| Advowson |
The right of patronage of a church, monastery or other ecclesiastical benefice |
| Amerced |
Fined arbitrarily |
| Assizes |
A trial session held periodically in specific locations by a judge |
| Burgage |
A form of land tenure, associated with towns and with the payment of an annual rent |
| Castle guard |
A kind of knight’s service, whereby a tenant was bound when required to defend the overlord’s castle |
| Chattels |
Moveable possessions |
| Cinque Ports |
An ancient association of maritime towns in south-eastern England; originally (1278) numbering five (Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich), and later including Winchelsea, Rye, and several others, receiving special privileges for their part in the naval defence of England |
| Common pleas |
Ordinary law suits involving property that did not require the presence of the King to be decided |
| Custody |
Wardship or guardianship. When an underage heir inherited a tenancy, the overlord became the heir’s guardian, and was entitled to earnings from the land |
| Darrein presentment |
A legal action intended to prove title to the patronage of a church or other religious benefice |
| Demesne |
Estate, land or property directly managed by a landholder or lord |
| Disparagement |
Degradation by an unequal marriage |
| Disseised |
Seizure of land |
| Distrained |
Forced |
| Dower |
Land assigned to a wife for use after her husband’s death, usually one third of his lands |
| Escheat |
An estate that has returned to its principal lord for lack of any heir to its deceased tenant |
| Fee |
An estate in land held on condition of homage to an overlord |
| Fee farm |
Land held in return not for a service, but for an annual payment of money |
| Frankpledge |
A system where all men were divided into groups for mutual protection and to serve as keepers of the peace; view of frankpledge was a regular review of this system |
| Free man |
In Magna Carta, the term free man can mean anyone holding land by free tenure, as distinct from a villein, who was bound to a lord |
| Free tenement |
Land held by a free tenant |
| Haberjects |
A type of cloth |
| Hospitaller |
A person, especially a member of a religious order, devoted to the care of the sick or needy in hospitals |
| Hundred |
A principal unit of administration and local government into which most counties were divided |
| In chief |
Directly from the King, as distinct from holding land through another, intermediary landlord |
| Inquest of life or member |
A writ to prevent a man unjustly accused of treason or other felonry from having to face a trial by combat; the plea could be referred to 12 recognitors |
| Inspeximus |
An inspeximus issue of a charter is one that inspects and confirms a charter made by a former king |
| Justiciar |
The King’s chief political and judicial officer |
| Knight service |
Military service, in exchange for a land tenancy |
| Knight’s fee |
Land or an estate held in return for military service; the amount of land for which the services of one knight were due. Tenants by knight’s service were required to provide fully armed and equipped knights for the King’s wars, usually for 40 days a year |
| Lay fee |
Land held in an ordinary tenancy |
| Letters patent |
The King’s sealed letters generally sent to be publicly displayed or proclaimed |
| List |
A unit for the measurement of cloth |
| London quarter |
A standard unit of measurement. A quarter was nine inches, or a quarter of a yard |
| Marriage portion |
Land brought to a marriage from her father or other relative, for a wife’s use and upkeep during her husband’s lifetime. |
| Michaelmas |
The feast of St Michael (29 September) |
| Mort d’ancestor |
A legal action brought by an heir against someone who wrongfully took his property |
| Novel disseisin |
Recent eviction |
| Open law |
On trial |
| Peer |
A person of the same civil rank or standing |
| Praecipe |
A written royal command instructing that a tenant return a tenement to a claimant, or have the case heard in the King’s court |
| Recognisance |
A bond entered into before court binding someone to do something |
| Reeve |
An administrative officer of a town or district |
| Relief |
A payment due to the King by an heir on taking up possession of his estate |
| Russet |
A type of cloth, generally dyed reddish-brown |
| Saving his sufficiency |
Leaving him enough to live on |
| Scutage |
Money accepted by the King in lieu of knights provided for military service |
| Serjeanty |
A form of feudal tenure on condition of providing some specific personal service to the King. Petty serjeanties could involve ceremonially presenting to the King annually a small weapon such as a bow or a dagger or a knife |
| Socage |
A form of land tenure involving the payment of a rent |
| Tenement |
Property held as tenant marriage portion |
| Tithing |
Taxing of a tenth part of produce |
| Tourn |
The circuit made by a sheriff of a county twice a year in which he presided at each hundred-court |
| Vill |
A settlement, consisting of a number of adjacent houses and land |
| Villein |
A peasant occupier of land entirely subject to a lord |
