one day.  Cf. hide.

cf. (confer) Compare.

chancel Area around the alter of a church.

chartulary Record book of deeds and charters.

chase Enclosed hunting-land.

cloister covered place for walking, often round the interior of a college or cathedral quadrangle with a wall on the outer and a colonnade or windows on the inner.

concord An agreement or treaty between persons.

coparceners Joint heirs.

copyhold Land held by the title of a deed enroled on the manorial court roll.  

corbel Projection of stone jutting out from the wall to support a table.

cottar Cottager; an unfree peasant holding a small piece of land.  

county Meant originally a part cut off from the whole.  As indicating a territorial division. Same as shire.

Danegeld A tax levied by the Crown on the hide to pay for the defence of England. Same as geld.

Danvers (town) A town in north-eastern Massachusetts, in Essex County, about 17 miles north of Boston.  Settled in 1626 and first called Salem Village. The parish was the scene of the witchcraft trials of 1692, which took place near historic First Church.  It was incorporated under its present name in 1752, named after Sir Danvers Osborn, third baronet, who commanded Colonel Bedford’s regiment under the Duke of Cumberland in the 1745 rebellion. Danvers is famous for its colonial homes, notably the house (c. 1636) of Rebecca Nourse, “Saint but Witchcraft Victim,” and the General Putman House (c. 1648).  Danvers is a market centre for the area’s dairy and poultry products.  Local manufactures include metal, leather and paper products, electronic equipment, heating units, and fluorescent tubes.

dates (OS / NS) When noting dates before the year 1752, it is important to remember that in England the (Old Style or OS) Julian calendar was still in use, whereas most of the Continent had adopted the (New Style or NS) Gregorian calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII who introduced it) in 1582 as had Scotland in 1660. Moreover, to add to the confusion, the Old Style calendar started on the 25th March instead of 1st January.

By 1751, the Old Style calendar was incorrect by 11 days, so an act of parliament, passed that year, decreed that this should be changed: Not only that the following 1st January should become the first day of 1752, but that the 3rd September should be followed the next day by the 14th September. The effect was as follows:

1750 started on 25th March 1750             and ended 24 March 1751;

1751 started on 25th March 1751             and ended 31 December 1751; 

1752 started on 1st January 1752             and ended 31 December 1752             with 11 days in September missing.

Some documents record two dates, e.g., 23rd August 1718/19 (i.e., 1718 Old Style and 1719 New Style). Dates earlier than 1752 often have OS or NS added.

An example of the confusion that this can cause can be seen on page 17-11 where Henry Danvers married, on 29 March 1629,  Elizabeth Bower and their daughter Marie was baptised 11 February 1629. To clarify this:1629 began on 25 March. Henry and Elizabeth were married four days later.1629 continued through December, January, February and the first 24 days of the following March. On 11 February, 52 days before the end of 1629, Marie Danvers was baptised.

demesne Land devoted to the lord’s profit, whether a manor, or a portion of land within a manor, worked by peasants as part of their obligations to their lord.

en. in

enfeoff Invest with feud.

escheat Land reverting to the lord of a fee if the tenant died without heirs or broke his feudal contract.

escheator Official who enforced the royal right of escheats.  Farm a fixed sum of rent in cash or kind, usually due annually.

et. and

et. seq. (et sequen/s) and subsequent, following (pages, chapters, etc.).

extant Still existing.

facm Fixed sum of rent in cash or kind, usually due annually.

fee fief, feoff, feudal benefice.

fee facm Rent payable from the holder of a fee to his lord.

fee, fief Landed estate held from a lord by feudal tenure.

fee tail entail; specific and limited arrangement for the inheritance of land.

feoff feud, one’s sphere of influence or control.

feoffee Person to whom freehold land is conveyed by feoffment.

feoffment Mode of conveying freehold estate by formal transfer of possession.

feoffor One who makes feoffment to another.

feud Land held under feudal system or in fee, fief.

feudalism Feudalism was primarily a system of land tenure.  The theory underlying it was that the land belonged to God, from whom it was held by the King, who sublet it to his great vassals, who in turn divided it out among his subjects.  The two main elements of feudalism were:

(1)  The personal relation of two persons as lord and vassal respectively.  The lord gave protection to the vassal, and the vassal was under an obligation to render certain services to the lord.

(2)  The holder of any piece of land was regarded as having the use of it only (the absolute ownership remaining in the lord) and in return for such use he was required to pay certain dues as rent, and render military service to the man from whom he held it.

fief feoff

geld, Danegeld A tax levied by the Crown on the hide to pay for the defence of England.

geldum The principal royal tax normally levied at an equal number of pence on each hide.

gentleman The lowest position in the order of general and social precedence.

gesith An Anglo-Saxon word meaning “companion.”  He fought side by side with the King, attended upon him at home, and was wholly devoted to his service.  The dignity of the King was reflected in the gesith, who was often rewarded with the more material gifts of land.

glebe Land belonging, or yielding, revenue to a parish church or ecclesiastic benefice.

Hanaper Office levying payments for sealing letters with the great seal.

hauberk Shirt of mail (small interlinked rings of iron).

hiatus Break or gap in a series, account, or chain of proof.

hidage Document containing assessment of land, shires or towns, drawn up in hides.

hide Originally the land necessary to sustain a peasant household.  A portion or measurement of land equivalent to a carucate, variously estimated at from 33 to 120 acres, it varied according to locality, date, and government needs.  In Anglo-Saxon times a man’s importance end rateable liability was based on the possession of so many hides of land.  Boch were used as the basis of tax assessment (see bocland).

homage Homage was that profession of feudal subjection which the vassal made to his lord on receiving a fief from his hands. It could only be received by the lord himself. The vassal uncovered his head, laid aside his sword and spear, and knelt before his suzerain and declared:  I become your man (homo) for the lands which I hold of you, and will be faithful to you against all men, saving the fealty which I owe to my lord the king.”  The oath of fealty and the grant of the fief followed the formula of homage.  Every feudal tenant on acquiring his property was compelled to do homage to his lord.

honor Group of estates held by a tenant-in-chief.

hundred A subdivision of the shire, with its own court, based on groups of estates adding up to 100 hides: probably artificially imposed in the Midlands 900-939, but in the south based on older units.  The was name given to the district in which one hundred warriors settled.  Eadgar (959-975) first organised the local police in England by the issue of the “Ordinances of the Hundred,” which divided the shires into smaller districts, and made the inhabitants of each hundred responsible for the putting down of theft, robbery and violence in their own district.  In so doing he made use of the old territorial divisions.  The ancient divisional name given to a portion of a county for administration or military purposes.  It is supposed to imply the territory occupied by a hundred families; or the space of a hundred hides of land, or the capacity of providing 100 soldiers.  Each hundred has its own hundred court and elected council who usually met once a month, with powers similar to those of a manor court, but this was abolished in 1867 by County Court Act.

hundred moot The hundred moot, or council of the hundred, met once a month. It was called together by, and was presided over by, the ealdor of the hundred. Its members were usually the landowner, parish priest, the reeve, and four best men of each township. Its powers were delegated to twelve, who dealt with criminals, settled disputes, and witnessed transfers of land.  No case could be carried to higher court until it had been before the hundred moot.

ibid. (ibidem) In the same place.

impeachment The name given to a form of trial in which the Commons are accusers and the House of Lords act as judges.  The offender is impeached by a member of the House of Commons at the bar of the House of Lords, articles of impeachment are drawn up, managers are appointed, and the trial is carried on in Westminster Hall.  If the accused be a peer, the Lord High Steward presides; if a commoner, the Lord Chancellor.  Each count in the indictment i.e. voted upon separately, and the accused is condemned or acquitted on a majority of votes.  Judgment may not be pronounced unless the Commons demand it through the Speaker.  Notable impeachments are those of Francis Bacon and Warren Hastings.

in capite A manor held direct from the king.

infangtheof The right of a lord to hang a thief caught on his land.

insurrection A rising in open resistance to established authority.

interdict An interdict was the suspension of religious services over a province or a kingdom.  This was a more severe penalty than excommunication, inasmuch as it affected more persons, and involved the innocent as well as the guilty. During interdict the churches were closed, the dead buried without religious services, no rites but those of baptism and extreme unction (the act of anointing as a rite of consecration or healing) performed.

interregnum A period during which a State has no monarch, usually between the end of one monarch’s reign and the accession of a successor e.g. the time between the reigns of Charles I and Charles II.

investiture The ceremony of conferring possession of the temporalities and privileges office on a Bishop or Abbot by delivering to him the pastoral ring and staff, the symbols of his office.  In 1075 Pope Gregory VII published a decree forbidding clergymen to receive investiture from a layman under pain of deposition.  Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, accordingly refused to take the usual oath of homage, alleging that he owed fealty to God alone.  Henry II replied that as a large landowner he must do homage to the Crown.  In 1106, at Bec, in Normandy, they agreed upon a compromise:  Anselm and all succeeding Prelates were to do homage as feudal tenants, but were to take the ring and crosier from the high altar of the cathedral as direct gifts from God.

Ironsides A term applied to a regiment of soldiers drawn from the yeomen of Cambridge and Huntingdon.  They were raised and drilled by Oliver Cromwell.  They were religious men, and officered by men of the same character, and were noted for their bravery.

issue children.

Jacobites From Jacobus, Latin for James, were the adherents of the Stuart cause after the Revolution of 1688.

juxtaposition Items placed side by side.

knight’s fee An area of land equalling 5 hides or approximately 600 acres.

knights templars These were men who in the Middle Ages were both knights and monks.  They undertook the care of the sick among the pilgrims and Crusaders.  This charitable phase of their work made them recipients of great wealth.  They rapidly degenerated, and rivalries sprung up among them.  Their property roused the cupidity of Philip IV of France, who, supported by the Pope, Clement V, utterly uprooted them in that country in 1307.  Under the title of the Knights of Malta the Order survived in that island till the French Revolution.

Lady Ruling woman (lady of the house or manor; woman to whom man is chivalrously devoted; mistress. woman belonging to the upper class or fitted for it by manners, habits, and sentiments, (corresponding to gentleman; Lady of the bedchamber, Lady-in-waiting, lady attending queen or princess). (Lady, title used as less formal prefix for) Marchioness (of), Countess (of), Viscountess, Baroness, (also prefixed to Christian name of) daughter of duke, marquis, or earl, (or to husband’s Christian name of) wife or widow or holder of courtesy title Lord William etc., (or to surname of) wife or widow of baronet or knight; Mayoress, wife of Lord Mayor.  My Lady, form of address used chiefly by servants etc. to holders of the title Lady; of those who hold the title Lady.

latten An alloy of copper and zinc, golden yellow in colour, used for household plates, dishes and vessels, and for monumental brasses.

linchet or lynchet Artificial terrace allowing ploughing of the slopes of the chalk downs in Wiltshire.

magna Great e.g. magna carta = great charter, Tew Magna = Great Tew.

maintenance The practice which obtained in England during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries for one man to seek the help of a more powerful neighbour in the courts of law.  The one so assisted became a dependent of a helper.  The tendency of this practice was to interfere with the due course of justice.  Coupled with this was the giving out of livery which gave a pretext for maintenance, and also gave rise to faction and quarrelling.  The evils arising from both practices were put an end to by the Statute of Livery and Maintenance, 1488.

manor An estate with land and jurisdiction over tenants.  Not necessarily a whole village, which might have several manors, just as one manor might own land in more than one village.  The word “manor” is a Norman name for the Saxon township,” in which a group of tenants acknowledge the superior position and authority of a “lord of the manor.”  The great feature of the manor was that it was subject to a “lord,” who owned absolutely a certain portion of the land therein, and had rights of rent (paid in services, or food, or money, or in all three) over the rest of the land.

matriculated Admitted to membership of a university.

mercenaries These were troops who hired themselves out to anyone who would employ them. In England after the Conquest, the fact that the feudal armies were made up of tenants serving only forty days, and were led by lords who often proved disloyal to the Crown, rendered them inefficient instruments in the hand of the King.  Henry II instituted the practice of scutage, or a money payment, in lieu of military service, which enabled him to employ foreign mercenaries.

messuage A house with outbuildings and land assigned to its use.

missive A long and serious letter, usually official.

monumental brass A durable, beautiful and very expensive memorial which replaced the stone memorials that had been placed on church floors which wore down quicker than intended under many passing feet.  Sometimes brasses were incorporated on freestanding stone memorials to form table tombs for those with high status in the community.

money In the 17th Century, £1000 would have equated to something like £1,000,000 in 1990. A clergyman would have earned about £30 per annum.

MS. and MSS. manuscript and manuscripts.

muniment A document such as a title-deed kept as evidence of rights or privileges.

names Records were often written in Latin, and this led to the Latinizing of some names, notably Elizabeth, which became Isabel(la). The following are a list of the modern, anglicised equivalents for names which use various forms in this book.
Isabel(la) - Elizabeth
Guido - Guy
Hugo - Hugh
Milo - Miles
Rad - Ralph
Ruel - Roland

nave The body of the church from door to chancel.

ob.s.p. (obiit sine prole) died without issue (children).

op. cit. (opere citato) in the work quoted/mentioned.

ordeal A person accused of some crime might in Anglo-Saxon and early Norman times elect to prove his innocence by the Ordeal, or judgment, of God.  The Ordeal took different forms:

1. The Ordeal by hot water. This was performed by the accused person plunging his hand into a vessel of boiling water, and taking therefrom a stone or a piece of iron.  His arm was then bandaged by a priest.

2. The Ordeal by hot iron. This consisted in grasping a piece of red-hot iron, and carrying it three paces. The hand was then bound by the priest, as in the hot-water Ordeal, and if free from marks at the end of three days, the accused was pronounced innocent.

3. Ordeal by “corsned,” or consecrated, bread, which, it was said, would choke the person if he were guilty.

4. Ordeal by cold water, which consisted in binding a person and throwing him into deep water. If he sank he was declared innocent, but if he floated guilty.

OS and NS Old Style and New Style.  Refer dates.

Outfangtheof The right of a lord to hang a thief wherever caught.

outlaws A person who is put out of the benefit of the law by three public proclamations for felony is styled an outlaw.  An outlaw might in early times be lawfully slain by anyone who met him, as he was said to bear “a wolf’s head.”  In the reign of Edward III it was declared unlawful for anyone but the Sheriff to put an outlaw to death under pain of being charged with murder.

Oxon (oxoniensis) of Oxford.

Oyer and terminer Commission issued to royal justices empowering them to hear and determine trespasses within a specified area.

p. and pp. page and pages.

Palatinate Semi independent ’principality’, the lord of which possessed some quasi-royal powers.

Palatine Counties Palatine counties were so called because their rulers had equal rights with the King in his palace (palatium).  William the Conqueror created three Palatine counties for the defence of the kingdom, viz., Chester opposed to Wales; Durham to protect the northern counties against Scotland; and Kent to resist attacks from the Continent.  Lancaster was created a County Palatine by Edward III.  The Palatine counties had courts of their own, which controlled the whole business of the shire.

parva little e.g. Bourton Parva = Little Bourton.

Passive Obedience James I entered upon his kingly duties with a strong conviction of his Divine right to rule.  His subjects must therefore render him unquestioning, or passive, obedience.  He was warmly supported in this view by the leaders in the Church, and clergymen preached the doctrine from the pulpit.  This view of the prerogative largely accounts for the troubles that befell the Stuart Kings.

Peasants’ Revolt, (1381) Its causes go as far back as the Black Death and the Statute of Labourers.  The preaching of Wickliffe’s followers as to the equality of men, and the discontent arising out of the heavy taxation for the French Hundred Years’ War precipitated it in 1381, under the leadership of Wat Tyler, the men of gent, and the men of Essex, under Jack Straw entered London.  They made the following demands: 

1. That villeinage should be abolished.

2. That all lands held on villein-tenure be made into leasehold farms at fourpence per acre.

3. That the tolls and market dues, which increased the rice of provisions, should be abolished.

4. That all who had been engaged in the rising should receive a full pardon for the murders and pillage that had taken place.  

On Tyler’s death, Richard II drew up a charter granting their demands, but it was annulled by Parliament. The lords endeavoured to enforce their feudal claims, but were unable to do so.  The revolt, however, led ultimately to the abolition of villeinae.

Peter’s Pence A tax of one penny on each hearth, dating from the tenth or Rome-feoh century, and paid to the Pope.  In 1534 it was decided that it be no longer paid.  

Petition of Right The petition passed through the Houses of Parliament on 28 May 1628.  It demanded four things:

 1. That no freeman should be obliged to give any gift, loan, benevolence, or tax without common consent by Act of Parliament.

 2. That no freeman should be imprisoned contrary to the laws of the land.

 3. That soldiers and sailors should not be billeted in private houses.

 4. That commissions to punish soldiers and sailors by martial law should be revoked, and no more issued.

Pilgrim Fathers In 1620, 100 emigrants sailed across the Atlantic in the Mayflower.  They landed at a spot near Cape Cod, which was afterwards called New Plymouth.  Here they formed settlements in which they fished, traded, and farmed.  They were styled the Pilgrim Fathers.  In 1630 they were joined by about 1,000 more under John Winthrop, and the settlement in what is now Massachusetts was firmly established.  Although they fled from religious persecution, they were none the less intolerant in the new settlements.

plough team A plough with the oxen, usually eight, that pulled it.

Ploughland The amount of potential arable land on an estate (that is the number of ploughs there was scope for) expressed as a tax assessment which varied according to regional conditions and class of soil.

PM Inquis. Post-mortem inquisition.

Port Reeve A royal officer of Saxon times, who presided over the courts in mercantile towns.

pp. pages.

Pride’s Purge In 1648 the Houses of Parliament opened negotiations with Charles at Newport, with a view to coming to an agreement.  But the army did not look with favour on the scheme.  On December 1 Charles was removed from Carisbrook to Hurst Castle.  On December 5 the House of Commons declared for a reconciliation with the King.  Colonel Pride, a leading Independent officer, marched his regiment to Westminster on December 6, and as the members began to muster, seized one by one all the chiefs of the Presbyterian party.  Forty-one members were placed in confinement; ninety-six were turned back, and warned never to come near the House again.  Only sixty Independent members were allowed to enter.  This body was for the future known as the Rump.  The army was now absolutely supreme.

Prime Minister The head of the Cabinet, and first Minister of the Crown.  The office arose out of the necessity for someone to represent King George I, who did not know the English language, on the Council of Ministers.

Primer Seisin This was one year’s profits which the King was entitled to receive, when the death of one of his tenants-in-chief left an heir of full age.

privity The relationship between two parties recognised by law (blood, lease, service).

Privy Council A body of advisers chosen by the sovereign which had very large powers up to and including the Tudor period, but does little now except transact formal business.  The President and Vice-President of the Privy Council are important Ministers.  When a Member of Parliament attains to Cabinet rank, he becomes a Privy Councillor.  Others are created such for meritorious services rendered to the State.

PRO Public Record Office

purporty Conveyed to.

receiver A person appointed by court to administer property under litigation.

reeve A name given in Anglo-Saxon times to an official who exercised control (supervised labour dues and renders owed by the peasants) over some given area.  There was the shire-reeve, or sheriff, port-reeve, borough reeve, and town-reeve.

refectory The room in a college or monastery where meals are eaten.

regicide One of those concerned with the trying and executing of King Charles I, e.g. Sir John Danvers.

relief The fine which the heir to an estate had to pay before he could enter upon it. Extravagant demands were made by Rufus, and Henry I, in his Charter, promised to demand no more than was reasonable.  In Magna Carta the amount was fixed at £100 for a barony, and 100 shillings for a knighthood.

requite  avenge, repay (for treatment received with treatment given).

Restoration The re-establishment of a monarch, e.g. King Charles II of England in 1660, after Charles I was beheaded in 1649 and Parliament ran the country.

riding trithing, a third part.  Sub-divisions of land in Yorkshire.

Right Close, writ of Royal writ initiating land actions and transfers in ancient demesne manorial courts.

Riot Act Passed in 1715, when a Jacobite rising seemed likely.  It provided that if groups of twelve or more rioters did not disperse within one hour after: being ordered b a magistrate to do so, by proclamation in the King’s name they should be held guilty of felony, and if killed whilst being dispersed those killing them should not be guilty of murder.

Roman Numerals
I - 1
V - 5
X - 10
L - 50
C - 100
M - 1000
e.g., MCMXCV = 1995

Roundhead The term Roundhead took its rise at the same time as the term Cavalier in the tumults which occurred during the discussions in Parliament at the end of 1641. They were so called because those of the Parliamentary party had their hair cropped close.

Sac and Soc Sac, the right possessed by a lord to hold a court. Soc, the right to take profits arising out of such court.

Sanctuary The name given to a privilege granted to churches and certain other places to which criminals might flee for safety.  No one could claim sanctuary for more than forty days.  The privilege was abolished in 1624.

scriptorium A writing office.

scutage Money payment in lieu of military service.  It was first levied by Henry I.  Henry II, Richard I, and John resorted to this method of raising money, as it enabled them to employ mercenaries for their war; Magna Carta provided that no scutage should be levied except by common consent of the nation.  Also known as "shield tax" paid in lieu of military service.

sequestrator One who seizes possession of an estate.

serf Lowest ranking unfree peasant with very few legal rights.  Slave, property of the lord.  Slave, property of the lord.

Serjeancy The tenure by personal as opposed to military services.

sheriff Royal official in charge of a shire.  King’s representative and principal administrator in the shire.

Ship-Money It was customary in times of war for coast districts to be taxed in order to provide ships.  In 1635, though the country was at peace, the tax was laid on the inland counties.  John Hampden, M.P. for Buckingham, was assessed at 20 shillings in respect of lands which he possessed.  He refused to pay, and the matter came before the courts.  Of the twelve judges, seven decided for the Crown, two for Hampden on technical grounds, and three in his favour on all counts.

shire or County.  Meant originally a part cut off from the whole.  As indicating a territorial division.

shire abbreviations The following are a list of the shire abbreviations used by Macnamara in this book:
Beds - Bedfordshire
Berks - Berkshire
Bucks - Buckinghamshire
Herts - Hertfordshire
Lancs - Lancashire
Oxon - Oxfordshire
Yorks - Yorkshire
Wilts - Wiltshire

slave A man or woman who owed personal service to another, and was un-free, and unable to move home, change work or allegiance, to buy or sell, without permission.

socage Non-military tenure, usually by rent.

soke Jurisdiction within a given area, and the area so described.

Soke (land) Land attached to a central manor for payment of dues and for judicial purposes.  Often large units - perhaps of very ancient origin.

sokeman A free peasant obliged to attend the court of his soke and to serve its lord.

steward The manager of a great house or estate.

Tallage A tax levied by a lord from his tenants.

temp. (tempore) period, time, season.

Tenement A holding of land.

Terra regis Land of the king.

thegn (thane) Man of high rank (Anglo Saxon), who fought or carried out administrative duties for the king.  Held land from the King by special grant. The dignity was hereditary.  The possession of forty hides of land entitled a thegn to rise to the rank of Earl.  Richer thegns had grand halls behind large defences.  Backbone of the Royal Army.

theows The Anglo-Saxon name for slaves, who were regarded as goods and chattels by their masters, and were without legal rights.

tithe A tax of one-tenth part of annual produce of land or labour taken for support of clergy and the church.

tithe barn A barn where grain or animals were kept that had been collected as a tithe.

tithes A payment to the Church of a tenth of the profits arising out of land, farm-stock, and the industry of the people. Payment was made compulsory in 1787 in England.

Township Moot This was a meeting of the town or tun.  It was presided over by the reeve, who also carried out its decisions, and along with four others represented the township in the court of the hundred.

Trial by Combat or Wager of Battle, was in Norman (and possibly pre-Norman) times a method of settling a dispute by a combat between accuser and accused.  If the latter was vanquished, he was adjudged guilty; if victorious, or if he held out for a stipulated time, he was acquitted of the charge, and could recover damages from his accuser.

unction The act of anointing as a rite of consecration or healing.

vassal A person under the protection of his lord to whom he vowed homage and fealty.

vill The subdivision of a hundred; usually a village.

villager (villanus) A member of a village or small town, usually with more land than a bordarius.

villein Highest ranking dependent peasant owing his lord duties and services in return for his land, often holding between 30 and 100 acres; above them were ‘freemen’ and ‘sokemen’.  In Anglo-Saxon times a large part of the population were ceorls.  These, together with the serfs, were styled villeins in Norman times, and as such compelled to live on their lord’s estate.  It was a position of servitude, though not without some advantages.  Villeinae received its death-blow in the rebellion of Wat Tyler.

virgate A quarter of a hide, about 20 or 30 acres.

viz or vide (videlicet) namely.

wapentake See hundred.  Term used in former Danish areas.  Equivalent of a hundred in the Danelaw.  A name of Danish origin, and only found in the districts occupied by the Danes. It was the equivalent of the hundred in the south.  It was the union of a number of townships fox the purpose of judicial administration.

wergild The amount of money that was required to be paid by one who caused the death of another by violence.  Each person, according to rank, had a value set upon him - e.g., the wergild of the King was 7,200 shillings, an ealdorman 2,400 shillings, a King’s thegn 1,200 shillings, an ordinary thegn 600 shillings, and a ceorl 200 shillings.

witanagemot The meeting of the wise men (Witan).  It was at first a royal, and thus the supreme, council of the land.  There were present the King, the Bishops, the ealdormen, and the King’s thegns.  It held its meetings at Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas.

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