S

Sabaton. That piece of the suit of armour protecting the upper part of the foot, its scales overlapping to allow ease of movement. They were notably broad. Before the 15c, this piece was sometimes known as a *‘solleret’.

Sabbatizare. Latin verb for observing the Sabbath, to sabbatise. Neither work nor play were permitted on a Sunday. However, such restrictions was widely ignored, there being ploughing and also the pleasures of markets and their crowds.

Sable. Her. Black; indicated in colourless illustrations by vertical and lateral cross-hatching.

Saca et soca. See SAKE AND SOKE

Sack of wool. Standard weight of a sack of wool for export was 364 lb; the standard calculation was that c.240 sheep were required to produce one sack. Wool was the most important English export of the 13c and 14c. There were some 50 grades of wool at the time; the finest in the 13c came from Tintern Abbey and Abbey Dore in the West Country and from Stanfield in Lincoln-shire. A sack of such wool fetched 28 marks (£18) on the Flemish market, while lesser-rated wool would fetch 7–12 marks. In 1335–6 some 34,000 sacks of wool were sent to Flanders and Brabant. [OE sæcc = sackcloth] – Cf. SARPLER

Sack, friars of the. Colloquial name for the Friars of the Penance of Jesus Christ, the largest of the lesser groups of English friars. Their houses were all abandoned by 1314, the members being obliged to join one of the *mendicant orders.

Sackbut. Early form of the trombone, so named because of its resemblance to a *saqueboute.

Sacrabar. The public prosecutor in the *Danelaw. [< ON sakaraberi]

Sacramentary. Book which sets down the various prayers and rites to be performed at each of the sacraments.

Sacred Page, master of the. Synonym for a ‘doctor of theology’.

Sacrist [sacristan]. The officer or *obedientiary of a monastery whose duties included ensuring the church and its contents were safe and secure, e.g. the silver and gold ornaments and vestments. ‘Sacristan’ is a later form. [< L sacer = sacred]

Safflower. Dried flowers of the safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) were used in the making of rouge and textile dyes.

Saffron. Dried stigmas of the crocus were used as a colouring and flavour in wines and cakes. It was used particularly in celebration after Lent. The name Saffron Walden in Essex commemorates a place renowned for growing the flowers for this use since the 14c.

Sagita. A bolt with a four-sided head fired by a *crossbow. [< L sagittarius = archer] – Cf. QUARREL 1

Sagmatarius. See SUMPTER

Sagum. A woollen cloak. The word was used first of the Roman military cloak; later, a similar civilian garment. There was a substantial trade of such garments with the Carolingian Empire in the late 8c. [L sagum = cloak] – Cf. SAY

Saint Anthony’s fire. A disease known today as ergotism, caused by a fungus which contaminated bread made from damp flour.

Saint Paul’s Cathedral. The first St Paul’s Cathedral church in London was that of Mellitus, consecrated by Augustine and appointed bishop of London, which was dedicated to St Paul in c.603 and built by Æthelbert, king of Kent (d. 616). Another old St Paul’s was completed in 1283. At that time it was the largest church in Europe and looked something like today’s Notre Dame in Paris. Damaged beyond repair in the Great Fire of London in 1666, this St Paul’s was replaced by Sir Christopher Wren’s church.

Saint Paul’s Cross. A stone cross in open space on the north-east side of *St Paul’s Cathedral, first recorded in the 12c. It was by the cross that sermons were delivered, making it the pulpit of the cathedral and London. Around it, the London *folkmoot would meet to hear proclamations, papal bulls etc. read out. In one corner there was a belfry whose bell was used to summon Londoners. This was also the place where the men of London met before going out to battle, led in hereditary right by the lord of Castle Baynard. – Cf. BANNER

Saints, military. The popularity of military saints increased with the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095; St Michael, leader of the heavenly host, St James the Moor-slayer and St George, whose appearance with St Demetrius at the siege of Antioch, fighting on the side of the Christians, perhaps assisted his eventual acceptance as patron not only of England, but also Portugal, Catalonia, Venice and Genoa.

Sake and soke. Grants of sake and soke allowed the granter to intercept the fines and other profits of justice relating to his own estate which would otherwise have gone to the king; the rights of sake and soke are particularly associated with *bocland. [< OE sacu = dispute, esp. legal dispute; socn = enquiry, jurisdiction]

Saker. Female falcon (Falco cherrug), similar to the lanner, somewhat larger than the peregrine. The male was known as a ‘sakeret’ (with the dim. -et), it being smaller than the female.

Saladin tithe. *Tithe imposed after the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. It was a tax on movables – the first such personal tax in English history. The purpose was to raise funds for a crusade with the purpose of recapturing Jerusalem and other places in the Holy Land. It was named after Saladin, the one name known throughout Christendom as belonging to a Muslim leader and thus universally demonised. Dante placed him with virtuous non-Christians, ‘solitary, set apart’.

Salamander. Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) described the salamander as being so cold it could put out a fire, if dropped into one. Salamanders were also thought to be so poisonous that if one wrapped itself around a tree the fruit would be poisoned.

Salient. Her. Term used of a predatory animal shown as if leaping upwards onto its prey. A lion or wolf might be shown this way. [< L salio = to leap] – Cf. COUNTER-SALIENT; SPRINGING

Salle. In the 14c the walls of the rooms of wealthy magnates were covered by hangings. A suite of such hangings, or tapestries, was known as a salle. The finest such works came from Flanders – using English wool.

Salle du roy. French phrase used in the 14c for what would be known today as the king’s flagship; however, it referred to the ship the king happened to be in, rather than to a purpose-built vessel. For example, Edward III was in a humble *cog during the Battle of Sluys in June 1340.

Sallet. A suit of armour’s metal helmet with a section projecting backwards, so as to protect the back of the neck.

Sally port. Small fortified doorway from which defenders of a castle might ‘make a sally’, i.e. a brief sortie or attack with limited troops. [< OFr. saillir = to leap]

Saltire. Her. An *honourable ordinary, being a diagonal cross, i.e. *bend and bend *sinister, i.e. corner to corner, a St Andrew’s cross (unlike St George’s cross, which is vertical and lateral). [< OFr. saultoir = stile with crosspiece]

Salt-pan. Particularly common in eastern England, around the Wash; there are still remains of such pans. They collected salt-water; being heated from below, salt remained as water evaporated. The render or payment to a lord was often made up of combinations or fractions of the *ora, which was valued at 16d, as well as the salt itself. The Latin form is salsa. – Cf. MILL; SLITCH

Sambue. A woman’s side-saddle. How much they were used is not clear.

Sanctorale. Annual cycle of services in the *breviary based around celebration of the feasts of the saints. [< L sanctus = holy]

Sanctuary. Immunity from prosecution, secured by placing oneself in a sacred place. Those churches which offered sanctuary had a knocker on the main door and the sanctuary seeker had only to touch it to be safe. Some of these knockers were rather elaborate, e.g. Durham Cathedral, while others were plain rings. At Durham, the seeker of sanctuary struck the great knocker, the door was opened and the Galilee Tower bell was rung. The malefactor then made full confession in front of witnesses of probity. At Westminster, there is today a portion of the abbey precincts still known as the Sanctuary. The idea of sanctuary is found for the first time in 600 in the laws of Æthelberht. For all its apparent sanctity, there are many records of sanctuary being broken. In the register of the bishop of Lincoln, Oliver Sutton (1280–99), one can find penalties imposed upon a man for seriously injuring another he dragged forcibly from sanctuary. The penalties were for the injury – the use of force in a sacred place – and he was obliged both to pay doctor’s fees and visit the injured man in prison and try to help him. However, the penalty for breaking sanctuary violently could be death. Taking a person from sanctuary was something for which there could be no compensation in the old English way of things. In certain circumstances a person could be removed on condition the death penalty would not be imposed. In English law, the sanctuary or asylum seeker was required either to submit to a trial or to take an oath to leave the kingdom; to return required the king’s permission. The person in sanctuary was given 40 days to decide on a course to take, after which time he or she could be starved into submission. However, there were some 20 places in England where the king’s law had no power and the refugee could stay for life. Kings Henry VIII and James I limited sanctuary; it finally disappeared in the 18c. [< L sanctus = holy] – Cf. ABJURE THE REALM; ASYLUM

Sanglier. A full-grown wild boar. The term was also used of the heraldic boar. – Cf. CLEYED

Sanguinati. The 12c Latin term used at Westminster and other cathedrals of those monks who had recently undergone blood-letting. These monks or canons were not expected to go to the stalls for service, instead they were allowed to use a side chapel, where seats were provided. – Cf. BLOOD-LETTING

Sapientes. See WITAN

Saqueboute. Lance with iron hook on one end used for pulling horsemen off their mounts in battle. – Cf. SACKBUT

Saracen. Person belonging to one of the nomadic peoples of the Syrian and Arabian deserts. They were fine guerrilla fighters who, as Muslims, fought against the Christian crusaders. Later, the word became a generic term for any non-Christian. It is remembered today in the names of many inns and pubs such as the Saracen’s Head. [< Gr. Sarakenos] – Cf. CRUSADES; SARSENET

Sarhad. Injury money paid should a stallion injure someone outside the covering season. If this happened, the animal could be claimed as recompense. However, there was no claim to be made if the injury occurred during the season. [< OE sar = a sore or hurt] – Cf. WERGELD

Sarpler. Unit of weight for wool, being a little more than 2,240 lb. – Cf. SACK OF WOOL

Sarsenet [sarcenet]. Very fine, soft silk cloth; part of the trade in imported luxuries brought to England in the 12c and after from the East, often via Venice. It was named after the OFr. drap sarrasinois = *Saracen cloth; the French being garbled by the English. – Cf. TABARD

Sartis. *Cistercian house in Bedfordshire which took its name from de assartis = the clearing. The Cistercian order made a practice of searching out wilderness places to establish their monasteries. – Cf. ASSART

Sarum. The ecclesiastical name of Salisbury. Abbreviations were very common in Latin documents and the Latin name Sarisburia was abbreviated to Sarz. This may later have been misread and transcribed as Sarum.

Sarum Use. The order of service used in the Sarum, i.e. Salisbury, diocese, and indeed widely throughout England. A revision or new Sarum use emerged in the 14c and was used until the Reformation.

Sassenach. Scots’ word for the English but a relic of the *Adventus Saxonum when, to the inhabitants of Britain, all the newcomers were *Saxons. The Welsh equiv. is saesneg.

Savoy. Precinct of the Strand in London, which once possessed the right of *sanctuary. John of Gaunt had a palace there named Savoy, which was sacked and burned during the *Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. However, they declined to take anything away, asserting they were lovers of truth and justice, not robbers or thieves.

Sax. See SEAX

Saxons. One of the Germanic peoples who settled Britain in the 5c and 6c. Their name is preserved in the kingdoms known as Sussex (South Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons), Middlesex and Essex (East Saxons). – Cf. ANGLES; SASSENACH

Say. Fine cloth somewhat like serge, blended with silk; later, it was wholly wool. [< L sagae] – Cf. SAGUM

Scaccarium Aaronis. Lit. ‘Aaron’s exchequer’. After the death of Aaron (the Jew) of Lincoln in 1185, a special department of the crown’s *exchequer was created, his fortune and debts owed having escheated to the crown. Previously all his business had been done under royal protection. Apart from what the English king owed, among other debtors were the king of Scotland, the archbishop of Canterbury, several bishops, abbots and earls. Aaron had also provided the capital for the building of nine *Cistercian houses, and the abbeys of Peterborough and St Albans.

Scale armour. Armour made of overlapping scales or leaves, like those of the armadillo, allowing flexibility and movement.

Scallop. A shell worn by pilgrims on pilgrimage as a sign they had been to St James at Compostella. – Cf. PALMER

Scandal. Misbehaviour by a religious person resulting in discredit to religion or the Church; also, a troubled conscience occasioned by a respected person’s misbehaviour. [< AN scandle < L scandalum = offence] – Cf. MISPRISION

Scantillon. A measuring device. – Cf. next

Scantling. A set of standardised dimensions used by carpenters and builders. – Cf. previous

Scapular. Garment worn by Benedictine monks in place of their cowl while working outside the house; it was worn shawl-like over the shoulders. [< L scapula = shoulder]

Scarlet. Type of fine, rich-quality English cloth, much valued on the continent; famously made in Stamford in Lincolnshire from the 12c. This cloth was not necessarily scarlet in colour: the term indicated its type and richness. Only later, by transference, did scarlet come to signify the colour. The dye was derived from dried insects (Kermes ilicis) found in the galls that form on the kermes oak (Quercus coccifera), which grew in Spain and Portugal. It was used in the English wool industry between the 12c and the 15c. Scarletum was one 12c Latin form, exscarletum and ascarletum others. [< OFr. escarlate < Persian saqirlat = scarlet cloth, a rich cloth < Ar. siqillat = fine cloth] – Cf. BRASIL; CRAMOISY; STAMFORT

Scat. A tribute payment or tax. [< OE sceatt = money, tribute] – Cf. SCEATTA

Scavage. A toll levied on merchant strangers and their goods in London and other towns. The Latin form was scavagium. – Cf. next

Scavager. London officer deputed to collect *scavage. Later, in the 16c, he kept the streets clean. [< scavenger]

Sceatta [sceat]. AS silver coin, the first English penny. Initially issued with good silver content; by the early 8c quality was deteriorating. Very debased coins, sceattas or stycas, were still being issued in Northumbria in the early 9c; by the end of that century all such coins were made of copper or brass. Some were issued by the archbishop of York. This coinage continued until 867. [< OE sceatt = money, tribute] – Cf. PENNY

Scedula. The loose leaf inserted into the register of a monastery on which were recorded notes of daily happenings and events. At the end of the year some of its contents were included in the chronicle being compiled at the monastery. Obviously the scedula was replaced each year. Often enough these notes were made not using a pen but cum plumbo = with lead, which when shaped conveniently could be used as a pencil. From scedula derives schedule.

Scegth. A warship; a light and fast craft, similar to those used by the Vikings. One bequeathed to Æthelred the Unready had 64 oars. In 1008 he ordered scegths to be built ‘all over England’. [< ON skeið = a warship] – Cf. next

Scegthman. Generally a sailor or mariner; also used of pirates and Vikings. – Cf. previous

Sceptre 1. A decorated rod being a part of the royal *regalia, essential to the symbolism of a monarch’s claim to power and authority. – Cf. next; DALMATIC; ORB

Sceptre 2. Her. A *charge representing the rod held by a monarch. – Cf. previous

Schiltron. A large but compact division of spearmen; a defensive formation of foot-soldiers forming a rectangle or oval, holding pikes or spears outwards so as to present a sharp fence to attackers. It was called a ‘pike hedgehog’. This is not very different from the phalanx used by the Greeks and esp. the Spartans. It was a formation very difficult to break up directly with the spears holding off the knights on their *destriers, for instance. However, they were vulnerable to archers and their blizzards of arrows. Once the formation was broken the knights could then charge in. William Wallace used this formation at the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297) with success; also at Bannockburn in 1314. After that, the English knew better and used the bow and clouds of arrows to kill all in the formation. Then the knights and their horses could break through. Later, it evolved into the infantry ‘square’ as used by Wellington at Waterloo.

Schola Saxonum. Lit. ‘Saxon school’. This was the permanent English community of pilgrims to be found in Rome, which had existed for some time by the mid-9c. It was sufficiently large to have been noted as contributing men for the defence of Rome in 846. However, it was destroyed by fire several times. One occasion, in 847, was much later the subject of a painting by Raphael, Incendio del Borgo (Fire in the Borgo), c.1511. After that fire, the pope issued in 854, a *bull organising the Schola Saxonum into a pilgrim community with property to support itself. The English themselves referred to this district of Rome as a *burh; the Italian is borgo. – Cf. PETER’S PENCE

Scholium. An annotation or comment made by a scholar on an old MS.

Schoolman. A teacher at one of the medieval universities; a medieval scholastic, between the 9c and 14c, trained in philosophy and theology.

Schynbald. Metal plate which protected the shins of a knight in armour.

Scipbryce. The right to claim the wreckage of ships. [< OE scip = ship + bryce = break, fragment] – Cf. LAGAN

Scipflota. A sailor; also a pirate. – Cf. BUTESCARL; LITHESMAN

Scir. See SHIRE

Scirman. An official in the laws of Ine (688–94) in which he was considered one from whom justice could be demanded. He was precursor of the *sheriff. – Cf. previous; SHIRE

Scir-reeve. Shire-reeve, more familiarly, a sheriff. – Cf. HIGH REEVE

Scolas regere. Lit. ‘to govern/direct school’. Phrase used in the institution of a *cathedral grammar school for the chancellor’s duties.

Scop. An AS poet or minstrel.

Scot. Customary tax or contribution paid by tenants to their lord, also to the sheriff. [< OE sceatta = tribute, payment] – Cf. next; SCOT AND LOT

Scot and lot. A tax, i.e. *scot, levied on members of a borough in varying proportions or shares, i.e. lot. Behind it was the idea that those who shared in the obligations and responsibilities by paying tax would also share in the privileges. It was a mark of status.

Scot-ale. Combination of *scot = contribution + ale = festival or holiday at which ale was drunk. It was paid for by drinkers’ contributions or share of the cost, usually exacted at the church by the vicar, sometimes by the lord of the *manor. – Cf. previous; BRIDALE

Scoti [Scotti]. Tribe or group of people speaking Gaelic living in the northeast of what is now Ireland. They began raiding in the 3c and then migrated to Scotland during the 5c. In early texts, references to Scotia or the Scoti are to these people. After migration the kingdom they founded was known as Dalriada, in what are now Argyll and Bute. Later, in the 9c the Scoti and Picts merged, and the former gave their name to the country. After about the 10c Scotia came to refer to Scotland.

Scottish Sea. Colloquial term for the great tract of mossy land which lay between the Clyde and the Forth. It served for some time as a natural border between Scotland and England.

Scriptorarius. Superintendent or principal scribe in a *scriptorium. He not only delegated tasks within the writing room, but also gave out the books to be read by his fellow monks. – Cf. next

Scriptorium. Lit. ‘writing room’ (in a monastery). The only means of reproducing any text or of making books was by hand until the advent of the printing press, c.1458. The scribe was a crucial part of society, writing letters for the illiterate, copying literary and legal texts or the Bible, or producing great works such as the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Book of Cerne, or the Book of Kells. A goose quill was used for text with ink made from gum and galls. Although many texts were illustrated in monasteries, by the 14c there were lay professionals who might be commissioned by an individual to produce something like the Luttrell Psalter or by a monastery which lacked the skills. A Bible might take three or four years. There had been scriptoria in monasteries since the 7c. – Cf. previous; SCRIVENER

Scriptory. An anglicised form of *scriptorium.

Scrivener [scriveyn]. A scribe or copyist; someone who wrote professionally. There was always the problem inherent in copying of the transmission of errors, either through lack of attention to the text or through bad writing being mis-read. Authors themselves were always conscious of this potential problem. Chaucer mentions his copyist by name as Adam scriveyn and wishes him a bad case of scurf should he make mistakes. [< OFr. escrivein = writing]

Scullion. The lowliest domestic servant: the dish-washer/bottle-washer, night-soil disposer.

Scuta. See SHUTAGIUM

Scutage. A *fine or money paid in lieu of military service i.e. shield money; tax on an estate. The Latin form was scutagium. Land held of the king by tenants-in-chief owed military service, i.e. the supply of a specified number of knights when called upon. Henry II imposed such a tax every four years or so, at two marks (£1 6s 8d). It was basically a military tax; one which *Magna Carta affirmed could not be levied without the ‘common counsel of the kingdom’. The purpose of levying a scutage in the late 12c and the 13c was to raise money to pay the wages of hired soldiers, who were beginning to predominate in armies of the time. In the late 12c, a knight was paid a daily wage of 1s, a foot soldier 1d or 2d. By the time of Edward III, *mercenaries were an essential part of the armies he mustered for use in the *Hundred Years’ War. At this time knights’ wages had gone up to 2s a day. Indeed, the *Dialogus de Scaccario had this to say of scutage: ‘The king decrees that a certain sum be paid from each knight’s fief, namely, a mark or a pound, whence come the pay and gratuities for the soldiers. For the prince prefers to thrust into the vortex of war mercenary troops rather than domestic forces. And so this sum is paid in the name of shields and is therefore called scutage.’ [< L scutum = shield] – Cf. next; ESCUAGE; KNIGHT’S FEE

Scutage Rolls. Exemptions from the payment of *scutage were enrolled under this head; also permission given to tenants-in-chief to collect scutage and summonses for military service. – Cf. previous

Scutifer. Shield-holder, i.e. *esquire. The term was also used of the 14c *hobelar or light cavalryman, whose horse was not barded or *coopertus. [< L scutum = shield] – Cf. BARD 1; SCUTAGE

Scyldburh. A shield-defence, a wall of shields held defensively by a row of soldiers. Such a defensive formation of man and shield was used by the English against Norman cavalry at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. This particular attack is shown in the *Bayeux Tapestry, when the Normans were stopped and beaten back. Shields locked together above soldiers’ heads gave protection when approaching the walls of a castle under siege. [< OE scyld = shield + burh = a walled defence]

Sea-coal. So named to distinguish it from charcoal. The English did not use much sea-coal until c.1200. The sea-coal that was used came from the beaches of Northumberland and Durham having been washed ashore from seams exposed by the action of the sea. However, coals from Newcastle were arriving in London by c.1225; exports to Flanders expanded throughout the 13c.

Seam [seme]. The load carried by a pack-horse or sumpter-horse; also the harness of a pack-horse. [< OE seam = load, burden]

Seax. A short sword, sometimes a dagger, used by the *Saxons; from which their name. The OE handseax refers specifically to a dagger.

Secretarius regis. Lit. ‘king’s secretary’. During the first seven decades of the 14c, this term was often used of the keeper of the *privy seal.

Secrete et singillatim. Lit. ‘secretly and one by one’. These were the terms under which a bishop or his agent, e.g. archdeacon, conducted interviews during the *visitation of a monastery. The purpose was to ensure there was no exertion of pressure or collusion in the giving of evidence of any wrongdoing. – Cf. COMPERTA; DETECTA

Secular clergy. The members of the *clergy who worked in the world and were not bound by the rules of a monastic order. They were clerics who had been admitted to one of the orders, but who did not live under a monastic rule, e.g. parish priests.

Sede vacante. Lit. ‘the seat being vacant’. The phrase was used of a vacant bishopric.

Sedilia. Term used for the stalls of a church in the 11c. A seat or a group of seats for priests, canopied and decorated, near the altar.

Seely [sele]. Blessed, touched or favoured by God; fortunate, also innocent, or harmless or helpless; hence our word ‘silly’. The word was applied to the mentally disturbed; cf. our use of ‘touched’ when describing someone’s odd behaviour. The word was also applied to lepers. [< OE sælig = happy, fortunate] – Cf. HOLIDAY

Segno. A fencer’s training aid comprising a plan marked out on the floor showing the correct positions of the feet for various cuts and thrusts.

Segreant. Her. Describes a griffin *rampant. Segreant was only ever used of the griffin.

Seisin. Freehold possession of land or goods and *chattels; also the taking of possession of land or goods. – Cf. DISSEISIN

Sejant. Her. Describes a beast sitting upright. [< OFr. seant < L sedeo = to sit]

Selion. A strip of arable land formed in the dividing of adjacent plots. [< AN seillon = a measure of land]

Selvage. Piece of woven edging used to finish a piece of cloth to prevent it unravelling. [< Du. selfegge = self-edge]

Sempstre. A seamstress.

Seneschal. *Steward or major-domo of a great estate; the official responsible for the estate’s daily functioning, including sometimes responsibility for justice within the household. An AS seneschal was known as a *discthegn, i.e. a dish-thegn. [< Germanic seniskalkoz < seni = old + skalkoz = a servant] – Cf. PINCERNA

Seneschaucie. A treatise setting out the rôles of officers and servants of a *manor, the most senior being the *seneschal or *reeve. It was written anonymously c.1270–80. It does not deal with any agricultural matters. Because custom and practice varied from region to region, its expression presents a somewhat idealised view of a manor. It begins: ‘The seneschal of lands ought to be prudent, faithful and profitable; he ought to know the law of the realm’.

Septuagesima. The 70 days from the third Sunday before Lent, ending with the Saturday of Easter week. [< L septuagesima = seventieth]

Sepurture. See ENDORSED

Sequela. In feudal law the children of an unfree serf were not called familia or family but sequela, i.e. literally followers, with the sense of a brood or litter. In this sense of followers the word was also used for groups of *mercenaries. – Cf. RUTA

Sequipedus. See PEDESECUS

Seraphim. An order of six-winged angels, mentioned for example in Isaiah. – Cf. CHERUBIM

Serf. A labourer only slightly above a slave; one bound to work his lord’s land, from whom he had land to feed himself and family; unlike a *sokeman he could not leave without permission. When the land’s lord changed, the serf, and his family, was counted as part of the estate’s *chattels. According to the Rectitudines Singularum Personarum a serf was to have a midwinter feast and another at Easter, some land and a *harvest handful, besides their needful dues. This system broke down after the *plague years of 1348, when such dues became money transactions, labour being in short supply. [< L servus = servant] – Cf. BLACK DEATH; CEORL; SEQUELA

Sergeant. A serving-man, one who attended his lord; also one who attended a knight on the field of battle and carried the lord’s banner. [< L servio = to serve] – Cf. next; SERJEANT-AT-LAW

Sergeant-at-arms. At this period an officer of the crown, with authority to act in the king’s name. – Cf. previous and next

Serjeant-at-law. At one time the highest rank of English barrister at the bar; it was abolished in the late 19c. Working in the court of common pleas, the serjeants-at-law had a monopoly on pleading cases. They were appointed by the king after 16 years of study and practice. Justices of the court of common pleas were chosen from their ranks. The title is a corrupt version of serviens ad legem, i.e. a law servant. They were serjeant-counters, i.e. pleaders who would frame the counts or charges involved in a case. Though similar in origin to ‘sergeant’, the spelling today of the word when referring to a law officer always uses a ‘j’; however, use of a ‘j’ does not necessarily signify a law officer. In Chaucer’s lifetime there were rarely more than 20 such officers. – Cf. PARVIS; SERGEANT

Serjeanty. Term (analogous with *thegnage) used for the tenure held by a *sergeant in return for which he served his lord by carrying his banner, making bows and arrows, and other such tasks. Other services could be as various as growing herbs, tending hounds when hurt, providing arrows, nursing sick falcons, providing fuel. A crucial aspect of a serjeanty was that neither knight service, nor *scutage were owed. *Magna Carta in 1215 stated that a serjeanty was both inalienable and impartible. *Bracton said the offices of serjeanties were ‘infinite’. However, he did specify several: ‘holding the pleas of their lords, or carrying letters within a certain precinct, or feeding greyhounds or harriers, or mewing hawks, or finding bows and arrows, or carrying them’. A serjeanty was also granted, for example, for taking royal money to the treasury at Winchester, before the 12c, after which time the treasury had moved to Westminster. The term was broad enough to cover also the tenure given by a great lord to various domestic servants. Cooks and porters, for instance, might be given some land, as might servants who helped during the hunting season. Such a tenure was exempt from such feudal dues as *wardship and *relief. These services were known as being *intrinsec. One of the grandest of serjeanties was that of the Dymokes of Scrivelsby, who were royal champions. [< L serviens = a servant] – Cf. RADMAN

Servantz corores. AN term for runaway servants or villeins. [< AN servant + courir = to run (away)]

Servitium debitum. Customary military service owed by a *vassal to his lord. This usually involved serving in the army for 40 days a year. The king’s most important vassals would be required to supply a specified number of knights for duty in service of the king. The greater the lord, the greater the number of knights he would have to supply, that number being set in units of five or ten knights. The last summons for a levy of knights owing the debitum was by Richard II in June 1385. However, the rank and file soldier was still summoned and supplied by the boroughs and shires. [L servitium = service + debitum = of debts] – Cf. ARRAY, COMMISSION OF; SCUTAGE

Servus. Latin word used in *DB and elsewhere for a *slave. In documents which recorded numbers of slaves, servus was used of the male slave, while *ancilla was used of the female. – Cf. next

Servus casatus. Lit. ‘a housed slave’. A slave with a cottage might even have a piece of land. Though not a free man, this slave was bound to his lord as any other tenant or *villein was. His status as slave was the added burden, one which the church sought to eliminate. Within a short time after the Conquest (1066) slavery had effectively disappeared from England with the blurring of distinction between *serf, *villein and slave dissolving. – Cf. previous

Sester [sextar]. A liquid measure, used esp. of honey. The actual capacity was variable – 24 and 23 ounces are recorded. As a dry measure, it was used of grain; 12 bushels in later Middle Ages. [< L sextarius = one sixth; in Roman measures, one sixth of a bucket (*congius)]. – Cf. SEXTARY

-setla. The second element of words such as *cotsetla and *ansetla, meaning someone who sits or dwells. Thus cotsetla = a person who dwells in a cottage; *ansetla = someone who dwells alone, i.e. a *hermit. There is also fotsetla which suggests someone sitting at another’s feet; their function, though, is hard to guess. – Cf. PEDESECUS

Sevum. Suet, i.e. the fat found around an animal’s liver. This was used by doctors as a treatment for liver problems in human beings. The suet was placed on the patient’s body, close by the liver.

Sewer. A servant in the king’s household; a *steward. He was responsible for seating guests at the table; he might also taste the food. [< OFr. asseoir = arrange a seat for another] – Cf. DAPIFER

Sext. The sixth canonical hour of the day; midday; second of three of the Little Hours. [< L sextus = sixth] – Cf. HORARIUM; NONE; TERCE

Sextary [sextar]. A measure equivalent to six pints. Some of those who lived in the king’s household were entitled to a daily measure of wine, usually a sextary or proportions thereof. The chancellor, for example, was permitted one sextary of clear wine a day, while a sextary of wine was drawn every night for Henry I should he want it. [< L sextarius < sext = six] – Cf. CONGIUS; CONSTITUTIO DOMUS REGIS

Shalm. See SHAWM

Shambles. Orig. a footstool; then a table displaying wares for sale, most often meat; later, a street or passage of such tables, a meat market, e.g. the Shambles in York, whence our use of the word to indicate disorder. Shambles was known in 12c Latin as carnificium, a word used also of butchery. [< OE sceamul, scamol = footstool] – Cf. CHEPE

Shanks. The term for the fur from the legs of kids, goat or sheep, which was used to trim outer clothing. Less expensive than *marten or sable, it could be worn outside the house with no anxiety about its being damaged or dirtied. – Cf. MINIVER

Shaw. A small wood or copse. A line of trees used as the border of territory or a field. [< OE sceaga = edge of cultivated land] – Cf. WHITEBEAM

Shawm. A wind instrument similar to an oboe, with a double reed. [< ME shallemalle < OFr. chalemel < L calamus = reed]

Sheaf 1. A quiverful of two dozen arrows. [< OE sceaf = a bundle]

Sheaf 2. Her. A*charge which shows a sheaf of arrows. [< OE sceaf = a bundle]

Sheep. The presence of sheep throughout England in the medieval period is remembered in many placenames such as Shipton and Shipston. Approximately three-quarters of the livestock (excluding draught oxen) recorded in *DB were sheep. In the 12c, they were mean creatures in comparison with today’s. Their fleeces weighed 2 lb at best; today a fleece would be two or three times that weight. In the 14c there were as many as eight million sheep in England. The *wool industry was absolutely crucial to the English economy, with much being exported to Flanders. [< OE sceap = sheep]

Sheriff. Chief officer in a shire, i.e. the ‘shire *reeve’, representing the crown as its executive before the *Norman Conquest. The English office was amalgamated with that of the Norman vicomte (L = vicecomes) after 1066. William I separated secular and ecclesiastical courts, thus leaving the sheriff as the king’s power in the *county. He summoned and led his shire’s array of soldiery; he also executed all writs, and, for the first century after 1066, judged both criminal and civil cases. But from the time of Henry II, and the emergence of the *curia regis, his powers were considerably restricted, jurisdiction over civil cases disappearing. His responsibilities thereafter were to investigate allegations of crime from within his shire, to try minor offences, but to hold those accused of serious crimes for the arrival of the justices-in-eyre. Today, the position remains as a ceremonial office. [< OE scirgerefa < scir = shire + gerefa = reeve] – Cf. INQUEST OF SHERIFFS; VISCOUNT

Sheriff’s aid. Land tax received by sheriffs as payment for holding courts of shire and *hundred. Henry II intended to have the tax paid into the treasury. It was over whether or not the Church should pay this tax that Henry II and Thomas Becket as archbishop of Canterbury clashed so fiercely and publicly at a council held at Woodstock in 1163. Becket asserted the Church would not pay because the king was not entitled to it. There was an open debate which the king lost, the assembly siding with Becket.

Shield 1. A defensive implement, of wood or metal, sometimes circular, sometimes heart-shaped, secured to an arm by loops or a strap.

Shield 2. Her. The stylised heart shape used as the field for an *escutcheon. By the time of Edward, the Black Prince (d. 1376), the arms shown on a shield would depend on the occasion of use. There were shields for arms of war and shields of peace, with different arms for use at a *tournament. In Edward’s case, the arms of war were the arms of England, whereas his arms of peace showed three ostrich feathers *argent on a field of *sable. – Cf. PAS D’ARMES

Shilling. Unit of weight equal to one twentieth of a pound; later the silver coin worth 12d, 20 of which made £1. – Cf. SOLIDUS

Shire. Orig. a sphere of jurisdiction or command; thus the area over which such authority was exercised. The earliest shires (in Wessex) were commanded by ealdormen; by the late 10c, when the ealdorman’s powers were more extensive, they were administered by sheriffs. By the same period, the shires were divided into hundreds (in the north, wapentakes). From the 12c, they were also called ‘counties’. Latin form is scira. [< OE scir = division, sphere of control, shire]

Short-cross penny. New coin of 1180 replacing the issue of coins known today as *Tealby coins. A new coin was a necessity, the existing coinage being crude, and of poor quality. These new coins were of high quality, being 95 per cent silver; they continued in use until the reign of Henry III. The ‘short cross’ of their name refers to the cross on the reverse, which is noticeably smaller than that found on earlier issues. The coins of Henry III’s reign were known as ‘long cross’, as the cross on the reverse extended to the edge of the coin. There were 11 mints in use: London, Carlisle, Exeter, Lincoln, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Wilton, Winchester, Worcester and York. When minted in London, some 20 moneyers were employed; there were eight in York, Lincoln and Winchester. – Cf. MONEYER; MONEYERS, ASSIZE OF

Shrievalty. The office of a sheriff, his jurisdiction. [< shrive, shrieve = an old form of sheriff] – Cf. SHERIFF

Shrine. Orig. a box or chest; also a *reliquary with a tomb or special box-like container. Harold Godwineson is to be seen on the *Bayeux tapestry swearing an oath to William, duke of Normandy, with his hand on just such a reliquary. Later a shrine became an elaborate tomb and place of worship if that of a saint, e.g. St Thomas Becket.

Shutagium. The fare for using a ‘shout’ or barge, a ‘shout’ being a small river taxi, also known as scuta, shuta and schoutum; the bargeman was a shutarius. [< Du. schute = a flat-bottomed boat]

Siege 1. The chair for a person of high rank, thus Siege Perilous, the one unoccupied seat at King Arthur’s Round Table, to be occupied only by the one who would achieve the *Grail.

Siege 2. A military siege involved surrounding a town with the intention of starving the inhabitants into surrender; later, a privy. Orig. a siege was the place where herons waited for prey to approach.

Signet seal, office of the. After the office of the *privy seal went ‘out of court’ in the 14c, the signet-seal evolved, allowing the king to continue sending instructions. In this period the seal’s keeper was always a *clerk, never a bishop, with up to 10 clerks under him. (By the 16c, its keeper came to be called the ‘secretary of state’.) The king’s more personal letters were written in this office, as were his instructions to the privy seal to issue letters or warrants, including warrants to *chancery.

Signifer. Term used by Bede of a king’s standard-bearer. In the 14c the word was used of an armorial bearing. [< L signum = a sign]

Signum. Lit. ‘a sign’. When a document, such as a charter, was witnessed, several people would add their mark, usually a cross, i.e. their signa. These documents are one way historians can trace the movements of members of the royal courts of this period. Over time, some of the crosses became distinctive through use; some are quickly recognisable to the practised eye.

Silvaticus. Term used in the Latin records for an outlaw living in the woods and forests. Many men so described were among those dispossessed after the Conquest. [< L silva = a wood.]

Simnel bread. Bread made with finest flour. There were two kinds of simnel, a superior or royal simnel and a salt simnel. Such breads were also quite large. A superior simnel would feed four men; a salt only two men. A loaf was intended for one man, as part of his *livery. The Latin form is simenellus. [< OFr. simenel < L simila = a fine flour] – Cf. WASTEL

Simony. The buying and selling of ecclesiastical pardons and offices or benefices. In the literature of the 13c and 14c, there was much poetry written against both simony and avarice, particularly greed amongst the *clergy and friars. An anonymous poem The Simonie, also titled On the Evil Times of Edward II, was written c.1320. It is a satire aimed at the entire Church hierarchy from pope to local priest. [< Simon Magus, who in the 1c wanted to buy the power of transmitting the Holy Spirit.]

Sindon. A fine linen; muslin or *cambric. [< L sindon = muslin] – Cf. SARSENET; TABARD

Sine prole. Lit. ‘without issue’. The Latin law term used to state that a man died without a ‘male heir of his body’.

Singular. 15c hunter’s term for a group of wild boar; that for dislodging a boar from its lair was ‘rearing’ it.

Sinister. Her. The left-hand side. In *heraldry, left and right are determined from the holder of a shield’s point of view, not from the onlooker’s. [< L sinister = left, left hand] – Cf. DEXTER

Sins, seven deadly. The sins were: pride or vainglory; covetousness; lust (expressed in *incontinence); envy; gluttony, which included drunkenness; anger; and sloth, of which *accidie was an expression.

Siserary. Corrupt form of *certiorari.

Sixhynde. Man with a *wergeld of 600s; found in early West Saxon law codes, but apparently obsolete by the 10c, though the 600s wergeld is mentioned in the *Leges Henrici Primi. A man worth 200s was twyhynde; one worth 1,200s twelfhynde. – Cf. WERGELD

Skald. A Scandinavian court poet or bard; like many such singer-poets he was itinerant; also like a poet laureate, he would compose poems for occasions, such as a battle. After the *Norman Conquest of 1066, a skald named Thorkill, once under the patronage of Earl Waltheof, wrote a lament in Old Norse for the lost *AS world after Waltheof’s execution in 1076. Another skald named Sighvatr wrote a poem, Tøgdrápa, about King Cnut. Its refrain runs ‘Cnut is the foremost sovereign under heaven’. – Cf. STALLER

Skep. Dry measure in the 13c equivalent to a half-*bushel. There were eight skeps in a *quarter, though the bushel was the unit most frequently used. The skep itself was orig. a basket which came to hold half a bushel. The Latin form of skep is eskippa. [< OE sceppe = a dry measure] – Cf. PARVUS BUSSELLUS

Skivinus. An official of the London commune; also, a steward of a *guild. The English form is ‘skivin’.

Slave. Some 25,000 slaves are mentioned in *DB. However, after the Conquest, slaves as a class disappeared or rather were absorbed into the villeins or serfs. In the AS world slaves were a large group, particularly in the southwest peninsula and Wessex. For example, Cornwall had 1,160 slaves, Devon 3,290 and Somerset 2,110, whereas only one is mentioned in Huntingdonshire and none in Lincolnshire. The Normans were less concerned with legal status; what concerned them was the work a person could do. [< Sclavus = Slav] – Cf. next

Slavery. Slavery was often the fate of soldiers captured on a battlefield, as well as those captured at sea by pirates. The *AS enslaved many *Britons, most of whom worked on the land. Those who worked for the AS aristocracy within the house might well have had an easier life but their status remained the lowest. Vikings also had slaves; indeed they traded in slaves. In England in the 11c perhaps 5–10 per cent of the population was enslaved. Archbishops Lanfranc and Anselm did much to eliminate the practice in England. – Cf. BARBARIAN

Slitch [sleech]. The sandy silt above the usual tide-line left after the high spring tides, as a result of which it had a high salt content. This silt was gathered into a trench known as a ‘kinch’, over which fresh water was passed. The resulting salt as brine was then drained in a wooden receptacle; this brine was taken to the boiling pan. The word ‘slitch’ was used in Lancashire and the Solway; in the Lincolnshire salt industry the equivalent word used was ‘muldefang’ or ‘mould’. – Cf. SALT-PAN

Slop 1. A bag with magic powers, used to steal milk from cows.

Slop 2. A loose baggy garment. – Cf. OVERSLOP

Smaragd. An emerald. [< L smaragdus = green precious stone, e.g. emerald; also beryl, jasper]

Smoke-farthing. A small payment made at *Whitsun by all households of a diocese, as a sign of obedience to the Church. – Cf. PENTECOSTALS

Snecca [Esnecca]. A warship, perhaps somewhat smaller than a *scegth. Henry II possessed such a ship in the late 12c, which was berthed at Southampton; its master was paid 12d a day. [< ON snekkja, OE snacc = warship]

Soca. See SOKE

Soca faldae. See FOLD SOKE

Socage. Tenure of land for which a rent of money or kind – such as labour at sowing time and harvest or ploughing – was given but which did not include military service. [< 12c L socagium = form of free tenure]

Socherie. The manufacture of ploughshares; a maker of ploughshares = sochier [< Fr. soc = ploughshare]

Soil, in the. Ancient right to take gravel and stones and sand. – Cf. RIGHTS OF COMMON

Soke. A lord’s jurisdictional right over the district attached to a *manor, with the right to receive fines and other dues; later, this included the exclusive right within a district to mill corn – the mill being built and held by the lord as a means of extra income, esp. after the *plague of 1348. [< OE socn = right of jurisdiction] – Cf. SAKE AND SOKE; SOKEN

Sokeland. Hamlets or small villages occupied by men and women owing service to their lord. – Cf. next; SOKE

Sokeman. A free man holding land in *socage; a man under jurisdiction (i.e. *soke) of his *lord.

Soken. Obligation of tenants to use the local mill; the mill’s right to tenants’ custom. [< OE socn = right of jurisdiction, of taking fines] – Cf. SOKE

Sol. Her. The tincture *or as used in a *blazon.

Solar [solar]. A sunny room; an upper room designed to catch the sun; a garret; a private chamber. [< L sol = the sun, solarium = a terrace, a room at the top of a house]

Solatium. Lit. ‘solace’. Term used sometimes in older histories for what might well be called ‘sweeteners’ or ‘hush money’. The gift was usually a pension or a small estate, being given to a nuisance.

Solidatae. Wages. Cf. next; LIBERATIONES

Solidus. After the English adoption of the *denarius, 12 denarii made one solidus (hence s and d in predecimal £sd), while 20 solidi made £1. [< L solidus = solid, not hollow, thus genuine] – Cf. POUND; SHILLING

Solleret. A metal shoe, made with overlapping plates, which were part of a complete suit of armour. [< OFr. soller = a shoe] – Cf. SABATON

Somier. A pack-horse. – Cf. DESTRIER

Sore. Term used of a hawk in its first year before it has moulted, still bearing its red plumage.

Sor-penny. The fee paid to a lord by townsmen for free pasture. – Cf. REAP-SILVER

Soul-scot [corpse-present]. The last payment of the dead made by the living. Since AS times, the soul-scot levy (also known as the *‘mortuary’) was made upon the deceased’s goods: the bed he or she died in, the best beast or horse, or whatever, would be given to the Church, while something else was given to the lord. If the best horse was not good enough or worthy of the lord, then a sum of money would be agreed. Of course, the higher the rank of the dead person, the more valuable the ‘present’ would have to be. – Cf. SCOT; WAX-SCOT

Sow. A wheeled structure allowing besiegers to approach a castle or fortified *manor, with a roof for protection against rocks or hot oil dropped by defenders: in essence, a siege engine. – Cf. BEREFREDUM

Spangen helmet. A helmet made up from metal plates bound together in bands and secured with rivets, secured beneath the chin by a buckle. [< German Spang = a buckle]

Spaulder. Armour to protect the shoulder comprising lames or thin metal plates stretching downwards. [< OFr. espalde < L spatula = shoulder-blade]

Speaker. The member of parliament elected by his peers in the Commons to act as their representative and moderator of their debates. The first speaker, Peter de la Mare, was appointed during the Good Parliament of 1376. During the reign of Henry V, Thomas Chaucer, the son of Geoffrey Chaucer, was speaker. In the 14c, once the Commons had reached a decision, it was the speaker who would deliver it to the Lords. In the French of the time it was the speaker qui avoit les paroles pur les Communes d’Engleterre en cest Parlement = who has the words of the Commons of this parliament.

Spence. A colloquial contraction of ‘dispense’, applying to a small room in the buttery of a large establishment; perhaps also a larder. [< OFr. dispenser = to hand out, distribute]

Spicery. In the royal household, the spicery took in a great many items. Wax, napery, cloth, canvas and spices were all acquired through the great wardrobe. These goods were then distributed to the appropriate officers.

Spigurnel. Title of the sealer of writs in *chancery in the 13–14c. It was he who actually used the seal on documents, assisted by the *chauffer, or chafe wax. The title is found as a surname in the 14c. The Latin form is spigurnellus.

Spinster. Orig. used simply of a woman who spun wool or linen for a living; only in the 18c did the word come to denote an unmarried woman.

Spiritualities. Income of the Church derived from sources such as *tithes and offerings, these sources being exclusive to the Church. – Cf. TEMPORALITIES

Splendour. Her. Describes the sun shown with a face surrounded by rays.

Springald. Military machine used for throwing rocks, using the same principle as a catapult. [< OFr. espringalle < espringeur = a spring] – Cf. MANGONEL; TREBUCHET

Springing. Her. Describes animals of the chase, e.g. deer, when shown leaping. – Cf. SALIENT

Spurrier. A maker of spurs. – Cf. LORIMER

Squint. See HAGIOSCOPE

Squire. A young man, usually noble, or the unknighted son of a knight, who, in preparation for his knighthood, attended a knight. Squires also served in bishops’ households. Their pay was a *mark (13s 4d) a year or perhaps as much as £1. ‘Squire’ and ‘esquire’ are synonymous. – Cf. COMMENSALIS; DESTRIER; ESQUIRE

Staggard. A male red deer in its fourth year. – Cf. BROCKET

Staller. Lit. ‘a place man’. An important officer of the royal household, perhaps equiv. to the 10c *pedesecus. The title’s origin is disputed; since the earliest known stallers were Danes, it was perhaps introduced in the time of Cnut. Since it is not recorded in contemporary sources until Edward the Confessor’s reign, it has been seen as an English equivalent of the continental *constable. [OE steallere < ON stallari = marshal; or < L constabularius = man in charge of the stables]

Stamfort [stanforte]. Generic term for an English cloth or worsted yarn, or worsted-woollen. The term’s derivation is either from the cloth-making town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, or stamen forte = strong, warp yarn or worsted. – Cf. SCARLET; STAPLE 1

Stance. Enclosure on the side of one of the old drove-roads in which animals were confined for safety overnight.

Standard. Flag held high in battle displaying each side’s or its leader’s *arms; showing an armed force where to rally. The loss of a standard signified a battle lost and humiliation. In the *Bayeux Tapestry there appears to be a *wyvern standard being carried before the figure of King Harold, who is shown with an arrow in his eye, i.e. at the moment of his death.

Stank. A pond or pool often enough with fish; also a moat, again with fish.

Stannary. Those areas of Devon and Cornwall having tin mines. The stannaries had their own courts, customs and privileges. – Cf. next

Stannum. Orig. an alloy of silver and lead. – Cf. previous

Staple 1. A town in England or on the continent to which English trade in *wool and other goods was confined. From the reign of Edward I, the first was Dordrecht, followed by Antwerp, Bruges and Middelburg (in Zeeland). In the Statute of Staples (1354) the staple towns under the crown were set as Bristol, Canterbury, Carmarthen, Chichester, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Exeter, Lincoln, London, Newcastle, Norwich, Waterford, Winchester and York; from 1392, the continental staple town was fixed at Calais (until Calais was retaken by France in 1558). – Cf. next; WOOL

Staple 2. The word was used of a particular fineness and length of wool fibre. – Cf. STAMFORT

Statant. Her. This term is used to describe an animal shown standing still.

Stationarius. Lit. ‘stationer’. A dealer in MSS; particularly one in a university who kept texts, which were hired out for copying. Such MS texts were required to be authenticated by those nominated by a university; were the text found to be inaccurate the stock might well be destroyed. A price list was set and established. Such a dealer was not permitted to sell to anyone who would make a profit by selling on what he had bought. The association of these MS dealers became a *guild in 1403 and was known as The Stationers’ Company. [< L stationarius = someone stationary, in a fixed place; later = a shopkeeper with a fixed place of business.]

Steelyard. See HANSEATIC LEAGUE

Sterling. Term used for the fineness of coins. Once thought to be so called because some coins had a star; another suggested derivation was from *Easterlings, who were coiners brought to England by Henry II to improve the currency. Foreign copies of the English *penny known as ‘esterling’ were esp. common in the late 13c. In 1213, when King John swore fealty to the pope, he also swore to pay for ever mille marcas sterlingorum = 1,000 marks of sterling. Now, however, it is suggested sterling is derived from OE steor = firm.

Steward. Official in charge of the daily running of a castle/house; a domestic rather than a military officer, though such duties were taken on in an abbot’s household, for instance. The word was also used in combination with ‘high’, of a person able to advance and protect the interests of a monastery or abbey at court; consequently the holder was a person of noble birth or a lay magnate with influence at court. They were in effect lobbyists. Fees were payable. These were not great sums (perhaps 40s) but held multiply they could be well worthwhile; also being such a steward came with the perk of ample hospitality when visiting his charge. During the reign of Henry I (1100–35) there were perhaps four stewards with the title; at other times there may have been as many as five. They seem to have been verbal, ad hoc appointments of the people who actually did the work. The post may also have been at times hereditary; in these cases the person bore the title but probably as an honorary position. Such appointments were begun by the Norman kings; subsequent monarchs did the same. The Scottish surname Stewart relates to the royal steward. – Cf. DAPIFER; GREEN CLOTH; SENESCHAL

Stew-pond. A pond or tank in which fish were kept for eating.

Sticha [stica, stick]. A quantity of eels, usually 25.

Stint. Limitation imposed on the rights to pasture and other matters on a *manor; also, as a verb, the simple matter of stopping someone or something. Latterly, it is a measure of quantity or rather a lack of what is considered sufficient. [< OE styntan = to dull]

Stipendarius. Latin word used by AN chroniclers for a *mercenary. [< L stipendium = wages] – Cf. LITHESMAN

Stirk. A young heifer or bullock under two years of age; the word is still in use in the north of England.

Stoc. In placenames, stoc = a religious place, a secondary settlement or *cell of a monastery. It occurs in Stoke, for example. [< OE stoc = a dwelling]

Stock. Container or box in which cloth was put, where it was beaten in the fulling process. – Cf. FULL; SWINGLE

Stole. Ecclesiastical vestment, being a strip of cloth or silk worn around the neck and falling to the knees. [< L stola = a cloak-like outer garment]

Stool, groom of the. One of the gentlemen of the privy chamber who served the king in the more private rooms of the palace. It was the groom’s duty to empty the royal chamber-pot; this intimacy put him among the most senior of the gentlemen, ranking him below the vice-chamberlain. ‘Stole’ is found sometimes as a variant spelling. – Cf. next

Stool-room. The king’s lavatory within the confines of the privy chamber. [< OE stol = stool, chair] – Cf. previous; EASEMENT ROOM; LONGAIGNE

Stow. A place or locality; also a place with religious or holy associations. – Cf. STOC; WÆLSTOW

Stræt. A street, a highway; the surface was often paved, being a relic of Roman construction. When ‘street’ forms part of a placename, it usually commemorates a Roman road. [< L strata = a paved way] – Cf. GATE 2

Strætbreche. The offence of digging up a road, or blocking or obstructing in some fashion. The fine payable as compensation was 100s. [< OE stræt = road, street + brece = break]

Streapeles. Leggings, worn from knee to ankle; breeches. [< OE strapulas = leggings] – Cf. HODDEN GREY

Stubble-goose. See MICHAELMAS GOOSE

Studium generale. Lit. ‘general study’. The phrase was used of a university before the word ‘university’ was coined.

Styca. Northumbrian word for the *sceatta; the 9c Northumbrian coin was made of silver, zinc and copper. [< OE stycce = a piece (of money)]

Subinfeudation. Modern term for the practice of a *vassal having vassals of his own. – Cf. ENFEOFF; FEUDALISM; JUDICIUM; MESNE

Subtlety. This word was used of usually sweet cakes and confections, often in the form of table decoration. These were sometimes served between courses. [< L subtilitas = fineness of detail]

Succentor. Subcantor. Orig. the person who led the singing of choir and congregation; the deputy of the *precentor; usually a *minor canon.

Succurrendum. See AD SUCCURRENDUM

Suit. The obligatory attendance at his lord’s court by a tenant. This was known as ‘suit of court’.

Sulong. A Kentish measurement equivalent to two hides. – Cf. JUGUM

Summagium. Latin word for the obligation to supply pack-horses for carrying loads. Were a *fine paid in lieu of such service, the term pro summagio was used. – Cf. -AGIUM; SUMPTER

Summoner. Official attached to an ecclesiastical court, whose duty was to bring to court those summoned by the archdeacon for offences against *canon law. By the time Chaucer wrote The Friar’s Tale, they were regarded as snoops and blackmailers. The Latin for summoner is summonitor. – Cf. PARDONER

Sumpter. A packhorse; also the driver of a sumpter horse. This was the kind of horse used in great numbers in a *baggage train. Sumpter bears no relation to sumptuary. [< AN sumer < L sagmarius, sagmatarius = a saddle] – Cf. REGALIA

Sumptuary regulations. In Edward III’s reign regulations sought to establish rules of dress so as to ensure people did not dress ‘above their station’. The law of 1363 condemned ‘outrageous and excessive apparel of diverse people, contrary to their estate and degree’. Indeed, these regulations also sought to prescribe the kinds of food appropriate to each *degree. For example, it stated that servants should have only one meal of flesh or fish in the day, and that their other food should consist of milk, butter and cheese. [< L sumptuarius = relating to expenditure; sumptus = expense] – Cf. previous; GARÇONS; MINIVER

Sunneniht. Lit. ‘the night before Sunday’, i.e. Saturday night.

Supporter. Her. Figure used to support an *escutcheon. Usually they were identical, one on each side of the escutcheon.

Surcoat. Outer coat of rich material, also worn over a suit of armour, decorated sometimes with heraldic coats of *arms; later, such a coat worn shortened was one of the signs of knighthood. [< Fr. sur = over]

Surtout. Her. Describes an *escutcheon placed at the centre of a coat of *arms.

Suspendatur. Lit. ‘let him be hanged’. The word indicated a criminal’s sentence.

Swan. Swans have been royal birds since the 12c and were served at great feasts. A keeper of the king’s swans appeared in the 14c, while a law of 1482 restricted the ownership of swans to men worth more than 5 marks a year. Swans appear as supporters on the Vintners’ Company’s coat of *arms. The Vintners, as also the Dyers, still mark Thames swans each year by clipping their bills. – Cf. SUPPORTER

Swanimote [swainmote]. A court held three times each year before the forest verderers. This court had nothing to do with the birds, the swans; rather, the jurymen were swains employed in the forest, i.e. herdsmen. It was established under the *Forest Charter of 1217, whose purpose was to oversee the pasturing of pigs and cattle in the king’s forests; also ensuring animals were cleared at times when they might interfere with the forest’s life, e.g. during fawning and the hunting season.

Swans, Feast of the. The occasion at Westminster, on Whit Sunday, 1306, when Edward I knighted his son, the prince of Wales, later Edward II. Almost 300 other young man came to be knighted at the same time. It was a great event, with the old king inspired by chivalric ideals. The feast takes its name from the two swans which were laid on the table, and over which Edward I swore to fight the Scots and infidels in the Holy Land.

Sweating sickness. An often fatal illness, named from one of its symptoms; probably a true influenza. Between 1315 and 1322 there was a series of epidemics accompanied by bad harvests and starvation. At the same time there were outbreaks of *murrain. The result was that a great many people died, perhaps one in five of the population: all that before the next generation was visited by the *Black Death. – Cf. AGUE; QUARTAN AGUE

Swingle. Piece of wood, somewhat sword-like in shape, used for beating and scraping flax. The process was similar to the winnowing of grain, removing unwanted particles. A swingle functioned much like a flail. [< OE swingel = a whip or rod] – Cf. STOCK

Swingletree. A kind of shock absorber of reins and tracers, which equalised the strains when horse and cart changed directions. It was also known later as a whippletree. [< OE swingle = piece of wood]

Sylfdema. Lit. ‘self-appointed’. One of the four kinds of monk, as described in an AS version of the rule of St Benedict. According to that rule the sylfdema had never adhered to any rule nor been taught by a master: they were ‘soft as lead’. They went about in twos or threes or even singly ‘without a shepherd, not enclosed in the Lord’s sheepfold’. They just followed ‘the enjoyment of their will instead of a rule; whatever they think fit or choose to do they call holy’. – Cf. MYNSTERMON; WESTENSETLA; WIDSCRITHUL

Synod. An assembly of *clergy from a church or diocese. [< Gr. sunodos = a meeting]

Synodsman. Layman expected to attend a bishop’s *visitation or a *synod.