Glossary Index




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A

Allodial title . apse . Askeburner .

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Allodial title

Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property (land, buildings, and fixtures) that is independent of any superior landlord. Allodial title is related to the concept of land held "in allodium", or land ownership by occupancy and defense of the land. Historically, much of land was uninhabited and could, therefore, be held "in allodium".

Allodial lands are the absolute property of their owner and not subject to any rent, service, or acknowledgment to a superior. Allodial title is therefore an alternative to feudal land tenure. Most property ownership in common law jurisdictions is fee simple.

Bookland (Old English: bocland) was a type of land tenure under Anglo-Saxon law and referred to land that was vested by a charter. Land held without a charter was known as folkland (Old English: folcland).

The meanings of these terms have more depth when their Anglo-Saxon origins are considered. The concept of bookland arose in the seventh century and referred to land that could be 'alienated' (i.e., disposed of) at will. It evolved to resemble ownership in the modern sense. Folkland was land held under ancient, unwritten folk-law or custom and by that custom it could not be alienated (i.e., removed) from the kin of the holder, except under special circumstances. No such claim by the kin could be made on bookland. The definition of those ancient folk-laws and customs, and the definition of the word folkland, has long been the subject of controversy. The model suggested by the historian Patrick Wormald, given in the definition above, allows for the graceful sidestepping of that controversy.

A related concept was loanland (Old English: lænland), which was land granted temporarily, without any loss of ownership. Such land might be granted for a term of years, or for the life of a person, or it might be granted to an official for the term of his office (e.g., as royal patronage). Both folkland and bookland might become loanland at one time or another.

apse

In architecture, the apse (Greek αψις (apsis), then Latin absis: "arch, vault"; sometimes written apsis; plural apses) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome. In Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the term is applied to a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end (where the altar is), regardless of the shape of the roof, which may be flat, sloping, domed, or hemispherical.

Some of the earliest examples of the Perpendicular Period, dating from 1360, are found at Gloucester Cathedral, where the masons of the cathedral would seem to have been far in advance of those in other towns; the fan-vaulting in the cloisters is particularly fine.

Askeburner

Askeburner - this term probably referred to a charcoal burner. Because wood burns at too low a temperature for the smelting of iron, charcoal was a necessary fuel.

Baldric

Baldric
A belt worn over the shoulder, from which to suspend a weapon or device.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldric

B

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Baldric .

Collier

Collier ---  This long-established name is of early medieval English origin, and is an occupational surname for a burner of charcoal, or a gatherer or seller of coal. The name derives from the Middle English "cole", (char)coal, from the Olde English pre 7th Century "col", with the agent suffix "(i)er", denoting "one who does or works with". Job-descriptive surnames were originally acquired with reference to the actual occupation of the namebearer, and gradually became hereditary. Early examples of the surname include: Bernard le Coliere, in the Somersetshire Pipe Rolls of 1172; Henry le Colyer, in the Buckinghamshire Hundred Rolls of 1275' and John le Collier, in the London Patent Rolls of circa 1280. The modern surname forms range from Collier, Colliar and Colliard, to Collyer, Colyer, Collyear and Colleer. Among the recordings of the name in London Church Registers are those of the marriages of John Collyer and Awdrey Parteridg at St. Dunstan in the East, on April 19th 1561, and of Thomas Collyer and Elizabeth Prowe on May 26th 1583, at St. Bartholomew the Less. One of the Coat of Arms granted to a family of the name is a red shield, on a silver chevron three red roses stalked and leaved green, between three silver wolves' heads erased. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ranulf Colier, which was dated 1150, in "Documents relating to the Danelaw", Lincolnshire, during the reign of King Stephen, known as "County of Blois", 1135 - 1154. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Collier#ixzz53czlgO60
Medieval Professions - KoHi >> .  

C

Chaloner . Coucher (papermaking) . CurrierCurtilage .

Crime terminology

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Chaloner

Chaloner — a maker or seller of blankets. The word is derived from the Middle English "chaloun", meaning a blanket or coverlet for a bed. The agent suffix "-er" signifies one who does or works with.

Surnames derived from this profession include: Challoner, Challen(d)er, Challenor, Challiner, Chaloner, Channer and Chawner.

Costermonger

16th century name for old profession

Costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. The term is derived from the words costard (a now extinct medieval variety of large, ribbed apple) and monger (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers in general. Some historians have pointed out that a hierarchy existed within the costermonger class and that while costermongers sold from a handcart or animal-drawn cart, mere hawkers carried their wares in a basket.

Costermongers met a need for rapid food distribution from the wholesale markets (e.g., in London; Smithfield for meat, Spitalfields for fruit and vegetables or Billingsgate for fish) by providing retail sales at locations that were convenient for the labouring classes. Costermongers used a variety of devices to transport and display produce: a cart might be stationary at a market stall, a mobile (horse-drawn or wheelbarrow) apparatus or a hand-held basket might be used for light-weight goods such as herbs and flowers.

Costermongers experienced a turbulent history, yet survived numerous attempts to eradicate their class from the streets. Programmes designed to curtail their activities occurred during the reigns of Elizabeth I, Charles I and reached a peak during Victorian times. However, the social cohesion within the coster community, along with sympathetic public support, enabled them to resist efforts to eradicate them. As highly visible, colourful characters who provided service and convenience to the labouring classes, costermongers enjoyed a high level of public sympathy at times when they came under attack from authorities.

They became known for their melodic sales patter, poems and chants, which they used to attract attention. Both the sound and appearance of costermongers contributed to a distinctive street life that characterised London and other large European cities, including Paris, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their loud sing-song cry or chants used to attract attention became part of the fabric of street life in large cities in Britain and Europe. Costermongers exhibited a distinct identity. Individuals signalled membership of the coster community through a dress code, especially the large neckerchief, known as a kingsman, tied round their necks. Their hostility towards the police was legendary. The distinctive identity and culture of costermongers led to considerable appeal as subject-matter for artists, dramatists, comedians, writers and musicians. Parodies of the costermonger and his way of life were frequent features in Victorian music halls. Costermongers were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, but their numbers began to decline in the second half of the 20th-century when they began to take up pitches in the regulated markets."Costermongers were known to have been in London from at least the 15th century, and possibly much earlier. Mayhew, writing in the 1840s, called costermongering an "ancient calling" and attributed the first written descriptions of the street sellers' distinctive cries and sales patter appearing in a ballad, entitled London Lyckpeny by John Lydgate probably written in the late 1300s and first performed around 1409."

Coucher

Vatman, coucher, layer at work in papermaking
PapermakingThe coucher (back turned in image) inverted the pulp-filled mould handed to him by the vatman (at left in image), and pressed it with a rocking motion against a damp woolen felt.

The action transferred the fresh sheet of sodden paper, smooth and unwrinkled, to the surface of the felt.

The coucher handed the empty mould back to the vatman, receiving another mould and sheet.

Having covered the first sheet of paper with a another damp felt, he rolled the second sheet off the mould. The routine built up a repeated sandwich, or “post,” of fresh sheets interleaved with felts.

Comprehensive online article on European papermaking techniques from 1300 to 1800.

Currier

Currierleather processing specialist.

After leather has been tanned, the currier dresses, finishes and colours the tanned hide to make it strong, flexible and waterproof. The leather is stretched and burnished to produce a uniform thickness and suppleness. Dyeing and other chemical finishes give the leather its desired colour. After currying, the leather is then ready to pass to the fashioning trades such as saddlery, bridlery, shoe-making, and glove-making.

Curtilage

Curtilage – legal term. Etymology: The word derives from Middle English: courtelage. From Old French: cortillage or cortil ("court, yard, garden") plus diminutive suffix -age.

In law, the curtilage of a house or dwelling is the land immediately surrounding it, including any closely associated buildings and structures, but excluding any associated "open fields beyond". Curtilage also excluded closely associated buildings, structures, or divisions that contain separate intimate activities. Thus, though open to interpretation because not defined in the deed, cartilage is intended to delineate the boundary within which a home owner can have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

In urban properties, the location of the curtilage may be evident from the position of fences, wall and similar; within larger properties it may be a matter of some legal debate as to where the private area ends and the 'open fields' start.

D

dogswain & hopharlot : Doublet (gipon phase) .

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dogswain & hopharlot

Dogswain and Hopharlot

Dagswain: A coarse woollen fabric made of daglocks. (A dirty or clotted lock of wool on a sheep.) [here & here]
"In their youth they lay upon hard straw pallets covered only with a sheet, and mayhap a dogswain coverlet over them, and a good round log for pillow. If in seven years after marriage a man could buy a mattress and a sack of chaff to rest his head on, he thought himself as well lodged as a lord. Pillows were thought meet only for sick women."
From: Charles Dudley Warner - For Whom Shakespeare Wrote (here)
Old name for a coarse coverlet. Etymology: corrupt form of hap-harlot from the verb hap, meaning to wrap or cover.

"...and we ourselves have lien full oft upon straw pallets, covered onelie with a sheet, under coverlets made of dagswain or hopharlots (I use their own termes), and a good round log under their heads in steed of a bolster, or pillow. If it were so that our fathers or the good man of the house, had within seven years after his mariage purchased a mattress or flockebed, and thereto a sacke of chaffe to resh his head upon, he though himself to be as well lodged as the lord of the town, that peradventure laye seldome in a bed of downe or whole feathers; so well were they contended, and with such base kind of furniture..."
From: William Harrison (1534 - 1593) in "A Description of England, or a briefe rehearsal of the nature and qualities of the people of England and such comitatus as are to be found in the same" (here)

E

Enfoffment . Escheat . Escheator .

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Escheat Escheator Enfeoffoment

Escheat is a common law doctrine by which the property of a person who dies without heirs is transferred to the crown or state, ensuring that property is not left without recognized ownership.

In feudal England, escheat applied when the tenant-in-chief (vassal-in-chief) of a fee, or "fief" (an ownership of rights over an estate in land, rather than ownership of the land itself):
a)     died without an heir, or
b)     was convicted of a felony.

In the first case, the fee reverted permanently to the King's demesne, becoming a mere tenantless plot of land. However, enfeoffment to another of the king's followers converted the property back to a fee.

Magna Carta concession concerning escheats > .

Enfeoffment, or feoffment the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. In English law, feoffment conferred to the new holder the right to sell the land or property or to pass it on to his heirs as an inheritance. Thus, enfeoffment involved the total relinquishment and transfer of all rights of ownership of an estate in land from one individual to another. In feudal England a feoffment could only be made of a fee (or "fief"), the only true owner of which was the monarch under his allodial title (beginning with William the Conqueror the monarch had no overlord, and thus, by virtue of occupancy and defense, owned the land).
  
When the deceased had been subinfeudated by a tenant-in-chief, the fee reverted temporarily to the crown for one year and one day by right of primer seisin after which it escheated to the over-lord (grantor of the enfeoffment). Escheat provided a source of revenue to the monarchy after the time of Henry III (1207-1272).

Beginning in the 12th century, the Crown appointed escheators to manage escheats and report to the Exchequer. By mid-14th century, one escheator was appointed per county.


“Upon the death of a tenant-in-chief, the escheator would be instructed by a writ of diem clausit extremum ("he has closed his last day", i.e. he is dead) issued by the king's chancery, to empanel a jury to hold an "inquisition post mortem" to ascertain who the legal heir was, if any, and what was the extent of the land held. Thus it would be revealed whether the king had any rights to the land. It was also important for the king to know who the heir was, and to assess his personal qualities, since he would thenceforth form a constituent part of the royal army, if he held under military tenure. If there was any doubt, the escheator would seize the land and refer the case to the king's court where it would be settled, ensuring that not one day's revenue would be lost. This would be a source of concern with land-holders when there were delays from the court.” [source]

F

Farrier . FellmongerFleeces .

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

Farrier

As the video shows, farriers were blacksmiths who fashioned and fitted horseshoes.

Fellmonger

Fellmonger = dealer in animal hides or skins, especially sheepskins, who prepared the skins for sale. Skinned pelts were trimmed, washed, dipped in lime pits, and then the hair, fur, or skin-wool (distinct from shorn fleece-wool) were removed. At the tannery they were often split into three parts: parchment, leather; chamois leather.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellmonger .

Long description of associated processes here. The Bourne Archive is a thirty-eight page booklet presented with the compliments of T.W. Mays and Son, of Bourne. It is un-dated but internal evidence indicates that it comes from shortly after 1905, and before 1909.


G

Gilda Mercatoria . Gilda Mercatorum . GiponGuild Merchant .

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

Gipon

Gipon: During the 14th century, the gipon (or jupon) was first worn as a snug, knee-length, padded tunic beneath armour. Later, it was adapted to civilian use, and its length was shortened to mid-thigh. It was replaced by the doublet in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was sometimes called the pourpoint.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME jopo ( u ) n

Guild Merchant

Guild Merchant: merchant guild, "Gilda Mercatoria" or "Gilda Mercatorum : licences granted to cities and towns by the king. In return, the guild paid an annual fee to the crown. Membership was restricted to freemen, and required certain qualifications: completion of formal apprenticeship; inheritance from close relative; and/or payment of initiation fee. Guild membership conferred privileges such as reduced competition and preferential access to commodities.



H

Hop-harlot and dogswain .

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

Hop-harlot and dogswain

Hop-harlot and dogswain

Old name for a coarse coverlet. Etymology: corrupt form of hap-harlot from the verb hap, meaning to wrap or cover.

"...and we ourselves have lien full oft upon straw pallets, covered onelie with a sheet, under coverlets made of dagswain or hopharlots (I use their own termes), and a good round log under their heads in steed of a bolster, or pillow. If it were so that our fathers or the good man of the house, had within seven years after his mariage purchased a mattress or flockebed, and thereto a sacke of chaffe to resh his head upon, he though himself to be as well lodged as the lord of the town, that peradventure laye seldome in a bed of downe or whole feathers; so well were they contended, and with such base kind of furniture..."
From: William Harrison (1534 - 1593) in "A Description of England, or a briefe rehearsal of the nature and qualities of the people of England and such comitatus as are to be found in the same" (here)
Dagswain: A coarse woollen fabric made of daglocks. (A dirty or clotted lock of wool on a sheep.) [here & here]
In their youth they lay upon hard straw pallets covered only with a sheet, and mayhap a dogswain coverlet over them, and a good round log for pillow. If in seven years after marriage a man could buy a mattress and a sack of chaff to rest his head on, he thought himself as well lodged as a lord. Pillows were thought meet only for sick women.
From: Charles Dudley Warner - For Whom Shakespeare Wrote (here)

I

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J

Jupon .


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K

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

L

Land tenure - allodial title, bookland, folkland .

Leather trades : currier . fellmongertanner . tanning . tawyer . whittawer .

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Layer

Vatman, coucher, layer at work in papermaking
Papermaking : The layer had the skill-demanding task of separating the sheets of damp woolen felt from the wet sheets of paper rolled onto the felt by the coucher. The layer stacked the sheets of paper, handing the felts back to the coucher.

Vatman, coucher, and layer worked in unison.





Comprehensive online article on European papermaking techniques from 1300 to 1800.

Lye

During the Middle Ages, lye was produced by passing water over wood ash, leaching strong alkali, predominantly potassium carbonate (KOH, "potash") from the material.

Mixed with fats, lye produces soap. Mixed with urine ("chamber lye"), it becomes a more potent bleach. Ashes from the wood of apple and pear were particularly suited to bleaching.



M


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Messuage

Messuage : archaic legal term found in writings of academic historians. The term was used in conveyancing (property transfer) and referred to a dwelling. A grant of "a messuage with the appurtenances" included the house, attached buildings, curtilage, garden, and orchard, together with the close on which the house was built.

N

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O

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

pill

Pill (definition): from Welsh for 'tidal inlet'. Tidal channels or tidal creeks comprise the lower portion of a stream flowing into a tidal river or a body of water that is affected by ocean tides. Example: Bullo Pill on the River Severn near Newnham.

P


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Potash Alum

Potash alum, a chemical commonly used in medieval processes, is the potassium double sulfate of aluminum: KAl(SO4)2 or dodecahydrate form KAl(SO4)2•12(H2O)

The mineral occurs naturally as encrustations where weathering has oxidized minerals containing sulfides and potassium. Crystals of potash alum can also be manufactured by the processing of alunite (alum rock or alum stone) and alum shale (alum ore or alum schist).

During the late Middle Ages, Genoa and Venice dominated the trade of potash alum from the Middle East and volcanism-related deposits around the Mediterranean Basin.

From medieval to pre-modern times, potash alum was used for a variety of purposes: as a mordant in the dyeing of textiles, and in the manufacture of pigments as a siccative (drying) agent. Amongst its other uses are the tawing of hides, sizing of paper, and manufacture of glue.


Extensive description of potash alum and its use in papermaking here.

Q

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

R

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

S

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

T

Tanner, tanning . Tawer, tawyer, tawing . Tree hay (fodder) .

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

Tanner

Tanner - a craftsman involved in the tanning of animal hides to produce leather. This process converted the hides into a putrefaction-resistant product.

Tawer Tawyer Tawing Whittawer

Tawer, Tawyer, Whittawer - a craftsman who used minerals to cure skins by producing rawhide.

In tawing, the hide was soaked in an aqueous solution containing potash alum and salt. Sometimes egg yolk and flour were added to improve the product. Strictly speaking, not having been tanned, a tawed skin is not leather, and is putrescible when wet.

U

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V


A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .

Vatman

Vatman, coucher, layer at work in papermaking
Papermaking: The vatman (on left in image) determined the proper consistency of the diluted stock (fragmented linen rag) in the vat. Into the pulp suspension, he dipped the mould—a rectangular wooden frame covered with a woven brass-wire surface and fitted with an open wooden frame called a deckle. 

After dipping, the vatman lifted the pulp-filled assembly to the surface, and shook it gently (promener) to distribute the pulp evenly and bind the fibers (serrer) as water drained through the mesh.

When the layer of pulp had coalesced on the surface of the mould, the vatman removed the deckle and passed the mould to the coucher (back turned in image). Next, he fit the deckle into an empty mould and repeated the dip, lift, shake action.

Comprehensive online article on European papermaking techniques from 1300 to 1800.

W

WadmolWhittawer .

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Wadmol

wadmol ~ rough woolen fabric once used in Scandinavia and parts of northern Britain to make warm or protective clothing [fabric glossary]

Whittawer

Whittawer, Tawer, Tawyer - a craftsman who used minerals to cure skins by producing rawhide.

In tawing, the hide was soaked in an aqueous solution containing potash alum and salt. Sometimes egg yolk and flour were added to improve the product. Strictly speaking, not having been tanned, a tawed skin is not leather, and is putrescible when wet.

X

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Y

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Z

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z .