A vicomte was a French nobleman corresponding in rank to a British or Irish viscount. A comte was the same as a count.
*Source: Oxford Dictionary (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com)
From the Chronicles of Froissart:
JEAN FROISSART, the most representative of the chroniclers of the later Middle Ages, was born at Valenciennes in 1337. The Chronicle which, more than his […]
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on February 11th, 2011 | No Comments »
Geld
1) The Anglo-Saxon land tax used for military purposes, especially the payment of the royal fleet (geld = payment or tribute in Old English). Hence Danegeld was the tax raised to pay tribute to the Danes in the tenth and early eleventh centuries.
(Wood, Michael. Domesday: A Search for the Roots of England, 213)
2) A tax […]
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on January 28th, 2011 | No Comments »
Cantred:
- Name applied by Anglo-Normans (usually when making grants of land) to pre-existing territorial units; later used of administrative divisions of certain counties in Ireland. (Frame, Robin. Colonial Ireland, 1169-1369, 144)
Cantref:
- A Welsh political and administrative division, similar to English shires.
*term definitions retrieved from Netserf’s Medieval Glossary
From The Itinerary of Archibishop Baldwin through Wales by […]
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on December 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »
Thanks to a friend of mine for recommending this term.
Assize
/??sa?z/ Show Spelled[uh-sahyz]
Etymology: Middle English assise, from Anglo-French, session, legal action, from asseer, asseoir to seat, from Vulgar Latin *assed?re, from Latin assid?re to sit beside, assist in the office of a judge
1) The meeting of feudal vassals with the king it also refers to […]
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on November 19th, 2010 | No Comments »
Jupon
/?d?up?n, d?u?p?n; Fr. ?ü?p??/ Show Spelled[joo-pon, joo-pon; Fr. zhy-pawn]
Etymology: 1350–1400; ME jopo(u)n < MF jupon, equiv. to OF jupe a kind of jacket + -on n. suffix
1) Tightly fitted garment worn over armour in the fourteenth century. (Prestwich, Michael. Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience, 348)
2) Short leather tunic […]
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on November 12th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Terrage
Levy of 4th, 9th or 12th sheaf of the harvest. (Duby, Georges. Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West, 555)
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on September 24th, 2010 | No Comments »
Moot (gemot in old English)
A court or meeting, as in burhgemot, portmoot or portmanmoot - common names for town courts, or the London folkmoot and wardmotes. (Reynolds, Susan. An Introduction to the History of English Medieval Towns, 199)
*term definitions retrieved from Netserf’s Medieval Glossary (http://www.netserf.org/Glossary)
From A Dispute Over the Exaction of Taxes at Bury St. […]
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on September 17th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
It’s been a hectic week, so I haven’t had a chance to post much. I’ll end the week (before the long holiday weekend) with a new term.
Wardship
In feudal law, rights belonging to the lord of a fief with respect to the personal lives of his vassals. The right of wardship allowed the lord to take […]
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on September 3rd, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Merlon
[mur-luhn]
Etymology: French, from Italian merlone, augmentative of merlo battlement, from Medieval Latin merulus, from Latin, merle
1) Part of a battlement, the square “sawtooth” between crenels.
(Gies, Joseph and Francis. Life in a Medieval Castle, 226)
2) Solid part of embattled parapet between embrasures, sometimes pierced with slit.
(Wood, Margaret. The English Medieval […]
Filed under: Castles, Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on August 27th, 2010 | No Comments »
Sergeant or Serjeant
Etymology: Middle English, servant, attendant, sergeant, from Anglo-French sergant, serjant, from Latin servient-, serviens, present participle of servire to serve
1) A servant who accompanies his lord to battle, or a horseman of lower status used as light cavalry. Also means a type of tenure in service of a nonknightly character is owed a […]
Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on August 13th, 2010 | 15 Comments »
