U

Uchelwr. Term for Welshmen who were free landholders. In time the term came to apply to families from whom local leaders were selected; those who considered themselves born to lead. They were similar as a class to the English *probi homines.

Ullage. Measure of deficiency or deficit, i.e. the amount required to fill a cask or barrel; the quantity of wine needed to make good losses by leakage. The Latin term used in account books was oillagium.

Ultima voluntas. Lit. ‘last wish’. A person’s last spoken words and wishes became their will as certainly as those committed to paper. This was enforceable both in lay courts and Church courts. Church courts had cognisance of many matters we would consider the province of secular courts alone. – Cf. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

Ultra mare. Lit. ‘across the sea’, i.e. the continent or most particularly the Holy Land. – Cf. TRANSFRETATION

Umbrel [umbril]. The visor of a knight’s metal helmet. [< OFr. ombrel = shade]

Umbri-wiken. Lit. ‘ember-weeks’. – Cf. EMBER DAYS

Uncial. Name of a script, which indicated it was ‘inch high’; in use from the 4c in Greek and Latin MSS until well after the 16c. The earliest known example of the work of a European monk/scribe was written in uncial c.517. The word uncial itself was not known to those who used the script, being coined in the 17c. [< L uncia = twelfth part] – Cf. INSULAR; MINUSCULE

Undee [undy]. Her. Wavy; a wavy, undulating line.

Undersettle. Lit. ‘settle under (someone else)’. Term used of the servants and occasional labourers who settled on small plots of land established by enterprising peasants. These plots of land were small and unlikely to have been sufficient for an adequate living.

Unguled. Her. Term describing an animal whose hoofs are shown in a *tincture different from that of the body. [< L ungula = a hoof] – Cf. ANIMÉ; BEQUE; CRINED; MEMBERED; RAMÉ

Unknown Charter of Liberties. Document from c.1214/15 which formed some part in the drafting of what became *Magna Carta. Its occasion was possibly the gathering of northern barons at Stamford. It begins with the reaffirmation of the coronation charter of Henry I. It then describes various concessions which King John offered as remedies to the grievances complained of: no arbitrary judgement, amendments to marriage and wardship law, various abuses of relief, restriction on liability for service abroad. These and other matters emerge in the final document known as Magna Carta. The original document is in the Archive Royaume in Paris.

Unnithing. An honest man, someone not dishonest, not a rogue, not a *nithing. It is used in *ASC for 1087, when William Rufus was calling for soldiers before besieging Rochester during the rebellion of his half-brother, Odo, bishop of Bayeux.

Unræd. Lit. ‘unwise, unguided, ill-advised’. The word was used of Æthelred II because of his apparent inadequacies as ruler in the face of the Viking threat.

Urdee [urdy]. Her. A cross pointed at the ends.

Ursinarius. See BEARWARD

Usher. There were several ushers in the royal household, attached to various departments. For example, the usher of the (king’s) chamber was responsible for making the king’s bed.

Usucapion. Title to property through long possession, per usucapionem. *Bracton said ‘dominion of corporeal things’ could be achieved ‘by long, continuous and peaceful possession: by time and without livery, but how long that time must be is not specified by law but left to rightly exercised discretion’. He also specified two other paths to possession of corporeal things as being by *livery and title.

Usufruct. Modern term for the use and enjoyment of the income from a piece land with the proviso that it should not be damaged or diminished. Thus land given as a loan conveyed the usufruct, not the land itself. [< L usus = use + fructus = fruit; thus, use of the fruits.] – Cf. PRECARIUM 2

Usury. OE law stated that any compensation for lending money, i.e. interest or making a profit from lending, was usury; later the word was applied to excessive interest rates. The Greek word for ‘interest’ was tokos = offspring. From this, usury was thought of as the breeding of money from money and therefore against nature and forbidden to Christians. Some members of the Jewish community became immensely wealthy by lending money. They also enjoyed special protection of the crown, as on their death the crown took possession of unpaid notes and therefore of monies yet to be paid. Christian lenders from Lombardy got round the proscriptions against interest by making ‘charges’ for services rendered. Frequently, interest charges of whichever kind of up to 60 per cent and more were imposed. One way of by-passing the problem of usury was by this means: a knight borrows money, which will be repaid on three successive Easter days. The note specifies £30 but the knight promises to pay 10 marks three times. Thus, if he fails to repay the actual loan of 30 marks, he is bound to pay £30, which gives the lenders interest of 33.3 per cent. A more concrete example is that of Henry IV. Over the course of his reign, Henry borrowed as much as £150,000, or rather, he signed notes to that value. What he actually received was only £130,000: thus ‘charges’. A 14c quotation sums up a deep anxiety about borrowing money and payment of interest: ‘He who taketh usury goeth to hell; he who taketh none liveth on the verge of beggary.’ It is no surprise that the papacy and English monarchs were always in debt. – Cf. SCACCARIUM AARONIS

Utrum. An *assize of utrum was called by a writ to determine the status of the holding of a property of land, as to whether it had lay status or not. [< L utrum = whether]