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Ashby WoldsA large area of open heath land which stretches from Ashby de la Zouch and Blackfordby in the north to the parish of Seal in the south. It was not settled until the early part of the 18th century. The land was used to graze cattle and other domesticated animals. Much of it was known as the Drift again indicating it's former use as common heath land. Since the 18th century much of the area has been subjected to mining and other forms of mineral extraction.
BordarsSmallholding cottagers of lesser standing than villiens but better off than cottars.
BovateA bovate was a measurement of land. In the Leicestershire Survey it has been calculated to be about 2 bovates = 1 virgate. It was sometimes calculated as an eighth of a Carucate - perhaps as much as 15 acres - land ploughed by 2 oxen.
Burh or PortA fortified settlement first devised by Alfred the Great as a means to defend against the Danes. It was further developed in the 10th and early 11th century to be also the centre of local administration and commerce. Many burh were also local Ports i.e. markets where certain items - such as cattle - could only be sold.
CarucateA carucate was a measure of the amount of arable land that a plough team was capable cultivating. It was the measurement of land which was used in the Danelaw shires of England. Approximately 18 carucates = 1 hide - the measurement of land in English Shires. This was equivalent to the land ploughed by 8 oxen.
Coal MiningOf considerable importance in the area. The first recorded mining took place in the 12th and 13th century. However, there is some evidence to suggest that coal mining was important in the area much earlier. In Mancetter the Romans are known to have mined coal. There is also reports of stone axes being found in a coal pit at Measham. However, this evidence has now disappeared and so as such cannot be trusted. The earliest recorded mining was by means of out cropping in the Measham, Oakthorpe and Donisthorpe area.
CottarsLowest of the main groupings of peasants in doomsday. They had 4 acres or less of land to farm.
DanelawThe earliest reference to Danelaw is found in the laws of Aethelred, where it seems to mean only north Lincolnshire and Yorkshire (the ridings of Yorkshire). By Doomsday it would appear that all eastern England from Middlesex to Yorkshire lay in the was seen to lie within the Danelaw. Much of the aristocracy of the area was of Danish or Norse origin or which had dominated the area for 38 years before Edward the Elder's conquest. The most popular boundary between Danelaw England and English England was the Watling Street running from London through the midlands to Wales. This boundary seems to come from the agreement between Alfred's and Guthrum's Peace Treaty c 878. The boundary was of considerable importance at the time of Cnute as it was recorded that he would not let his warriors pillage and plunder until they had crossed the Watling Street into English England from Danelaw England. The boundary of Danelaw and English England is of particular importance to this research as the Mease Valley runs across the boundary between English England (Staffordshire) and Danelaw England (Derbyshire and Leicestershire) at the borders of Chilcote, Seal and Clifton Campville. The boundary also seems to run along the Salt Street from Clifton Campville towards Twycross.
DemesneLand devoted to the profit of the lord of the manor - this could be the whole manor or part of the a manor. It was worked by peasants as part of their obligation to the lord.
EarlThe term earl came into use by the early 11th century the term eolderman began to be replaced with eorl possibly influenced by the Danish 'Jarl'. Usually a Shire would have an eoldermen, who was the king's 'viceroy' in a shire, responsible for administration and justice, for calling out the fyrd and leading its forces in the field. The ruling nobility would be the earl. In the second half of the 10th century the title became more important, an earl now governing several shires and it was usual that several generations of a family became earls. All the earls were all high ranking thegns. Just before the Norman conquest there were a number of earls which had replaced the old kingdoms i.e. Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria. The shires that they ruled also corresponded to the old kingdoms. It was also not unusual for king to keep an earldom for himself. Earls, bishops, archbishops and aethelings formed the high witan of England.
Earldom of ChesterThe earldom was established in 1071 by King William and over the next 3 centuries was almost vice regal in it's approach to the King. Initially it was established to help subdue the Welsh but the earldom acquired vast estates through out the North of England. It would appear that the earldom's sphere of influence stopped around the study area with the equally powerful Earls of Leicester and Warwickshire controlling the land to the south east of the Chester land. A treaty was signed in 1147 between the earls of Chester and Leicester to outline how conflicts could be resolved. As a result of this the castle at Ravenstone was destroyed. The earldom passed to the King in the mid 14th century.
Earldom of DerbyThe earldom of Derby was established after the battle of the Standard in 1138. It was based on the honour of Tutbury and landownership of the De ferrers family who became the earl of Derby after the battle. The earl of Derby controlled considerable amount of land in the study area but would appear to have always been under the influence of the Earls of Chester. This is indicated by marriages between the earls of Derby of daughters/sisters of the earls of Chester.
FyrdDuring the Anglo Saxon period a local military force in which all free men were obliged to serve. A FYRD seldom fought beyond the borders of the Shires which it was raised. The support of Fryd was related to the land and so an estate of 30 hides may have provided only 5 men for the Fyrd.
HideThis was originally the land necessary to sustain a family. The actual value varied but may usually around 120 acres in size.
HundredA sub division of an English Shire based on groups of estates which added upto 100 hides - although this was very much a rough guide. In Anglo Danish counties the hundred was replaced by the Wapentake.
Leicestershire SurveyThe Leicestershire Survey is a survey of land holding in Leicestershire which took place c 1130AD. The surviving part of the survey only covers the north of the county - which for the purpose of this research has little effect. It shows a number of changes to the land holding - one of the most marked is the increase in land holding in the area by the earl of Chester. Equally it lists areas in 'hundreds', which as C.F. Slade states are "…formed sub divisions of the county between the Wapentake and Vill --- no hundred overlapped a Wapentake boundary…". As the survey was drawn up some 50 years after Doomsday it gives an interesting contrast in the land ownership and usage - especially as the Doomsday survey of Leicestershire is generally recognised as being somewhat botched compared to other counties.
ManorAn estate with land and jurisdiction over tenants on the land. Not necessarily the whole village - which might be made up of a number of manors. Equally, one manor might cover the whole village.
Measham/Donisthorpe EnclaveSee Measham/Donisthorpe Enclave Page
MerciaAn early English kingdom based around the Trent Valley. By the 8th century Mercia had expanded to cover most of the central part of England and it's kings were the most powerful in the land. It was centred around the Lichfield, Tamworth and Repton area but at it's height controlled London as well. The kingdom of Mercia was broken by the Danish settlement from 872 AD onwards and the title of King was replaced by earl. However, the earl of Mercia was still a very powerful person.
Middle AngliaMiddle Anglia is an area of the East Midlands which stretched from the just east of the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave to East Anglia. It covered the modern counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire. There is some dispute as to whether Middle Anglia actually existed as a political entity separate from Mercia. It's capital was Leicester which also acted as it's bishopric from 737. It is clear that Middle Anglia was intimately connected with Mercia and probably was indivisible although some scholars have also called it Outer Mercia - perhaps to emphasis the Mercian connection.
PortwayAn old road which runs from Edingale to Tamworth. The name Portway is found throughout England and indicates an old trading route. This particular Portway appears to have linked the Trent valley to Tamworth - it self a Port. It would also seem to form part of a much larger trading system which flowed through the Mease Valley.
PloughlandAmount of potential arable land on an estate i.e. that could be ploughed by a plough team. The size of a plough land varied from area to area. Ploughland came from the old english SULHUNG was land for a plough team of 8 oxen. A quarter of a SULHUNG was called a yoke
Plough TeamThis was assessed as 8 oxen per team - however this varied from area to area dependent on the harshness of the land. This came from the old english SULH.
ReeveThe lord of the manor's official who supervised the dues by the peasantry for that manor.
Romano BritishThe generic term for the people who lived in the Romanised parts of the British Isles. Usually used to signify people who lived from the 2nd century onwards.
SaltThis was an important commodity throughout the whole study period. There were two main sources - sea salt and inland salt produced at brine springs. The salt trade produced large web of tracks running from the salt producing areas. These tracks can still be identified today's by such place names as Salters Ford, Salt Street or Salters Gate. The two most productive areas of inland salt were at Droitwich in Worcestershire and the Nantwich area of Chester.
Salt Street or Way
SheriffA royal official who from the early 11th century came to replace the earl as the king's chief agent in the shire. The Sheriff or Shire Reeve was responsible for financial administration, the collection and local assessment of royal taxes and supervision of royal estates. He also sat in the shire court - although he didn't preside over the court until after the Norman conquest.
ShireA unit of local government that originated in 8th and 9th century Wessex. The shire system, which replaced the Roman provinces, was later extended to cover the whole of England. A shire usually took the name from it's principle city. The king's interest was represented by an ealdorman and later by a sheriff, who presided over the shire court and was responsible for the militia. The shires were replaced after the Norman conquest by counties. The shire was made up of a number of hundreds or Wapentakes dependent whether they were in the Danelaw area of England. The Shires of the midlands probably came into existence around the 10th century. The name the Norman's gave to the Anglo Saxon Shire the name County.
Soke and SokelandLand attached to a central manor for the payment of dues and for judicial purposes. The Sokelands were often large in size and may be off very old origin.
SokemenFreemen of a higher standing than other classes of peasants and could attend the court of his Soke. They were described as a peasant aristocracy and it is believed they represent the descendants of the Danes who settled in the East Midland.
Swepstone WayA probable ancient track way which ran from the Iron age settlement at Normanton to Tamworth.
ThegnsThegns were primarily warriors whose duty was to carry out the 'common burdens' of service in the fyrd, fortress work and bridge building. They were a numerous class, - about two thousand landowners of the thegnly class in Wessex and Mercia alone. They formed the backbone of the Anglo-Saxon army and most were 'king's thegns' - however some were the thegns of the ealdormen. Their service to the king was performed on a rota basis and they would accompany him everywhere, both as bodyguards and lesser officials. By the reign of Aethlered a law required a jury of 12 thegns of the neighbourhood to accuse evil doers of their crimes, arrest them and bring them to trial. This requirement seems to have been based on Scandinavian traditions and was at first confined to the Danelaw counties. It has direct connections with the Assize courts of Henry II some two centuries later.
Thralls or SlaveA Thrall was a slave in Anglo Saxon England. He or she was the lowest class within society but they too had rights and there rules set out as to how they should be looked after. They could earn money and own property. If they earned enough money they could buy their own freedom. When times were hard then people sold themselves into slavery so as to ensure they were provided for and thus they didn't starve.
VillThe medieval Vill was the basic unit with which the royal courts and tax collectors worked - it was the smallest unit for assessment and collection of taxes. It had a Reeve and four men for peace keeping
VilleinsThe highest class of dependent peasantry, often holding between 30 - 100 acres. They were below Sokemen
VirgateThis is a measurement of land - one quarter of a hide.
Walton WayThis is an old trading route which runs from Walton on Trent to Measham. From Acresford to Measham it is also part of the Salt Way which runs along the Mease Valley. Map of Salt Ways in Mease Valley
WapentakeAn administrative sub division of Danelaw Shires which corresponds to a hundred. The word comes from the Norse for Weapon and Take. They were the units of tax assessments and each Wapentake was responsible for maintaining law and order in its own jurisdiction.
WessexAn area of southern England which covered approximately an area from Devon in the west to Hampshire in the East. The northern boundaries were also in dispute but were roughly in line with the Thames. The ruling family became the most powerful in the country and eventually were seen as the royal family of England by the 11th century. |
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