C

Caballarius. Latin term for a horseman or a horsed soldier; also the duty of escorting on horseback. The word has its Spanish descendant in caballero = a gentleman. [< L caballus = a horse; in classical Latin, a nag] – Cf. next; HENCHMAN

Caballus. A pack-horse, a *sumpter horse. Such horses were generally limited to carrying c.200 lb. In Europe, a *destrier was broadly reckoned to be worth about three times the value of a humble caballus. – Cf. previous

Cabbage. See next

Caboshed. Her. Describes the head of an animal sans neck; in a *blazon the description would read, e.g. a bull’s head caboshed. The word has a curious etymology, being derived from the OFr. verb cabocher = to cabbage, meaning to cut off an animal’s head from close behind the ears, thus leaving the neck on the body. – Cf. COUPED

Cack. Excrement; from this, though much reduced, we have today cackhanded = clumsy. [< L caco = to defecate]

Cadastral map. Modern term used in discussions of land ownership for a map showing the *extent, value and ownership of a section of land. ‘Cadastre’ is sometimes used for a register of property. [< Gr. katastikhon = a register] – Cf. TERRIER

Cadaver tomb. Modern term for a tomb which bears on top a sculpture of a decaying corpse. They are one of the blacker elements of the late medieval imagination, the kind of memento mori which was also represented in the more familiar *Dance of Death. Such tombs carried epitaphs; one such began: ‘For like as I am, right shall ye all be’.

Cadency, mark of. Her. A *charge whose purpose was to indicate the status of a son of the family. The eldest son and heir displayed a *label of three points on his father’s arms, the next a crescent, the third son a *mullet, the fourth a *martlet, the fifth an *annulet, the sixth a *fleur-de-lys.

Cadet. Genealogical term for the junior branch of a family, i.e. the family and descendants of a younger son.

Caesalpinia braziliensis. Linnaean name for a tree native to the Middle East whose galls were used in the production of red inks and dyes. – Cf. BRASIL

Cain 1. The son of Adam, and the killer of his brother, Abel. For that crime he was banished, thus becoming a wanderer and archetype of pilgrims. However, the medieval person would also know that before his crime, Cain was ‘the tiller of the land’ (Genesis 4:2) while Abel was ‘the keeper of sheep’. With Abel dead by his brother’s hand, the land was cursed and barren: ‘When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.’ – Cf. CAYME

Cain 2. Tribute of food and other produce in 13c Ireland and Scotland, which might also include for example an otter skin. Not to be confused with Adam’s son and Abel’s brother. – Cf. previous.

Caitiff. A prisoner; a cowardly, wicked person. [< OFr. caitiff = captive < L captivus = captive]

Calaber. Fur of a squirrel, used for decoration, so called for coming from Calabria. – Cf. GRIS; MINIVER; VAIR 1

Caladrius [charadrius]. A wholly white bird with the magical power of drawing illness out of a sick person; however, if one of these birds looked away from an invalid, that was a sure sign that death would soon follow. Having ‘drawn out’ the illness the caladrius flew towards the sun and the illness was burned out, though the bird itself did not catch fire. Its droppings were said to be a cure for blindness.

Calamus. Reed pen used in very early MSS, esp. before the 6c, when the quill began to be favoured for the most expensive commissions. – Cf. SHAWM

Calcei fenestrati. Lit. ‘window shoes’. – Cf. PAUL’S WINDOW

Calciamenta hyemalia [calsiatura]. Lit. ‘winter shoe allowance’. As part of their *livery, servants of the royal household were given money for clothing and shoes each year. How much money one received depended, of course, upon one’s place in the household. For example, in 1287, a kitchen usher/doorkeeper received 2s 3d. There was a similar payment in the summer calciamenta estivalis. [L calciamenta = shoe allowance; hyemalia = of winter; also estivalis = of summer]

Calefactory. A container which held heat; sometimes it was shaped as a ball to warm the hands of a priest before the *eucharist, when it was known as a ‘pome’ (Fr. pomme = apple). Later, in the 16c, it was the heated room in a monastery. [< L calefacto = to make warm] – Cf. MISERICORD 3

Calendar. A system of tables displayed so as to show the days of the week and the months of the year successively. The word is also used less familiarly of lists of documents, and an index of documents, particularly of *rolls; a table of contents. [< L calendarium = an account book, also calends = the day debts were due to be paid]

Calsiatura. See CALCIAMENTA HYEMALIA

Caltrop 1 [calthrop]. Orig. a snare; then, a spiked iron ball thrown on the ground to cripple horses in battle. Its principal element is still to be found in use today as the spiked metal strip used by police forces to puncture the tyres of miscreant car drivers. It was named after a plant called the ‘water caltrop’ (Trapa natans), also known as ‘water chestnut’, which entangled legs in its underwater leaves and tendrils. Caltrops were also used by poachers to disable deer. – Cf. LAQUEUS

Caltrop 2. Her. A *charge showing a ball with four spikes.

Cambria. Wales. [< W Cymru = Wales]

Cambric. A fine, white kind of linen, made at Cambrai in Flanders. – Cf. SINDON

Cambridge University. The university emerged after the more sober elements at *Oxford fled the rowdiness there in 1209. The first college was Peterhouse, founded by the bishop of Ely. It was some time before its reputation became international with the arrival of Erasmus in 1511, who inaugurated the northern Renaissance there.

Camelopard. A giraffe, which a very small number of people in Europe would have seen. It was supposed to bear some resemblance to a camel, while its spots were likened to those of the leopard.

Camera Rosamundae. Lit. ‘Rosamund’s room’. A room or chamber so named after Rosamund Clifford, mistress of Henry II, many years after their deaths. The phrase was used as a euphemism for the rooms of the royal mistress.

Camlet. A luxurious material from the East, light in weight and used for cloaks; possibly of mohair (angora wool) among other materials. [< Ar. kamlat = nap or pile of velvet]

Campipartito. Latin form of *champerty.

Cancellaria. See CHANCERY

Candlemas. 2 February. This Church feast celebrates the purification of Mary and also Christ’s presentation in the Temple. At the Temple, Simeon, after a revelation, lifted up the child, calling him ‘a light to lighten the gentiles’. Candles are blessed during the service, hence the name. – Cf. next

Candles. An essential but expensive part of medieval Christianity, and in ordinary use for domestic lighting. For example, at the funeral of Henry V, 60 candles, each weighing 14 lb, were carried; 40 lb candles were not uncommon on other special occasions. – Cf. previous

Canfara. Ordeal by hot iron. – Cf. ORDEAL, TRIAL BY

Canon 1. Member of an order in a *monastery or in the precincts of a *cathedral living according to a rule and so renouncing private property, accepting chastity, i.e. a canon regular; secular canons did not live according to a rule. – Cf. MINOR CANON

Canon 2. Orig. a list of books of the Bible considered genuine by the Church; later, a set of books considered to exemplify excellence. A set of rules to follow or decrees. Thus *canon law.

Canon law. Ecclesiastical law, as articulated in papal pronouncements and bulls. Gratian’s Decretum (c.1140) is a collection of almost 4,000 texts concerned with every aspect of Church discipline and regulation. The Church dealt with a great many matters which today we would consider appropriate for secular courts. – Cf. DECRETAL; ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

Canon tables. A concordance of the Gospels created in the 4c by Eusebius of Caesaria. Passages in each *Gospel are numbered in the text and correspond to tables, arranged in columnar form, indicating the concordance of passages in the other Gospels. These tables were placed at the beginning of Gospel books, Bibles and New Testaments.

Canonical hours. A canonical hour is a fixed part of the office which the Church appointed to be recited at a particular time; all the prayers fixed for a certain day took the name of ‘canonical’. This term was then extended to apply to the book containing these prayers, from which we have the expression *book of hours. The rule of St Benedict is one of the most ancient documents in which the expression ‘canonical hours’ is found, omnes canonicas horas.

Canopy. The covering above a seat found, for example, in the choir of a *cathedral. In time, canopies became extremely decorative. However, this did not alter their function, which was to shelter the monk in the seat from the downward draughts of the *clerestory above. In the 15c, the word was spelt ‘canape’. [< Gk. konopeion = a mosquito net]

Canticle. Lit. ‘a little song or hymn’. Used for example in reference to the Song of Solomon. Cf. ANTIPHONARY

Canting arms. Her. Describes a *charge in a coat of *arms used to suggest the owner’s name; somewhat like but not strictly a *rebus.

Cantle. The high part at the back of a knight’s saddle. It was designed to offer him extra support on his *destrier, absorbing the shock of his opponent’s lance striking him.

Canton. Her. A square with a *tincture different from the field of a shield, less than one quarter its size, usually placed *dexter *chief.

Cantor. Clerk in charge of chanting in a monastery or church; other duties included care of the library. [L cantor = a singer]

Cantref [cantred]. Welsh term for a district with 100 townships. The Latin form was cantredus/cantaredus from the 12c. This word was carried to Ireland from Wales by English lords in the 12c, being used to indicate a small, administrative area or division of land. [< W cantref < cant = 100 + tref = town] – Cf. next; COMMOTE

Cantrefmawr. Lit. ‘great cantref’. In Carmarthen, the stronghold of the princes of South Wales. – Cf. previous

Caparison. Her. A horse’s *trappings.

Capeline. The iron skullcap much used by medieval archers. [< OFr. capel = hat]

Capella extra portas. Lit. ‘a chapel outside the gate (of a monastery)’. These chapels were for the use of travellers and those not permitted inside a monastery, e.g. women. A more recent name is ante portas chapel. – Cf. CHAPEL

Capitagium. A *poll tax, i.e. a head tax. [< L capitum = a head] – Cf. CHEVAGE; PEASANTS’ REVOLT

Capitolium. Latin term for a chapter-house; also a chapter meeting.

Capitular. Adjectival form of *chapter, as of a *cathedral chapter; thus a capitular library is a chapter library.

Cappa clausa. Lit. ‘a closed cape’. Gown worn by a lecturer, always a *clerk, during lectures at universities in theology, arts and law. It was sewn closed in the front, except for a small opening which permitted the hands to emerge.

Caput honoris. Lit. ‘head of the honour’. The main seat, or head, of the *honour of a lord holding several manors, on which there would have been many fiefs. It was the administrative centre of a widely distributed honour. When first used this term referred to that place within an honour which was considered the most important, such as a monastery which a lord had founded. The fitz-Walters, for example, who possessed Baynard’s Castle in London, did not use it as their caput honoris, even though tenants paid for the castle guards. Instead the caput was at Little Dunmow. – Cf. HEAFODBOTL; RECEIVER; WARDA CASTRI

Caput jejunium. Lit. ‘beginning of the fast’. The Latin term for Ash Wednesday, the first day of *Lent. – Cf. GENTACULUM

Caput mortuum. Lit. ‘head of death’. Term used by alchemists for what was left after experiments in distillation or mixing various compounds. Often these dregs were an iron compound, the result of the search for a process to turn lead into gold.

Carectarius. Latin term for a carter or head-carter. These men were responsible for the safe and efficient movement of the royal household on its endless *itinerary through the realm. The carectarius is found in livery lists among the middle ranks, with the *nuncius regis and minstrels. Cartage service was known as opus carectarium.

Carimauri. A rough coarse material used for clothing.

Carlovingian. The adjective used for the dynasty of Charlemagne; however ‘Carolingian’ is now preferred. [< L Carolus = Charles]

Carmelite. A member of the order founded at Mount Carmel in Palestine in the early 13c and approved by the pope in 1226. A *mendicant order which was known as the White Friars; its first members, however, were mostly *hermits. The first Carmelite house in England was founded at Aylesford, after 1240 and the failure of the *crusades. There was also an order of nuns modelled on the White Friars. Although only formally instituted in 1452, the sisters had first appeared in the 13c. In 1452, the Carmelite Second Order was organised and adopted the same rule as the Carmelite brothers.

Carol. Orig. a dance with accompanying song. In the 15c the carol was a form of lyric poetry, more like a popular song to be danced to than our familiar Christmas carols. They usually had refrains which contributed to group singing; they were as often humorous as they were religious in temper.

Carolingian. The Carolingian dynasty replaced that of the Merovingians in 751, when Pepin II became king of the Franks. The Carolingian Empire was created by and named after Charlemagne (771–814) in imitation of the Roman Empire: a Holy Roman Empire with the ambition of stretching from the North Sea to Italy. It was divided in 843, disintegrating soon after. The term Carolingian relates to the period from c.750 to c.900 in Western Europe. The court was admired and in some ways copied by Charlemagne’s contemporary monarchs, e.g. Offa and Alfred.

Carpet knight [chamber knight]. The body of knights who attended the monarch in the more private spaces, rather than the public, communal hall; also, part of the transformation of the royal court from a military to a civil establishment. Later, it was a term of disparagement for a knight dubbed at court rather than on the field of battle; hence an idle man, a ladies’ man.

Carr [car]. Fen land; boggy ground. [< ON kjarr-myrr = marsh, bog, with undergrowth]

Carraccio. A cart with a large pole or ship’s mast firmly attached. Its purpose was to act as a rallying point with appropriate banners. It was used at the Battle of the Standard on 22 August 1138, and it was this which gave the battle its name, the *standard held high. Such a cart or wagon was used in Italy by the city states, the loss of which cart being a signal disgrace.

Carrack. Large merchant vessel which could also be used for military purposes. [< OFr. caraque < Ar. qurqur = merchant or cargo vessel]

Carrel. A small space with a bench for reading set into the walls of a *cloister for solitary study. Carrels are to be found in the libraries of modern universities, sometimes with doors.

Carta mercatoria. Merchants’ Charter, 1303, granted by Edward I to alien merchants, permitting them to retail spices and *mercery; previously only the English had been able to sell such things.

Cartae baronum. Lit. ‘records or returns of the barons’. A set of returns made to the *exchequer of Henry II by tenants-in-chief in 1166 concerning the knights enfeoffed on their lands. The questions asked concerned the number of enfeoffments each tenant-in-chief had made since 1135 (the first year of King Stephen’s reign), and how many were retained in the household, i.e. in *demesne. Their names were also requested. Henry was trying to ensure that all knights had done *allegiance to him. Those who had not were to do so within a set period. Implicit in the latter instruction was the king’s assertion that allegiance to him was of greater weight than the allegiance owed to tenantsin-chief by those holding fiefs of them. It is a useful document for giving a detailed record of the state of military feudalism in England in the last half of the 12c. – Cf. ENFEOFF

Carthusian. Order of monks (O. Cart.) founded in 1085 by St Bruno of Cologne. Although without a written rule – they followed that of St Benedict in their own way – its members lived austere, solitary lives of silence and fasting within the monastery. Their lives were spent in cells, for the order abjured both dormitories and common refectories. The monks would gather together for prayer at certain times of the week and also on Sunday for dinner. Their monasteries were called Charterhouses; the first was established in England in 1178 at Witham in Somerset; their tenth and last was established by Henry V in 1414 at Sheen. Their name is formed after the Latin Cartusia, i.e. from Chartreux, near Grenoble, which was known as La Grande Chartreuse.

Cartulary [chartulary]. Book in which were kept copies of *charters and deeds and other legal documents. Such charters were important as proving entitlement, e.g. that a gift of land had been made. Monasteries frequently kept not only their own charters and deeds but also those belonging to landowners in the surrounding district.

Caruca. Latin term for a plough; usually of the heavy kind, requiring a team of eight oxen. – Cf. next; ELEEMOSYNA CARUCARUM

Carucage. Tax fixed on a *carucate of land, first imposed by Richard I in 1198; used only irregularly thereafter. The Latin form used in documents was carucagium. – Cf. next; -AGIUM

Carucate. Land which could be ploughed in one year with eight oxen. The OE term was plogland. [< L carucata < caruca = a plough] – Cf. previous

Casemate. A large room set into the thickness of the wall of a castle (*enceinte) with several ports for firing guns from.

Castellan. The *constable or governor of a *castle. – Cf. next

Castellaria [castellatus]. A castlery or castellany was a block of territory attached to a *castle or within its jurisdiction. There were 14 named castleries in *DB. A legitimate castle, licensed by the king, would have had around it knights’ fiefs; these knights would have been distributed around the *honour, so as to provide *warda castri. – Cf. previous; ADULTERINE CASTLE; LOWY

Castle. The question of how exactly to define the term ‘castle’ is a vexed one, and only a brief sketch can be given here. The great stone structures familiar today are late developments of the ditch surrounding a mound of earth on the top of which was a stronghold found in France in the 9c. The mound was known as a *‘motte’; the stronghold or *donjon was within the *bailey. This *‘motte and bailey’ template became widespread in Europe in the 11c. There is some contention over the first appearance of a castle in England, centred on structures apparently built by Normans during Edward the Confessor’s reign and on the nature of English lordly residences in the pre-Conquest period. The Normans began building castles in England after 1066; most were built of earth and timber in the first instance. William I was responsible for the Tower of London; orig. a simple enclosure but finished by William II towards the end of the 11c. Castles allowed a lord living accommodation while being able to dominate the surrounding area; they also, of course, provided a defence against enemies. They became the sign and military instrument of Norman lordship in England. Over the next two centuries building techniques improved, allowing ever greater and stronger buildings and *curtain walls. Moats surrounded the *enceinte; *machicolation and *loopholes appeared allowing the defenders more fire-power. – Cf. previous

Castlery. See CASTELLARIA

Catel. Goods, property, wealth, cattle; hence goods and *chattels. The current word ‘cattle’ itself is a variant spelling of catel. The Latin form was catallum. – Cf. CHATTEL

Catenae. Lit. ‘chains, series’. An anthology of comments and glosses on the Bible by Church Fathers and others. The first catenae appeared in the 6c, when a series of comments by various authors on a particular verse were gathered together, the chain being particular sentences or words of the scriptures on which were ‘hung’ the comments. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) edited one such known as Catena Aurea = The Golden Chain. Collections of catenae formed an important part of teaching in the 13c *cathedral and monastic schools, reflecting the importance attached by the medieval Church to the past and authority. The singular form, catena = a chain, which secured valuable books to a reading place. [< L catena = a chain, a series] – Cf. CHAINED; GLOSSA ORDINARIA

Cateran. A fighting-man from the Scottish Highlands. – Cf. GALLOWGLASS; KERN

Cathedra. A seat; specifically, a bishop’s seat in his home church, i.e. *cathedral.

Cathedral. The crucial distinction of a cathedral church is neither its size nor its splendour but that it has a *cathedra, i.e. the bishop’s throne or chair of office. The first English cathedrals were built in the 6c and 7c, e.g. Rochester and (the first) St Paul’s, but all AS cathedrals were demolished under the Normans. Today, the cathedral is one of the most visible parts of the Norman legacy. Cathedrals were no doubt an assertion of power on the part of the Normans, but such buildings also affirm a powerful faith. [< L cathedra = a (bishop’s) seat]

Cattus. Latin term for a cat, a kind of shelter light enough to be moved and used by soldiers to shelter beneath while attacking a walled town or castle. Cattus was also used of the domestic animal, Felis catus.

Cayme. A medieval spelling of Cain. – Cf. next; CAIN; CAYMITICUS

Cayme’s castles. Phrase used by John Wyclif (after 1382 and during his exile in Oxford) to describe the great churches of the Franciscan friars. Cayme is a medieval form of *Cain, son of Adam, killer of his brother, Abel. The reason for the hostile epithet is that the *mendicant orders, the wandering brothers, were supposedly founded by Cain, a fugitive on the earth after Abel’s murder. An acrostic poem plays on an alternate spelling, CAIM, beginning succeeding lines with *Carmelite, *Augustinian, *Jacobin, *Minorite. This association between Cain and the friars emerged during the later part of the 14c. – Cf. previous and next

Caymiticus. Fratricidal; derived from *Cayme. – Cf. previous

Ceap. See CHAP 1

Ceaster. A fort or castle. The word was used of old Roman fortified towns, becoming the suffix in placenames derived from the Latin castra = a fort. It is found in many names today ending in ‘-chester’ or ‘-caster’.

Celibacy. The compulsory celibacy of the *clergy was abolished in Protestant England in 1549. However, the Church of Rome had been trying for several centuries to impose it and was close to success when England defaulted. A *decretal issued by Pope Siricius in 386 confirmed earlier attempts to ensure all senior clergy should be celibate. The celibacy of monks in their monasteries was broadly adhered to in the early years, between the 7c and 9c; again during the reform years after 1000 the rule applied. The Lateran Council of 1139 declared all clerical marriages both unlawful and invalid. [< L caelibatus = unmarried, a bachelor]

Cell. A solitary monk or nun’s single-room dwelling; also, a small *monastery under the charge of one larger, usually some distance away. As punishment, a monk might be sent to a cell far from the mother-house.

Cellarer. That *obedientiary of a *monastery charged with overseeing the supply of its food and wine. His responsibilities included matters such as the mill and brew-house, and ensuring that workers on *granges worked as they should and were not stealing. He was further charged with working with the abbot, e.g. attending to the sale of leases. [< L cellarius, cellerarius]

Cellarium. Latin for the cellar or storage space of a monastery or other large establishment. – Cf. previous and next

Celleragium. Cellarage; fee for storing wine in a cellar. – Cf. previous; -AGIUM

Celt. Name for one of the ancient peoples inhabiting NW Europe and southern Britain from before 700 BC, up till the time of the Romans – Caesar mentions Celts (though in a more restricted sense) – and after; forced out by *Saxons during their incursions in the 5c and later. The word was first used in this wide sense by William Camden (1607). [< L Celta]

Celure. Canopy of honour placed over the great *rood, or altar, to augment its dignity. In the 16c, the (draught-excluding) hangings around a bed. [< L celum = heaven; also, ceiling]

Cementarius. Latin term for a mason. Such men were recruited for campaigns in France. Most of their work involved the repair of bridges or castles taken after a siege. [< L caementum = stone, quarry stone]

Cena domini. Lit. ‘the lord’s supper or meal’. The term sometimes used to refer to the *eucharist. – Cf. next

Cenacle. The room in which Christ and the apostles had the Last Supper on *Maundy Thursday; the Latin form was cenaculium. That day was known in the Latin of the 12c and 13c as dies cenae = day of the meal/supper. – Cf. previous

Cenn fine. The head of an Irish kindred group. – Cf. GWELY

Censarius. A rent-paying tenant who was not obliged to perform week-work but could be called upon for *boon work. He might be obliged to do some mowing or lend his plough. A money rent was known as censaria. In the early 12c, rent could be 1s 6d per *bovata. [< L censura = assess < census = tax, payment] – Cf. CERVISARIUS; MELLITARIUS

Cense. Income or tax paid to a lord by his tenants. An early 19c edition of *DB was entitled Libri Censualis by its editors. The censor was the magistrate in charge of the census, a list of those who paid tax. [< L censeo = to assess (for tax)] – Cf. previous

Centener. An officer commanding 100 soldiers. (The Roman equivalent was the centurio; the English form is ‘centurion’.) The term was also used of the *bailiff of a *hundred. [< L centenarius = numbering 100] – Cf. DECURIA; VINTINARY

Ceorl. A free man on the lowest rung but having land to farm. Like many terms of the period, ceorl defined a social status or *degree, without necessarily indicating financial worth: a ceorl might be well-off or poor. Nevertheless his *wergeld was set at 200s. The ceorl would have had military obligations, as befitted a free man; he might even have had slaves. – Cf. GEBUR; THEGN; TRIMODA NECESSITAS

Ceragium. See WAX-SCOT

Ceraint. Kin-group responsible for the payment and receipt of *galanas, Welsh equivalent of *wergeld.

Cere. See CRINET

Certiorari. An order or royal writ issued by the king’s *exchequer demanding information about an earlier judgement or order. (A corrupt, mispronounced form of the word was ‘siserary’.) These would be addressed to a bishop, e.g. concerning monies owed the crown by prebendaries within his diocese. If a prebendary had died owing money, the king’s exchequer would demand information about the deceased’s executors, issuing an order for his *chattels to be seized. Other complaints via the court of common pleas might concern unpaid pensions. The speed with which responses were expected might be surprising. It was not uncommon for *chancery or the *exchequer to write after 30 days demanding to know why no answer had been made. [< L certioro = to inform, apprise]

Cervèllaire [cervelière]. A skull cap worn beneath an iron helmet; also a metal cap which served as a helmet. [< Fr. cervelle = the brain]

Cervisarius. Tenant of land who paid for that land by supplying beer to his lord. The Latin word was also used to indicate a brewer. Cervisia was used of an ale feast, also of *boon work at which ale was provided. [< L cervisia = a kind of beer] – Cf. CENSARIUS; MELLITARIUS

Cestui-que-use. See ENFEOFFMENT TO USE

Chafe-wax. See CHAUFFER OF CHANCERY

Chained. Her. Term used when a chain links two animals’ collars. [< OFr. chaine < L catena = chain] – Cf. CATENAE

Chaldron. Unit of dry measure, used of weights of grain. One chaldron = 36 *bushels; one bushel = 8 gallons. – Cf. QUARTER 3

Chamber. One of the departments of the king’s household which evolved from his chamber, that part of the palace or castle which contained his private sleeping quarters. Four knights would sleep immediately outside the door as bodyguards. (The rest of the household slept in the hall.) By the 13c, this chamber had become a busy office with its own clerks and close servants. The officer in change was the *chamberlain who had become in the late 14c one of the five senior officers of the crown or royal administration. The Latin word for a chamber was camera. – Cf. CHANCELLOR; CONSTITUTIO DOMUS REGIS; FAMILIA REGIS; PRIVY SEAL

Chamberlain. Personal servant of a king or a nobleman; a *steward; later, the officer responsible for the daily running of the monarch’s private establishment. [< ME L camera = room + -ling] – Cf. previous

Chambre coi. A privy or latrine. [< OFr. coi < L quietus = quiet, at rest]

Chamfron [chamfrain]. Protection for the head of a knight’s *destrier. – Cf. BARD 1

Champaign. Open, level country. The English form is ‘champion country’. [< OFr. champaigne < L campania = open country]

Champertor. A person who participates in *champerty; the Latin term for such a person was cambiparticeps.

Champerty. Legal term for an agreement with one side of a dispute to have a share in the property being disputed; this was clearly corrupt practice. Champerty was explicitly forbidden under statute by Edward III, as was *embracery. The Latin form is campipartito. [< AN champartie = a division, a lord’s share of an estate’s produce < L campi pars = part of the land] – Cf. previous

Champion. A fighting man; someone who fought in place of another: thus the king’s and queen’s champion. The title is hereditary and resides with the Dymoke family of Lincolnshire. At Richard III’s coronation, John Dymock, splendidly arrayed on a charger with two attendants, arrived at the doors of Westminster Abbey to await the end of the coronation mass. When Dymock’s nephew performed the role of champion on the occasion of Henry IV’s coronation, he seems to have entered the king’s hall in the course of the banquet fully mounted, and ready to sustain the king’s right against any challenger. [< L campus = a field for military exercises] – Cf. DUELLUM

Chancel. That part of a church for the use of *clergy and choir and kept separate and concealed from the lay congregation. The two parts were separated by a screen, a cancellus. [< L cancellus = lattice]

Chancellery. See CHANCERY

Chancellor. The office emerged during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042–66), who followed the procedures of the *Carolingian court. The title means secretary; the post in time acquiring power and authority. Until the 14c the chancellor was invariably a priest, serving as royal chaplain and king’s secretary in secular matters; also keeper of the royal seal, or *great seal as it is known. He controlled the *exchequer. Because of his legal work in *chancery, the chancellor became the country’s chief legal officer; at the same time he presided in parliament, a position which changed somewhat when parliament became bicameral and the chancellor sat in the House of Lords. [< L cancellarius = secretary or porter] – Cf. next; EXCHEQUER

Chancery. One of the two great offices of royal administration, the court of the lord *chancellor. Chancery was responsible for the writing of charters, and writs issued in the king’s name. Orig. chancery formed part of the royal household; by the 13c, it had moved out of court, usually housed in the great hall at Westminster. All its documents were issued under the *great seal: these could be letters, writs or charters. It worked in association with the office of the *privy seal. Its documents were copied on a series of *rolls, among which were the *Charter, *Close and *Fine Rolls. Its senior official was the chancellor, who was often a bishop. The title comes from the Latin term cancellus, a screen marking off the space where documents were kept. – Cf. CHANCEL; CHANCERY DOCUMENTS; EXCHEQUER

Chancery, court of. The *chancellor began to hear pleas for legal redress which other courts could not deal with during the 14c, such as those against king’s officers or the king himself. Its procedures were relatively informal and the chancellor was able to make speedy decisions. Those using this court were particularly the poor and those weak and without friends in government. This form of justice was known as ‘equity’. – Cf. previous; ATTACHIAS; ENFEOFFMENT TO USE

Chancery documents. *Chancery’s records were recorded on *Charter Rolls, *Close Rolls, and *Letters Patent Rolls. In effect these rolls became the archive where copies of royal letters and writs were kept, a kind of public records office.

Chansons de geste. Lit. ‘songs of (great/heroic) deeds’. Long narrative poems telling of heroic deeds in French history and legend. Roland was the hero par excellence.

Chant. See GREGORIAN CHANT

Chantry. Orig. the endowment of a priest to offer up prayers for a particular person after their death; later a chapel or altar endowed for the saying of prayers and singing of mass for its founder. They remained popular until suppressed in 1545 in the Dissolution. Some were dedicated chapels within a larger building; others were small and dedicated, set apart. [< OFr. chanterie < chanter = sing] – Cf. BENEFICE; OBIT

Chap 1 [ceap]. To buy and sell; to bargain or trade. [< OE ceapian = to buy, to bargain]

Chap 2. A fellow, a young man; abbr. of *chapman = a purchaser.

Chape. Decorative metal covering a sword’s scabbard; later, that part of the scabbard covering the sword’s point. [< OFr. chape = a hood] – Cf. CRAMPET

Chapel. Orig. the shrine with the cape (chapele) of St Martin of Tours kept by the kings of France. It was in the charge of a cappellani, or *chaplain, offering *sanctuary. Thus a place for private worship; also the equipment of a portable chapel. Such places were found in private houses or as side chapels in cathedrals. After the 13c such chapels were included in a cathedral’s eastern walls during construction; some, long gone, are remembered in such places as Chapel St Leonards (Lincolnshire) and Whitechaple (E London). [< OFr. chapele < L capella = cape] – Cf. CHAPEL OF EASE

Chapel de fer. An iron cap shaped like a dome with a brow projecting all the way round. The 13c Latin form was capella de ferro. [< OFr. chape = hood + de fer = of iron]

Chapel of ease. A church founded in that part of a parish with a new population, or on *assarted land, the original church being distant from newcomers. Not all such chapels became permanent, having only temporary licences. The AS called them ‘field churches’. Their continuation depended on the owner of the land and the prosperity of the new land. If successful, then a new endowment would be established. – Cf. CHAPEL; CHAPELRY

Chapel royal. A *chapel attached to a royal house or palace.

Chapelry. A part or division of a parish having its own *chapel. – Cf. CHAPEL OF EASE

Chaperon. A kind of cap or hood worn by women. – Cf. next

Chaperonne. Her. The small shield bearing a *crest displayed on the heads of horses at funerals. – Cf. previous

Chaplain. The priest of a particular *chapel; also a chantry priest; the priest who conducted services in the private chapel of a king or lord. Nunneries also had their own chaplain. [< L capellanus = chaplain]

Chaplet 1. A wreath of flowers worn on the head like a crown.

Chaplet 2. Her. *Charge showing a garland of leaves with four flowers placed equidistantly.

Chapman. A person who bought or sold; a merchant; a travelling salesman. [< OE ceap = goods, bargain + man] – Cf. CHEPE

Chapter. Orig. a section or chapter of the monastic rule, which was read daily to the assembly of the canons of a *cathedral or a *collegiate church; also the members of a monastic or knightly order. Later it came to refer to the assembly itself. The assembly met to listen to that reading and conduct other business. [< L caput = head] – Cf. next; CAPITOLIUM

Chapter house. Place where monks met each day to discuss business; cathedrals would also have a chapter house. Chapter houses are often superbly built, polygonal in shape. – Cf. previous

Chare. An alley way or narrow lane, still in use in Newcastle as a street name (Pudding Chare).

Charge. Her. An *honourable ordinary. As a verb, to add a charge to a shield of coat of *arms. When not specified, a charge was always placed at the fess point of a shield. For example, John de Wodehouse’s arms were charged by a *chevron *or with *gouttes, i.e. spots, of blood, after the Battle of Agincourt (1415). The description of this latter would have been five gouttes de sang.

Charing Cross. The last of 13 *Eleanor crosses built by Edward I to mark the stopping places of the funeral cortège of Eleanor, his queen. It was where the statue of King Charles I can today be found (in Trafalgar Square), at the head of Whitehall. In the precinct of Charing Cross railway station is an elaborate cross but this is only a memorial of the original. Parts are copied from other crosses, also not extant. Initially, a wooden cross had been put up; later it was replaced by one of Caen stone. This was taken down in 1647 during the Civil War. – Cf. REGALIA

Charta. An alternative spelling of carta, often found in 19c historiography.

Charter. A document recording grants of land; also rights or privileges given e.g. by the monarch to a person, town, or borough; the document noting permission for the establishment of a town or a market in a town. A charter also recorded the grant of liberty to a serf; this was known as a *‘charter of franchise’. The purpose of such a grant for a town was to gain independence from a lord or even the king. For instance, London paid King John £2,000 for its charter – then, a vast sum of money. Charters recorded a grant previously made; they were not the grant itself. Hence the Latin phrase sciato me dedisse et hac carta confirmasse, i.e. ‘know that I have given and by this charter confirmed’. [< L charta = a record, a book] – Cf. CORAM POPULO

Charter of franchise. A *charter documenting the grant of liberty by a lord to a serf; it also applied to freedoms granted to the inhabitants of a town or borough. The issue of such a charter freed the town from servitude or obligation to its feudal lord, either the king or a local magnate. Such charters cost a great deal of money but were considered well worth it. For instance, a town would gather its own specified taxes, rather than have them collected or *farmed by an outside official.

Charter Rolls. A record of the grants or confirmation of grants of land and rights made by the king. Those surviving date from 1199. – Cf. PIPE ROLLS

Charterhouse. A *Carthusian monastery.

Chartophylacium. A chest for papers or files, for documents of a legal nature. [< L charta = a page or record + phylacterium = valuation of an estate]

Chase. A private forest, land reserved for hunting by a magnate. Such forests required royal permission, necessitating a substantial *fine. The citizens of London had rights of the chase in Middlesex and the Chilterns. – Cf. DISAFFORESTATION; FOREST, CHARTER OF THE

Chattel. The word is usually used in the plural, i.e. chattels. It indicated property which could be moved or transferred, as e.g. a lease could be transferred to another person, but not the land itself, which could not be moved. [< OFr. chattel = cattle] – Cf. CATEL

Chauffer of Chancery. The official in *chancery whose task was to heat the wax on the occasions when the *great seal was being used. A chafer was a small grate which held fire for heating. Chauffer was known more colloquially as chafe-wax. [< OFr. chauffer = to warm]

Chausses. Mail leggings of the kind worn by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings, 1066, and later.

Chaussier. A maker of shoes; possible source of Geoffrey Chaucer’s surname.

Checky. Her. A *charge comprising small squares of an alternating *tincture and *metal, i.e. *argent or *or; usually of seven squares at the top, diminishing downwards as size and shape of the *shield allowed. A minimum of 20 squares were shown.

Cheminage. Toll paid for passage through a forest. The Latin term was cheminagium [< Fr chemin = road, path]

Chepe. Goods, merchandise; also, a bargain. The word also indicated the place, Cheapside, where goods and bargains could be had. It is found in placenames such as Chepstow = a market place. – Cf. CHAP 1; CHAPMAN

Chepen. To buy or sell, to transact business.

Chepilt. A female merchant or seller of goods. – Cf. CHEPE; CHEPEN

Chepynge [chepinge]. A market; such places are remembered in placenames such as Chipping Camden and Chipping Norton. – Cf. CHEPE

Cherubim. Order of winged angels attending God and next below the *seraphim, who were the highest order. The word is the plural of the Hebrew cherub.

Chester plays. A collection of some 25 *mystery plays, probably dating to the 14c but preserved only in MSS from the 16–17c. They were performed from carts in the course of a procession through the city, over several days. – Cf. MIRACLE PLAY; MYSTERY PLAY; WAKEFIELD PLAYS; YORK PLAYS

Chevage. Payment made by a *villein to his lord by way of poll tax; it was also payment made e.g. for permission to live away from the manor, as a *chapman travelling freely. The Latin word was chevagium, of which capitagium was a synonym. [< OFr. chef]

Chevalier. A *knight on horseback; a term used to associate a knight with the code of *chivalry. Chevalier remains the title of the lowest order of the French nobility. [< AN chevaler < L caballarius] – Cf. CABALLARIUS

Cheval-trap. Her. Lit. ‘a horse trap’, synonymous with *‘caltrop’.

Chevauchées [war-rides]. Term used for the marauding marches of Edward III’s armies in France, which were meant to cause alarm and despondency and to destroy French resources, making life unpleasant for the French. The chevauchée was a strategy of attrition – of food and war matériel. Much medieval warfare was of this kind, set-piece battles being relatively rare. Battle was risky. While many battles were not decisive, some could be catastrophic to the loser, e.g. Stamford Bridge and Hastings (1066), Crécy (1346) and Agincourt (1415). [< Fr. chevaucher = to over-ride] – Cf. ROUTIER

Chevisance. Any kind of commercial exchange or bargain. By the 14c it signified *usury, as increasingly merchants were the great lenders of money after the expulsion of the *Jews in 1290. Protection by the pope (as formerly usury was condemned by the Christian Church) assured its ‘legality’ – the Church itself and its magnates were themselves all heavily in debt. The Latin form was chevantia.

Chevron 1. A V-shaped Norman architectural decoration; there are fine examples at Durham Cathedral. [< L capreolus = a pair of rafters, looking like a V]

Chevron 2. Her. An *honourable *ordinary shaped as an inverted V, i.e. a bent *bar, like a rafter. Chevronel is a small, half-size chevron.

Cheyne. Her. An old French term for an acorn. [< Fr. chêne = an oak]

Chichivache. Lit. ‘a thin, meagre cow’. This was a creature of fable living on good and honest women. The animal was very thin, such women being supposedly rare.

Chief. Her. One of the nine *honourable ordinaries, being a band across the top of a shield or flag; also, the topmost part of a shield, often one fifth but no more than one third; used as in *dexter chief to indicate the top right. [< OFr. chef < L caput = head]

Childermas. Festival of the Holy Innocents, 28 December, which commemorated Herod’s slaughter of the children. [< OE cildamæssedæg < cild = child + mæsse = mass + dæg = day]

Chirchethurl. A church-window; window in an *anchor-hold looking on the church’s altar. [< OE cirice = church + ðurl = window, opening]

Chi-rho. Two letters of the Greek alphabet, being the first two letters of the Greek Khristos, which were used as a monogram for Christ.

Chirograph. Lit. ‘written by hand’. The chirograph or cyrographum in the Latin of the records was an *indenture. Such documents were records of a transaction, e.g. of land changing hands. They were used by the AS, before seals replaced them, allowing all parties a copy of the transaction. The earliest surviving chirograph dates to the early 10c. Details were written twice on one sheet, the sheet then being cut in half, one piece going to each of the parties. In the case of fines, there were three pieces, with the third going to a safe place, like an abbey, or even the king’s treasury. Later, rather than a straight line being used to cut the original sheet, an indented path was taken by the cut, hence our word indenture. This system was in principle very similar to the practice of the *tally stick. *Bracton refers to chirographs, noting their value as records. For instance, he affirms their use ‘if one makes a gift by charter so that a fine and chirograph is made with every formality in the lord king’s court’. He also states that a chirograph ‘cannot easily be impugned’. The Latin used of the division was in forma trium cyrographorum = in the form of three chirographs. [< Gr. kheir = hand + graphos = something written] – Cf. FINAL CONCORD

Chivalry. Chivalry is as much about the skills and manners of a warrior class as with a literature derived from the deeds of those warriors, but presented in an idealised fashion which returned to define the manners of the warriors. Chivalry was a collocation of qualities made into a coherent ideal: skill and courage, and a craving for glory or fame acquired through knightly skills and its necessary courage. Tournaments were the place to acquire and hone skills. They were also places where a great deal of money could be made with sufficient courage and skill, as William Marshal and others did. Chivalry required that the knight be courteous and gallant towards ladies. He must be generous with a defeated enemy; his word must be his bond, for should he break his oath or parole, his name and glory would be fatally sullied. In October 1326, Sir Hugh Despenser was executed, having been one of the most influential men at Edward II’s court; he was said to have dishonoured the order of chivalry. As part of his sentence it was ordered that Despenser be hanged in a *surcoat *quartered with his arms and that afterwards his arms should be destroyed for ever.

Chivalry, orders of. Chivalric orders were a 14c creation with, to a lesser or greater degree, King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table in mind. There is a case for stating that an order of chivalry was and is one in which the number of members is limited. For example, the Most Noble Order of the *Garter, created by Edward III c.1346, has no more than 25 members today, the original complement being 24. It is the highest civil and military honour in the gift of the monarch. Other associations or societies can be considered as confraternities if they have a corpus of statutes and hold meetings at regular intervals. A member’s conduct was obviously important: he must not disgrace the order by being guilty of a reproachable offence or incurring dishonour or otherwise infringing the code of *chivalry. There must be no fautes en armes; he must remain un chevalier sans reproche. – Cf. REPROACH

Choir. The singers attached to a church or *cathedral whose rôle is to lead singing and responses; later, by transference, the word was attached to that part of a church where the choir sang. [< L chorus = singing in a play]

Chough. Member of the crow family (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) found on sea cliffs. One story has it that King Arthur’s soul migrated into a chough. [< OE ceog = a chough]

Chrism. The oil used at ceremonies such as christening, consecrated by a bishop on Holy Thursday. Balsam was mixed into the oil, its invisible scent representing the holy spirit. [< OE crisma < Gr. khrisma = anointing oil] – Cf. next

Chrismatory. The vessel in which were kept the holy oils, e.g. *chrism. – Cf. next

Chrisom. Child’s white christening gown which became a funeral shroud if the child died within its first month, such a child being known as a ‘chrisomchild’. – Cf. CHRISM

Church courts. Church courts were introduced into England after the Norman Conquest to deal with heresy, marriage, sexual immorality and disputes over wills, and other disputes concerning the human soul. Generally these courts were held under the auspices of a bishop, or his archdeacon, but sometimes an archbishop or pope. Anyone who could prove the *benefit of *clergy came under these courts’ jurisdiction.

Church haw. What today we call the church yard. The phrase was often used in wills, being specified as where a person wished to be buried. In particular, it appeared in some Lollard wills, as part of an expression of humility, since those entering the church would walk over the grave. [< OE haga = a piece of enclosed land] – Cf. HAGA 1

Churl. See CEORL

Cingle. A belt or girdle. The Latin equivalent was *cingulum militare.

Cingulum militare. Lit. ‘military belt’. The belt of knighthood, which carried the scabbard, given at the ceremony of knighting.

Cinnabar. Cinnabar, also known as *minium, was employed to produce the reds and vermilion used by MS illuminators. Large quantities have been mined in Spain for two millennia; it is known to chemists as mercury sulphide (HgS). – Cf. BRASIL; LAPIS LAZULI

Cinque Ports. Five ports on the south coast of England: Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, Romney, Hythe; to these Rye and Winchelsea were later added. They provided the early English navy. This was most likely initiated by Edward the Confessor some time before 1066. Some 50 or more ships were maintained for the king in the 11c. The ports were granted *charters of privileges in late 1270s. The towns became particularly important as a first line of defence once possession of Normandy by the English crown had been lost. By the 13c, a part of the ports’ ancient service due to the king was still the supply of ships, each with two dozen crew, for the customary 40 days each year. For Edward I this was the basis of his navy, under the command of an *admiral. As with many such dues and services, when they were commuted to cash payments the system fell apart. By the mid-14c, the king was paying the wages of the crews, not the ports. – Cf. COG; LITHESMAN

Circaria 1. Term used for one of the regions or circuits into which *Premonstratensian abbeys were organised. In England, there were three: Circaria australis (southern circuit); Circaria mediana (middle circuit); Circaria borealis (northern circuit). There was also one for Scotland: Circaria Scotiae. The English form is ‘circary’. – Cf. next

Circaria 2. Latin term for a round of visitations made by a bishop. – Cf. previous; VISITATION

Circator. *Obedientiary whose duty it was to make a tour or circuit of the monastery and its buildings each night with a bright lamp to ensure that all was well. [< L circo = to go about]

Circumvallation. Raised-earth ramparts put up around a castle by those besieging it to prevent anyone getting in or out, while also protecting themselves from sudden attacks by the castle’s defenders.

Cirice. A religious community; also a church. – Cf. next

Ciricsceat. Lit. ‘church tribute or church *scot’. The *first fruits of grain payable to a parish church on the Feast of St Martin, 11 November; mentioned in a letter from King Cnut to the English people in 1027. – Cf. previous; SCEATTA

Cissor. A tailor or cloth cutter who took his name from the tool of his trade, his scissors; ‘tailor’ from AN tailleur was also used. [< OFr. cissoires < L cisorium = cutting implement, scissors]

Cistercian Order. The monastic order founded in 1098 at Cîteaux (Latin Cistercium) by Robert of Molesme (d. 1110); a Benedictine reform. It was a strict, even puritanical order. The monks wore unbleached clothing, and undyed wool; they ate no meat, fish, or eggs. In their unheated cells they slept on bare boards. The lay brothers worked in the fields rather than studying in the *cloister. Cistercian churches were very plain, and undecorated, without stained glass or tower. Cistercians were the first to use the *conversus, a lay brother who had left the world to serve God. However, conversi only did manual labour; their regime was fairly relaxed and they were not obliged to observe the usual religious requirements of the regular monks, so strictly observed by the Cistercians. The use of these conversi was adopted by other orders, such as the Premonstratensians. The order required its members to establish themselves away from other people and to work the land themselves; they would transform wilderness into arable or pasture. They established many granges and possessed large flocks of sheep – whose great value contributed to King Richard I’s ransom. Their first house in England was at Waverley, founded in 1128; Rievaulx followed in 1132. By 1152 there were 50 Cistercian houses in England, all remote. In the 13c there were some 600 Cistercian houses, of which more than 70 were in England. The Cistercians preached the crusade against the Albigensians in 1209. Trappists are a late reform of the Cistercians. – Cf. CLUNY; PREMONSTRATENSIANS

Cittern. Stringed instrument somewhat like a *lute, played with plectrum. The gittern was a similar instrument but of later date.

Clamores. The word, meaning claims, is used in *DB as heading for a section of entries found in several counties, placed as an appendix. These entries concern properties over which there were claims and disputes – about who held what and the size of holdings. In the Little DB which covered Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, this section was titled Invasiones = annexations. There is a similar section for Huntingdonshire but this is untitled. In the *Liber Exoniensis, the claims are referred to as terrae occupatae = appropriated lands. For the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire entries clamores is used. [< L clamo = call aloud, to complain]

Clap-dish. Alms-dish made of wood whose lid clapped to draw attention to the beggar or *mendicant.

Clarenceux. Her. The second (English) King of Arms, whose jurisdiction lies south of the Trent. – Cf. GARTER KING OF ARMS; NORROY AND ULSTER

Clas. The mother church of a Welsh district, served by abbot and canons. Such a district was often a *cantref.

Claustral prior. An abbot’s second-in-command, responsible for the internal life of the monastery. [< L claustrum = cloister]

Clausura. Lit. ‘closed (off), enclosure’. This word refers to the practice of barring members of the opposite sex from a monastery or nunnery. – Cf. DOMUS FENESTRAE

Clavus. See CLOVE

Clerestory. The upper portion of a large church with rows of windows, above the aisles, so as to allow light into the central parts of the building.

Clergy. Orig. the word meant learning or scholarship; later, by transference, it was applied to the clerics, as they were supposed to be literate, able to read and know Latin. [< L clericus = a clerk] – Cf. next

Clerk. A man of the secular *clergy, i.e. not a monk or *canon of a religious order. In 12c England perhaps five per cent of the male population were clerks. Such men were not permitted to marry. Clerks were supposed to be educated, and were given a Latin text to read as proof. However, this could easily be memorised – at a time when many were illiterate, and much depended on the memory of local custom, memory was of signal importance. [< L clericus = a clerk] – Cf. previous

Clerk of the market. Whenever the king’s household was on the move, the clerk of the market was required to ride in advance of the royal party, securing all necessary supplies. As part of his authority he declared the *assize of bread, wine and ale, and oats to ensure their quality. This assize would apply to every market within the *verge for whatever time the royal household remained in the district. A further duty was to ensure that prostitutes were kept away from the court. At this time, the court was an all-male institution. These duties came under the purview of the *Marshalsea. – Cf. DOMUS REGIS; INTRINSECUS; ITINERARY; PURVEYOR

Clermonia. A *clerk’s Latin term for the gathering together of the canons of a *cathedral. It was also used colloquially and somewhat tongue in cheek to indicate sobriety.

Cleyed. Her. With tusks (of a boar); it is a form of ‘clawed’. – Cf. SANGLIER

Cloister. Orig. a place of seclusion or a monastic house; an open quadrangle with a covered colonnade for walking within a *cathedral or college. [< L claustrum = an enclosure] – Cf. GARTH

Close Rolls. Records of letters, mandates, and other writs of a private nature, which were addressed to individuals in the king’s name and were closed, then sealed on the outside with the *great seal (hence close roll). Many of these would have been summonses issued to barons to attend *parliament. When folded these letters could become small enough to fit in the hand and could even be swallowed in extremis. – Cf. FINE ROLLS; LETTERS PATENT ROLLS; PIPE ROLLS

Clouges. Money paid to a *herald at a *tournament, deriving its name from the time when it was the herald’s duty to nail a knight’s shield to a tree on which all the challenges were to be found. [< Fr clou = nail] – Cf. TREE OF HONOUR

Clove. Measure of weight = 7–8 lb (c.3.5 kg) used of wool and cheese. [< L clavus = a weight]

Cluny. A reform of the Benedictines, which grew out of the abbey of Cluny, in Burgundy, in 910. The Cluniacs’ organisation was more centralised than the Benedictines’: daughter-houses, established as priories, remained dependent upon the mother-house, whose *abbot had control over all other foundations. This arrangement allowed for uniformity both of practice and observance. Cluniacs used a more elaborate ritual than did the Benedictines, and their architectural ornamentation was distinctly lavish; even their vestments were more expensive than those of other orders. St Bernard, a *Cistercian, said of them, ‘Oh ye professors of poverty, what does gold do in a holy place?’ Learning and scholarship was the centre of their way, rather than labour in the fields. Their first English house was founded at Lewes in 1077. – Cf. ALIEN PRIORY

Cniht. See next

Cnihtena gild. Lit. ‘guild of knights’. The OE word cniht = a youth or young retainer, including military retainers. In the reigns of both William II and Henry I the privileges of the London cnihtena gild were confirmed; however, this was an association of the most prominent burgesses. There were other such associations of the same name in Winchester and Canterbury, the latter being referred to in a charter during King Æthelberht’s reign.

Co-aration. Lit. ‘co-ploughing’. Modern term for the practice of AS settlers of working together in groups larger than the family. A plough-team of eight oxen was too costly for one family to own and maintain; the heavy plough itself, the caruca, was also expensive. Thus, although large fields were divided up, they were worked co-operatively. [< L aro = to plough]

Cockatrice [basilisk]. Her. Two-legged monster or dragon with barbed tongue and cock’s head; a reptile/serpent with fatal halitosis and equally fatal stare, from which basilisk-stare is derived. Its feet were those of a cockerel (whereas a *wyvern’s were those of an eagle). It was thought to come from a cockerel’s egg, being hatched by a serpent. While its breath could kill, it could itself be killed by a weasel. Later, it was a term for ‘whore’.

Codex. Term used for a MS in book form, a format which superseded the MS roll c.7–8c. The leaves of the MS were sewn on one edge, much as books today are sewn or glued. [< L caudex = tree bark; also an account book]

Coenobite. A member of any monastic community who observes the shared life of the community, as opposed to a hermit or idiorhythmic monk (who follows his own rules of living). [< L coenobita = a monk]

Cofferer. Orig. a craftsman who made chests, usually covered with leather. These chests in time gave their name to the post of the officer who kept money in them, i.e. a cofferer. One of the treasurers of the royal *household; he ranked third in the hierarchy of the *king’s wardrobe. The title was also borne by an officer of the *Green Cloth. [< L cofferarius = cofferer]

Cog. A broad cargo vessel with blunt prow and stern; cogs formed an important part of Edward III’s navy. – Cf. CINQUE PORTS

Cognisance. A sign by which to be recognised, i.e. the heraldic badge or emblem or *crest worn by the retainers of a particular lord, or noble house; part of the *livery. Before *heraldry became an art and science, knights would put signs or simple cognisances on their shields as an easy means of identification in battle or *mêlée.

Coif. A skull cap worn under a helmet, known sometimes in the contemporary French as coyfe de Chartres.

Coins and coinage. See FARTHING; MONEYERS; NOBLE; PENNY; SOLIDUS

Cóir Anmann. Fitness of Names. An etymological collection of Irish tribal and personal names in two versions. The earlier and shorter is 14–15c, the later 15c. In all there are c.300 names whose meanings and origins are described.

Cokeneyes. A small fowl or cockerel; ultimate source of Cockney.

Cokini. Grade of king’s messenger junior to the *nuncius regis and who travelled on foot. The term was first used in the *rolls c.1251. Initially, they were simply a spare pair of hands from the kitchens, used as casual messengers. Later, they were recognised as a group known as cokini or coquini. Being casual labour, they cost less than the full-time nuncius. Their pay was 2d a day, and they were not initially included in the annual distribution of *livery. On occasion, when they were in the company of a nuncius, a horse might be used. They came to be known as cursores when the association with the kitchens was felt undignified; the name cursor [L = a runner] also had the advantage of suggesting speed and proficiency. Some cokini remained in service for 10 or 20 years; others were promoted to nuncius. Their numbers varied greatly from year to year, e.g. depending on whether there was a war being fought, in which case their numbers might increase to 40 or so. In time, they were given new cloaks and shoes annually: working for the king meant wearing his livery. [< L coquinus = things to do with cooking, also a market where cooks were hired] – Cf. KITCHENER

Colibertus. A group of men who were not slaves but were not wholly free, ranking below the free *villein; known also as quolibertus. They were found in Wessex as reported in *DB; their rare occurrence elsewhere indicates only that other commissioners – for whatever reason – did not report them. – Cf. CULVERTAGE

Collation. A small meal or snack in a monastery. After *vespers and before *compline in a Benedictine monastery, the monks gathered in the *cloister to listen to a reading and take refreshment such as a stoup of beer. [< L collatio = a collection]

Collaud. Acclamation by the populace, i.e. the citizens, of a king; particularly the citizens of London for which there was ancient precedent. This was taken into account during the deposition of Richard II in 1399, and the search for legitimate grounds for Henry IV’s claim to the throne. [< L col- = together + laudo = praise]

Collect. A short prayer said before reading in the *eucharist. – Cf. COLLECTAR

Collecta. The term used by middlemen in the wool trade of the clip collected from many small-scale producers. This happened during the great time of sheep farming in the 13c. These middlemen could be magnates or abbeys such as those of the Cistercian order, who contracted to supply so much from their own flocks, but also agreed to supply a specified number of sacks, collected from the surrounding area. [< L collectum = something collected] – Cf. ARRA; SACK OF WOOL

Collectar. A book of *collects, i.e. a collection of short prayers said during a service.

College of Arms. See ARMS, COLLEGE OF

College of Heralds. See HERALDS, COLLEGE OF

Collegiate church. A church, not a *cathedral, endowed for a *chapter of canons or prebends. These establishments were served by groups of secular *clergy, forming an association or college. They were known in the AS period as *minsters. Some became *chantries of a very costly kind; some became parish churches or were dissolved; others were taken over by the new orders of the 12c, e.g. the *Augustinians. Those at Westminster and Windsor, St George’s Chapel, survived until the 1530s.

Collier. A charcoal maker; only later did the word come to mean one who sold coal, as well as charcoal.

Colloquium. In 1226 writs of summons were sent out, calling four knights from each *county to gather at Lincoln for a special assembly, a colloquium or conference. It was called to resolve various practical problems involved in the implementation of *Magna Carta. Such men as these knights were known as *‘buzones’.

Collying. Her. Falconer’s term used by *heralds to indicate the head of a bird erect in preparation for flight.

Columbine. Her. A flower (Aquilegia vulgaris), which was used as the *badge of the house of Lancaster.

Combatant. Her. Describes two animals facing each other, poised to fight, each *rampant.

Comes. Title used in documents and chronicles for the holder of office in a shire or *county; the Latin word from which the title count derived. In its original use, comes was used of a companion of the emperor, or someone who had specific duties in the imperial court, e.g. *comes stabuli. Later, in England, the count had charge of a county, responsible, in the king’s name, for law and financial matters, as well as military affairs. [< L comes = an attendant or companion] – Cf. COMITAL; CONSTABLE

Comes stabuli. Lit. ‘count of the stables’. From this title *‘constable’ is derived. – Cf. previous

Comet. There are several comets mentioned in the *ASC. In the annal for 891, there is a reference to ‘the star that men in book-Latin call cometa’. Another appeared in 975, at the time of a great famine. The most famous is *Halley’s comet, which appeared on 24 April 1066, and was visible for the next week. This was seen as an ill omen, as indeed it proved for the English in the Battle of Hastings later that year. [< L cometa] – Cf. FEAXEDE STEORRA

Comital. Modern term denoting anything relating to a count or an earl. [< L comes = an attendant or companion] – Cf. next; COMES

Comitatus 1. Latin word = company, used to refer to the close companions of a lord or king. The usage is a 19c reapplication of the word comitatus, taken from the description in Germania by Tacitus (d. 120) of the Germanic warrior band loyal to their lord. Such loyalty is exemplified later in the OE poem The Battle of Maldon, which relates the struggles of the household warriors and their loyalty to their *ealdorman in the battle of 991, also mentioned in *ASC. A further example was at the Battle of Hastings, in 1066, after the death of King Harold II. Harold’s family and their closest retainers were all killed, refusing to leave the body of their dead king and wanting to avenge his death. – Cf. DOMUS REGIS; FAMILIA REGIS

Comitatus 2. After the Conquest, this word was used as the Latin translation of ‘shire’, i.e. the modern *‘county’. – Cf. TOTUS COMITATUS

Comitiva. Term used of a member of a king’s or lord’s *comitatus. He was a retainer and companion in arms. – Cf. MEINIE; RETINENTIA

Commendam. See IN COMMENDAM

Commendation. Term used to describe the relationship between man and lord. *DB assumed everyone had a lord, even the king, who was subject to God. At its heart was the idea that a man placed himself under the protection of his lord. The practice began in the dangerous 8c. It merged into what we call *feudalism and vassalage. The contemporary Latin term was se vertere = to submit to, translating the OE gebugan = to bow to. [< L commendatio = entrusting] – Cf. VASSAL

Commensalis. Latin term (English ‘commensal’) used of the sons of noblemen and gentry who were placed in the charge of a monastery for education in the 15–16c. Another and earlier practice was to place the son in the house of a great ecclesiastic or other magnate to learn the ways of a great house and how to be a gentleman. It was not uncommon for them to serve at table. Fees were paid, esp. if the boy was sent to a monastery. [< L com- = with + mensa = table; thus to eat at the same table] – Cf. CORRODY; VALETTUS

Commilitones. Brothers-in-arms. The term was used of the fighting men, not retainers, who accompanied the household knights when they were summoned to war by the king. [< L commilito = to soldier together]

Commise. The penalty – the confiscation of his fiefs – imposed upon a *vassal for a serious breach of expected conduct. One great instance was that imposed by King Philip VI of France upon Edward III for giving aid to Robert of Artois, then enemy of the king of France. Philip proceeded to confiscate both Aquitaine and Gascony, which Edward held of Philip. This was the formal occasion of the beginning of the *Hundred Years’ War. [< L commissa = fine, penalty]

Common Pleas, Court of. Established by Henry II in 1178, it comprised five members of his own council (the *curia regis) specifically to hear pleas – civil suits not involving the crown. However, this court was not wholly independent until *Magna Carta determined the need for a specific place for civil cases, i.e. in Westminster Hall. By 1272 it had acquired a chief justice. – Cf. CERTIORARI

Commons, House of. See PARLIAMENT

Commote [commot]. English form of the Welsh cymyd, term for a division of land less than a *cantref. In the late 11c, Welsh commotes were areas under Norman control yet subject to Welsh law and custom. The commotes were west of Offa’s Dyke and, in general, they represented recent Norman-English advances into Welsh territory. – Cf. RAGLER

Commune concilium. Lit. ‘general council’. Latin term for the assembly of all the tenants-in-chief of the king; its origin is in the early years of Norman rule in England. It was the Norman equivalent of a *witan. From it evolved the *privy council. – Cf. WITENAGEMOT

Communitas regni. Lit. ‘the community of the realm’. The term for the nation in parliament, or its representation in parliament.

Commutation. The conversion of a labour service into a sum of money payable to a lord.

Company. Companionship or fellowship. [< L com- = with + panis = bread, i.e. those who break bread together]

Compass. Her. A compass was used in the insignia of the Company of Carpenters, and also in the Company of Masons, whose arms were granted in 1473, and later by the Freemasons. – Cf. next

Compass, master of the. A stone-mason of the highest rank and skill. The compass was the mason’s indispensable tool which ensured the accuracy of his work.

Compensation. AS law, carried over into the *LHP, contained detailed rules and schedules of compensation for injury, from the loss of a finger-nail at 4s, to a thegn’s death at 1,200s. If a man was rendered impotent by a wound then 80s were payable, while the loss of a big toe warranted 20s.

Comperta. Lit. ‘discovered or ascertained’. Term used of wrongs found during a bishop’s *visitation requiring further action or being sent to trial. – Cf. DETECTA; SECRETE ET SINGILLATIM

Compline. See HORARIUM

Compony. See GOBONY

Compurgation. At the heart of AS law and custom was the oath which was considered sacred. Compurgation involved the accused person swearing his innocence; at the same time he had to produce a number of other people willing also to swear to the accused’s assertion of innocence. [< L com- = with + purgo = to purge]

Computus. The science of calculation or computing, usually of the calendar for a Church festival, e.g. Easter. An early such work was produced at the Vivarium of Cassiodorus in 562. This was the first document of the medieval world to use the Dionysian mode of date reckoning we still use and which defined the Christian era.

Conductor. The Latin term for one of the two men who worked an eight-ox *plough-team. The conductor guided the plough itself; the other, known as the *fugator, drove the oxen. [< L conductor = a guide, leader]

Confiteor. Lit. ‘I confess’. Opening word of the prayer, Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti (I confess to Almighty God), which was the confession of sin made by priest and congregation at the beginning of the mass.

Conflictus Gallicus. Lit. ‘the Gallic (French) way of fighting or combat’. The *tournament first emerged in what today we call France. The term was used by chroniclers such as Ralph Diceto and Roger of Wendover, while Ralph of Coggeshall used the phrase more Francorum (in the way of the French). From c.1130 France was the place to go for a young man keen to make a name and money for himself. Indeed, there was almost a professional circuit on which it was possible to make a fortune, and many Englishmen travelled across the Channel for just that reason. – Cf. HASTILUDE; TOURNAMENTS

Confraternity. An association with a church, signifying the claim on the spiritual benefits and remembrance in prayers of a monastery by a benefactor or founder. To the lay population this round of prayer was crucial to a monastery’s existence.

Congé d’èlire. Lit. ‘permission to elect’. AN term for the king permitting the chapter of a *cathedral and its dean to elect a bishop. The constitutions of Clarendon of 1164, issued by Henry II, set down the procedures for the election of a new bishop or archbishop.

Congius. Old Roman measure of liquid, amounting to six pints. It was used in late ME documents, which set down the allowances of members of the royal court, who were entitled to *bouche en court. – Cf. CONSTITUTIO DOMUS REGIS; SEXTARY

Conjury. Someone who has taken an oath, e.g. William Caxton (d. 1400) said of himself: ‘I am citizen and conjury of London.’

Conrois. Closely packed cavalry formation of between 20 and 30 men. Norman knights fought in such tactical units.

Consistory court. The court of a bishop for hearings concerning ecclesiastical offences; a diocesan court.

Constable. Chief officer of a royal household, also the governor of a castle. The development in meaning of this word from senior in a stable to a royal officer of high rank is similar to that of *marshal. [< L comes stabuli = a count or chief officer of the stables] – Cf. COMES; MARSHAL; STALLER

Constabularia. Unit of the feudal host comprising 10 knights.

Constance, Council of. 1415. At this council John Wyclif was declared a heretic; at the same time it was ordered that his body be ‘ungraved’. Earlier, in 1410, some 300 proposals had been found and condemned in his writings. – Cf. DE HAERETICO COMBURENDO

Constitutio Domus Regis. Establishment of the King’s Household. This document was drawn up a short while after the death of Henry I in 1135, by the bureaucracy of the new king, Stephen, describing the arrangements and conditions of the household in the last years of Henry’s life. It sets out the pay, allowances and living conditions of those who served the king, beginning with the *chancellor. The chancellor was to have 5s a day, with itemised food – *simnel bread – and specified quantities of wine and candles and so on. The description then passes through the ranks from master-butler to various *stewards, dispensers, naperers, cooks, and concludes with the *marshal. The keeper of the cups received three halfpence a day. These lower-paid workers had no food allowances specified; rather they were said to live in the household, meaning that ‘customary food’ was provided. – Cf. CURIA REGIS; SEXTARY

Consuetudinarius. Latin form of the *consuetudinary used in a monastery. By the 13c this Latin word had acquired another meaning, as an infrequent synonym of custumarius. [< L consueo = to be accustomed] – Cf. CUSTUMARIUS

Consuetudinary. The household books of a monastery in which are found its customs and those of its surrounding area. The Latin form was *consuetudinarius. [< L consueo = to be accustomed] – Cf. CUSTOMARY

Consuetus. See CUSTUMARIUS

Contemptus mundi. Lit. ‘contempt for the world’. An attitude prevalent throughout monastic communities (13–15c), which went beyond mere disdain and contempt for the delights of physical existence. The passage of time itself was seen as a process of decline, and the process of ‘civilisation’ moving westwards, away from Jerusalem (the centre of the world) was both part of and sign of that decline. Bernard of Cluny (fl. 1140–60) wrote a poem entitled De Contemptu Mundi in which he castigated the morals of the times.

Contenement. Property required by a man to maintain his position, i.e. to be able to live according to his rank. Ranulf de *Glanville (d. 1190) stated that when a man inherited he should not make demands for *relief on those who held of him which would jeopardise their contenement. The Latin form is contenementum. [< L con- = with + tenementum = tenure]

Contract captain. In the mid-14c, the feudal system of summoning by writ knights to fight for the king was disappearing fairly rapidly. In its place, two systems of recruiting fighters were emerging: hiring by contract and volunteers. Contract captains, who were knights, were charged by the king to recruit set numbers of men, for set periods of time; the contract for fighting being with the captain, not the king. The standard period of contract was for 40 days, the quarantine. The daily rates of pay, during Edward III’s reign (1327–77), for various ranks were as follows: an earl, 6s 8d; banneret, 4s; knight, 2s; man-at-arms, 1s; mounted archer, 6d, unmounted, 3d. The recruiting captain of volunteers usually found his men in the prisons. In usual circumstances, as many as 10 per cent of an army were ex-prisoners, released on condition of serving in the army. There were also *mercenaries recruited in Flanders and elsewhere. – Cf. ARRAIATOR; ARRAY, COMMISSION OF; REGARD

Contrafactum. Modern term for a piece of music where a different text is set to the notes from that originally intended; e.g. an English text might be set to an originally Latin motet. An example would be the recasting of the lines (originally in Latin) ‘Now at the beginning of the day/ to God as suppliants we pray’ as the following, ‘Now at the dawning of the day/ We must start drinking straight away’. Later, when friars began their mission to travel and preach to people outside the church, they used popular tunes, changing the words to suit their purposes. This use of music known to the general populace was why St Francis called his followers joculatores Dei, God’s minstrels. [< L contrafacio = to imitate, to counterfeit]

Contraiz. A term for a crippled or otherwise damaged person.

Contrarients. Name adopted by supporters of Queen Isabella and Mortimer in the rebellion against Edward II in the 1320s.

Convent [nunnery]. The place of a community of Christians living together according to the rule of the religious order to which they belong (the term is not confined to women religious). [< L conventus = assembly] – Cf. CONVENTUALIS; MONASTERY; OBLATE

Conventio. Lit. ‘an agreement’. During the 11c and the 12c, the barons of England and France/Normandy were almost continuously in dispute. These were private wars of the kind William I had forbidden in England after 1066 but which were not so susceptible to one authority across the Channel. The Church also sought to limit these eruptions, e.g. the *Truce of God. However, these quarrels did not always spill over into violence; likely enough, one of the two sides simply wished to agitate and secure an agreement – conventio – which might favour him slightly.

Conventiones. Latin term for payments to the crown which were not *amercements, but were rather like the *relief paid on succession to an estate. *Scutage also would come under this category of royal income. [< L conventio = agreement, agreed payment]

Conventualis. Latin term indicating that a monastery had sufficient members to make it viable, that number being the apostolic 12. Fewer than 12 meant that the rule was unlikely to be adhered to and discipline would fall away. St Bernard was very conscious of this likelihood. ‘Conventual’ is the adjectival form of *‘convent’.

Conversatio. Lit. ‘conversation’; used of behaviour. The phrase de male conversacionis = bad behaviour, implying sexual impropriety of (usually) a woman. This links with the phrase ‘criminal conversation’ = adultery, sexual misconduct. ‘Converse’ had the sense ‘to be intimate with’.

Conversus [lay brother]. A lay member of a monastery who entered late in life, perhaps with a *corrody. They were so named for being ‘converted’ from the secular world. They were often illiterate and not permitted to become monks; monks from wealthier families tended to be literate and were known as ‘fathers’. The main purpose of the conversus was to do the manual labour of a foundation, making the worldly wealth needed, as the religious worked for the soul. The Cistercian order had more conversi than other rules. For example, at Rievaulx, when Ailred was abbot (c.1150–60), there were 140 monks and 600 conversi. The better able were sent to the monastery’s outlying farms and *granges; however, a great many were found to be unreliable and much was stolen. By the time of the *Black Death, granges and farms had been let out on commercial terms; after this, there were scarcely any conversi. – Cf. NUTRITUS

Coopertus. Lit. ‘covered’. Word used of a knight in the phrase cum equis coopertis = with covered horse, i.e. the horse was *barded. During the reign of Edward I the vast majority of knights on the king’s payroll rode armoured horses; horses described as discooperti (uncovered) were very scarce. Such men with their horses could be described as ‘heavy’ cavalry. – Cf. BARD 1; DESTRIER

Copyhold. Land held of the lord of a *manor but according to local custom – custom being defined and recorded in the manorial court records. The copy referred to the manorial record of which a copy might be held; or referral could be made to the original. By the late 14c, services owed by villeins had been commuted into money payments.

Coquini. See COKINI

Coram populo. Lit. ‘in the public presence’. Term used when the transfer of title was made in public, that being the occasion of legal seisin, of which a *charter was a record and not title.

Coram rege. Lit. ‘in the presence of the king, the king’s bench’. This court travelled with the king wherever he went; it tried cases involving magnates and those entitled to a hearing before the reigning monarch. It was precursor of the high courts which deal with common law. – Cf. CURIA REGIS; EYRE

Corbel. A raven or crow; later a projection from a wall designed for something to hang from, named for its likeness to the raven’s large beak. ‘Corbie’ was the 15c Scottish form. [< OFr. corbel = raven]

Cordelier. A *Franciscan observant, so called because of the knotted cord around the waist.

Cordwain. A fine quality goatskin leather, originally made at Córdova, in Spain, after which it is named. In 1367, shoes of cordwain cost 6d, boots 3s 6d; cowhide shoes cost 5d, boots 3s. – Cf. next

Cordwainer. A leather worker, shoemaker. The title cordwainer applied not only to the maker of leather goods but also to the merchant who imported cargoes of Spanish leather. Some of these men achieved prominence in London: e.g. Gervase the Cordwainer was the king’s chamberlain of London in 1227, becoming *sheriff in 1237. – Cf. previous and next; CORVEISERIA

Cordwainers, Ordinances of. 1272. Ordinances drawn up in the last year of King Henry III’s reign, which specified and limited *cordwainers’ activities. Fees for an apprentice were set at 40s at least, with 2s going to the commonality. Cordwainers were not to interfere with tanners and vice versa. At fairs, tanners had to set up with tanners and cordwainers with cordwainers under penalty of a 40s fine; nor were they allowed to work at night. Strangers were not permitted to sell footwear in London save in wholesale quantities. Selling in the streets was allowed only between two named streets and this before dinner; but on the eve of a feast day only after dinner.

Core. Measure of wheat equal to a quarter. – Cf. QUARTER 3

Coriarius. A leather worker; currier; artisan who worked on leather, improving it, after the tanning process. The Latin words corarius and coralius were synonymous with coriarius. – Cf. PELLETARIUS; TANNER

Corn. The grain of a cereal plant; in England the most widely planted was wheat.

Cornagium. Cornage; a rent paid for grazing rights, esp. in northern England.

Coronal. The crown-like end of a lance used in a peaceful joust. The idea was that several points would distribute the thrust wider than a single-pointed lance. [< L coronalis = like a wreath or crown] – Cf. JOUST OF PEACE; JOUST OF WAR; ARMS, STATUTE OF

Coroner. District officer whose duty was to look after royal property in his district. The title comes from the last word of the Latin title, custos placitorum coronae = guardian of pleas of the crown.

Corporal. The cloth used at *eucharist on which the cup and paten or plate were placed during the eucharist. – Cf. BURSE

Corporal acts of mercy. Charitable acts which aided the giver towards salvation. They were: feeding the hungry, providing drink for the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and prisoners, taking in the traveller and burying the dead.

Corrody [corrodier]. Pension paid to a monastery for the maintenance of someone. Such an arrangement was often used as a way of dealing with awkward members of a family; as a noble woman also was put into a nunnery if her marriage might prove politically unwelcome. – Cf. CONVERSUS; OBLATE

Corvée. Forced, and unpaid, labour, commanded by a lord from a *vassal.

Corveiseria. The Cordwainery, the name of the 13c London ward, near St Mary-le-Bow. – Cf. next; CORDWAINER

Corveser. A cobbler. [< OFr. courveis = leather < L Cordubensis = Córdova] – Cf. previous; CORDWAINER

Cotagium. Latin term for the land attached to a small dwelling or cot. – Cf. -AGIUM; COTLAND

Cote. A small house or cottage; it is found in placenames, e.g. Somercotes (Lincolnshire).

Cotland. Land attached to a cot or small dwelling, perhaps five acres, belonging to a *cotsetla. – Cf. COTAGIUM

Cotsetla. An 11c *ceorl, a free peasant, owing his lord a day’s labour a week with *boon work at harvest time. In return he had a small dwelling place or cottage and farmed a small share of the common. – Cf. previous; COTAGIUM; -SETLA

Couchant [couched]. Her. Describes an animal lying down with its head held up.

Coucher. A large book, such as a *breviary or *book of hours, usually too large to be carried with ease, left upon a lectern; the word was also used of a *cartulary.

Council of Fifteen. On 11 June 1258, at Oxford, a council of barons resolved to rule the country in conjunction with King Henry III, who was deemed to be mentally incapable. This was prompted by a variety of reasons. The previous year’s weather had been bad, with poor harvests and *murrain. The ordinary people of England were also suffering greatly from the expenses of war. Before the council, another was formed, which drew up the Provisions of *Oxford. Henry’s foreign advisers were extremely unpopular; indeed it was thought they were favoured above the English and their wealth was much disapproved of. Feeling was such that they then decamped; their land and castles were immediately confiscated and distributed. However, the council began internecine squabbling.

Council of the North. A council created by Richard III, instructed to protect England’s northern border marches with Scotland. Ordinances were drawn up in 1484. The post of warden of the marches was created. Defence was put into the hands of the Percy family in the east; the Nevilles were charged with defending the west.

Counter-castle. Siege works set up on a scale equal to that of the castle under attack. Built at the beginning of a siege, it contained a garrison whose function was to prohibit access to a castle and limit the defenders’ activities; assaults could also be launched from such a building.

Counter-couchant. Her. Describes two animals lying beside each other but with their heads away from each other. – Cf. next

Counter-passant. Her. Describes two animals passing each other in opposite directions. The word ‘counter’ is used in hunting to indicate the direction opposite to that of the game. – Cf. previous and next

Counter-potent. Her. A T-shape or crutch. The term refers to one of the heraldic *furs shown alternately as azure or *argent patches arranged so as to resemble a crutch, i.e. in opposite order to *potent.

Counter-salient. Her. Describes two figures leaping away from the other. [< L salio = to leap] – Cf. previous; SALIENT

Counter-vair. Her. One of the chief *furs alternating *argent and azure bell shapes, i.e. in opposite order to *vair.

County. The court held under a *sheriff which dealt with *shire matters; the territory of a count; later, by transference, county came to apply to the area of land discussed at such meetings. [< AN counté < L comes = count] – Cf. PALATINE

Couped. Her. Cut off, e.g. a figure couped at the shoulders showing only head and shoulders. – Cf. CABOSHED

Courage. One of the essentials of a knight, rated higher than prowess, it being a moral quality and thus superior to the merely physical. Raymon Lull (d. c.1315) said of courage that ‘no man may more honour and love *chivalry … than that dieth for love and for to honour the order of chivalry’. It required no skill to die. As originally used, courage indicated more disposition and purpose than the bravery we associate almost exclusively with the word. [< L cor = heart, mind, spirit + -age associating a quality] – Cf. PROWESS

Courant. Her. Running (of an animal).

Courser. A fast-running horse. [< OFr. courseur < L cursor = a runner]

Court baron. Court held before a *manor’s freemen that dealt with services owed to the lord by tenants; also for the recovery of debts of less that 40s. However, the court had no power to imprison. Somewhat strangely, it appears that the court baron has not been abolished by parliament. – Cf. CURIA REGIS

Court leet. Court of record for which a royal *charter was required, usually held once or twice a year, to examine members of the *hundred and to punish misdemeanours. – Cf. LEET

Courtly love. Modern term popularised by C. S. Lewis to describe the various kinds of love between man and woman described in the works of *troubadours and others between the 11c and the 13c. The range of feeling ran from the dutiful respect owed a lord’s wife, to the adulterously sexual. One relationship was excluded, that between husband and wife. The genre first appeared in Provence and then spread through Europe. Appearing at much the same time as Arthurian tales, the two created a potent and memorable mix of *chivalry and romance. The French phrase amour courtois is a 19c coinage. – Cf. AUBADE; PASTOURELLE

Couter. That part of a suit of armour which protected the elbow. Originally they were rounded, but became conical in shape through decoration. After becoming articulated, they comprised three pieces.

Coward 1. Someone without courage. On the battlefield, the thegn was expected to fight and, if necessary, die with his lord – one reason for the loss of so many of the AS nobility, or *comitatus, at Hastings, in 1066. Cowardice was the lowest of qualities in the chivalric world where physical courage counted as much as physical prowess. A coward was a soldier who turned tail and ran. In old hunting terms a hare was referred to as la coward ou la court cowe, i.e. the coward or the short-tail. Coart was the name of the timid rabbit in Roman de Renart. [OFr. coe = tail < L cauda = tail] – Cf. next

Coward 2. Her. Describes a lion with its tail between its legs. – Cf. previous

Crakow. See POULAINE

Cramoisy. Crimson; used esp. of cloth. [< OFr. crameisi < Ar. kirmiz] – Cf. SCARLET

Crampet. The *chape of a scabbard; also used as a heraldic charge.

Cranage. The payment made for the use of a crane to handle goods. The Latin form was cranagium.

Crannequin. The rack and pinion mechanism, or crank, used to cock a steel *crossbow. This procedure was markedly quicker than by hand, allowing the *arbalester or trained bowman to fire three times a minute.

Crannock. A unit of measure of wheat; used also of fish; equiv. to 37 gallons. [?< Ir. cran]

Craven. Lit. ‘overcome’. The cry of the defeated man, concluding a duel. From this we have our use of the word as an adjective qualifying coward. [?< OFr. cravanter = to overcome, overwhelm] – Cf. DUELLUM; ICTUS REGIS; RECREANTIA

Creance. Lengthy cord attached to a falcon during its training, long and light enough to permit flight without escape. – Cf. FALCONRY

Credo. Lit. ‘I believe’. The first word of the Creed, the statement of Christian belief formulated in the early Church.

Credo ut intelligam. Lit. ‘I believe that I may understand’. The scholastic phrase made famous by Anselm of Bec (d. 1109).

Crémaillère. The inside zig-zag of a *parapet.

Crenellate. To *embattle or provide embattlements and *embrasures to a building e.g. castle; cathedrals might also be fortified, e.g. by King John at Lincoln in 1216. A licence from the king was required to crenellate a castle (which itself was licensed).

Crenellé [crenel]. The space between *merlons, the indentation where soldier or archer had some protection; the gap of the gap-toothed look. [< OFr. crenel = a notch < L crena = a serration, notch] – Cf. AJOURÉ

Cresset. A container of light-giving oil or coals; often suspended from a pole. [< OFr. cresset < craisse = grease, oil]

Crest 1. A plume of feathers worn atop a helmet; an identifying mark, such as coloured rings beneath the feathers of an arrow; something worn as a *cognisance. [< L crista = a plume or tuft] – Cf. FLETCH

Crest 2. Her. A figure or image on a coronet or shield or helmet.

Cresten. Christian.

Crime. AS law evolved an elaborate collection of monetary penalties for all manner of offence. The intention was *compensation for the aggrieved. Medieval society was violent. For example, in Lincoln in 1202 there were 114 murders, 89 violent robberies and 65 fights in which there were serious woundings. However, there were as a result of that year’s mayhem only two executions. Rather than go to the expense of keeping criminals in prison, they were exiled or else hanged or mutilated: hands, ears and feet were cut off either singly or in various combinations. But these brutalities emerged during the reign of Henry II, under reforms intended to solve the ‘crime wave’.– Cf. PILLORY; SANCTUARY

Crined. Her. Term indicating the hair of a human being or the mane of a horse is of a different *tincture from that of the body. [< L crinis = hair] – Cf. ANIMÉ; BEQUE; MEMBERED; RAMÉ; UNGULED

Crinet. Small feathers growing at the base of a hawk’s beak, that part being known as the cere. [< L crinis = hair; cere < L cera = wax] – Cf. previous

Crinière [crinet]. The armour pieces or heavy padding used to protect the neck and throat of a knight’s horse.

Crockard. The crockard was a foreign coin which appeared in England during Edward I’s reign, the result of a shortage of coin in the country. He instituted a reform of the coinage in 1279–80, intending to fund his Welsh campaigns. However, it was too successful: good English coins left the country, although prohibited, for use in Europe. The shortage remained, even when European rulers and princes produced their own imitations of the English coins. These latter were usually lighter and less valuable than the English and were known as ‘crockards’, flooding in during the 1290s. There was an attempt to demonetise these coins in 1300 but fluctuations in the supply of coin in the first decades of the 14c caused grave problems. – Cf. POLLARD

Crocket [crotchet]. Leafy decorations or curls, e.g. on the top of capitals or other surfaces, often in high relief. These are very distinctive of Gothic architecture, so called for their likeness to a crotchet = a hook.

Croft. A smallholding or piece of land with a house. – Cf. TOFT AND CROFT

Crosier. Staff carried by a bishop as the sign of his office. Its symbolism, being shaped like a shepherd’s crook, betokens his rôle as guide and protector of his flock.

Cross cramponée. Her. A cross with a bend at the end of each limb; a swastika. – Cf. FYLFOT

Crossbow. Form of bow used to fire arrows with a bow much smaller than the traditional *longbow, being drawn or cranked by a handle with a trigger release; it was so called because it somewhat resembled a cross (probably the single most potent image of the time). The crossbow was easier to handle than a longbow because of its use of a crank. However, this was also its great disadvantage, since it took longer to reload than the longbow. The crossbow had a range of up to 250 yards and was used best at relatively close quarters. However, in the mid-15c a steel crossbow emerged, with a range of up to 450 yards, and powerful enough to unhorse an armoured knight. The user was known as an *‘arbalester’. – Cf. ARCHERY; CRANNEQUIN

Crosslands. Land in Ireland in the possession of monasteries and churches, or of prelates. These lands were subject to intervention by the *county *sheriff in guarding the crown’s rights, even if within a *franchise or liberty.

Crosslet. Her. Term for a small cross or cross-like object.

Crowde. A wheelbarrow. [< OE crudan = to push]

Crown glass. The medieval method of making glass involved spinning molten glass on a pointed iron rod so that it was spread by centrifugal force, creating a sheet thickest at the centre. The familiar thick-set centre is called a ‘bull’s eye’. – Cf. GROZING

Cruciform brooches. Cruciform brooches tended to be Angle in origin; round brooches tended to be Saxon.

Crucisignatus. Latin term for ‘signed with the cross’, i.e. crusaders. They wore a tunic of white with a cross in red on the chest. – Cf. next

Crusades. The crusades made up the sequence of expeditions mounted in Europe with the intention of freeing the Holy Land from Islam, and imposing Christian rule. The crusading movement is striking testimony to the influence of the pope throughout Europe, esp. in the late 11c. For all the mercenary impulses which were attached to later crusades, the first came from a genuine enthusiasm for a holy war against the infidel. The first such military adventure was preached by Pope Urban II in 1095. The nominal purpose was to free the Holy Land from the Muslims. This was achieved when Jerusalem was taken in 1099. Jerusalem then became a kingdom with its first king, Baldwin (1100–18); several other crusader states were also created. There were other expeditions in the 12c, again aimed at the Muslims in the Holy Land and also those in Spain. The Second Crusade was preached in 1145. However, Jerusalem was retaken in 1187 by Saladin. This was followed by the Third Crusade, in which King Richard I played a significant part. The kingdom of Jerusalem lasted precariously until 1291, when Acre fell, despite the efforts of countless crusaders and nobles seeking war and glory. Crusades took place also in other areas, e.g. the Baltic. [< OFr. croisade < L crux = a cross] – Cf. previous

Crutched friars. The English name given to members of the military-religious orders; they were canons regular, for example the Order of the Holy Cross (Fratres Cruciferi), founded in 1211. ‘Crutched’ is a garbled version of ‘crouched’, a ‘crouch’ being a cross. Members of these orders might carry a cross in their hands, or have a cross sewn on the chest of their *habit. [< OE cruc < L crux = a cross]

Cubit. Measure of length based on the length of a man’s forearm. – Cf. next; YARD 2

Cubit arm. Her. An arm severed at the elbow. – Cf. previous

Cuck-stool. A stool or chair in which miscreants were confined and subject to ducking and public shame. Perhaps given the source of the word cuck, it was not vegetables which were thrown at victims; it was also referred to as cathedra stercoris = the chair of excrement. It is found in Chester, in the 11c and later, e.g. for the brewers of bad ale: the monetary penalty was 4s, as specified in the city’s entry in *DB – more than a brewer could afford. [< ON kúkr = excrement] – Cf. PILLORY

Cuirass. Piece of body armour, orig. of leather; somewhat like a waistcoat, protecting chest and back. Later it was made of *mail. [< OFr. cuir = leather] – Cf. next

Cuir-bouilli. Leather boiled in water, then moulded into shape, which, when dry, hardened sufficiently to be carved for use as cheap armour. In 1278, Edward I held a *béhourd in which all the armour was cuir-bouilli. The only distinctions were that the noblest jousters were permitted golden *helms, while the lesser wore silver. [< OFr. cuir = leather + bouillir = boil] – Cf. previous; BATON 1; BULLION; JOUST OF PEACE

Cuisse. A piece of metal armour or cuir-bouilli, used to protect the thigh. [< OFr. cuisse = a thigh]

Culdee. Member of an Anglo-Scottish order of ascetics.

Cultiva terra. Arable land; land which can be cultivated. – Cf. next

Cultura. Term used in Latin documents for cultivated and *demesne land. – Cf. previous

Culverin. Early kind of hand-held gun, though later the word was applied to a cannon with a particularly long barrel. In heraldry, ‘culverin’ was always used of a cannon with a wide, out of scale, bore.

Culvertage. The demotion or abasement to the status of a freed *serf. [< OFr.. culvert = villein] – Cf. COLIBERTUS; NITHING

Curate. A *clerk who tended a church and did the work for another who actually held the *benefice. In England, the curate is an assistant to the parish priest. In France, however, the curé functions as the parish priest himself, not as the curate. [< L curo = to take care of, to attend to] – Cf. CURE

Curator. Latin word used of a lawyer or attorney who served in the ecclesiastical courts. [< L curo = to take care of, to attend to] – Cf. next

Cure. The complete phrase is ‘cure of souls’. It refers to the priest’s responsibility for the souls of his parishioners; from which *curate. [< L cura = care] – Cf. previous

Curfew. Borough regulations required fires to be covered; for this reason people had to be home and off the street by a certain time to ensure this was done. Houses of wood were highly flammable; fires spread with ease and rapidity. Hence the necessity of a curfew bell. [< OFr. cuevrefeu = covering of the fire] – Cf. BOW BELLS; DAYBELL

Curia de Arcubus. The Court of the Arches was the court of the province of Canterbury. It acquired this name from the church where it sat, St Mary de Arcubus, i.e. St Mary-le-Bow (the church with the well-known *Bow bells). [L arcubus = a bow, an arc; curia = court]

Curia regis. Lit. ‘the king’s court’. The successor of the AS *witan, this court saw the meetings of the king’s tenants-in-chief, i.e. the *baronage and the Church. William I, the Conqueror, held this court three times a year, at Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide. The curia regis was the forerunner of what we would recognise as the court in all the splendour and magnificence at the king’s disposal. It became the centre of government and the gathering place of the country’s magnates. From it evolved the various departments which were established and maintained as need arose. – Cf. CONSTITUTIO DOMUS REGIS; COMMON PLEAS, COURT OF; CORAM REGE

Curiales. Term used of the men working in the royal bureaucracy, the professional, career civil servants, whether or not they were clerks. [< L curia = (royal, papal) court]

Curialis. Courtly. An 11c term indicating a change in ways of thinking. Although the court remained a military institution, ideas about knighthood, politeness and diffidence were coming into focus. – Cf. ELEGANTIA MORUM

Currier. See CORIARIUS

Cursitor. The clerk in *chancery who did the department’s writing and copying. The post continued until the mid-19c. [AN = coursetour] – Cf. next

Cursiva anglicana. The cursive script used in *chancery; it was adopted as a book-hand in the 13c. – Cf. previous and next

Cursive. Term used of handwriting in which the pen does not leave the paper between letters: the result is joined letters. – Cf. previous

Cursor scaccarii. Lit. ‘exchequer courier’. A collector of rents for a monastery, usually based in the mother-house of the order and answerable to the order’s bursar. – Cf. EXCHEQUER

Cursores. These men were sometimes also known as viatores, i.e. travellers or wayfarers; but they should not be confused with the *nuncius regis or *cokini. They were freelance messengers, making a living by obtaining writs in the king’s *chancery on other people’s behalf.

Curt. Abbreviated, short, cut short, mutilated; only after the 17c does the word acquire its modern sense of abruptness in manner. [< L curtus = cut short] – Cf. CURTAL

Curtain wall. Usually the free-standing outside wall of a castle running between two towers.

Curtal. An early, short-barrelled gun; soon, a horse with docked tail; thus anything docked. [< L curtus = incomplete, circumcised, castrated] – Cf. CURT

Curtal axe. See CUTLASS

Curtana. The blunt sword carried at the coronation of the monarch symbolising justice without vengefulness: having no point was a sign of mercy. It is sometimes referred to as the sword of Edward the Confessor. [< L curtus = cut short] – Cf. ARMES COURTOISES; CURT

Curval [curvent]. Her. Curved or bowed.

Custom house. A house or shop which beggars used to visit in hope of alms; these became their customary or usual stopping places.

Customary [custumal]. Legal document itemising such things as the duties of a *reeve on a particular estate; also those of other manorial officers. Such documents were closely associated with the estate’s *extent. Cathedrals also had such a document; this was referred to as a *consuetudinary. The Latin form custumarium.

Custos armorum regis. Lit. ‘guardian of the king’s arms’. Phrase used in the records as the title of the clerk charged with the administration of the king’s armouries.

Custumarius [consuetus]. Latin term for a customary tenant who was able to supply a man or more to perform those labour services required from his lord. – Cf. CONSUETUDINARIUS

Cutlass [curtlace, curtaxe]. A short, heavy sword, curved, somewhat like a machete, used by sailors; particularly apt for slashing or close fighting on a ship’s deck.

Cuvata [cofata]. Latin form of cuve = a cask/quantity of beer. [< L cupa = vat, cask]

Cwalstow. A place of execution. These were designated, as were all highways, as being wholly within the king’s own jurisdiction, rather than, say, a sheriff’s. The Latin = qualstowa is found in *LHP.

Cyfraith Hywel. Lit. ‘the law of Hywel’. Hywel Dda, king of Dyfed, later also of Gwynedd and Powys (d. 950), is credited with the codification of Welsh law. The earliest extant text is a 13c Latin version.

Cygnet royal. Her. A swan with a coronet around its throat, i.e. *gorged. A chain also hangs from the coronet.

Cymorth. Payments made by Welsh tenants of the English marcher lords; such payments were made in cattle.

Cymyd. Welsh word for a *commote.

Cynebot. The penalty or compensation for the death of a king. [< OE cyne = king + bot = compensation] – Cf. BOT

Cynedom. The king’s dignity, his kingliness; kingly rule or government.

Cynges geneat. Lit. ‘the king’s companion’. A leading member of the royal household, with a *wergeld the same as a king’s *thegn. – Cf. COMITATUS; GENEAT

Cyning. OE for king. Its ON cognate konungr is found in such placenames as Conington (Cambs), Conisborough and Coningsby.

Cynocephalus. Creature much like a human being save for its head, which was that of a dog. Such monsters decorated the margins of *illuminated MSS. – Cf. BABEWYN; BESTIARY