Difference between revisions of "Hârn Manor Glossary"

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Manor 32

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ACRE

The basic unit of area measurement. The customary size of an acre may vary from one part of Lythia to another, but these rules assume a standard measure. An acre is roughly 200 feet square, or 20mm × 20mm on a local map.

ADULTERY

An offense against the canon law of the churches of Larani and Peoni. Adultery is considered a more serious crime than leirwite since it threatens the family, the foundation of Hârnic society.

ALEWIFE

A village woman who brews ale, beer, cider, and similar alcoholic beverages. Most rural folk consume six to 12 pints of ale per day. When an Innkeeper franchise exists on the manor, alewives cannot (officially) brew for public consumption. Otherwise, alewives take turns producing their favorite brew and selling it from their cottage. This custom means the local "tavern" moves up and down the village from cottage to cottage.

AMERCEMENT

A fine. Amercements are an important source of income for many lords. Common offenses under manorial custom/law include crimes of neglect, laziness, petty larceny, failing to deliver kind owed to the lord, avoiding boon work, poaching, or failing to maintain the cottage. These offenses are all violations of feudal obligation and carry fines of 6d to 48d (typically 12d). Fines may be levied in cash, kind, or labor (generally equating a day of labor to a penny) at the lord's discretion. Overburdening a tenant with amercement is considered a dereliction of duty on the lord's part. Freemen have the right of appeal to (royal) hundred or shire courts.

ASSART

The process of clearing woodland or draining marshland, undertaken to increase the amount of cleared land. Assarting is often undertaken by freemen in exchange for three to five years of free rent, the origin of the term "free holder."

ASSIZE

Laws fixing standards and prices for bread, ale, and other staples. Such laws are not common due to the influence of Hârnic guilds.

BAILIFF

An officer appointed by the lord to govern in his stead. Many bailiffs are knights-bachelor, but anyone may hold the post. On some manors, the reeve serves as bailiff.

BAILIFF OF THE HUNDRED

The chief royal officer in a hundred, directly responsible to the sheriff.

BALK

A narrow strip of turf left unplowed to establish a boundary between selions.

BEADLE

Tenant officer responsible for the preservation of seed and winter feed for the livestock. He also impounds livestock that stray onto the lord's land, collects fines, etc. The office is often held by a yeoman as part of his feudal service or by a trusted villein appointed by the lord. Also see Manor 13.

BLASPHEMY

A lack of respect for a lawfully recognized deity, generally verbal disrespect. This is an offense against the canon law of all legally recognized churches. Punishment is scolding. Repeat offenders might have their tongue removed.

BOON-WORK

Work that an unfree tenant must perform for his lord, typically during the crucial harvest time. All adult (age 13+) unfree tenants, male or female, must harvest the lord's crops before they can harvest their own. This work is a boon to the lord, meaning it is unpaid. This effort can take 15–30 days of very hard labor. The lord generally gives free ale and a meal to all workers and can fine tenants who violate the custom. Boon work is included in the four days per acre assessment used to determine tenant obligations.

BYLAWS

The body of custom governing cultivation and grazing, enforced by the reeve. Violation of bylaws may be dealt with by the reeve or brought to the lord's attention in the manorial court.

CHEVAGE

An annual or monthly fee paid by an unfree tenant for the privilege of living off the manor. The amount varies from 12 to 60d per year. Remaining family of the absentee tenant are held accountable to pay the chevage and to fulfill any other obligations due to the lord.

CHILDWITE

A fine levied on some manors for bearing a child out of wedlock. In many regions, childwite is treated as leirwite. The fine is typically between 3d and 24d and usually paid by the woman. Childwite may be a confusing issue since it is often deemed a good idea to make sure a woman is fertile before marriage. Hence, out-of-wedlock pregnancies tend to occur in cases in which a man has reneged on a promise of marriage. This is also an offense (both canon and secular) that may be treated as breach of contract or as rape (the latter being a capital offense). Often, however, the male offender cannot be found. Little social stigma is attached to premarital sex and its consequences.

COASTAL MANOR

A manor or abbey with direct access to the sea and which can partly support itself by fishing. Manors bordering Lake Benath and other large bodies of fresh water are also considered to be coastal manors.

COMMON

A portion of the manorial village where any resident may graze livestock.

CORRODY

An old-age pension purchased from or awarded by an abbey or other institution. Corrody is an individual contract but always covers food and lodging.

COTTAR

An unfree tenant with minimal land. Most cottars hold one to five acres but some hold only their cottage and garden.

CROFT

The garden surrounding a peasant's cottage. While it is usually less than an acre, the croft is a vital source of fruit/vegetables.

DEMESNE

Manor land that the lord keeps for himself. The demesne is worked by unfree tenants who owe labor in exchange for their land. Some manors do not have demesne, a few are entirely demesne.

DISTRAINT

A summons or arrest, often the first step in legal proceedings in the hallmoot.

ESSOIN

A permission to delay or an excuse to not attend court granted to a defendant or witness.

EXTENT

Document listing lands, assets, stock, rights, and obligations held/owed in/by a manor.

EYRE

Name sometimes given to a royal circuit court.

FARM

Legal term for a lease or grant for consideration, usually money. Some manors are farmed to a bailiff. Manorial lords farm to freeholders in exchange for fixed rent.

FREEHOLDER

One who holds land in exchange for rent (rather than labor). See also, Yeoman.

Manor 33

FOREST MANOR

A manor (or abbey) directly abutting a forested area, typically on the edges of civilization. Forest manors contain larger tracts of woods than is normal.

FURLONG

(Furrow-Long) A group of selions (strips) in an open field.

• Furrow: noun: a long, narrow trench made in the ground by a plough, especially for planting seeds or irrigation. "regular furrows in a ploughed field". verb:make a rut, groove, or trail in (the ground or the surface of something). "gorges furrowing the deep-sea floor"

GERSUM

Fee paid to the lord for the right to take up a tenancy. It is a one-time payment made by a tenant who is occupying a holding for the first time. It is not levied in cases of inheritance (see Heriot and Wardship). Gersum is 24–48d, varying by the size of holding.

GLEBE

Land on a manor to support the local temple or chapel. The land is cultivated by local clerics and by adherents "working their tithe" or is farmed out for Rent. See Manor 14.

GORE

An odd-shaped piece of land. Gores may be left uncultivated or worked with hand tools.

HALF-VILLEIN

An unfree tenant who typically holds half a yard (15 acres) in exchange for labor.

HALLMOOT

The lord's court. See Manor 37.

HAMSOEKEN

Assault within the victim's home. This is a more serious crime than assault outside the home.

HEADLAND

Wasteland at the ends of selions where the plow is turned.

HEDGEROW

A dense line of cultivated trees (hawthorn is most common) that are the preferred method for dividing fields. Hedgerows make a vital and complex contribution to the agricultural ecology.

HERESY

Contradicting, denying, or disputing official church doctrine. Penalties for this canon crime are always unpleasant, such as death by impalement, roasting, or burning.

HERIOT

Death duty paid to the fiefholder by the heir of a tenant. It is traditionally the best animal of the deceased but another chattel or cash payment may be substituted; good lords will not cause undue hardship.

HEUSHIRE

Rent paid on a house or cottage, generally fixed by custom or by farm contract.

HIDE

An area of land, traditionally four yards. This averages 120 acres but varies from one district to another based on land quality and imprecision in measurement.

HUE & CRY

A method of pursuing a criminal whereby all within earshot must assist in the capture. This method can be dangerous for the suspect being apprehended.

HUNDRED

A district, an administrative division of the shire. The chief crown representative is the Bailiff of the Hundred.

HURDLES

Portable fences for containing livestock in specific areas of an open field. They are commonly used as obstacles for running contests at village festivals.

HERDER

The chief herdsman responsible for the fief's pasture and livestock. Also see Manor 13.

KNIGHT'S FEE

Sufficient land/resources to support a fully equipped cavalryman (knight). Traditionally, this is 10 Hides, or 1200 Acres.

LEIRWITE

A fine levied against an unwed woman for sexual misconduct and usually paid by the offender herself. Typical leirwite is 6–24d. Despite the fines levied for this offense, little social stigma is attached unless the maiden is formally betrothed.

LIEGE

The person from whom land is held.

LORD

The person who holds the manor. The purpose of a manor is to support the lord and his household.

LOVE-DAY

An opportunity given by the lord to disputants in a court case to resolve their differences. If the disputants fail to resolve the issue, it is settled by the lord.

MANOR

An estate consisting of tenant holdings and/or a lord's demesne. Theoretically, a manor has the amount of land required to support one knight.

MANORHOUSE

The residence of the lord and his family and household.

MARRIAGE

Marriage between rural peasants tends to be informal and may consist of nothing more than a kiss and a promise exchanged in public. Formal religious ceremony is, however, a growing custom.

MASLIN

A mixture of wheat and rye flour, sometimes barley and rye flour, from which peasant bread is made.

MEADOW

The part of the manor where grass is grown for winter fodder. The meadow is often the best land in the fief.

MERCHET

The fee paid by an father to his lord for the right to marry off his daughter.

MOOT

A village meeting and/or the place where it is held (mootplace). The reeve presides and all aspects of village life and bylaws are debated. See also, Hallmoot.

MORTUARY

Death duty paid to the church by pious adherents, traditionally the second best animal. The Peonian Church will not accept mortuary if this causes great hardship.

MULTURE

The miller's share of the grain he grinds: typically one, two, or three parts in twenty.

PANNAGE

Annual fee paid by tenants in exchange for the right to graze pigs in the lord's woods.

PARISH

A religious district of a church that contains at least one temple and a variable number of smaller chapels. In the feudal kingdoms of Hârn, where the Church of Peoni dominates peasant worship, there tends to be one chapel to Peoni per manor. Other faiths have far fewer, but larger, parishes.

PASTURE

Land used for grazing livestock. This is mostly the cleared land left fallow each year, but some areas of permanent pasture may exist, such as hilly areas too steep for plow oxen to work.

POTTAGE

A stew that is a staple part of most peasant diets. A large pot simmers on the hearth day and night, into which all kinds of vegetables, grains, and scraps of meat are thrown as available in season. The ongoing cooking keeps the food from spoiling because bacteria cannot survive the high temperatures.

PLEDGING

Legal guaranty of one villager for another's court appearance, good conduct, payment of a debt, etc.

PUNFOLD

An enclosure wherein the lord keeps stray animals until their fines are paid. The punfold is generally managed by the beadle.

QUARTER

Unit of volume, eight bushels.

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REAP REEVE

An unfree tenant appointed by the reeve to help supervise the harvest. Also called a "warden of the autumn."

REEVE

An elected or appointed villein who performs most of the managerial functions in a manor or village. The reeve presides at the village moot, decides what crops to plant, supervises the formation of plow teams, and generally makes sure that everyone does their proper share of work. On some manors, the reeve collects rents, levies fines on tenants, sells produce for the lord, and makes purchases for the manor. Records are kept on tally sticks of the produce harvested and the respective shares delivered to the lord, to the tenants, to market, and to storage. Also see, Manor 13.

RING

Unit of volume, four bushels.

RUSHLIGHT

A rush soaked in tallow. The principal form of illumination in many households.

SEISIN

Legal possession, occupation, or tenancy of land or property.

SELION

A half-acre strip of land in one of the arable fields (or meadows). Each selion is held by one tenant household, which usually holds multiple selions scattered throughout the fields. Selions are grouped in furlongs, each of which may be planted in a different crop.

SENESCHAL

Another name for Steward.

SERF

An unfree tenant. There are three main classes, depending on acres held: Villein, Half-Villein, and Cottar.

SHERIFF

The chief royal officer in a shire, directly responsible to the king (or, more likely, the Lord Constable). The crown often farms shires, exchanging the right to govern and tax the king's subjects therein for a fixed sum paid by the highest bidder. The term "Sheriff " is derived from "shire-reeve."

SMALL BEER

A weak ale made from the second or third brew of the same malt and hops. It is mostly consumed by children, the sick, and the very poor. Small beer does not taste good and has little alcohol (few redeeming features, in fact) but it is healthier than water.

SPINSTER

A person who earns income by spinning and/or weaving, usually for the Clothiers' Guild. This activity provides good income for some households.

STEWARD

An officer appointed by a fiefholder to oversee substantial holdings, particularly those held by a bailiff of the lord.

TALLAGE

A tax levied at the lord's pleasure. Tallage can be an arbitrary assessment but is more often based on acres held; can also be a poll tax on the number of adults living in the household.

TALLY-STICK

The preferred accounting method for most reeves: transaction records are made by notching sticks. For an experienced reeve, the technique is efficient and accurate.

TITHE

An annual fee paid to a church by a pious adherent, typically equal to 10% of produce. Poor folk are often allowed to "work their tithe" by providing labor for acres held by the local chapel or temple.

TOFT

A peasant's cottage. Also see, Croft.

VILLEIN

The wealthiest class of unfree tenant. The villein typically holds a Yard (30 acres) of land.

VIRGATE

Another name for a Yard, or 30 acres. It is the traditional holding of a Villein, who is sometimes called a Virgater.

WARDSHIP

Guardianship exercised by a lord over a widow or orphaned minor. In return for this service, the guardian takes revenue from the holding. The practice is much abused and fiefs under wardship are often stripped of their wealth.

WASTE

Land that is "wasted." This is not useless land, it is land that, for one reason or another, is currently unused. Insufficient labor or seed, crop disease, or military factors may be responsible.

WITCHCRAFT

Conjuring or consorting with demons and spirits, disposing of souls, spell casting, etc. The definition of witchcraft varies from region to region but is usually a canon crime punishable by death (burning). Rural peasants are a superstitious lot; Shek-Pvar are always wise to keep their activities well concealed on country roads and manors. Rural priests can be especially deadly antagonists.

WOODWARD

A manorial officer appointed on some manors to protect the lord's woods, manage assarting, and ensure that tenants to not abuse their rights to swine grazing, foraging, and collecting dropwood. Also see, Manor 13.

YARD

Thirty acres (or 60 selions) of cleared land suitable for cropland and pasture. The actual amount varies according to the productivity of the land and other factors and can range from 20 to 40 acres.

YEOMAN

A freeholder who holds land in exchange for military service. Most yeomen are equipped as Light Foot, but there is a growing custom for them to be trained longbowmen. Also see, Manor 12.

Additional Tables

Glossary Category Table

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Land Use Terms

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Notes

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