MRP: Manorial glossary

Manorial glossary

Editorial history

16/09/11, CSG: Created page

This page is at an early stage of development. It is a research tool and not a finished product

Draft entries

Bailiff

The manorial official in charge of one or more manors. Distinguished from a reeve by being paid a stipend.

Copyhold

The form of tenure which descended from the unfree, villein tenures of the middle ages. Copyhold land was defined legally as land held 'by copy of court roll [hence the term 'copyhold'] at the will of the lord, according to the custom of the manor.'

Court baron (Latin curia baronis)

The basic manorial court, held by a manorial lord for his tenants, both free and villein

Demesne

The land farmed directly on behalf of the lord himself as a 'home' farm.

Freehold

Land held in fee simple, that is 'for ever', by rendering homage and service to the lord of the manor.

Pannage

Payment for the right to graze pigs in woodland.

Pleas

A court baron had the power to hear civil cases arising from disputes between tenants, where the damages claimed were under 40 shillings. These pleas (or 'plaints' as they were sometimes termed in the vernacular) mainly consisted of cases of debt and trespass, though the courts also had the right to hear cases of breach of covenant and 'detinue' (the withholding of goods rather than money).

Receiver

The lord of the manor's treasurer, to whom the income from each manor was paid.

Reeve (Latin prepositus)

A tenant of the manor, chosen either by the lord or from among his fellows to be responsible for the management of the manor, rendering an account annually. Where the demesne was no longer farmed directly, the reeve became, in effect, the lord's rent collector. In northern England, the vernacular name for the reeve was usually 'greave' or 'grave'.

Steward

(Latin senescallus). The lord's officer whose duties included presiding at the sittings of the manor court. By the 16th century most stewards were trained lawyers.

Terrier

A survey arranged topographically, field by field (or, in the case of open arable fields, strip by strip).