Glossery

A

AB: [Welsh son of] it is used before a vowel, which a is used before a consonant. 'Ab Owen' becomes the surname 'Bowen'. "Ap" or "ab" is not related to the Latin "ab", but is rather from the British "*mapos" meaning "son" and is a cognate of Irish "mac". The word becomes "map" in Old Welsh and "mab" in Modern Welsh. When following a personal name the "m" lenites in a v-sound, still spelled "m" in Old Welsh, but increasingly spelled "v" and "f" later on. The v-sound tends to be rather weak in Welsh (cf. "tref" becoming "tre"), and in the highly formulaic nature of these names is lost.
AB INITIO: [Latin, from the beginning] used in situations regarding the validity of will, deed, or other legal document
AB NEPOS: a great-great-grandson
AB NEPTIS: a great-great-granddaughter
ABATEMENT: 1) The difference between the amount of the estate an heir is to receive as specified in a will and the amount actually received, due to property devaluation between the time the will was made and when the death occurred; the entry of a stranger into the estate after the death of the possessor but before the heir can take control.
2) In heraldry, a mark of dishonor in a coat of arms. The most common was the point and gore, which cut off an angle on the shield and was awarded for lying, boasting, drunkenness, killing a prisoner who had surrendered, rape, and sloth in war.
ABAVUS: [Latin] second great-grandfather
ABCPSIA: [archaic] blindness
ABD: [Arabic] servant/slave of ; late it connoted 'black slave' and thence just 'black'
ABEYANCE: a condition of undetermined ownership, as of an estate that has not yet been assigned
ABRUPTIO: [Latin, breaking off] a divorce, most often found in church records, parish books and legal documents.
ABSTRACT: a statement summarizing the essential facts contained in a document or record
ABSTRACT BOOK: record books containing abstracts of the information contained on deeds or land entries, usually listed in alphabetical order by surnames of the purchasers
ABSTRACT OF TITLE: a short description of a piece of property and the history of its title
ABUT: adjoin, as in two real properties
ACADIAN: (1) An individual of French heritage inhabiting Acadia (the Canadian Maritimes, including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, as well as the Magdalenes, St. Pierre & Miquelon, and the northern New England )
(2) A descendant of French settlers of Acadia who were resettled in Louisiana, commonly known as "Cajuns"
ACCELERATED INDEX: an index prepared by computer, such as a census index
ACCOUCHEUR/ACCOUCHEUSE: [archaic] male/female midwife
ACCRETION: right of inheritance by survival
ACESCENSY: [archaic] sour, acidity
ACHIEVEMENT: [Heraldry] a representation of all armorial devices to the bearer of the arms is entitled
ACREDALE: A common field in which several proprietors held interest, not always on an equal basis
ACREMAN: [Middle English] a man who ploughed or cultivated the land.
ACTION: a proceeding in a court of law
AD EXHAEREDATIONEM: [Latin] to disinherit adoption by hair. A ceremony performed to show adoption by cutting off a piece of hair and giving it to the adoptive father.
AD LITEM: legal term meaning in this case "only". For example, "George Thomas, duly appointed by the court, may administer ad litem the settlement of the estate of Joseph Thomas, deceased."
AD VERBATIM: [Latin, to the word] in full
ADMINISTRATION: management and settlement of an estate
ADMINISTRATOR: an appointee of the court who settles the estate of a deceased who died without leaving a will, or where an executor is unwilling or unable to serve as executor.
ADMINISTRATOR AD COLLIGENDUM: [Latin] when a person dies and there is no apparent executor or administrator, the court may appoint such a person collect, preserve and inventory the assets until a full administrator can be determined
ADMINISTRATOR'S BOND: a bond posted by an administrator to guarantee the proper performance of his duties
ADMINISTRATRIX: a female administrator
ADOPTION: to take a child into one's home by legal means and raise as one's own, with same legal rights as one's natural children
ADSCRIPTICUS: [Latin] a serf bound to a property
ADULTERINE CASTLE: a castle built without the over lord's approval
ADVERT: [archaic] to one's attention to
ADVOWSON: the right to appoint a person to the church's benefice, for with the living came other appurtenances of the church - land which the priest used to support himself, and first fruits and the tithe, which was a tax or levy of a tenth of parishioners' income or produce to support the church. Other assets might include mills or fisheries. This was a valued source of patonage.
ADVANCEMENT: a gift given to a living child in anticipation of inheritance
ADVERSE POSSESSION: occupying a property, then gaining title and ownership by keeping it for a specified statutory period
AE/AET: [Latin from Aetatis] about the age of
ÃDILE: [Latin] a Roman magistrate in charge of the games and management of the temples. In later times they were in charge of the public buildings, the water system, food supplies, and the markets.
ÃTAS: [Latin] lifetime; age; generation
ÃGROTANTEM: [Latin] illness - sickness
ÃTHELING: [Anglo-Saxon prince royal] the eldest son of the king
AFFEER: to settle the amount of an amercement; to assess
AFFIDAVIT: a written and signed statement sworn in front of a court officer
AFFINIS, AFFINITAS, AFFINITY: [Latin] relationship via marriage, as opposed to by blood. S CONSANGUINITY.
AFFIRMATION: a declaration, sometimes as a replacement for someone who objects to taking an oath
AGE OF CONSENT: age at which persons may legally marry without parental approval. For various ages in 18th C. Virginia (and England as well) see consent.html.
AGE OF MAJORITY: Prior to the modern designation of 21 as the age of majority, different ages applied: If the fee is a military fee, the heir will be of full age when he has completed his twenty-first year and reached his twenty-second. If he is the son and heir of a sokeman, when he has completed his fifteenth year. If he is the son of a burgess, he is taken to be of full age when he knows how properly to count money, measure cloths and perform other similar paternal business.12 Thus it is not defined in terms of time but by sense and maturity. A woman may be of full age [in socage] whenever she can and knows how to order her house and do the things that belong to the arrangement and management of a house, provided she understands what pertains to 'cove and keye,' which cannot be before her fourteenth or fifteenth year since such things require discretion and understanding. -- from Bracton's Laws c.1400.
AGNATIC LINEAGE: a lineage only by men.
AGUE: a fever marked by chills
AHL: [Arabic] people, family, kin
AHNENLIST: a list of one's accordance with the AHNENTAFEL NUMBERS definition below. ancestors, with the first generation being #1, second #2-3, third #4-7, etc. May be synonymous with AHNENTAFEL.
AHNENTAFEL: [German ancestor table] a list of ancestors numbered in accordance with the system described below in AHNENTAFEL NUMBERS. So-called because it was popularized by Stephen Kekule von Stradonitz in his 1896 book, Ahnentafel Atlas. The system was first used in a book by the Spanish geneologist Jerome de Sosa in 1676. Translated from the German, "ahnen" means ancestor and "tafel" means table or list; because of this literal translation, ahnentafel is sometime incorrectly used to describe any list of ancestors.
AHNENTAFEL NUMBERS: the universally used method of numbering ancestors. In it the number 1 is assigned to the subject of the list, then his or her father is No. 2, the mother is No. 3, the paternal grandfather No. 4, etc. In this system, a person's father's number is always twice the person's number and his or her mother's number is twice-plus-one. Because of the structured nature of the sytem, a person's ahnentafel number can be used to describe his or her relationship to the subject of the list. This method of numbering ancestors is used worldwide and is also called the "Sosa-Stradonitz System," after the genealogist who first used it and the one who popularized it (see AHNENTAFEL above). This method of numbering ancestors is used both on lists of ancestors or on ancestor charts.
ALABARCH: a Roman tax administrator
ALCALDE: a Spanish administrator
ALDERMAN: the elected representative of a ward, a political subdivision of a city. In medieval times, the alderman presided over the ward's court call the Ward-Moots Court.
ALERION: [Heraldic] bird
ALIAS: [Latin - other] a pseudonym, false or alternative name
ALIAS CAPIAS: The writ of capias ad respondendum (capias) ordered the sheriff to arrest a defendant in a civil case for appearance in court to answer the plaintiff’s declaration. The writ states the name of defendant, the court term when he was required to appear; the name of the plaintiff, the form of action (in non-bailable cases this was a fictitious trespass); and the names of the justice, clerk, and plaintiff's attorney. The writ does not contain a statement of the plaintiffs claim. The Alias Capias is the second issuance of a capias after the original had gone without answer.
ALIEN: someone who is not a citizen of one's own country
ALLEGIENCE SUPREMACIE: an oath to the King of England taken by ship passengers leaving England during the 17th and 18th C.
ALLOD: [Latin allodium] a freehold estate
ALLODIAL: property exempted from mortmain
ALMONER: a religious official charged with distributing alms to the sick and poor
ALMSMAN: someone supported by charity or one who lived on alms
ALVINE: [archaic] pertaining to the bowels
AMANUENSIS: secretary, stenographer
AMBER: a measure of four bushels
AMERCEMENT, AMERCIAMENT: (1) punishment by imposition of an arbitrary fine not fixed by statute, at the 'mercy' of the king or his lord, usually for minor offences. This was the equivalent of a modern fine.; (2) to punish by inflicting a discretionary or arbitrary punishment {R}
AMIR: [Arabic] a military commander or provincial governor, although sometime translated as 'prince', Amirs were under the nominal lordship of the caliph.
AMITA: [Latin] the usual, but not always, interpretation in medieval documents was that of paternal aunt
AMPHORA: a measure of five gallons
AMSAR: [Arabic] a fortress city
ANCESTOR: a person from whom you have descended
ANCESTOR CHART: report or chart that shows a person and all of their ancestors in a graphical format. As opposed to the Ahnentafel which is more of a narrative report.
ANCESTOR NUMBER: the number one ancestor has in a pedigree. There are different numbering system, the most common is Kekules system.
ANCESTRAL FILE: a searchable database of 35 Million names developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon Church).
ANCIENT PLANTERS: those who arrived in Virginia, USA before 1616. They may have been VA's first 'aristocracy.' Each such person with 3 years of residence was entitled to 100 acres as a 'first division'
ANCILLA: a female slave
ANGLYDE: [Anglo-Saxon] compensation to a wronged person
ANILE: [archaic] like an ols woman; imbecillic
ANNO DOMINI: [Latin, in the year of our lord] a date as measured from the birth of Jesus Christ
ANNOTATION: interpretation, explaination, clarification, definition, or supplement. Many types of genealogical presentations contain statements, record sources, documents, conclusions, or other historical information that require an annotation. Generally, annotations appear in footnotes, end-notes, or in the text itself. Genealogical software provides a field for documentation, comments, notes, and analysis. Genealogists use annotations to explain discrepancies between two or more documents, to add information from another source to support a statement or conclusion made in a different record, and other difficult to interpret situations.
ANNULET: [Heraldric] an open ring
ANNUS: [Latin year]
ANNWYL: [Welsh dear, favorite]
ANSEL: The American National Standard for Extended Latin Alphabet Coded Character Set for Bibliographic Use, a character set that extends the Latin alphabet of thirty-five languages written with the Latin alphabet and fifty Romani language.
ANTECESSOR: a previous owner of a property, not necessarily a blood relative, especially during early Medieval times
AP: [Welsh son of] It is used before a consonant; ab is used before a vowell. 'Ap Hywell' becomes 'Powell'. "Ap" or "ab" is not related to the Latin "ab", but is rather from the British 'mapos' meaning 'son' and is a cognate of Irish "mac". The word becomes ' map' in Old Welsh and 'mab' in Modern Welsh. When following a personal name the "m" lenites in a v-sound, still spelled "m" in Old Welsh, but increasingly spelled "v" and "f" later on. The v-sound tends to be rather weak in Welsh (cf. "tref" becoming "tre"), and in the highly formulaic nature of these names is lost. "Moricantos mapos Totorigos" (genitive of Totorix) -> Old Welsh "Morcant map Tutur" -> Modern Welsh "Morgan ap Tudur".See also bachgen.
APANAGES: Apanages were usually large fiefdoms of the Royal Domain recently joined to the crown and given by the king to his younger sons or brothers. In the absence of a legitimate heir, the apanages reverted to the crown.
APERIENT: [archaic] laxative
APOPLEXY: [archaic] a stroke
APPRENTICE: a person bound by indenture for a specified period in order to learn an art or trade
APPURTENANCES: the rights attached to real property. In medieval times, it included grazing rights, payment of fines, a pew in church, etc.
ARATHRA: the amount of land that could be plowed in a year
ARCHIVE: a place for the storage of older records
ARGENT: [Heraldry, French silver] one of the seven allowed colors -- silver colored and represented by a plain white surface
ARMIGER: in medieval times, one entitled to bear arms, as opposed to an esquire, carried someone else's arms. Typically this individual attended a knight.
ARMORIAL BEARINGS: what constitutes a person's arms. Strictly speaking, a coat of arms is a knight's surcoat on which his armorial bearings are displayed. This would include the coat of arms, helmet, crest, mantling and badge. See also ARMS COMPLETE, ESCUTCHEON.
ARMS COMPLETE, or ARMS ACHIEVEMENT: a complete coat of arms with helmet, crest, mantling and badge. See also ARMORIAL BEARINGS.
ARPENT: [Old French]
(1) unit of land measure, sometimes used in parts of French North America, such as Quebec and Louisiana, and in certain British colonies, varying from 0.84 to 1.28 acres, or about five perches
(2) unit of linear measure equal to approximately 11.5 rods, or about two and a quarter perches
ARRADA: a medieval siege weapon similar to a giant crossbow
ASCENDANT: see ANCESTOR
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange - type of file on a computer that is usually readable / writable by most word processors.
ASSART: to turn woodlands or wastelands into cropland
ASSIGNEE: the person to whom a privilege or some property is signed over by the court. "See Assignment".
ASSIGNMENT: grant of property or a legal right, benefit, or privilege to another person. In colonial and medieval times the process could be lengthy, involving payment of consideration to the crown, obtaining a receipt from the treasurer, getting an auditor's certificate, getting the land surveyed and recorded. The right to the land could be "assigned" at any time in the process to a third party. It was not unusual to have six or seven assignments before the final recording.
ASSIGNOR: the person who signs over the right or some property to another
ASSISTANT MARSHALL: census taker prior to 1880
ASSIZE: a meeting of feudal vassals with the king
ASSIZE OF BREAD OR ALE: regulation of the price of bread or beer
ASSUMPSIT: [Latin, he has undertaken] a legal action to recover damages
ATABEG: [Turkish] a title, originally for tutors of the ruling prince, but later for governors and other high level officers of state
ATHA: oath
ATHELING: see ÃTHELING
ATTAINTED: in England, because Parliament is a court, and the highest in the land, attainder became a legislative act declaring a person guilty of treason or felony (almost always treason) rather than using a regular judicial process of trial and conviction. In 1450, according to the Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World, attainder was "extended to the convicted traitor's heirs, who were declared 'corrupt of blood' and therefore unable to inherit property or exercise certain civil rights." Attainder was abolished in England in 1870. The U.S. Constitution of 1787 specifically forbids bills of attainder by either Congress or the state legislatures and equally forbids any judicial conviction working corruption of the blood.
ATTE: an English surname prefix meaning "at the" or "of the", usually used in conjunction with a generic topographical feature: "wood" (thus Atwood), "well" (Atwell), etc. "Stone" fits this definition. It may not be seen much due to the fact that it was used in humbler families. The Latin equivalent is "de la" or "del."
ATTEST: to affirm, certify by oath or signature
AUGMENTATION: [Heraldric] an additional charge to arms usually as a mark of honour. This was not used until after 1385 in Britain.
AUGUSTA: a title typically bestowed by the Roman emperor on his wife, but it could be bestowed on his mother, sisters or daughters as well. The title carried considerable authority, beyond just being the spouse of the emperor. Several augusta were de facto emperors.
AUGUSTALIS: [Latin] a priest of an order instituted by Tiberius dedicated to the worship of Augustus and the Julii. There were usually 21 at a time, chosen from among the prominent citizens of Rome
AUGUSTUS: the Roman emperor. The title was first taken by Octavian and was used by emperors thereafter. See augusta.
AUM: an old Dutch and German unit of liquid varying from 36-42 gallons
AUNT: sister of one of one's parents, or the wife of the brother of one's parents
AUREUS: [Latin] a gold coin initiated by roman emperor Augustus, as the standard for the Roman monetary system from that time until Constantine's solidus replaced it
AUSTIN FRIAR: an order of friars founded by St. Augustine, and emphasizing urban preaching
AUTOKRATOR: [Byzantine] Greek equivalent of imperator, or emperor
AVA, AVIA: [Latin, grandmother]
AVER: an animal used in agriculture
AVI, AVORUM: [Latin, grandparents]
AZOTE: [archaic] nitrogen
AZURE: [Heraldric] one of the seven allowed colors -- blue, or represented in black-and-white as horizontal lines
AVUNCULUS: [Latin, uncle] prior to 1400 it usually meant maternal uncle
AVUS: [Latin, grandfather]

B

BACH: [Welsh small, little]
BACHELOR: in Medieval times, young knight in the service of another knight
BACHGEN: [Welsh boy] See also ap/ab, map.
BAILEY: the yard within a castle's walls
BAILIFF: (1) a manorial official charged with collecting rents and other administrative duties, including oversight of agriculture; (2) a town official and principle aide to the mayor, sometimes with his own court; (3) the municipal official in charge of the jail; (4) the official presiding over the Hundred Court
BAKR: [Arabic] first-born
BALCH: [Welsh fine, proud, splendid] See also valch
BALLISTA: [Latin] cross-bow
BALLISTARIUS: [Latin] a cross-bow man
BALK: a ridge between two furrows; a strip of unploughed land between two plowed areas
BAN: a royal or ecclesiastical proclamation
BANALITIES: fees a feudal lord imposed for the use of his property or facilities
BANE, BAN, BAIN: [Scottish] pale or white, usually of hair
BANN: a public announcement of an intended marriage to allow advance notice should someone desire to protest. In medieval and colonial times, many churches would read the banns on three consecutive Sundays prior to the marriage
BANNERET: a British rank of knight, it represented originally a knight with the honor of leading his men into a battle under his own banner and with rank above a Knight Bachelor . It is distinct from Baronet. -- Jay Kotliar
BANNS: publication or posting of the announcement of a coming marriage, a period of time before the actual marriage, to allow advance notice to those that might have reason to protest. In most churches, the banns were read aloud in church on three successive Sundays.
BANU: [Arabic, sons of] designation of tribe
BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD: members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS- Mormans) have the ceremony of Baptism for the Dead, performed by living individuals on behalf of the dead family members. These living individuals represent the person for whom the baptism is being performed. The baptism ceremony is simple and dignified and not much different from the baptism performed when a living individual joins the church. Baptisms for the dead are performed only in the temples of the church.
BAPTIZAVI: [Latin I baptized]
BAR: [Syriac] son of
BAR MITZVAH: A Jewish celebration for a boy when he becomes 13 years old and is accepted into the congregation
BAR SINISTER: [heraldic] a misnomer for bend sinister, coming from the translation of the French equivalent barre sinistre
BARBICAN: the gateway defending the entrance to a castle
BARD: minstrel or poet
BARON: a feudal title, below earl/count in rank, originally signifying just "companion to the king", but later assuming territorial responsibilities. In England, barons are designated by writ of Parliament
BARONETCY: [Brit.] an hereditary dignity (but not peerage) created by James I to produce revenue, the holder of which is accorded the prefix of 'Sir' and the suffix of 'Baronet' to his name. The suffix is invariably abbreviated in correspondence, usually 'Bt' but the more old-fashioned 'Bart.' is sometimes preferred. in order of preference, a Baronet ranks below all ranks of peerage, but above all other dignities.
BARONY BY WRIT: [Eng.] assumption of the honor based on the King's writ of summons to attend Parliament. At first, the honor was only temporal to the session served, but after the 14th C., the writ was considered to be permanent and hereditary.
BARRISTER: lawyer
BARRY: [Heraldic] a series of bars
BASE BORN: born out of wedlock
BASILEUS: [Byzantine] initially from the first century on a prince, later became "king", especially in the eastern provinces. Later the title was reserved only for the Eastern Roman and the Persian emperors
BASTION: a small tower on a castle wall
BATON SINISTER: [heraldic] a bend sinister usually one-forth the size of a bend sinister. Sometimes only referred to as Baton, it also indicates illegitimacy
BATTEN: the sloping part of a castle curtain wall
BATTLEMENT: a narrow wall built along the walk wall of a castle to protect defenders
BEG, BEY: [Turkish] lord or prince
BEND: [heraldic] One of the ordinaries. It is formed of two lines, and is drawn from the dexter chief (upper left) to the sinister base point (lower right) of the escutcheon. It generally occupies one-fifth of the field; but formerly it was one-fifth only when plain, and one-third when charged.
BEND SINISTER: [heraldic] a slash to the left held to signify bastardy; a hint or proof of illegitimate birth.
BENDLET: [heraldic] a bend as two or more thin bars
BENEFICE: a grant of land given to a noble or the church, usually for limited use or in return for specified services
BENEFICIARY: a person who receives the proceeds or income of an estate or trust
BEQUEST: legacy ; usually a gift of real estate by will
BERM: a flat space between a castle wall and the moat
BEZANT: [Heraldic] small dot
BEZANTY: [Heraldic] a series of solid dots
BIBLIOGRAPHY: list of sources.
BILLET: [Heraldic] a small vertical bar
BILLHOOK: a medieval weapon similar to a halberd, the carrier of which was call a billman
BILLMAN: a carrier of a billhook
BIN: [Arabic] son of}
BINDING OUT: [Colonial U.S.] in colonial English America, church wardens were empowered to bind out, contract into servitude, any bastard, or orphan or other person under 30, so that they might not become an economic burden on the church parish
BINT: [Arabic] daughter of
BIRELE: a cup-bearer
BIRTH CERTIFICATE: documentation about one's birth.
BIRTHRIGHT: In New England, the eldest son received a double portion of the estate, it was called his birthright. If you should find a person has conveyed a 1/7 interest in the father's estate, you may conclude there were six surviving children, each of whom received a 1/7 of the estate, except for the eldest son, who received a 2/7 or double portion.
BLACK CANKER: [Archaic] diphtheria
BLACK DEATH: bubonic plague. A disease prevalent in the middle ages, but still occurring in third world countries, transmitted by fleas from rats.
BLACK DUTCH: Sephardic Jews who married Dutch protestants to escape the Inquisition, many of their descendants later moving to the Americas, the "black" referring to their dark hair and complexion;; Descendents of marriages between Dutch women and Portuguese soldiers stationed in the Netherlands as part of Spanish forces in the Spanish-Dutch wars 1555-1609.; >See also Melungeons.; >Perhaps rarely, German immigrants c.1740 from the Black Forest region,; >Early 19th C. American Indians who claimed they were "Black Dutch" to avoid persecution or deportation to reservations
BLACKFRIARS: see DOMINICANS
BLACK LUNG: a disease from breathing coal dust
BLODWIT: americament by court for bloodshed
BLOODEAGLE: a medieval Norse method of execution. The victim's ribs were removed from the spine, then lungs pulled out to resemble angel's wings.
BLOODY FLUX: See flux
BLOT: a sacrifice or offering to idols
BOL: [Welsh belly] Also as ' bwl'.
BOLD-GAETAL: [Anglo-Saxon] a lord's estate
BOLTING-HOUSE: a building where the bran is sifted from flour
BONA: [Latin] in good faith
BOND: (1) a written promise by a borrower to pay a lender a fixed dollar sum of interest for a prescribed period of time and to repay the principal on a stated date;; (2) a contract to carry out specific duties, such as a marriage, for which if not done satisfactorily, a penalty is paid
BONDE: (1) head of a family; (2) a freeman serving as a vassal
BONDLAND: landwhich also contained dwelling houses and other buildings (such as barns) and was usually held by copyhold or charter
BONDMAID/BONDMAN: a slave or serf required to serve with wages, See also NATIVI.
BONDSMAN: a person who will vouch for or be liable for a person required to post a bond. This person can either be a friend/relative or a professional bondsman
BONNIER: [Old French] approximately 10 arpents
BOON-WORK: a day's work, given to a lord by his people on special occasion
BORDAR/BORDERER: a small landholder, the serf class between cottars and villeins. They held just enough land to support their family, about five acres, and were required to work as part of the lord's demesne.
BORH: surety
BORHBRYCE: breach of surety
BORDURE: [Heraldic] border
BOROUGH: [orig. Anglo-Saxon] a self-governing incorporated town, larger than a village. The term is common in the Northeastern U.S.
BOUND OUT: Apprenticed or indentured out. Most often the child was bound to a person in the community in the skilled trades. In return for the labor that the child provided they were given food, shelter and (sometimes) clothing. The families of the children being bound out were poor and in many cases the children were orphans or the father of the family had died and the mother could not provide for the children. The court appointed an Overseer of the Poor who looked into these cases and reported to the court.
BOUNTY LAND: public land given by the government to induce young men to join the military, or as a reward for fighting. Much land in the Midwest (U.S.) was given to the veterans of the Revolutionary War as a reward and payment for their time in the war.
BOUNTY LAND WARRANT: a gift of bounty land due to a person entitled by military service, or to his heirs or assigns
BOURGEOIS: [French] an address of formality or politeness in France from the 16th C., usually for a non-noble person. However, a person addressed as NN, bourgeois de [place] might be a noble man who was involved in town affairs and wanted to keep the title bourgeois de [place] to maintain certain tax breaks.
BOVATE: [Latin bos, ox] a measure of land also known as an oxgang. It was 1/8 of a ploughgate (or as much land as one ox could plough in a year). A bovate varyied in acreage from 8 to 18 acres, depending on how arable the land was.
BRAND IRON: the cob irons or fire dogs which confine the brands on an open hearth.
BRAS: [Welsh] fat
BRIDEWEALTH: goods and services transferred from a groom's family to a brides family
BROTBAN: bread money
BROTHER: a male sibling, or a half brother, stepbrother, brother-in-law, husband of a sister-in-law, or a Brother in Church. Sometimes it is also used to show close friendship.
BROWDERER: [Archaic] embroiderer
BRYCE: breach , violation
BUFFET: the dubbing administered to a new knight. See also COLEE.
BUNDLING: to sleep in the same bed while fully clothed, a practice commonly practiced by engaged couples in early New England It also houses an extensive collection of written manuscripts including family histories, local histories, indexes, periodicals, and aids to help in genealogical research
BURDATIO: a tax
BURGAGE: [English] a town plot, the holder of which was known as a burgess
BURGBRICE: breach of peace of a town
BURGESS: [English] a freeman in a medieval town holding a burgage, a piece of land. Later in Virginia, the term came to designate substantial wealthy landowners. The legislative house there became known as the House of Burgesses, replaced after the Revolution by the House of Delegates. Brent Tarter, LVA -- "From the middle of the seventeenth century until ratification of the Constitution of 1830, every county in Virginia was entitled to elect two members of the lower house of the assembly, the House of Burgesses through 1775 and the House of Delegates from 1776 through 1830. At those elections, each adult white male who owned enough property in the county could vote for two candidates. The cities of Williamsburg and Norfolk each elected one burgess or delegate, and until the Constitution of 1776 went into effect the president and professors of the College of William and the residents of Jamestown each elected one burgess. Cities that were incorporated after the American Revolution then gained the right to return one or more delegates."
BURGHER: a town resident with full rights and privileges of the town
BURGHRITE: jurisdiction over a town
BURH: a castle or dwelling
BUTTERY: [fr. French le botelerie] a store room for beer, wine and other staples
BYRBAN: beer money
BYZANT: a gold coin, the Byzantine solidus dating from about 500 AD and used until the 13th Century

C


CADARN: [Welsh strong] See also gadarn.
CADASTRAL: a public record, survey or map for tax purposes showing the ownership and value of land
CADENCY: [Heraldry] royal license by a sovereign that allows the father to grant to all the sons and their (normally) male issue the right to bear the same arms, i.e., coats of arms. Except for the eldest son, the arms are differentiated by marks of cadency.
CADET: descended from a family line other than the eldest son
CÆSAR: Roman title originated the cognomen of the Julian family. It came to signify the deputy augustus (emperor) and heir apparent to the throne. Emperors commonly named their sons, even as infants to this office. The office was considered provisional, and the emperor could raise the cæsar to full regency at any time. Upon the death of the emperor, the cæsar would still need to be confirmed by vote of the Senate or the army for full acceptance.
CAFICIUM: [Spanish] a unit of measure
CALENDS: see KALENDS
CALIPH,CALIF: [Arabic, successor] the title taken by the rulers of the Islamic world as the "successors to Muhammad"
CALS: Certified American Lineage Specialist - a certification of competence in genealogy
CAM: [Welsh bandy, squinting]
CAMBELLITES: a religious group named for its founders, Thomas and Alexander Campbell
CAMERARIUS: [Latin] chamberlain, keeper of accounts
CANKER: see BLACK CANKER
CANON: a member of the staff of a cathedral
CANON LAW: a law of the church
CANTON: [Heraldry] a square division the same depth as a chief, in one of the upper corners of the shield, usually in dexter chief and often charged and used as an augmentation.
CANTREF: [Welsh] a political and administrative division equivalent of the English Hundred
CAPIAS: [Latin] A legal writ, the most common of which is the the writ of capias ad respondendum, ordering the sheriff to arrest a defendant in a civil case for appearance in court to answer the plaintiff’s declaration. The writ states the name of defendant, the court term when he was required to appear; the name of the plaintiff, the form of action (in non-bailable cases this was a fictitious trespass); and the names of the justice, clerk, and plaintiff's attorney. The writ does not contain a statement of the plaintiffs claim. The Alias Capias is the second issuance of a capias after the original had gone without answer.
CAPITAL MANOR: The principal residence, or caput manierii
CAPITATION TAX: tax on people, also called a head tax or poll tax
CAPUT: [Latin, head] the primary seat or manor of a lord
CARMELITES: an order of friars originally founded in Palestine. They emphasized study and meditation, and are sometimes called Whitefriars for the color of their habit.
CAROLINGIAN: [medieval] referring to the Frankish dynasty of European rulers beginning with Pepin III (d.768) and ending with Louis IV Outrmer (d.954). Most notable in this dynasty was Charlemagne (d.814) who ended up ruling most of Europe. The Carolingians succeeded the Merovingians.
CARTHUSIAN: a late medieval order of clergy with an emphasis on learning, contemplation and solitude
CARTULARY: a copy, often in abbreviated form by the monks of a monastery of those documents that granted property to the institution. A cartulary is usually the closest that can be gotten to the monastic charters, which, in England, usually did not survive the Reformation.
CARUCATE: [Latin carucata plough] a measure of land which was could be tilled with a team of eight oxen in one year, equivalent to a hide. Also know as a ploughgate, equaled 8 oxgangs or bovates. A uniform (clerks) carucuate appeared to be around 104 acres, but it could range from 60 to 120 acres.
CASATUS: [Latin] landed proprietor
CASCADING PEDIGREE CHART: a series of pedigree charts that span multiple generations for an individual and then for each person in the last generation of the first chart.
CASTELLAN: the governor of a castle
CASTLE: during medieval times, a fortified dwelling. See also ADULTERINE CASTLE.
CASTLEGUARD: the feudal obligation to man a castle
CASTELERY: a castle with demesne land and jurisdiction
CATHEDRALIS: [Latin] Cathedral
CAVAGIUM: a head tax
CEAP: cheap
CEAPGELG: sale price
CELLARER: a religious official in charge of the church's property, rent and revenue
CENEDL: [Welsh] kindred
CENSE: a tax or tribute
CENSITAIRE: one paying a fixed quit-rent
CENOTAPH: a tomb or monuument erected in memory of a person or group of persons, whose remains are buried elsewhere. It can also be the initial marker of someone who is then buried elsewhere.
CENSOR: a magistrate of high rank in the ancient Rome. This position (called censura) was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances. The censors' regulation of public morality is the origin of the modern meaning of the words "censor" and "censorship." This was a very senior position usually relegated to someone only late in life who had fulfilled consular duties.
CENSUS: periodic official tally of the population with details as to ages, sexes, occupation, etc. U.S. Federal censuses have been taken every 10 years starting in 1790
CENSUS INDEX: alphabetical listing of names enumerated in a census
CENTENUM: [Latin] 100
CEORL: [Anglo-Saxon, peasant] a peasant who was a free tenant
CERTIFIED COPY: a copy of a document attested as a true copy by an official who is responsible for the document
CHAMBER: one of the departments of the royal household, and which managed his household
CHAMBERLAIN: the official in charge of a lord's chamber
CHANCELLOR: head of the chancery, and secretary to a lord. The king's chancellor presided over the Chancery Court.
CHANCERY: originally part of the household, its responsibility was to issue charters, writs, and letters of the king, as well as to store and preserve those items. The head of the chancery was the chancellor.
CHAPTER: (1) the daily meeting of a Benedictine monastery to read a Bible's chapter; (2) the body of clerics of a cathedral
CHAPTER HOUSE: the building where a cathedral's chapter met
CHARGES: [Heraldry] any figure on the shield, e.g., lions, birds, balls, etc.
CHARTER: a letter issued providing the donation of property, services or honors
CHARNEL HOUSE: a vault or house under or near a church where bones of the dead are kept
CHATTEL: personal property, both animate and inanimate. Slaves were considered to be chattels
CHAUSSES: [French] chain mail hose worn by medieval knights from the 11th C.
CHECKY: [Heraldic] checkered
CHERISET: an offering, originally corn, at Martinmas
CHEVAGE: [Norman] the annual poll tax by a lord on his workers for their right to live on his land and work his property.
CHEVALIER: [heraldry] a horseman armed at all points
CHEVAUCHEE: the feudal duty to accompany one's lord
CHEVRON: [heraldry, fr.Old French rafter] one of the primary ordinaries on a shield, occupying one-fifth of the field with two bars forming an up-pointing arrow. The Old French derivation is fully descriptive of the shape.
CHEWITH: [Welsh left-handed, awkward]
CHIEF: [Heraldry] The upper third part of the shield. It is supposed to be composed of the dexter, sinister, and middle chiefs.
CHILD OF TENDER YEARS: a child under 14 years of age
CHIRURGEON: a physician or surgeon trained through apprenticeship
CHIVALRY: the code of conduct for nobility during the middle ages
CHRISTENING: baptism of an infant
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS: a major Christian denomination founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith. The denomination is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of the tenets of the church is that a member is obligated to trace one's ancestor, so consequently, the church has the foremost collection of genealogical information in the world. Members are also called Mormons.
CHURCH WARDEN: The warden is an unpaid elected member of the vestry whose function is to help the priest in any way he heeds during the warden's term, usually one year. Now there are senior wardens and junior wardens, with various responsibilities split. Wardens oversee repairs, organize functions and do general over seeing of church needs through the help of the vestry.
CINQUEFOIL: [Heraldry] a five-leaved clover
CINQUE PORTS: five English boroughs on the Channel which had special privileges from the time of Edward the Confessor, in return for providing ships in time of war
CIRCA: [Latin, about] usually used in conjunction with a date
CIRCESET: Amount due in crops or product by a household as ecclesiastical property
CIRCITER: about
CIRCUMFLEX: (Fr.) an accent mark (^) which shows the place mark of a missing letter, such as impôt which was formerly impost. This mark should not be confused for a diaeresis which uses the same symbol, but denotes a chang in pronunciation, such as vôtre versus votre.
CISTA: chest
CISTERCIANS: a reform order of Benedictine monks, sometime called the "white monks" or "white friars"
CITATION: page or section reference of a source.
CIVIS: [Latin, citizen]
CIVITATE: [Latin of the City of .....]
CLAN: a Celtic social unit, especially in the Scottish Highlands, consisting of a number of families claiming a common ancestor and following the same hereditary leader
CLARISSIMUS: [Latin] the third of three ranks of the high officials of Imperial Roman service, all of whom were senators. It was attached ex officio to the governors of provinces and to other lesser posts, including a number of sub-altern civil servants and those in retirement. The other two ranks were the illustres and the spectibiles. {H}
CLOFF: [Welsh lame]
CLOTHIER: one who makes or sells clothing or cloth
COAT OF ARMS: shield with certain distinctive symbols or emblems painted on it in definite fixed colors identifying one person and his direct descendants. See also cadency, chief, colors, metal, fur
COCH: [Welsh red-haired] See also goch.
CODEX: a medieval book consisting of parchment leaves sewn together
CODICIL: a supplement to a will
COEMETERIUM: [Latin, cemetery]
COGNATIC: a descent on the male as well as female side.
COGNATUS, COGNATA: [Latin, known] blood kinsman
COGNOMEN: [Roman] the end Roman name (prænomen, gentilicum, cognomen) indicating a characteristic or honor to a person. If the individual was notable, the cognomen might be passed to descendants, and eventually might constitute the equivalent of what we consider a surname today. Example: In Gaius Julius Cæsar, the famous dictator. The name cæsar essential became a surname for his family, and it became a title as well..
COLEE: the dubbing administered to a new knight See also BUFFET
COLLATERAL ANCESTOR: an ancestor not in the direct line of ascent, but of the same ancestral family (a brother or a sister)
COLLATERAL DESCENDENT: an descendent of an ancestor's brother or sister
COLLIER: a coal miner or a coal ship
COLONUS: a free tenant bound to the land
COLORED: a non-caucasian person. In colonial America, the term was used for blacks, Hispanics, Creoles, Indians, melungeons, and others.
COLORS: [Heraldry] The colors allowed are gules, azure, sable, vert, tenne, or, argent, and purpure. In addition, several patterns are allowed called furs
COMES: [Latin] count. The Prætorian præfect of the eastern part of the Roman empire, residing in Constantinople, was known as Comes Orientis
COMITAL: [Latin comes] pertaining to a count or earl
COMITATUS: (Latin] a company of attendents
COMMON ANCESTOR: the nearest ancestor shared by two individuals
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE: a man and a woman living together in a marital status without legal action. In some states living together a specified period of time constitutes a legal marriage, even without benefit of legal action
COMMOTE: A secular division of land in Wales larger than a township and smaller than a lordship.
COMMUTATION: the conversion of the value of labor services to monetary payment
COMPLINE: part of the monastic timetable for liturgy, called horarium. This worship service typically occurred between 6:15pm-6:30pm in winter and 8:15pm-8:30pm in summer
COMPONY: [Heraldric] divided into squares of alternate tinctures in a single row; -- said of any bearing; or, in the case of a bearing having curved lines, divided into patches of alternate colors following the curve. If there are two rows it is called counter-compony. {W}
COMPOS MENTIS: [Latin, of sound mind]
COMPTOR: premier baron
CONFILIUS: [Latin, godson]
CONFIRMATIO: [Latin, confirmed]
CONIUNX: [Latin, married person, spouse]
CONJUGATUS: [Latin, married]
CONJUGATA: [Latin, wife]
CONJUGI: [Latin, husband, wife, spouse]
CONNUBIAL: [Latin connubium, marriage] pertaining to marriage
CONSANGUINITY: [Latin consanguineus] the relationship or connection of persons descended from a common ancestor; a blood relationship See also "Degrees of Consanguinity".
CONSCIENCE MARRIAGE: on the continent there was 'gewissensehe', or 'conscience marriage' where a couple for the world maintained they were married, but 'the world knew better' and children were regarded as bastards. And then there was the 'marriage with the left hand'. This was usually when a married ruler wanted to make their mistresses respectable but children lived in a vague condition. Their father usually gave them a title different, and lower, than their legitimate children. See also contract marriage.
CONSENT: papers file by a parent or guardian of a legally underage child providing permission to marry or some other legal action
CONSIDERATION: exchange of items of value to legalize a transaction
CONSORT: technically a companion, but in most cases, was used as synonymous with "wife" or "husband". Frequently seen on headstones, it denoted a spouse who died first. For some royal couples, if a woman was titled in her own right, such as a queen, and her husband had a less important title, then the husband was referred to as her "consort". The best example of this was Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria.
CONSTABLE: an English term for a policeman which was also used in the colonial America. A constable was originally also a master of the horse and a high officer of state under the later Roman emperors and among the Franks. In addition to his regular police duties he was obliged to collect any taxes levied by the General Assembly. All these duties made the job undesirable. Penalties of heavy fines were imposed upon persons who chose not to accept the post. Colonial records show, however, that many men paid fines rather than serve as constable. The lord high constable of England was judge of the court of chivalry with the earl marshal and had wide jurisdiction. The office of the High Constable, though carrying with it what may be called the Commander-in-chief of the army, was hereditary, being attached to certain manors. It was therefore held successively by the Bohuns, Earls of Hereford and Essex, with their heirs, the Staffords, and the Dukes of Buckingham. The office was forfeited by Edward Stafford, 3rd duke of Buckingham in 1521, and is only revived temporarily for coronations. The office of high constable in England was abolished in 1869, and the duties of petty or parish constables now mainly fall to the police, also known as constables.
CONSUL: [Latin] a Roman magistrate equivalent to a present-day prime minister or president. The office was held for only one year to discourage corruption, then rotated to another Roman nobles. Generally two were appointed by the Comitia Centuriata for each term. The consuls served as the chairmen of the Senate, commanded the armies, and were the ultimate judicial authority. Under the empire, the office was prestigious, but largely ceremonial, and during this period consuls were frequently appointed for shorter terms, to offer the title to a wider group. Based on the Lex Villia Annalis (181 BC) and Lex Cornelia Annalis (81 BC), a consul had to be at least 42 years of age entering the office.
CONSUMPTION: tuberculosis. Got its names because there is a "wasting away' of flesh on the body, hence the body seemed to be "consumed".
CONTRACT MARRIAGE: an agreement, usually reached by the parents of usually young prospective spouses, and that the real marriage would take place later. The real marriage, sometimes was simply that the couple went to live together and 'consummated' their marriage. See also conscience marriage and handfasting.
CONVERSO: [Spanish] a Muslim or Jewish individual forced to convert to Catholicism during their persecution in Spain after 1391
CONVEY: transfer property or title to property
CONVEYANCE: a written instrument that transfers title to property from one party to another, containing a consideration . See also mesne conveyance.
CO-PARCENARY: An estate held in common by joint heirs
COPYHOLD: "a Tenure for which the Tenant hath nothing to shew but the Copies of the Rolles made by the Steward of his Lord's Court" (Termes de la Ley). Copholders were originally villeins or slaves, permitted by the lord, as an act of grace or favour, to enjoy the lands at his (the lord's) pleasure; being, in general, bound to the performance of certain services. By the time of Edwad III, the will of the lord came to be conrolled by the custom of the manor. Originally, it was property held in exchange for service, although generally the service was commuted in favour of a small annual payment. The copyholder held a written title to his lands and a copy of his admission was kept on the manorial Court Rolls. Copyholders were denied the protection of the king's court--copyholders could only fall back on the lord's court, within the limits of common law. The freehold mineral and timber rights remained with the lord but he could not enjoy them if he disturbed the copyholder's occupation. Property of a copyholder dying intestate and without issue reverted to the lord of the manor.
CONVEYOR: grantor or seller
CORBEIL: a rock outcropping built into a castle wall
CORONER: one of the oldest judicial officers in England, dating back to the 12th century. The early function of the king's coroner, or "crowner", were much wider than at present, the chief being to collect and guard certain revenues of the king. He had to seek out criminals, extort confessions, and confiscate their goods for the crown. He seized treasure-trove in the king's name and took possession of wrecks, stranded whales, and royal sturgeons. He also tried "appeals" or accusations of felony, and investigated deaths from violence, the primary object being to find whether, as outlaw, felon or suicide, the deceased person had left property seizable by the coroner. -- Renia Simmons
CORONER'S INQUEST: a legal inquiry by a coroner to determine the cause of death
CORRODY: an allowance of lodging, food and clothing given to a lay person at a monastery
CORVÉ: see PRECARIUM
COTISE: [Heraldic] two small stripes, usually bordering a larger stripe such as a bend or a fesse
COTTAR, COTTAGER: a peasant of the lowest class, having a cottage, but little or no land
COUNT: [Latin comitas] a noble rank. Counts were appointed dignitaries who gradually became hereditary landholders. Counts never outranked Dukes. Dukes were Under-Kings and Magnates. The count was equivalent in rank of peerage to the English earl and the Scandinavian jarl.
COUNT PALATINE: Originally a Carolingian title signifying the highest judicial officer of the royal court. This official was appointed by the King rather than a hereditary magnate. In the course of a couple of centuries, most of them were appointed from very high-ranking families anyway, and either succeeded to the hereditary duchies or died out. In Scotland, the Earls of March were the Dunbar family, whose "March" stretched from near Edinburgh itself down to the actual English border. By 1200, the only one left was the Count Palatine (Pfalzgraf) of the Rhine, whose descendants, now the Dukes of and in Bavaria, survive to this day. "Palatine" refers to extraordinary powers granted to a noble. The English word "palatine" means a region under the authority of a noble where the king's writ was suspended. Thus the Earl or Count of Chester was in charge of the Welsh border, with powers of what we would nowadays call "Rapid Response" to respond to raids from across the Welsh border, "Hot Pursuit" which allowed the response to follow the raiders into their own territory, and "Summary Jurisdiction" to hang the culprits as soon as they were caught. While the noble owed allegience to the king (or Holy Roman Emperor), the holder of a palatine had absolute authority, including the right to grant titles of nobility, create knights, raise armies, coin money -- i.e., powers normally reserved to a sovereign. There were palatinates in British history, in both England and in Ireland, and could be given to either lords temporal or spiritual. There was even a case of a "bishop-palatine"; Louis Epstein reports "the English Lords Bishop of Durham used to rule a 'county palatine'". See also PALATINATE.
COURT: There were a variety of courts in medieval times:; (1) Admiralty Court -- begun in the 14th century, these courts had jurisdiction over naval and maritime issues, but also heard disputes involving foreign merchants in England; (2) Borough Court -- similar to the shire court, many boroughs had the own courts; (3) County (Shire) Court -- This court dated back to Anglo-Saxon times, and usually met twice a year at Easter and Michaelmas. The court was generally presided over by the county's earl, bishop or abbott. Later the county sheriff assumed this function. The court only heard non-criminal matters.; (4) Chancery Court -- the medieval court set up to hear cases against the king's officers, or for which no standard remedy or precedence existed. This court also heard appeals from decisions of the Ecclesiastical Court. The court was presided over by the King's chancellor, and tended to follow a very informal procedure.; (5) Chivalry Court -- the court set up to hear heraldric disputes; (6) Common Pleas Court -- the central British Court set up to hear disputes between individuals, and not involving the King; (7) Ecclesiastical (Church) Court -- the system of courts set up to enforce Canon (Church) Law. Deacons were trained to serve as judges, with advocates pleading cases, and proctors preparing the cases. Summoners served process serveers. The church had jurisdiction over family matters, sexual offenses, marriage, divorce, bastardy, and breach of faith. In case of conflict, the king's law prevailed.; (8) Exchequer Court -- the central British court hearing disputes centering around debts or revenue owed to the King; (9) Hundred Court -- dating from Anglo-Saxon times, this court hears minor offenses in a Hundred, and was presided over by the hundred's bailiff; (10) Hustings Court -- an infrequent court in boroughs to hear trade disputes; (11) King's Bench -- the central British court which hears disputes between individuals and the King. All criminal offenses are heard in this court.; (12) Manorial (Baron's) Court -- each manor had its own court to regulate agricultural affairs, labor disputes, and other petty offenses on the manor. The court was presided over by the lord's steward. The judgment of the manorial court was called dooms.; (13) Pie Poudre Court -- a court held at a fair to resolve disputes between merchants; (14) View of Frankpledge Court -- court held twice yearly at Easter and Michaelmas by the sheriff of a hundred to hear issues about tithing, bread/beer assizes, frankpledge, and other breaches of local custom; (15) Ward-Moots Court -- a court of a ward, usually presided over by an alderman, to settle minor offenses
COURT-LEET: see Manorial Court
COUSIN: in colonial usage it is most often meant nephew or niece. In the broadest sense, it could also mean any familial relationship, blood or otherwise (except mother, father, sister, brother), or the modern-day meaning of a child of one's aunt or uncle. Modern usage includes qualifiers such as first, second, third and once removed, twice removed, etc. First cousins are what most people commonly call their aunt's and uncle's children. Second cousins are children of the first cousins, and so forth. A (____) cousin once removed represents the relationship between cousins where they are separated by a single generation; twice removed by two generations. See simplified further explanation in cousins.html.
COUSINS GERMAN: equivalent to first cousins once removed
COVERTURE: the inclusion of a woman in the legal person of her husband upon marriage under common law. Typically, upon marriage, all of a woman's property became the property of the husband; however, a marriage settlement could pre-determine future ownership of a woman's property and allowing her to keep and control her personal property and wealth in her own right after becoming married. Frequently, the property was put in the hands of trustees to ensure that the property was disposed in accordance with the terms of the settlement.
COW-COMMON: a community pasture; land common to all for grazing animals
CRACH: [Welsh scabs]
CRANNOCK: a measure equal to a Bristol barrel
CRANNOG: [Irish] a dwelling on an island
CRAS: [Welsh harsh-voiced]
CRENELLATE: To furnish a dwelling with crenelles or indentations for the garrison to fire through
CREOLE: 1. a person of European descent (French or Spanish) born in Louisiana.
2. A black born in the western hemisphere, rather than Africa.
CREST: [Heraldry] a specific part of a full achievement of arms being the three-dimensional object placed on top of the helm.
CROFT: a small piece of arable land, usually an enclosed area adjacent to a house
CROSSROADS MARRIAGE: one in which the marriage was held at a crossroads after the sun had set with the bride wearing only her shift. This was done to show she had no debts to bring to the marriage.
CRUSILLY: [Heraldric] a series of small crosses
CRYG: [Welsh hoarse, stammering]
CRYING SALE: an early Colonial American name for an auction, since the seller of the goods cried out
CUBIT: a unit of length equal to approximately 18 inches
CUI: [Latin of whom, of whose, of whatever person, of what place/country]
CUL: [Welsh narrow, thin]
CULDEE: [Scottish] a hermit
CUM ONERE: [Latin] subject to a lien or obligation of which the buyer is aware of
CUM TESTAMENT ANNEXO: [Latin, with the will annexed] an administration of an estate where the will was made where either the executor was not named, did not qualify, or refused to serve.
CUPA: a large vat or pipe
CURIA: [Latin] the royal council and court
CUROPALATES: a Byzantine title introduced in the 6th century by Justinian, ranking just below cæsar and nobilissimus, used to honor a member of the imperial family
CURRENT MONEY: "Current Money" found in Colonial Virginia records is reference to a deferential between Virginia Sterling and the amount of English Sterling it would buy on the London Exchange.
CURTESY: the life tenure which by common law is held by a man over the property of his deceased wife if children with rights of inheritance were born during the marriage
CURULE ÆDILE: [Roman] an ædile who was a patrician. Half of the ædiles appointed were patricians; half were plebians
CUVELLA: a bucket or tub
CYMRAEG: [Welsh] the name of the Welsh language
CYMRU: [Welsh] the Welsh name for Wales
CYNE: kin
CYNING: [Anglo-Saxon of the kin] king

D


DAME: 1. A female ruler or head = lady, as feminine of lord.
2. [arch.] The mistress of a household.
3. The mistress of a children's school. Obs. 1640
4. At Eton: A matron (also a man) who keeps a boarding house. 1737
5. A form of address: = My lady, Madam: now left to women of lower rank, ME
6. A title given to a woman of rank = Lady, Mistress, Miss; spec. the legal title of the wife of a knight or baronet. Also, fig. as in Dame Nature, etc. ME; 7. A woman of rank, a lady. Now hist or poet. 1530 b. spec. The wife of a knight, squire, citizen, yeoman (arch or dial) 1574 {O}
DAMSELLE: young lady
DANCETTY: [Heraldric] a zig-zagged bend
DANEGELD: An English tax, first levied in 991 by Ethelred the Unready in order to buy off the Danish invaders of his kingdom. The tax continued to be imposed long after the Danish invasions had come to an end. Under Edward the Confessor it was temporarily abolished, to be revived by William the Conqueror in 1084 and thenceforward regularly levied on all lands except the royal manors. The usual rate was six shillings on every hide (120 acres) of land. The Danegeld was levied for the last time in 1162. -- E. R. Adair: Danegeld, in: Collier's Encyclopedia; New York, London 1989; vol. 7, p. 701.
DANELAW: The Danelaw was the area of medieval England subject to Danish rather than Mercian or West Saxon law. Broadly speaking, the Danelaw was the area conquered by the Vikings in the ninth century. A treaty between King Alfred the Great and the Danish leader, Guthrum, defined a boundary which is roughly the line of the modern A5 between London and Chester, with King Alfred's territories to the south and west, and Guthrum's to the north and east. This boundary, however, was not stable, and some areas were only briefly under Viking control and show modest signs of their culture. The Danelaw was a cultural, not a political unit; and its culture was far from uniform. -- Spencer Hines, GEN-MEDIEVAL, 28 Nov 2004
DANIQ: a coin or weight 1/6 of a dirham or dinar
DAUB: mud and clay applied over wattle to seal and strengthen it
DEATH CERTIFICATE: Documentation of one's death
DE: [Latin, from] Surnames with "de", for example "de Beauchamp", meant that the family was "of the place called Beauchamp". The Beauchamp concerned in this family, was in Normandy, though there are many places in England today, named after the family, not the other way round. The name itself was not a surname, but an identifier name, but it later developed into a surname. -- Renia Simmons (edited)
DEACON: a church official of rank below priest. Deacons assist the parish in non-worship responsibilities, including care of the sick and poor, administration of church property, and enforcement of Canon law. A Deacon generally served as the judge during ecclesiastical court hearings.
DE BONIS NON: [Latin, of the goods not administered] the distribution of property not completed by the first administrator.
DECEDENT: the deceased
DECEM: [Latin] ten
DECENNARIES: groups of ten individuals. See also frankpledge.
DECLARATION OF INTENTION: document filed by an alien in a court of record declaring his intention to apply for citizenship after fulfillment of the residency requirement. It might also be used to refer to an intent to marry, usually filed with the town clerk.
DECOLLATION: beheading
DDU: [Welsh black]. Also as 'Dhu' and 'Dee'.
DEED: a document signed, sealed and delivered according to law and conveying title to real estate. See also POLLED DEED, WARRANTY DEED.
DEED OF LEASE & RELEASE: a method of selling property. This was the most popular way of conveying land in medieval England, to get around certain requirements imposed on other methods. In Virginia, those requirements did not apply, but old habits die hard. Land in England was originally conveyed by livery of seizin, in which the owner and the purchaser went on or in sight of the land, and the owner gave the purchaser some dirt, or a twig, nail, etc. from the property, in front of witnesses. Originally these transactions were not written down, and there was certainly no place to record them. The witnesses were the proof of the transaction. If the transaction did not take place on the land, the purchaser had to enter the land within a certain amount of time to claim possession ("seizin"). There were many financial requirements associated with land ownership, and many restrictions on its conveyance. A freehold estate was an estate in fee simple or fee tail. In other words, full ownership. An estate for years, for example, was not a freehold estate. To get around some of the problems relating the the ownership of land with a freehold estate, people came up with "uses" in about the 14th century. Before that, A sold to B, and thenceforth B was "seized" with (or had seisin in) the property. He owned it and had possession of it, with all rights to and enjoyment of the property. But with uses, which worked somewhat like trusts, A conveyed to B for the use of C. In this scenario, B had legal title but not the use of the property, while C had equitable title and the use of the land, but not the legal title. This meant that neither B nor C had to pay many of the expenses associated with having seizin in the property. And who lost this money? The Crown. So in addition to other problems that arose with uses, the crown was losing income. Henry VIII caused Parliament to pass the Statute of Uses in 1536, destroying uses (for a while; clever people soon found other avenues, fear not). The statute said that a use was automatically transformed to full legal title, so that if A conveyed to B for the use of C, then by statute B's legal title was destroyed and transmitted to C, who now had legal and equitable title. Before this, people had also been turning to conveyancing by Bargain and Sale. In simple terms, this was a bargain with a PROMISE to sell, and the transaction would be complete when the terms of the bargain were met. You could have an agreement on one date, with actual transfer of payment and property at a later date. In the meantime, the owner had legal title, and the buyer had equitable title. Under the provisions of the Statute of Uses, once the conditions of the bargain were met (in other words, once payment was made) then by statute full title was conveyed to the purchaser, without livery of seizin before witnesses. This would lend itself to secret conveyances. To prevent this, Parliament also passed in 1536 the Statute of Enrollment, which stated that all deeds of Bargain and Sale which involved inheritance or conveyance of freeholds had to be enrolled, or they were ineffective. Agreements regarding non-freehold estates, such as for a term of years, did not have to be enrolled. Many times people did not want to convey by common law (livery of seizin), and did not want to take the trouble to enroll their deeds of Bargain and Sale. So another type of conveyance evolved. Again, this is oversimplified. If A gives B something less than a freehold estate (like a lease for a term of years), then when the term is up, possession will revert to the owner reversion). The lessor (A) could give the reversion to the lessee (B), in an instrument called a release, which means that when B's lease is up, he gets the reversion and is still in possession and owns the property. The important thing about a release was that it could only be given by the person out of possession TO THE PERSON IN POSSESSION, and was an instrument in writing, under seal. Usually when people were making these agreements, they were somewhere other than on the property, and they did not enter the property, which is what was necessary to transfer possession under the common law. So here is how it all tied together after the 1536 Statute of Uses and Statute of Enrolment. The parties signed a Bargain and Sale for a term of years (like a lease for one year), followed by the common law release of the reversion. These are your deeds of lease and release. The lease set up an agreement, in a bargain and sale, for a non-freehold estate. Under the Statute of Uses, B no longer had to actually enter the property to obtain possession (the Statute of Uses would "transfer use into possession"). Now the buyer/lessee was in possession and could receive the reversion from the seller, in the Release, in order to make him the owner of an inheritable estate. He was then the owner, in fee simple, of the propery. -- Thena Jones
DEGREES OF CONSANGUINITY: In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church contintually contended with aristocratic marriage practices that tended toward endogamy. Roman civil law [which was the code adopted by the early Church] had forbidden marriages within 'four degrees' and had computed degrees by counting from one prospective spouse up to the common ancestor and then down to the other partner. Marriages of first cousins, those between pepople related within four degrees, were therefore forbidden. But in the first half of the ninth century, both the number of forbidden degrees was increased--from four to seven--and the method of calculating degrees was changed. Now, rather than counting up from one spouse to the common ancestor and down to the other, one computed degrees by counting generations back only to the common ancestor. A Christian was supposed to marry outside seven degrees. This could be very difficult because these degrees included not only children, siblings, and cousins, but also in-laws. Besides the natural consanguinity (cognatio naturalis), marriage was also prohibited because of the spiritual one (cognatio spiritualis), ie. that between the baptised and his/her godparents, and because of legal one, ie. that between the adoptee and descendants of the adopters. Relationship via marriage (affinitas) was treated in the same way as consanguinitas and dispensation was never granted in the direct line, eg. father-in-law and daughter-in-law. The barrier of 4th degree set in 1215 remained in force until 1917 when it was changed to 3rd. However, dispensations where seldom refused for 3rd and 4th degree, and it was also possible to obtain it for 2nd degree, eg. uncle and his niece.
DE JURE: [Latin by law]
DEMESNE: land possessed by a lord and used by himself (or his direct employees) instead of rented out to tenants. Also known as "in-land".
DEMIMONDE: a polite 19th Century term for "mistress". it referred to a class of women on the edge of respectable society who were supported by their wealthy lovers
DEMOGRAPHY: the study of the characteristics of human populations, as size, growth, density, distribution and vital statistics.
DENARIUS: a silver penny, abbreviated by the English "d", first issued by the Romans during the Punic Wars, replacing the drachma. Originally a denarius was worth 10 asses.
DENIZEN: a foreigner permitted certain rights of citizenship. In England, they could purchase and own land, but it could not be inherited without a grant from the crown. A denizen also could hold no public or civil office, or be in the military. This policy was carried over into colonial America.
DENIZATION: Denization is/was akin to modern naturalization. An individual born outside England could not claim certain rights under the Common Law unless denizened: a foreign-born woman married to an English-born subject, for example, could not automatically claim the right to dower from her husband's properties unless denizened. Property tenure could also be difficult for a male because, if born outside England, he would have found it extremely difficult to prove his age according to the requirements of English law--meaning that witnesses from his local community had to be produced and sworn to give evidence that he had been born at a certain date. --John Carmi Parsons
DEVSHIRME: [Turkish] a levy of Christian boys, who were recruited and trained to be in the Janissaries, the imperial guard
DEPOSITION: a written testimony by a witness for use in court in his or her absence.
DERBFINE: [Celtic] a family group descended from a common great-grandfather. Land was owned collectively
DESCENDANT: an immediate or remote offspring. See also, direct descendent, lineal descendent, collateral descendent, collateral ancestor
DESCENDANT CHART: report or chart that shows a person and all of their descendants in a graphical format. As opposed to the Modified Register which is more of a narrative report.
DESPOT: a middle eastern ruler
DEVISE: to transmit property by will
DHIRA: 1/24 of a cubit
DEVISEE: one to whom a devise is made
DEW: [Welsh, fat]
DEXTER: [Heraldry] Left as seen from the shield's front, but right as seen by the wearer
DIAERESIS: In linguistics, a diaeresis or dieresis (AE) (from Greek διαιρειν (diaerein), to divide) is the modification of a syllable by distinctly pronouncing one of its vowels. The diacritic mark is composed of two small dots ( ¨ ) placed over a vowel to indicate this modification is also called a diaeresis. In the case of an "i", it replaces the original dot.
DIE: [Latin, day]
DINAR: [Latin, denarius] the unit of currency under the Caliphate until the 12th Century
DIOCESE: In medieval and current times, a unit of Christian church government consisting of a number of parishes, and headed by a bishop. Formerly, in Roman times, it was a unit of civil government equivalent to a province, within one of the four prefectures, governed by a Prætorian Præfect. Each of the Roman dioceses governors held the title of vicar.
DIRECT HEIR: one who is in an individual's direct line of ascent or descent
DIRECT DESCENDENT: We use the adjective "direct" when we need, because of context, to emphasize that the descent is NOT collateral, otherwise, we use "descendant" unmodified to mean lineal descendant. -- John Stewart Gordon, GEN-MEDIEVAL, 19 Mar 2005 This is synonymous with lineal descendent.
DIRHAM: [Greek, drachma] the unit of currency in the Islamic world from the Mongol conquest
DISSEIZIN: forcible dispossession of real property
DISTRAIN: [Legal] to seize goods esp. for debt, including non-payment of rent/rates
DISTRIBUTEE: one entitled to a share in the estate of a person who died intestate (without a will). In 1705 colonial Virginia, division of property amoung children: real property: eldest received all (common law not statute); personal property - equal shares among children. The widow received a share if there were children: real property - 1/3 for life (common law); personal 1/3. If there were no children, the widow received: real property - 1/3 for life (common law); personal - 1/2. In 1705 Virginia passed a statute making it impossible to break an entail without obtaining a special act of the assembly.
DIT NAME: an alias given to a family name. Compared to other alias or a.k.a. that are given to one specific person, the dit names are be given to many persons. It seems the usage exists almost only in France, New France and in Scotland where we find clans or septs.
DIURESIS: The double-dot over a letter, replacing a double letter combination called an umlaut, German way of writing the word; the ue, oe or ae letter combinations are a way of representing the umlaut in non-Germanic alphabets which lack the umlauts.
DOGE: [Latin dux - duke] medieval ruler of Venice. The position was elected by the Venetian nobility, although it stayed within a few families.
DOLIUM: a cask of 208 gallons
DOM: [Latin dominus - lord]
(1) a Portuguese lord, a very restricted title reserved for relatives of the royal house and the highest rank nobility. Dom is the only Portuguese title which is inherited by all legitimate children of a male titular. The female form is Dona.
(2) a Scottish lord, lords in the territorial sense, or else priests. Usually in charters the Doms were first then the knights, then the others, unless there were clerics with precedence, who went before all. Clerics without precedence, often the lawyer for the deed, went last, but were still Doms. If the Latin word "domini/dominus" PRECEDES a man's name in a medieval English or Scottish record, the word should be rendered in English as "Sir" not "lord." -- Alex Findlater, GEN-MEDIEVAL, 6 Oct 2006
DOMESDAY BOOK: the Grand or Great Inquest of Survey of lands in England, by William the Conqueror. It gave a census-like description of the realm, with the names of the proprietors and the nature, extent, value, liabilities, etc. of their properties.
DOMHERR: a canon or prebendary (literally "cathedral gentleman") -- Peter Stewart
DOMINA: [Latin, lady] the mistress of the family; lady; wife
DOMINE: [Latin, lord] lord or master; used as a form of address when speaking to clergy or educated professionals
DOMINUS: [Latin, lord]
DOMINICANS: an order of friars founded by St. Dominic. The order emphasized learning and intellectual activity, and thus founded many universities. Also known as black friars for the color of their habit
DOMO: [Latin] to master, subdue; home, residence, family
DON: [Latin dominus - lord] A Spanish lord, a Don/Doña is a social distinction suitable for all nobility but also to army officers, bachelors, rich merchants, etc.
DONA: [Latin dominus - lord] a Portuguese lady, a very restricted title reserved for relatives of the royal house and the highest rank nobility. Dona (without tilde) is the only Portuguese title which is inherited by all legitimate children of a male titular. The male form is Dom.
DOÑA: [Latin dominus - lord] A Spanish lady, a Don/Doña is a social distinction suitable for all nobility but also to army officers, bachelors, rich merchants, etc.
DONZEL: [archaic] young lord, the male equivalent of damselle
DOOMS: judgments of a manorial court
DOUBLE COUSIN: cousins by virtue that both sets of grandparents are cousins
DOXY: an unmarried mistress of a beggar or rogue.
DOWAGER: a widow who holds title or property derived from her dead husband
DOWER: the part of interest of a deceased man's real estate allotted by law to his widow. If unspecified, typically the widow was entitled at least to a third of the estate, and perhaps even a life interest in the rest of the estate. Since the wife received this entitlement under common law, she was required to approve any sale of property purchased during the marriage under her right of dower, although this was frequently overlooked during colonial times. Do not confuse this with DOWRY (q.v.).
DOWRY: a pre-mortem inheritance, either full or partial, given to a daughter at the time of marriage, and is a direct expression of a family's honor, where practiced. Do not confuse this with DOWER (q.v.)
DRACHMA: the principle coin of ancient Greece
DRAPER: one who bought and sold cloth of all kinds, and may even have participated in the dyeing of the clothe.
DRAW: [Old English taken] as part of an execution, to be dragged to the hanging behind horsetail, a very low form of corporeal punishment. Chief Justice Edward Coke described it as: "To be drawn to the place of execution from his prison, as being not worthy any more to tread upon the face of earth whereof he was made. Also, for that he hath been retrograde to nature, therefore is he drawn backward at a horse-tail. And whereas God hath made the head of man the highest and most supreme part, as being his chief grace and ornament, he must be drawn with his head declining downward and lying so near the ground as may be, being thought unfit to take benefit of the common air. " -- Catherine Drinker Bowen, The Lion and the Throne, The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke. (1552-1634) (Boston, 1956), 258-259.
DRAWN AND QUARTERED: The capital punishment until 1870 in Britain was to be drawn, or dragged, on a hurdle at horsetail to his place of execution and hanged on a gibbet, but not till dead. He was then suspended on a hook, disemboweled while still alive, beheaded and quartered. Until 1790 when they too were hanged, women were burnt after being drawn. Again, as described by Chief Justice Edward Coke: "For which cause also he shall be strangled, being hanged up by the neck between heaven and earth as deemed unworthy of both or either; as likewise, that the eyes of men may behold and their hearts contemn him. Then he to be cut down alive, and have his privy parts cut off and burnt before his face as being unworthily begotten and unfit to leave any generation after him. His bowels and inlay'd parts taken out and burnt, who inwardly had conceived and harbored such horrible treason. After, to have his head cut off, which had imagined the mischief. And lastly, his body to be quartered and the quarters set up in some high and eminent place, to the view and detestation of men, and to become a prey for the fowls of the air." -- Catherine Drinker Bowen, The Lion And The Throne, The Life And Times Of Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) (Boston, 1956), 258-259.
DRENG: a peasant tenant of Northumberland, York, or Lancaster, England, whose land is held for military service
DRINCLEAN: payment due to a lord from his tenant for ale
DROPSY: congestive heart failure
DROVER: one who drives sheep, cattle or horses on foot to market
DRUMMER: a commercial traveler or salesman who sometimes used a drum to attract attention to his wares.
DRYHTEN: [Anglo-Saxon] warlord
DSP: [Latin dessus sine prole] died without offspring
DUCHY: the territory ruled by a duke (see below, and also DUKEDOM). In England, there currently are only two duchies -- Lancaster and Cornwall.
DUGU: [Anglo-Saxon] a proven warrior
DUKE: [Latin dux, duxoris] a title dating to Roman times, where for the Latins and the Byzantines, a duke was the principal military administrator of a provincial area. There were 12 dukes in the West and 13 in the East. Later, the only dukes in the Empire before the 12th century were the "Stamme" dukes, the tribal leaders who were Christian stand-ins for pre-Christian or pre-Imperial Kings. There were very few of them: Bavaria, Saxony, Carinthia (occasionally), Franconia, Swabia, and Upper and Lower Lotharingia. All these places except Carinthia were understood to have been kingdoms at one time; their deity-descended royal families had died out (or been conquered and replaced), and so the ruler was called duke, which in both Latin and Germanic forms signifies "war-leader". New dukedoms could not be created by the Emperor, though rival claimants could be appointed -- thus the Zharingens were appointed Dukes of Swabia and, on losing their claim, began to call themselves Dukes of Zahringen instead, though this was never a created title. In time, it was more or less recognized until the line died out. (Their cousins of Baden never claimed a higher title than Margrave until Napoleon made them Grand Dukes.) This was also true in France, where Burgundy, Brittany (intermittently), Gascony-Guienne and Aquitaine were the only ducal titles, because they were former kingdoms. Normandy only very slowly became a dukedom, as its Counts asserted greater and greater independent authority over a Norman "tribe" in the region. Before William II (the Conqueror), no Count of Rouen was invariably called a duke. Insecure, perhaps, due to the experiences of his youth, William insisted on Duke until he became a King. No French King "created" a Dukedom until John II did so for his younger sons and a cousin. No non-royal Dukedom was created until Francois I did so for his mistress, the Duchess d'Etampes. (Unless you count Cesare Borgia, Duc de Valentinois.) Edward III of England followed John's fashion and created the first English Dukes, but only for three of his sons. His grandson Richard II was generally ridiculed for expanding the number. The Scots imitated the English. The various Spanish Kings also imitated France, at the same time. No Emperor in Germany ever created a dukedom until Frederick I's "Privilegium Minus" granted the title to his uncle, Henry Jasomirgott of Austria. Henry had been Duke of Bavaria and had given that up at Frederick's behest, to make peace with its old heirs, the Welfs. He did not care to give up the title duke once he had held it for mere Margrave of Austria and Count of Babenberg, so Frederick had him promoted. His cousins of Styria followed suit. The next dukedoms were Brunswick and Luneburg, promoted from mere Counties by Frederick II to make peace with the Guelfs, who had been deprived of Saxony and Bavaria by Frederick I. dukes were under-kings and magnates. Dukes always outranked counts when ranks were in existence, but there were always certain Counts (the great ones were Counts of a March, or Margraves) who outranked certain dukes until the rankings were standardized. -- Jean Coeur de Lapin (edited)
DUKEDOM: the honor of a Duke, conferring privilege, rank and prestige, but necessarily signifying a territory, as does a Duchy (q.v.).
DUN: [Scottish] hill fort
DUO: [Latin] two
DUTY: imposed taxes on an item when passed through a port of entry
DUX: [Latin] duke, originally in late Roman and medieval times, a war leader or general. See DUKE.
DYKKER: bundle

E

EADEM

[Latin] same

EALDORMAN

[Anglo-Saxon] an individual in charge of large regions, equivalent to (although not exactly co-terminal with) the old Anglo-Saxon kingdoms - not just the counties that Earls came to control. For example, in 1066 under Edward, you could draw a line from Portsmouth to Edinburgh, and only pass through the lands of three ealdormen, Harold (Wessex), Edwin (Mercia), and Morcar (Northumbria). At this period, they are sometimes called Earls and Earldoms, due to the replacement of the English word "ealdorman" by the Scandinavian "jarl", but these Earldoms are not the same as the Anglo-Norman ones, which are more comparable to the shires of Anglo-Saxon times.

EAM

[Latin] she

EARL

[fr. Anglo-Saxon eorl] The earl, as a royal officer, superseded the Anglo-Saxon ealdorman and was sometimes set over several counties, in the courts of each of which he presided with the bishop of the diocese. The English earl was in general entitled to the "third penny", a third of the profits of justice in the shire court. In the two great count palatine earldoms of Chester and Durham, the earl possessed regalia, special royal privileges. The earl is similar and probably derivative from the Scandinavian jarl and is equivalent in rank of peerage to the continental count.

EARL MARSHAL

The Earl Marshal of England was (or is) the eighth officer of state; the title is hereditary, being held by the Duke of Norfolk (since 1672). The Earl Marshal has jurisdiction in the court of chivalry during a vacancy in the office of High Constable. Until 1386, the title was marshal. With the lord high constable he was judge of the court of chivalry.

EARMARKS

earmarks used in identification of livestock. Many times, earmarks stayed within a family. It was possible to identify family relationships, as earmarks could be passed father to son

ECCLESCIA

[Latin] church

ECUYER

[French] somewhat like that of an English country squire, except in the case of an "ecuyer" of a royal house where it is considered a title IIRC, is either fifth or seventh in order of precedence in a royal household.

EDOR

homestead

EG

[Scot.] in medieval times, the compensation due for killing a man

EGO

[Latin] I

EIRE

[Irish] the Irish name for Ireland

EJUS

[Latin] he

EJUSDEM

[Latin] of the same

ELECTORS

a German Imperial (German Kurfrsten) group of ecclesiastical and secular German princes invested with the power of electing the king of Germany, who in turn would usually be crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the pope. Originally, all the princes of the empire voted in the election of the German king. In 1263, however, Pope Urban IV issued two bulls recognizing the authority of seven German potentates to choose the king. Nevertheless, the authority and membership of this electorate were not definitely settled until 1356, when the Golden Bull was issued by Emperor Charles IV. The bull named to the electorate the archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, and Trier and four lay members, the margrave of Brandenburg, the duke of Saxony, the count palatine of the Rhine, and the king of Bohemia. From that time the composition of the electorate remained unchanged until 1623, when the vote of the count palatine was transferred to the duke of Bavaria. In 1648 an eighth electoral vote was added so that the count palatine could vote again, and in 1692 a ninth vote was created for the electorate of Hannover. The number of electors reverted to eight in 1778 after extinction of the Bavarian ducal line. Beginning in the 15th century, the electors normally awarded the kingship to the head of the house of Habsburg; the practice of papal coronation disappeared after 1530. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German Imperial Electorate was simultaneously dissolved.

EMBATTLED

[Heraldric] crenulated

EMBOLISMIC DAY

a day or month inserted into the calendar to better align it with the cycles of the moon. An example if the leap day on the western calendar.

EMIR

see AMIR

ENCHAINMENT

the phenomena whereby the consonant sound at the end of a word is transferred to the word that follows it

ENDOGAMY

a familial system where marriages between close relatives are allowed. This was common in ancient Egypt (the pharaoh usually married his sister) and the Middle East, as opposed to the currently accepted exogamy

ENFEOFF

1. To invest with a fee or fief.
2. To hand over as a fief.

ENFEOFMENT

a surrender or relinquishing, especially land

ENGRAILED

[Heraldric] indented with small curves

ENTAIL

To entail is to restrict the inheritance of real property to a specific group of heirs, such as an individual's sons, different than normal inheritance dictates. By the statue English De Domis Conditionalibus, (1285), an estate so limited devolved, on the death of the donee, on his issue; and, on the failure of issue, reverted to the donor and his heirs.

ENUMERATION

process by which persons are counted for purposes of a census

ENUMERATOR

census taker

EODEM

[Latin] to the same place/person/day

EORL

see EARL

EORLCUNDMAN

[Anglo-Saxon] a man of noble birth

EPIMELETÊS

a Roman and Byzantine official title for a manager or curator of financial or sacred matters of the market, harbor or weights & measures. The title also could be an honorary one.

EPISCOPUS

[Latin] bishop

EPITROPOS

a Roman and Byzantine title indicating one in charge; trustee; administrator; governor; viceroy

EPONYM

a family, group or dynastic name or identification create from the name of an ancestor.

EQUERRY

a person attached to the royal stables who attends the sovereign on state occasions

ERMINE/ERMINES/ERMINOIS

[Heraldic] one of the seven colors allowed -- represented by an argent field, tufted with black. Ermines is the reverse of ermine, being black, spotted or timbered with argent. Erminois is the same as ermine, except that or is substituted for argent.

ERSE

[Irish] the Irish name for the Irish language

ESCALLOP

[Heraldic] shell

ESCHEAT

a reversion of property to the state in consequence of a want of any individual competent to inherit. Escheat at feudal law was the right of the lord of a fee to re-enter upon the same when it became vacant by the extinction of the blood of the tenant. This extinction might either be per defectum sanguinis or else per delictum tenetis, where the course of descent was broken by the corruption of the blood of the tenant. As a fee might be held either of the crown or from some inferior lord, the escheat was not always to the crown. The word "escheat" in the U.S. merely indicates the preferable right of the state to an estate left vacant, and without there being any one in existence able to make claim thereto. {B}

ESCHEATOR

an officer or assistant of the office of Escheator General (or his assistant) - the officer who presided over the hearing held to determine whether land escheated (because the owner died without heirs)

ESCUTCHEON

armorial bearings displayed on a shield

ESQUIRE

A member of the English gentry who ranks just below a knight.
It also refers to a candidate for knighthood who serves as an attendant to a knight, and carries his arms, as opposed to an armiger, who is entitled to wear his own arms.
Someone who holds an office from the crown such as a Justice of the Peace, a sheriff, or a judge.
An attorney who has graduated from law school and passed the bar.(modern use)
landed proprietor, or landed gentry. Often shortened to "Squire"
An obscure usage: When a son is named after his father, he is called I, II, III, etc. (ie: William M. Radford, VI). When the first born mail heir of that lineage is given a different name, he is given the title "esquire".

ESSOIN

allegation of an excuse for non-attendance at court at the appointed time

EST

[Latin] is

ESTATE

the whole of one's possessions; especially all the property left by a deceased person, although the term may be used for a living person as well

ESTATE FOR LIFE

See LIFE ESTATE

ESTATE OF FRANKMARRIAGE

an estate of inheritance given to a man and his wife, the wife being of the blood of the donor, and descendible to the heirs of their two bodies. {W} One of the pecularities of this mechanism is that when a father gives a daughter land in marriage and her issue fails within a few generations or she has no issue, the land reverts to him or his heir. If the land is given in frankmarriage, no homage is done until the daughter's third heir has entered, for were homage once done, there would be a danger that the land would never come back to the father or his heir. See also TENURE EN PARAGE.

ESTOILE

[Heraldric] small star

ET

[Latin] and

ETIAM

[Latin] also, besides, again

ET AL

[Latin] and others

ET UX, ET UXOR

[Latin] and wife

ETHNARCH

ruler of a people, rather than a territory. Term was applied by the Romans to Archeleus III of Judæa, for his inheritance from his father Herod the great

EUROPAISCHE STAMMTAFELEN (ES)

a multivolume and multiseries of European medieval genealogy, considered the best secondary source in that area

EVANGELISCHE

[German] in Germany it is synonymous with Lutheran, whereas in Switzerland it meant Reformed Protestant Church, or followers of Calvin and Zwengli

EWAGE

obligation of military service to a lord

EX

[Latin] from

EX-ADELPHOS

[Greek] cousin

EXCHEQUER

the British agency that controlled the King's finances and revenue. The Exchequer had its own Exchequer Court.

EXCOMMUNICATION

exclusion from membership and communion in the church

EXECUTOR

the person named in a will and appointed by the court to carry out the provisions of the will

EXECUTRIX

a female EXECUTOR

EXTENTS

the formal recitation of the composition and value of an estate, including services, rents, property, etc.

EXARCH

in the hierarchy of the eastern orthodox church, this priest ranked over the metropolitans, whose jurisdiction corresponded with the dioceses

EXILARCH

ancient Jewish leader of those exiled from Judea to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 598 BC, with a dynastic line that continued until 1401 when the last leader was deposed by Tamerlane.

EXOGAMY

a familial system where marriage is made outside the family, i.e., no marriage between brother/sisters, uncle/nieces or close cousins are allowed, a opposed to endogamy.

EXTANT

in existence

EVE

the day before, especially before a festival. It is not short for "evening".

EYRE

[Latin, iter] right of the king to visit and inspect the property of any vassal

F

FACH: [Welsh] junior, as in younger son or other relative
FÆHTH: feud
FAIDA: blood money
FAILURE OF ISSUE: 1. In a will or deed, this indicates that in the event of there being no children born to or surviving the deceased person, the property will go to a third party
2. In common law, the condition continues with the children of the first taker.
FALAISE ROLL: Names applied to the Falaise Roll were compiled from Vital, Wace, the Bayeux Tapestry and the Researches of La Rue 24 and others. These 400 names are shown as they were written in the time of William the Conqueror. It supposed is a list (partial) of his companions at the Conquest.
FAMILY GROUP SHEET: a more-or-less standard form for recording genealogical information on one husband and wife with the children born to them
FAMILY HISTORY CENTER: a local or regional LDS library that can order a lot of genealogical records on loan from Salt Lake City
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY: the huge library of genealogical information maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, open to the public. It holds over 2 million rolls of microfilmed records, 400,000 microfiche, and 300,000 books. It also houses an extensive collection of written manuscripts including family histories, local histories, indexes, periodicals, and aids to help in genealogical research
FAMILY SEARCH: CD-ROM available at Family History Center produced by the Mormon church. Contains the International Genealogical Index, Ancestral File, SSDI, TempleReady
FAMULARY: of or belonging to servants
FANTACH: [Welsh toothless] Also as mantach.
FAQIH: [Arabic] doctor of law
FARSAKH: a distance measure used in the Caliphate, equivalent to three miles
FAWR: [Welsh big, great] Also as mawr.
FEALTY: [Medieval] loyalty or fidelity owed to a feudal lord by his tenant. Originating in the Carolingian capitularies, it is essentially an oath promising service and fidelity (loyalty) to one's lord or king.
FEAXFANG: seized by the hair
FEDERAL MORTALITY INDEX: see Mortality Schedule
FEE SIMPLE: unqualified ownership and power of disposition of a piece of real property. An estate in fee simple is one which the owner can fully be conveyed to heirs, by deed or by will. Under English common law, an estate in fee simple is absolute and unqualified inheritance.
FEET OF FINES: during the English period, the third bottom part of the final concord of the fines document, which was filed with the Royal Treasury. It served to validate the concord from forgeries and fraud, which were rampant during this period.
FELDE: field
FELONY: originally, a violation of the feudal contract; later, a violation against the King's peace comprising any serious crime
FELYN: [Welsh yellow, fair-haired] See also mellyn.
FEMME COVERT: [French] a underage woman who married without permission. She was prohibited from possessing or selling property to which she was heir. This provision was intended to keep family property from falling into the hands of unscrupulous men
FEOFF: see FIEF
FEOFEE: a person who receives the fief. Today this would be synonymous with "trustee". Feoffees were often related to the party for whom they held property. As such, a list of feoffees is often helpful in ferreting out relationships which might be difficult to prove otherwise. The same person who served as feoffee of property might also serve as a witness for a marriage settlement or as supervisor of a will. That is usually a sign that the parties were related in some way. -- Douglas Richardson (edited) The terms have fallen out of use, though once described the only means by which a transfer of land or other inheritable property might be accomplished. -- Paul Drake
FEOFFMENT: the gift or assignment of any corporeal hereditament to another, operating by transmutation of possession, and requiring, as essential to its completion, that the seisin be passed, which might be accomplished either by investiture or by livery of seisin. A gift of a freehold interest in land accompanied by livery of seisin. The essential part is the livery of seisin. Also the deed or conveyance by which such corporeal hereditament is passed. {B}
FEOFFMENT TO USES: an early form of tax avoidance, and an important one, as it led to the creation of trusts, the abolition of feudal dues and to the devisability of land. As such, it might bear explanation. The term sometimes causes confusion because of the word "use", which does not mean "use" as is generally understood, but is the legal term for "benefit". With a feoffment-to-use, an estate was conveyed to a feoffee to hold to the use, i.e., for the benefit, of the feoffor or of a third party. At common law, which only recognised the holding of land, the the gift of any corporeal hereditament to another, operating by transmutation of possession, and requiring, as essential to its completion, that the seisin of the land was in the feoffee-to-uses. In the Court of Chancery, however, the feoffee was merely the nominal holder, the benefits having been agreed by the parties to belong to the feoffor or the third party (i.e., the beneficial owner, the "cestui que use" -- French, not Latin, for "he who benefits"). Under common law, of course, land was not devisable (disposable by will) but the "use", the beneficial ownership, was. This loophole in the law allowed the landholder to make conveyances to uses in secrecy by not going through the usual process of the public livery of seisin. The scheme, in effect, attempted to avoid escheat, to subvert the payment of feudal incidents (relief, wardship and mortmain) and to enable devises of land by will. The Statute of Uses, 1535, in an attempt to retain feudal dues, blocked feoffments-to-use by converting the use into the legal estate and making the cestui que use the legal owner. The Statute failed to destroy uses, however, because it was held that it executed only the first use. So, if the first cestui que use held the land on the behalf of a second, there was still an equitable estate. The second use came to be known as a trust and the feoffees as trustees. The Statute of Uses, in failing to abolish the devising of land, caused the Statute of Wills, 1540, to be produced which permitted the devising of all socage land and up to two-thirds of land held by knight service. The Tenures Abolition Act, 1660, made all land devisable, except that held by serjeanty. -- Ivor West
FEOFFMENT WITH LIVERY OF SEIZIN: an early English method of conveyance by which the transferor met the transferee at or near the land to be transferred and handed over a twig or clod while reciting to witnesses that the transfer was being made.{B}
FEOFFOR: a person who gives a fief
FERCH: [Welsh daughter of] Also seen as 'verch' which is the English corruption of ferch
FERM: rent
FESSE: [heraldry] a large horizontal stripe. A fesse cotised is a large horizontal stripe between two smaller stipes
FI FA: See FIERI FACIAS, next.
FICHT-WITE: the fine incurred for a homicide
FIDALGO: [Hispanic nobleman]
FIDE: son of; also seen as fi de
FIEF: heritable lands held under tenure or fealty to a lord, and is also called a "holding"
FIERI FACIAS, writ of: [Latin that you cause [it] to be done] It is a form of court warrant authorizing property to be attached in aid of execution of a money judgment -- often called "fi fa" in courthouse shorthand. The sheriff's sale would follow the attachment, with the net proceeds going to the creditor.
FILIAM: [Latin daughter]
FILIOLUS: [Latin little son] godson
FILIUM: [Latin son]
FIMBRIATED: [Heraldric] outlined
FINAL CONCORD: during the English Medieval period, a decision by a panel of judges, usually four, to render decisions usually regarding property disputes. The concord was made permanent and binding if uncontested for a year and a day. The record of the final concord was in three parts -- one to the plaintiff, one to the defendant, and the third bottom part called the feet of fines, went to the Royal Treasury.
FINAL PAPERS: petition for citizenship with supporting documentation filed by an alien in a court of law
FINES: Fines, or final concords, were conveyances of land by means of a legal action (normally fictitious after 1300), that resulted in a copy of the final agreement, or concord, between the purchaser, known as the querent, and the seller, known as the deforciant, being filed with the records of the king's court and open to public inspection. This final agreement was normally written out three times on a single sheet of parchment - two copies side by side and one copy across the bottom of the sheet, separated by an indented or wavy line. The purchaser kept one copy, the seller the other and the final copy - 'the foot of the fine'- was kept by the court as a central record of the conveyance. It was a means of having title registered to guard against subsequent fraud or forgery as copies if this three piece jig-saw would only fit together if genuine. There was no legal obligation to have title registered in this way. Often the fine is one of a series of conveyancing deeds some of which may give more detail about the property - such private deeds are less likely to have survived with the public records
FINIAL: a slender piece of stone to decorate the top of the merlons of a castle
FIREBOTE: wood granted by a lord to his tenants for fuel
FIRELANDS: a tract of land in northeastern Ohio reserved by Connecticut for its own settlers when it ceded its western lands in 1786. The state of Connecticut deeded land there to its citizens whose homes were burned during the Revolutionary War, therefore the territory became known as "fireland"
FIRST MONTH: for most legal purposes (from medieval times until 1752), the new year in England was held to begin on Lady Day, 25 March. But in accordance with the general custom, many took it to begin on 1 January, as in the Julian calender. {P}
FIRST PAPERS: declaration of intention filed by an alien in a court of law
FISCALINUS: a serf on a royal or ecclesiastical estate
FITZ: Fitz is the Norman French equivalent of "son of", having the same root as French "fils" and Latin "filius". The patronymic would change from generation to generation. Then came a soldification into a surname on the order of Johnson, Anderson. Some examples are FitzAlan, FitzGerald.
FLEM AND FLITTE [FLEMENEFRIT]: the royal privilege of receiving or relieving outlaws
FLAMEN: [Latin] one of the 15 priests or flamines assigned to a state-supported god in the Roman religion. They wore a leather scull cap-type hat called an apex and a heavy woolen coat called a læna. There were two classes -- flamen maiores, who had to be patricians and flamen minores, who could be plebians.
FLET: home
FLEUR-DE-LIS: [Heraldry; French lily flower] a device consisting of a stylized three-petaled iris flower, used as the armorial emblem of the kings of France
FLOURIT: [Latin, he lives] in genealogy, used to describe the years during which an individual lived the the birth and death dates are not known.. Frequently shown as the abbreviation fl.
FLORY: [Heraldric] a series of fleur-de-lis
FLUX: bloody flux is a bloody diarrhea and is usually caused by the bacteria Shigella. It is most commonly spread by food contaminated with fecal matter. A possible source is apples off the ground in a field that included livestock
FLYMA: a fugitive
FOEL: [Welsh bald] Also as moel.
FOLLES: Byzantine coins
FORATHE: a oath taken by plaintiff and defendant at the beginning of a suit
FOREBEAR: an ancestor, a forefather
FOREFENGUS: the right to recover stolen or strayed cattle
FORESTAL: offences committed on a highway
FORTALICE: [Latin fortalitia a little fort] an outerwork of a fortification
FORTELACE: see FORTALICE
FORTILAGE: see FORTALICE
FORTNIGHT: 14 days
FOSTER: nourishment
FOSTERLEAN: payment for rearing a child
FOUNDLING: a abandoned baby
FRÆLLUS: a rush basket
FRANCISCANS: an order of friars founded by St. Francis of Assisi, emphasizing preaching. Consequently, they were instrumental in establishing many universities. They were also called friars minor, or greyfriars, for the color of their habit.
FRANKALMOIGN: land granted in exchange for prayers
FRANKMARRIAGE: see ESTATE OF FRANKMARRIAGE
FRANKPLEDGE: a medieval English system under which each male member of a tithing, twelve years old or older, was responsible for the good conduct of other members. The lord had the right to call the freemen together in decennaries, or groups of ten, to hold each as a surety for the good of the others. Violations were heard in Frankpledge Court. Also called Tenemental. See also VIEW OF FRANKPLEDGE.
FREDUM: a fine for disturbing the peace
FREE TENEMENT: tenures such as:; (1) knights' fiefs; (2) urban burgages; (3) holdings of free peasants
FREE WARREN: [Eng] the right to hunt small game on a property, usually granted by the King
FREEBORN: born as a free person
FREEDMAN/FREEDWOMAN: a man or woman is free either by birth, or having been freed from bondage or slavery, and is entitled to practice a craft or buy and sell within a town
FREEHOLD ESTATES: In the UK, prior to 1926, there were three types of freehold estates:; (1) Estates in fee simple; (2) Estates in fee tail (estates entailed); (3) Estates for life
FREEHOLDER: one who has a freehold estate, by holding land by fee simple, which is to hold a piece of property outright with no other claims on it. In colonial times, a freeholder had the right to vote and hold public office.
FREEMAN: one who held the full rights of citizenship, such as voting and engaging in business (as opposed to an indentured servant). In medieval times, a freeman, in the sense of a franklin, was a man, not of noble birth, who held his land in free socage as compared to one who held in base or villein socage.
FREIHERR: a Germanic title, which in medieval times meant one who had a free feif for which tenure one was not a servant in sensu stricto but a vassal. One had to fulfill his vassal duties
FRETTY: [Heraldric] like a woven web
FRIARS MINOR: see FRANCISCANS
FRIARS PREACHER: see DOMINICANS
FRIENDS: correctly called "The Society of Friends", the correct term for the Quakers
FRITH: peace
FRITHBRICE: breach of peace
FRUMGELD: first payment of wer
FRUMTHYTLE: first accusation
FUL: consecrated ground
FRYCH: [Welsh freckled]
FUERE: [Latin were]
FURS: [Heraldry] There are nine allowed furs: ermine, ermines, erminois, erminites, pean, vair, counter vair, potent (meirré), and counter potent
FURST: [Ger.] a ruling prince, as opposed to prinz, who was a titular prince.
FUSILS: [Heraldric] diamonds
FYCHAN: [Welsh young, junior] as in family relationship. See also vaughn.
FYRD: [Anglo-Saxon] organization of the military

G

GADARN: [Welsh strong] see also cadarn.
GAEL: [Celtic] the name given by the Celts to their inhabitants of Britain and Ireland and the Isle of Man
GAENGANG: pregnant
GAFOL: rent
GAFOLLAND: rented land
GAIRTHINX: gift
GALLOWS: (1) a platform upon which an individual was hanged
(2) a medieval jurisdictional authority which has the right to try and execute capital crimes
GAON: [Hebrew] ancient Jewish religious teacher and leader, whose key role was to provide interpretation of the Talmud
GARD: an acronym for Gateway Ancestor of Royal Descent
GARDEROBE: a toilet built into a castle wall and projecting out over the moat
GATEWAY ANCESTOR: a ancestor which provides a link from one culture or time period to another
GAVELKIND: in medieval England, land which descended equally to the male heirs, rather through the rules of primogeniture
GAZETTEER: a book which alphabetically names and describes the places in a specific area. For example, a gazetteer of a county would name and describe all of the towns, lakes, rivers, and mountains in the county.
GEBUR: a dependent cultivator of the soil
GEDCOM: GEnealogy Data COMmunications - GEDCOM is a specific file format invented to allow sharing of data between two potentially dissimilar computers. All vital information on each individual in the database is collected and put in a format the receiving computer may understand.
GEMELLES: [Heraldic] thin bars usually in pairs
GEMOT: a meeting
GEN-ANCIENT: the Internet mail list/discussion group dedicated to ancient genealogy, roughly the period before the fall of Rome (453), although many genealogist prefer to use GEN-MEDIEVAL for the same purpose, especially in the absence of an active pre-medieval group.
GEN-MEDIEVAL: the Internet mail list/discussion group dedicated to medieval genealogy, roughly the period after the fall of Rome (453) and the colonization of America (1607), although participants regularly test those boundaries, especially in the absence of an active pre-medieval group (although GEN-ANCIENT does exist).
GENEROUS: [archaic] referring to a person as a member of the gentry
GENOGRAM: a family tree designed to show the medical history of a family to show genetically inherited health patterns
GENTILE: a person who is not Jewish
GENTILICUM: [Roman] the middle Roman name (prænomen, gentilicum, cognomen) signifying the family, or gens, to which a person belonged. It served as what we today would call a surname. Example: In Gaius Julius Cæsar, the famous dictator belonged to the Julian family. Females took the feminine form of the gentilicum as their common name. Thus all of Cæsar's sisters would have been known as Julia.
GENTLEMAN: In medieval times, the word 'gentile' meant noble, but gentleman' came into use in the fifteenth century to signify a condition between baron and yeoman, or sometimes between knight and yeoman, after a statute of 1413 had laid down that in certain legal documents the 'estate, degree or mystery' of the defendant must be stated. In 1429 the term 'les gentils' was used in an Act of Parliament, of men having freehold property worth 40 pounds per year or more. From the sixteenth century onward, the distinction between gentlemen and yeomen lay more in their way of life than in their relative prosperity. A gentlemen did not work with his hands, so his household included personal servants; whereas the servants of a yeoman were his assistants on the land and in the dairy. A gentleman's son was often described as a yeoman while he was working his holding, pending inheritance of his father's lands. Members of the professions, i.e. army and naval officers and barristers, were regarded as gentlemen, some of them being entitled to the description 'Esquire'. For apprenticing a son to a London citizen a property qualification was required, so many gentlemen's sons entered the more profitable trades of the City. When a man, who during his working life was designated by his occupation (for example, tailor), retired, he would often then describe himself as 'Gentleman' as he was no longer gainfully employed. {F}
GENTRY: the landed people. The gentry lacked hereditary titles, but exercised extensive political influence at the local level. Sheriffs and Justices of the Peace were usually chosen from among the gentry, for instance. The gentry were regarded as gentlemen, that is to say men of sufficient landholdings that they could live on the rents and not themselves do manual labor. In England, they numbered about 16,000 men who, together with their families, constituted about 3-4 percent of the English population at the end of Elizabeth's reign. -- John Steel Gordon (edited)
GEOGU: young, unmarried Anglo-Saxon warriors, often the sons of dugu , who, having as yet no land of their own, resided with their lord, attending and accompanying him as he progressed through his estates, much as the companions' of Tacitus' day had done. When a gesi of this sort had proved himself to his lord's satisfaction, he received from him a suitable endowment of land, perhaps even the land his father had held from the lord. This made him into a dugu.
GERMAN COUSINS: see COUSINS GERMAN
GERSUMA: a fine paid to a lord upon entering a holding
GESI AS: [late Saxon] a group of professional warriors in the direct service of the king, living in his hall and receiving gifts from the king in return for their service. They accompanied the king on journeys, served as ministers in peacetime and formed his bodyguard and the backbone of his royal host in times of war. Although often seen as mercenaries, because they received payment from the king, their service arose from the obligation to serve their lord rather than just a cash inducement.
GESITH: [Anglo-Saxon] a follower of the king
GESTUM: (1) a guest's portion; (2) a allowance for meat and drink
GHULAM: a young male slave
GIVEN NAMES: the names given to an individual by his/her parents.
GLEBE: still used in some traditional churches, e.g., Presbyterian, for the land on which the manse (minister's residence) stands. Also, land belonging or yielding revenue to a parish church or ecclesiastical benefice.
GLAN: [Welsh pure, sacred, clean, handsome]
GLORIOSI: [Latin] the rank of administrative official instituted in the 6th C., to be the highest rank of civil service, even high that the former rank of the illustres. {H}
GOCH: [Welsh red-haired] See also coch.
GODFATHER/GODMOTHER: a man or woman who sponsors a child at baptism, also called a Godparent
GONFALON: an medieval ensign, standard or banner used, and formed after the fashion of the 'vexillum', or standard of the Roman cavalry. It consisted of a flag attached to a cross-bar and suspended by cords at right angles to the pole. Though at first a war banner, it subsequently became peculiar to the Church. A gonfalonier is one who carries the standard. In Italy today, a gonfalonier is a magistrate.
GOODMAN: a solid member of the community who ranked above a freeman but below a gentleman on the social scale. In Scotland, he could be of landed status not directly held from the crown.
GOODS AND CHATTELS: personal property, as distinguished from real property
GOODWIFE: originally, a woman married to a "gentleman". Often the title was shortened to "Goody". If you come across names such as Goody Cook or Goody Whitten, they are not first names but the abbreviation of a title In colonial America, the term was more closely associated with Puritam New England than the South. It took on the connotation of a woman of humble origins, slightly below the status of 'Mrs.'
GRAF: [Ger.] the German equivalent of an English earl or continental count.
GRAND UNCLE/AUNT: an uncle/aunt of one's father or mother. In U.S. frequently seen as "great-uncle" which is equivalent. Grand uncle is the older form, and is preferred.
GRANGE: (1) a farm estate of a monastery; (2) a system of farming created by the Cistercians
GRANT: to transfer property by a deed
GRANTEE: one to whom a grant is made
GRANTEE INDEX: index to grantees of deeds recorded in a deed book
GRANTOR: one from who a grant is made
GRASS WIDOW: 1. [German Stroh Witwer Straw Widow] an unmarried woman who has cohabited with one or more men, a discarded mistress. Akin to the artificial "Straw Man" of debate or corn field. . . and "Straw Witness" (who advertised his willingness to perjure himself by displaying a 'straw' in his shoe when appearing near the court.)
2. A wife who has been put aside/away/retired or just plain "Left". . . much as one puts an animal "to grass." just as business puts old and faithful employee "out to pasture". . . . It can also mean a woman whose husband is 'absent' from her (for whatever period of time) husband.
GREGORIAN CALENDAR: the calendar in use today. Pope Gregory XIII ordered the replacement of the previous Julian Calendar in 1582, although it was not adopted by England and the American Colonies until 1752. See also Old Style Date.
GRETNA GREEN MARRIAGE: after a village of southern Scotland on the English border. It was famous as a place for runaway marriages from 1754 until 1856, when the Scottish law was changed to require a 21-day residence period for one of the parties before issuance of a license. {A}
GREY FRIARS: see FRANCISCANS
GRIDBREGE [GRITBRECHE]: the right to hold an inquisition on the breach of peace
GRIFFIN: [heraldric] a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion
GRIFFON: [heraldric]; (1) a vulture living in southeastern Europe
(2) a medium-sized wire-haired Belgian dog
(3) medieval slang for "Greek"
(4) a variation on "griffin"
GRITH: peace, protection
GRITHBRECH: breaking of the peace
GUARDIAN: an appointee of the court who cares for the property and rights of a minor or someone incapable of handling his or her own affairs.
GUILD: a medieval trade association
GULES: (1) [Heraldric] one of the seven allowed colors -- red, or represented in greyscale as or a shading of vertical lines; (2) the first day of a month
GUTTE: gutter or drain pipe.
GWAS: [Welsh boy, servant]
GWLLT: [Welsh wild]
GWYN: [Welsh white] See also wynn.
GYNÆCEA: women's quarters

H


HADBOT: compensation for injury to a person in a holy order
HADITH: a tradition relating to an action, utterance or decision of the Prophet, under Islam
HÆRETICA: [Latin heretical]
HAGR: [Welsh ugly]
HAJJ: the pilgrimage to Mecca required by islam at least one in an individual's lifetime
HALF-TIMBER: a common medieval construction made of a wooden frame with wattle and daub in between
HALLMOTE: Manorial Court
HALSEANG: a fine to avoid punishment
HAMSOCNE: breaking into a man's house
HAMSOKEN: the privilege that a man had to hold his house or castle
HANDFAST: a different type of secular marriage where vows were made before witnesses, with a more 'regular' (contract or church marriage) to follow. Handfasting was mainly done in remote areas where there were no officials of the church or government readily to perform the wedding. Term evidently is of Scottish origin pre-dating feudal times. In Highlands custom, the heir of one should live with the daughter of the other as her husband for twelve months and a day. If in that time the lady became a mother, or proved to be with child, the marriage became good in law, even although no priest had performed the marriage ceremony in due form; but should there not have occurred any appearance of issue, the contract was considered at an end, and each party was at liberty to marry or hand-fast with any other.
HAPLOGROUP: A haplogroup is the designation of a branch of the great DNA tree for all humanity. Because there are two different DNA trees, one for Y-DNA (all men of the world) and one female for mtDNA (the world's all women, but also their sons), there are also two different sets of haplogroups, Y-DNA haplogroups and mtDNA haplogroups. All men belong to two haplogroups, one for their Y-DNA and one for their mtDNA, and all women carry a haplogroup for their mtDNA. The haplogroups have got names that consist of different combinations of letters and numbers. For Y-DNA the groups are called e.g. R1a-Z284 or I1-M253 and for mtDNA the groups are e.g. H1a3b or U5a1b4. New haplogroups are added as more people are testing and new branches are detected. Source SSGG.
HARAM: under Islam, that which is forbidden or taboo
HARD MONEY: the value of various gold coins circulating in international commerce as established by Act of Congress, passed February 9th, 1793
HARVARD SYSTEM: Parenthetical referencing, also known as Harvard referencing, is a citation style in which partial citationsfor example, "(Smith 2010, p. 1)"are enclosed within parentheses and embedded in the text, either within or after a sentence. They are accompanied by a full, alphabetized list of citations in an end section, usually titled "references", "reference list", "works cited", or "end-text citations".[2][3] Parenthetical referencing can be used in lieu of footnote citations. There are two styles of parenthetical referencing: Authordate: primarily used in the sciences and social sciences, and recommended by the American Chemical Society and the American Psychological Association (APA); Authortitle or authorpage: primarily used in the arts and the humanities, and recommended by the Modern Language Association (MLA). Source: Wikipedia.
HATCHMENT: [Heraldry] an achievement of a dead person set forth in large diamond-shaped panels
HAUBERK/HAUBERC: [French] coat of mail
HAUBERT: [French] to provide a hauberc. Essentially, the french equivalent on a knight's fee.
HAUTBAN: a measure of wine
HAVOTUS: [Belgian] a measure of grain
HAYEBOTE: the right to take wood in return for mending a lord's fences
HAYWARD: an manorial official in charge of fencing, hedges, putting stray animals in a secure area, and the harvest
HEADRIGHT: right to a certain number of acres (usually 50) of land guaranteed in advance for each settler in a new territory. Virginia was settled by this method in the 17th century. From Hening's Virginia Statutes at Large, vol. 3, p. 304, October, 1705 states: "....all and every person male or female imported and coming into this colony dominion free, has a right to fifty acres of land; and every Christian servant, male or female imported after he or she becomes free, or time of servitude is expired, has a right to fifty acres of land for his or her importation; and every person coming into this colony, and importing a wife or children under age, hath a right to fifty acres of land for himself, his wife and every such child so imported...."
HEAD TAX: tax on individuals, also called a poll tax or capitation tax
HEALSFANG: a pillory
HEARM: hue and cry
HEIR: anyone who inherits either by operation of law ("heir-at-law") or by operation of will ("legatee"). May be a child, but could easily be any person, even unrelated. Originally, heir meant only heir-at-law and only applied to the person who inherited real property, but has come to mean just about anyone who inherits any part of an estate. -- Thelma Jones

There are a number of variations under both Roman law as well as English civil law:
Roman -; - Hæres Natus - heir by right of birth
- Hæres Factus - heir by right of testament or will
- Hæres Fiduciarius - heir to whom an estates is given in trust for another
- Hæres Legitamus - a lawful heir - one who is heir by virtue of the marriage of his parents
English -
- Heir General - heir at common who after the death of his father has a right to his father's estate. Must be of the whole blood, i.e. not a bastard
- Heir at Law - An heir to a person's estate by virtue of his relationship to the decedent
- Heir Legal - someone who takes succession of an estate by force of law; - Heir Conventional of Testamentary - heir by will; - Heir of the Body - a direct descendant; - Heir Male - a male descendant, but not necessary a direct descendent. Unless specified as "heir of the body", it could be the descendent of a sibling, or other male relative
HEMINA: a measure of liquid equal to approximately 10 fluid ounces
HEN: [Welsh old] father of fychan
HENAF: [Welsh very old] superlative of hen
HEPTARCHY: the seven early kingdoms of England: Wessex, Mercia, Kent, Northumbria, East Anglia, Essex and Sussex
HERBAGE: pasturage
HEREDITARY: a right or entitlement by birth
HEREDITAMENTS: property that can be inherited
HERALDRY: the practice of devising, blazoning, and granting armorial insignia (coats of arms)
HERIBANNUM: military service, later a corvé
HERIOT: a medieval death duty paid to one's lord in arms, armor, or chattel, usually the best beast
HERSE: a Scandinavian knight
HERZOG: [Ger. duke]
HESSIAN:: German troops used by the British in the Revolutionary War
HIBERNIA: [Latin Ireland]
HIDE: a medieval English unit of land measure, signifying the area which would support a family of that day. A hide could vary from 60 to 120 acres depending on the quality of the land. The name relates to the hide, or shield, a man could provide for military service, and so a hide originally was expected to provide one man for military service when called upon. A hundred hides was an administrative unit known as a hundred
HIGH SHERIFF: the highest-ranking sheriff, as opposed to deputy sheriffs. The term was popular in England and Colonial America
HILLIARD/HILLER: one who covers a house with slate
HION: membrane or covering
HIR: [Welsh tall, long]
HISGEN: the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the oldest genealogical society in North America
HLAFÆTA: [Anglo-Saxon, loaf-eater] servant
HLAFORD: [Anglo-Saxon] landlord
HLAFORDGIFU: [Anglo-Saxon, lord's gift] rent
HLOTH: a following of men
HOCK DAY: the second Tuesday after Easter. Like Michaelmas, it was a day on which annual or semi-annual rents were paid. Along with Michaelmas, these two dates divided the year between the summer and winter seasons.
HOLOGRAPHIC WILL: a document written entirely by the hand of the person whose signature it bears
HOMAGE: [medieval] the ceremonial act of demonstrating one's subordinate status to another before witnesses. To do an act of homage, one customarily knelt and placed one's joined hands (as if in prayer) between the similarly joined hands of one's lord.
HOMOLA: one whose head has been shaved
HONOR: [medieval] a group of manors or estates, held by the tenant-in-chief of the king
HORARIUM: the monastic timetable: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, None, Vespers, Compline
HORDE: an exceptional and transitory combination of a number of peoples to meet a particular danger or achieve a special enterprise, after which the horde usually dissolved
HORDERE: treasurer
HOUSE OF LORDS: the House of Lords is the upper chamber in the British Political system. The term was first used in 1544, to describe those councilors, hereditary and other, whom the crown was accustomed to summon by special write to parliament. Later it was applied to the great council chamber of the palace of Westminster in which they sat. The House of Lords was thus originally the king's council in Parliament, and its members sat in Parliament solely by virtue of a special summons from the crown. So, anyone who sits in the House of Lords, is a lord, including dukes, earls, viscounts, marquesses, barons, archbishops, bishops and judges. Baronets are not members of the peerage, so they are not lords. Peerage is a comparatively modern conception. Edward I was ignorant of it, and the only persons who were necessarily present in his parliaments were the members of his council. They were always summoned by writ from the lord chancellor, who shared with the king, the distinction of sitting in Parliament without any summons at all. Edward I, however, established the custom of also summoning to parliament, besides the representatives of shires, boroughs, and lower clergy, a number of great tenants-in-chief of the crown, such as the archbishops, earls, and bishops, and some barons and abbots selected by the crown. No-one had a right to be summoned; it was a matter of obligation and duty, of suit and service at the king's court due from tenants-in-chief in return for the lands they held of the king; and the general tendency in the Middle Ages was to evade it. In time, however, a place in Parliament came to be a seat of authority, and the service to be regarded as a privilege which was sought by some and denied to others. A peculiar and not very consistent theory of baronage and peerage was evolved, which restricted "peerage" (which meant "equality") to a narrowing circle of increasingly powerful barons, and associated it with the tenure of land, and subsequently with the possession of certain dignities created by the crown; and the possessors of these qualifications succeeded in denying to those councilors who did not possess them, a vote in the great council chamber in Parliament. even Sir Thomas More, who was chancellor, summoned every peer to parliament, and presided over their deliberations, was denied a vote. -- Renia Simmons (edited)
HOUSE OF PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENT: A house of private entertainment did not dispense alcoholic drinks. Its facilities were generally more limited than those of an ordinary--and license fees were lower, as opposed to an ordinary, or house of public entertainment, was a tavern offering its guests food, lodging and alcoholic beverages style="font-size: 4.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line">— also stabling and feed for horses.
HOUSEHOLDER: In England, a householder is one who inhabits a dwelling or tenement of such a nature as to qualify him for the exercise of the franchise. The word "house-keeper" was formerly synonymous with "householder."
HOUSEHOTE: the right to take wood from a lord for the repair of one's house
HOUSEKEEPER: In England, a householder is one who inhabits a dwelling or tenement of such a nature as to qualify him for the exercise of the franchise. The word "house-keeper" was formerly synonymous with "householder." Louis B . Wright writing on Middle-Class Culture in Elizabethan England, says that, in the old manorial sense, house-keepers were those who gave "employment to swarms of retainers and dispensed hospitality to the countryside.
HUC: [Latin] here - to this place
HUDEUAT: fish tub
HUE AND CRY: all members of a village were required to pursue a criminal with horn and by yelling. Those who did not were subject to amerciament, as was the entire village if the felon managed to escape.
HUGUENOT:: French Protestants who fled from religious persecution. They first went to Prussia, the German Palatinate and then came to America. Those in the French West Indies escaped to the southeastern coast of America. Others went to England and Ireland.
HUJUS: [Latin] of this
HUJUSIDEM: [Latin] of this month & year
HUNDRED: A British political subdivision larger than a city, but smaller than a county. Famous American hundreds were Bermuda Hundred, and Martin's Hundred which had at least 21,500 acres in the first settlement and 200 settlers. The hundred held its own Hundred Court, dating back to these early days. This term is conjectured as having a number of originins:
(1) a military and administrative district, dating to the 10th C. under King Æthelred, but in use as late as the 17th C., in early British colonial America. A hundred is not 100 acres but 100 hides, one of which will support a family of that day. Each hide varied from 60 to 120 acres depending on the quality of the land .
(2) a canton or division of a county, perhaps once containing one hundred "manors". (Latin; "hundredum"), and quoting Bacon, and again by Johnson (same title, 1802), "a rule or government which a man has over such as (people who) hold land within his fee" , and (citing Corvel) "...touching the original of these manors, it seems, that in the beginning, there was a certain compass or circuit of ground granted by the king to some man of worth, for him and his heirs to dwell upon, and to exercise some jurisdiction -- Samuel Johnson, Dictionary of the English Language (1755)
(3) a manor is defined as: from Saxon times, "...each county or shire comprised an indefinite number of hundreds, each hundred containing 10 tithings or groups of ten families of freeholder or frankpledges.... the division was probably known to the ancient German people...." {B}
HUNDRED SETENA: see Hundred Court
HUSBANDMAN: a person whose occupation is husbandry; a farmer. He may have held some freehold, or more likely copyhold, but he tilled it himself, or along side servants.
HUSTENG: see Borough Court
HUTCH: a chest, box coffer or bin.
HUSCARLES: in medieval times, the entourage of a king or nobleman
HYPOCORISTIC NAME: a pet or affectionate name, usually a form of the surname or forename, not to be confused with a nickname

I


IBID: [Latin] - an abbreviation for ibidem, meaning "in the same place", commonly used in footnotes to signify the previously described reference
IBN: [Arabic] son of
IDES: Under the Roman calendar, the 15th of the month in March, May, July and October; on the 13th on the remaining months
IEUAF: [Welsh youngest]
IGI: the International Genealogical Index - a large collection of microfiche, soon to be on computer CD-ROMs, containing the index to the LDS Church's computerized records of individuals
IL: several tribes of nomadic peoples, not to be confused with horde
ILLEGITIMATE: a child that is born to an unwed mother
ILLUSTRIS: [Latin] the first of three ranks of the high officials of Imperial Roman service, all of whom were senators. It included the heads of the great central ministries, the commander-and-chief of the armies, and the Grand Chamberlain. By the 6th C., the rank had been cheapened by the inclusion of lesser officials, and a fourth rank was included, the gloriosi, superior to that of the illustres. The other two orders were the spectibles and the clarissimi. {H}
IMAM: an Islamic religious leader, especially for prayer. The sovereign heads of the Islamic world, including the Caliphs, have taken this title.
IMMENS: [Latin] to be near
IMMINENS: [Latin] eminent - immediate
IMPARLANCE: a delay or postponement
IMPOSITUM: [Latin] the name bestowed
IMPRESSMENT: the act of seizing people or property for public service or use
IN TAIL MALE: [Medieval Latin]The transfer of property usually by grant restricted to male heirs of the body (of the grantee). If there are no male heirs of the body, the property reverts to the grantor (reversion in fee) who would be the holder of the fee simple. Fee tail comes from the French tailler, "to cut", as the estate, or fee, has been cut down by being confined to heirs of the body, in this case male heirs, whereas a fee simple may descend to common law heirs. -- Ivor West (edited)
INATION: death by lack of food
INBORH: [Anglo-Saxon] security, pledge
INCONTINENCE: in modern terms it denotes lack of control of bodily functions, but in medieval times, it included lack of self-restraint, especially with regard to sexual activity or apetite
INDENTED: [Heraldric] zig-zagged
INDENTURE: a deed, contract, or sealed agreement executed between two or more parties; a contract by which a person is bound over for services. Centuries ago when very few people could read or write, a seller would execute a document called even then a "deed" to a buyer, whereupon the parties literally tore - NOT cut - that document in two, each taking one half or thereabouts. Through that usage, and since only those exact halves would fit together, each had proof near positive of the bargain and the closing of the deal. Since that document had "indents" where it had been torn in two, the term "indenture" perfectly fit that piece of paper and that practice. While the term is now archaic, some printed forms used by some lawyers still bear that term as a title (sounds neat, you know, and lawyers are SLOW to change anything since some court might jump up and set such aside). -- Paul Drake
INDENTURED SERVANT: one who was voluntarily or involuntarily committed to working for someone for a fixed number of years (usually 4 to 7) in exchange for passage to America or some other financial advantage. The lowest person on the totem pole, an indentured servant had few, if any, rights, but people without skills or money accepted this position in order to emigrate. After the period of work was over, the servant usually became a freeman.
INDULGENCE: the remission of a penalty as incurred as a penance for a sin. By the late Middle Ages it evolved into a commutation of a deed of sin for a financial payment, thence a very lucrative revenue source for the church
INESCUTCHEON: [Heraldry] a small shield appearing on a coat of arms
INESCUTCHEON OF PRETENSE: [Heraldry] a small shield on one's arms showing the arms of the bearer's wife
INFANGTHIEF: a medieval jurisdictional authority which enabled the holder of the authority to hang any thief caught red-handed. See also OUTFANGTHIEF.
INFANT: a minor
INFANTEM: child
INFEFT: [Scot.] used to denote the the symbolical giving possession of land, which was the completion of the title.
INFRA: down - below
IN-LAND: see DEMESNE
IN-LAW: besides it's modern-day usage, which means a relative by marriage, colonists also used the term for any familial relationship that occurred from a marriage. Thus, a woman's father-in-law could be her husband's father or her stepfather. Her son-in-law could be her daughter's husband or her own stepson. Before 1720, this term usually always meant a "step" relationship.
INPRIMIS: in the first place
INQUILINUS: a tenant lower than the class of coloni.
INQUISITION POST MORTEM: performed when anyone holding land directly under the king (or land under a minor, who held under the king) died. Its purpose was to determine what land was held, who the heir was, and whether that heir was a minor to ensure that the king derived the various benefits available from guardianship. It is useful in providing death dates (sometimes precise, sometimes approximate like older than 21 or 40 years), who was in possession of land at a specific date, who the deceased was holding his land under, and who was holding under the deceased.
INQUS: repeat - maintain
IPSIUS: in person - of own accord
INSTANT: [Legal] of this month, eg. "on the first instant"
INSTRUMENT: a formal document, such as a deed or a will
INTERCALARY: a day or month inserted into the calendar
INTERMARRIED: 1. to become connected by marriage; 2. to marry within one's family; 3. to marry outside one's religion, ethnic group, etc.
INTESTATE: having no legal will; not disposed of by legal will
INVENTORY: a list of goods in the estate of a deceased person
INVESTITURE: in medieval times, delivery of property or title
IQTA: an administrative grant of property, similar to a fief, granted for service in lieu of taxes. The grant was limited, functional and revocable.
ISSUE: offspring or children

J


JACK: [Archaic] a flask; a small container carried on a person and containing an alcoholic beverage.
JACKSON WHITE: descended from a group of West Indian women of African descent who were taken to the Delaware Valley to "entertain" the British Troops during the War of Independence. When the British pulled out, the women and their children were abandoned. Another legend on them is that black free-men with the Dutch surnames from the Dutch plantations interbreeded with the Indians, possible Tuscarora Indians. Some agree that it was a mixture of Munsee, Mattabesic, Pompton and Metoac Indians.
JARL: [Scandanavian] Nobility of same rank as Earl does in England. The title of Jarl first appeared in England under Canute (1016-35), of which the Anglo-Saxon version was eorl. He had his own court and exercised his own jurisdiction. In Sweden (at least from the 12th century on) the highest office of State was that of jarl. The jarl was essentially comparable with the Frankish 'mayor of the palace' (a position occupied by Charlemagne's ancestors). He was the leader of the traditional levy of armed men and ships (ledung). His power could often rival that of the king, and he was usually supported by the nobles
JIERESCHIEVE: a payment made by burgesses to a royal official
JOINED STOOL: one framed with joints
JOINTURE: the condition by which the property and wealth a woman carries into marriage become jointly and equally owned by husband and wife
JONGLEUR: a wandering minstrel
JULIAN CALENDAR: the calendar in use prior to 1752 (see Gregorian Calendar) that was created by Julius Caesar
JUND: [Arabic] troops or army
JUNIOR,SENIOR,III, etc: not necessarily meaning a father/son relationship, these terms were used to differentiate between men (and sometimes women) with the same name whether they were related or not. The oldest would be called Senior and the other(s) would be titled accordingly. If Peter Smith had a nephew Peter Smith, the former would be titled Senior, the latter Junior. In a small community, there might be three men named Peter Smith. They would be named Senior, Junior and III according to their ages. If Peter Smith, Senior died or moved out of the community, Peter Smith, Junior would become Senior. These titles were not permanent, but rather conveniences in colonial families and communities.
JUSTICAR: In England, the Justiciar was the king's chief minister in Norman times and ran the country during the king's frequent absences on the continent. The last Justiciar was Hubert de Burgh who died in 1232, although the barons attempted to revive the office during the later part of Henry III's reign. In Ireland, the Justiciar was the king's chief representative in the 13th century, but those duties were taken over by the Lord Lieutenant. In Scotland, the Justiciar was the supreme law officer until the 15th century when that position came to be filled by lord justice general. -- John Steele Gordon
JUSTICE OF OYER AND TERMINER: a circuit judge
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE: originally know as 'Keepers of the Peace', they were charged with suppressing disorder, seeking out and trying felons and trespassers, and enforcing labor laws. They tried cases quarterly, although occasionally on shorter intervals. Trials were by jury, and convicted felons were typically hung. The creation of this office led to a decline in the importance of sheriffs and the courts of the shires and hundreds.
JUSTICAR: (1) head of the judiciary; (2) viceroy or regent for the king in the king's absence, especially over a king's remote properties. For example, the English king typically appointed a justicar as governor of Ireland, when England possessed Ireland during medieval times

K

KAGAN: title of head of state among the turkic peoples -- Avars, Pechenegs, Khazars, etc. from the 7th Century CE
KALENDS: the first day of the month under the Roman calendar, with the abbreviation Kal.
KEELER: a cooler, broad shallow wooden vessel, where milk was set to cream or wart to cool.
KEEPER OF THE PEACE: see JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
KERMES: red dye
KHADIM: [Arabic] a servant
KHAN: [Turkish] a contraction of 'khaqan', it is a title of sovereignty over a group of tribes or territories. The title was used by the Turks in Central Asia from the 10th Century onward, and later used by the Genghis Khan and his descendants, including the Mongol rulers of Persia and India
KHARAJ: [Arabic] taxes or tribute
KILDERKIN: a small vessel - the eighth part of a tun or vat, amounting to between 16-18 gallons
KINDRED: a group of blood-related persons
KING'S PEACE: originally a zone around the king within which any offense was a felony and tried before the the king. Later the zone was extended to the full realm of the kingdom, and criminal offenses were tried in the king's court.
KITH AND KIN: friends and neighbors
KNIGHT: originally a warrior who could afford to fully equip himself, and who was recognized by the king as suitable to fight on his behalf. His status was below a baron, but higher than a peasant of otherwise freemaen. After 1400, the honor became hereditary and evolved into three knightly classes: knights, squires and gentlemen, who as a whole became known as the gentry.
KNIGHT HOSPITALLER: an order of knights charged with caring for the sick and protecting holy places during the Crusades
KNIGHT TEMPLAR: an order of knights originally created to protect Jerusalem, and specifically the Temple there, as well as to protect the pilgrims in transit there. The order was suppressed beginning 1316, when the King of France feared their growing power and desired to seize their wealth
KNIGHTS: Basically, the king owned all the land. He allowed the nobles to use it in exchange for a service they were to perform for the king, usually supplying soldiers in time of war for a specified period of time. Likewise, these big nobles sub-granted portions of their land to lesser gentry in exchange for a share of the military service owed. The number of knights (not actual single knights on horseback, but originally the knights, their retainers, servants, and serfs of military age, later simply a company of foot knights, soldiers, and/or archers) was determined (more or less) by the value of the territory infeudated. Thus, it was not the knights' fee that was valued per se, but the land with which the fee was associated. In the time of Edward I, the value of a knight's fee was worth 20£ per year, or up to 40 days service, if called upon. See French HAUBERT.
KYNAZ: [Slavic] prince
KREIS: See Landkreis.

L

LAADRING: guide
LABEL: [Heraldric] A line with points horizontally across the top part of the shield
LÆNLAND: land held on conditional lease
LÆTUS: a member of the class of coloni
LAGAN: the right to items thrown up by the sea and on the shore
LAHSLIT: a fine for offenses committed by Danes
LAND PATENT: a grant of land in colonial America
LANDCEAP, LANDCOP: purchase of land
LANDGABLE: rent paid for a messuage of land
LANDGRAVE/LANDGRAVINE: are another pair of German titles that have achieved their own regular word in English. It corresponds roughly to a count or earl, but in the case of Hesse-Homburg, it was a ruling title. The German forms are Landgraf and Landgrafin.
LANDKREIS: [German] a governmental administrative body one level higher than village, equivalent to the American county (but not French/English county). Sometimes shown just as "Kreis".
LANDRICA, LANDHLAFORD: landlord
LANDS AND TENEMENTS: real property, as opposed to personal property
LAS: [Welsh blue]
LASTAGE: (1) a toll exacted at markets or fairs; (2) a custom exacted on a ship's lading
LATE: 1. died recently (although this term is relative and may span a number of years)
2. formerly belonging to, or living at
LATELY DWELT: [archaic] livived at a location until recently
LAUDS: part of the monastic timetable for liturgy, called horarium. This worship service typically occurred between 6am-7am in winter and 4am-5am in summer
LAUNDER: one who washes linen
LE: surnames with "le", for example "le Palefrayor", were occupational names, in this case, "the chap who looked after the nobleman's horse". The name itself was not a surname, but an identifier name, but it later developed into a surname. -- Renia Simmons (edited)
LEASE AND RELEASE: a simple and ancient method of conferring all rights, title and interest from a buyer to a seller. The "buyer" is put in possession of the land through a lease, then at a later date, say a year, the property is transferred by seizen, recombining the title and the leasehold.
LEASE FOR LIVES: a legal instrument dating back to the English manorial system, and sometimes used in Colonial America. Under this instrument, a property is leased to three individuals for their lifetime. From a genealogical standpoint, the three individuals are almost always related.
LEASEHOLD ESTATE: a lease of land for life, but not the title
LEET: a subdivision of land in Kent equivalent to a hundred
LEFT HAND INDENTURE: in medieval times, indentures were cut into three pieces along a wavy line, so the bearers could compare them later for authenticity. The portions were the left and right halves of the page, as well as a third bottom piece. The left portion as the left hand indenture.
LEGACY: money or property bequeathed to someone by will
LEGATEE: one who is named as a recipient of part of an estate under a will
LEOD: man, people
LEODGELD: a fine paid for killing a man. Also called manwryth.
LESTAGE: see LASTAGE
LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION: a document from a probate court authorizing the administrator of an estate to settle the estate
LEVIRATE: when a man dies one of his brothers has the right and obligation to marry the wife and raise children "to the name of'" the dead man.
LEVY, LEVE: (1) a capitation or poll tax; (2) a fee for permission to trade
(3) to draft; a draftee
LEVY FREE: exemption from the tithe requirement due to some service or status or in some cases a "prepayment" such a large gift to a church such as an irrevocable codicil in a will giving property (usually land) to the church. On occasion, levy free can indicate a waver of Tithe. This is occasionally seen for widows, particularly if the husband died in service to the community (defense against Indians or the French).
LEYWRITE: a fine paid by an unmarried pregnant woman
LIBERTI: freedmen
LIBLAC, LYBLAC: witchcraft
LIBRATE: [Medieval English] the quantity of land with an annual value of £1.
LIDUS: one of the class of coloni
LIFE ESTATE: a property held by a person for the duration of their lifetime. This device is common for widow/widowers, for use of property ultimately intended for one's children, but for which the surviving spouse must use until their decease
LINEAL DESCENDANT: being in the direct line of descent from an ancestor. Synonymous with direct descendent.
LITURGY: public prayer
LIVERY: (1) to be given land by the king; (2) the right to wear a lord's colors
LIVERY OF SEISIN: Delivery of possession; called by the feudists "investiture." The appropriate ceremony, at common law, for transferring the corporal possession of lands or tenements by a grantor to his grantee. It was livery in deed where the parties went together upon the land, and there a twig, clod, key, or other symbol was delivered in the name of the whole.Livery in law was where the same ceremony was performed, not upon the land itself, but in sight of it.{B}
LLEIAF: [Welsh smallest]
LLWYD: [Welsh brown, grey] Also as 'lloyd'.
LOCO: [Latin to place, to establish, to give in marriage]
LOCUS: [Latin place]
LOGRIA: gain or profit
LOOSE PAPERS: original papers supporting any type of court record - law, criminal or chancery actions; probate records; land records; bonds of all sorts; road orders; bridge orders; Free Negro certificates, etc.
LORD: anyone holding land with feudal tenants was a lord, that is, a landlord, whether a king or lowliest landholder. Lordship here simply refers to his tenurial position. Only if he were a peer of the realm, no matter what degree, would he be referred to as Lord Cockburn. -- Ivor West. Not all lords were Barons. Some had multiple titles. A lord is generally known by the family's superior title, and his son by the next superior title, until the father dies, when the son takes on the superior title, and his son is known by the lesser title. For example, today, Earl Spencer's son is known as Lord Althrop, being Viscount Althrop, another of the family's (lesser) titles. When Princess Diana was married, she was escorted up the isle by her father, the then Earl Spencer, while her brother was still Viscount Althrop. -- Renia Simmons. See also HOUSE OF LORDS
LORD LIEUTENANT: after the 16th C., was the English Crown's representative in each county
LORD OF THE MANOR: this was someone who held a manor, but not necessarily a barony. Today, gullible people are buying up Lord of the Manor titles, which are totally worthless, because the manor (a system of local government, in effect) no longer exists, and neither does the title, except as a piece of paper. Lords of the manor have never been entitled to sit in the House of Lords, nor have they ever been peers. -- Renia Simmons
LORD OF SESSION: a member of a court of justice comprising the Chancellor and other persons chosen by the king who met three times a year to deliberate on cases which had previously brought before the king and council.
LOYALIST: a Tory (person who remained loyal to England during the Revolutionary War) who later moved to Canada or to another British possession
LOZENGE: [Heraldry] a diamond-shape used in place of a shield to denote a widow or spinster
LOZENGY: [Heraldy] a diamond-shaped checkered pattern
LUMENARIUS: an individual who pays a tax in wax for lighting a church
LUNARIUS: an individual who ploughed a field, taking a month to do so
LYSWE: injury to kin

M

MAC

[Irish, son of] from the British "*mapos" meaning "son"

MÆGBOT

compensation paid to a family

MÆGBURG

kin

MÆRRA

money

MAGISTER MILITUM

[Latin] Master of Soldiers, head of the Roman armies, and equivalent to the British Field Marshal. In the East there were five, including two magistri in præsenti (Masters in Presence) of the Emperor; and two in the West, including one Master of Foot and one Master of Horse in præsenti. The Master of Foot in præsenti tended to be the most powerful though, and controlled the government. Later this office assumed the tile of magister ultriusque, or master of both army and cavalry.

MAGNA CARTA SURETY

One of the 25 Barons who agreed to enforce the Magna Carta against King John of England 1215.

MAIN

[Welsh narrow, thin] Also as vain.

MAIN PERSON

the person who is the starting point for a pedigree.

MAJORITY

The age at which a person becomes an adult. See "AGE OF MAJORITY"

MAN-AT-ARMS

a soldier holding his land, usually 60-120 acres, in return for military service. Also called a yeoman.

MANBOT

compensation for a crime

MANCIPIA

goods, possessions, including slaves

MANCUS

30 pence

MANOR

a British self-governing agricultural estate, with its own courts. The manor as a unit of land was generally held by a knight's fee. The Lord of the Manor was the head of the estate.

MANTACH

[Welsh toothless] Also as fantach.

MANUMISSION

a formal written act to free serfs or slaves

MANUMITTED

used in the United States to indicate a slave that was set free. For the Palatinate immigrates it indicates release from obligation to the land and by extension the gentry/royalty/church that owned that land. They could not leave without a document of manumission.

MANWRYTH

see LEODGELD

MARABOTIN

a gold coin of the Arabs of Spain

MAP

[Welsh son, boy] 'Son of'' is usually ab,ap. Also occurs as 'Mab' . 'Map' or 'Mab' is not related to the Latin "ab", but is rather from the British 'mapos' meaning 'son' and is a cognate of Irish "mac". The word becomes 'map' in Old Welsh and 'mab' in Modern Welsh. When following a personal name the "m" lenites in a v-sound, still spelled 'm' in Old Welsh, but increasingly spelled 'v' and 'f' later on. The v-sound tends to be rather weak in Welsh (cf. 'tref' becoming 'tre'), and in the highly formulaic nature of these names is lost. British "Moricantos mapos Totorigos" (genitive of Totorix) -> Old Welsh "Morcant map Tutur" -> Modern Welsh "Morgan ap Tudur". See also bachgen.

MARCHER LORD

the palatine lord, usually an earl in England, but a margrave in other European countries, whose responsibility is was to protect the kingdom from their march, or property. Typically, these lords were given extraordinary powers to govern these border or frontier areas. In England, Chester and Durham were considered marches for Wales and Scotland; in Germany, the Rhineland was consider the march between Germany and France and governed by a palsgraf.

MARGRAVE/MARGRAVINE

see MARQUIS

MARITAGIUM

a gift of land a bride takes into a marriage as part of her dowry. If the marriage produced no heirs, the property would revert to the bride's family

MARK

[Medieval] English unit of currency worth 13 shillings and four pence. An English mark equaled 2/3 pound; on the continent the mark was equivalent to 8 oz. of silver.

MARKS OF CADENCY

[Heraldry] symbolic changes to show seniority of the sons of the bearer of a coat of arms, as standardized by the 18th C. The marks were usually placed in the chief, unless it had to overlap all four quarters of a quartered shield. The mark is permanent and passed down to his sons. Illegitimate sons could be granted arms, but their mark usually involved a differenced border, most often wavy, but occasionally plain, compony, or engrailed. The marks were:
- eldest son: no change, except a label until he succeeds his father.
- second son: a crescent
- third son: a molet
- fourth son: a martlet
- fifth son: an annulet
- sixth son: a fleur-de-lis
- seventh son: a rose
- eighth son: a moline
- ninth son: a double quatrefoil

MARQUIS

earldoms/counties at the edge of a realm were called "Mark". Such earldoms/counties were more important than the ordinary earldoms. The count of a Mark, a Mark-Count, later became Marquis. The German equivalent is Margrave (female equivalent Margravine).

MARRIAGE BANNS

see BANNS

MARRIAGE BOND

ancestors of our modern marriage licenses, were required in colonial America at least as early as the 1660s. They were supposed to guard against illegal marriages (if one party were already married or under age, for instance) by making people personally known to the man and woman libel for payment of a large amount of money if they failed to disclose an objection to a legal marriage before it took place. The bond was executed to guarantee that no legal or moral impediments existed to an intended marriage. A payment was made which would be forfeited, usually to State, should the marriage not take place.

MARRIAGE CONTRACT

a civil contract between two individuals dealing with lands, inheritance, dower, etc. It could be executed at any age, and perhaps many years prior to the ceremony. It preceded the marriage marriage ceremony, but otherwise was for the most part was unrelated to it.

MARRIAGE SETTLEMENT

the date on which the father or guardian of the bride transferred the agreed upon dower money or land

MARSHAL

originally an official who had charge of horses, as a groom, or farrier. But it became the title of various high military and civil officers. The term was also used for a kind of guardian of etiquette; in the British royal household there is an official in the lord chamberlain's department called the marshal of the ceremonies. The marshal of the king's bench was judge of the Marshalsea court. A grand jury is sworn in by the judge's marshal. etc. See also Earl Marshal.

MARTINMAS

the religious holiday occurring on the 11th of November

MARTLET

[Heraldry] a representation of a bird without feet, used as a crest or bearing

MASTER

(1) relative to a ship, he today would be called the Captain, but in American colonial times was called the Master
(2) magister (q.v)

(3) younger sons of a nobleman

MATERTERA

[Latin] usually a maternal aunt, although in Medieval times, it is occasionally used as the paternal aunt

MATINS

part of the monastic timetable for liturgy, called horarium. This worship service typically occured between 2am-3am in winter and 1am-2am in summer

MATRILINEAR

is a descent only by women.

MATRONYM

a surname based on a maternal ancestor. In medieval times, a younger son or son-in-law would occasionally take the mother's name in association with the property that may have come with it.

MAWLA

[Arabic] a freed slave

MEDALE

the drinking festival after a lord's fields were mowed

MEDIATIZATION

The practice of allowing formerly ruling houses to maintain their dynastic rights even when they lost sovereignty over territory. It meant that even if they no longer ruled, they were still "equal" in dynastic dignity to the luckier families that did retain sovereignty over lands and would remain equal provided their members married equally. This practice was in use primarily after 1815 in the German states which were absorbed into a lager German state.

MEDIMNUM

[Greek] a measure equivalent to six pecks

MEDKNICHE

a haymaker's fee, equivalent to as much hay the haymaker could lift with his middle finger to his knees

MEIRRÉ

see POTENT

MELUNGEON

Louise Littleton Davis in "The Mystery of the Melungeons" refers to them as a "mystery race tucked away between the ridges of East Tennessee mountains long before Daniel Boone and the long hunters arrived." These are a number of theories about their origins:

Louise Littleton Davis suggests that they were descendants of Portuguese sailors shipwrecked off Cape Hatteras in the mid-1500s. "Melungo" means "shipmate" in Portuguese.
Mary Sue Going suggests that they are descendants of deserters from an expedition of 100 Spanish soldiers who were once camped at the present-day location of Newport, Tennessee. This theory is plausible because Emperor Charles V of Spain had made a star-crossed decision to attach the Netherlands to the Spanish monarchy and consequently involved himself and his successor son in a rebellion that they were unable to quell despite 54 years of continuous warfare. A Dutch revolt against the Spanish monarch began in 1555 and continued until its successful conclusion in 1609. The nation could not field enough soldiers to protect its empire, and as a consequence, Spain subjected neighboring Portugal and impressed Portuguese men into Spanish regiments throughout the empire. It is more than credible that conscripted Portuguese soldiers would desert in Tennessee if the opportunity presented itself. As a sidelight, a genealogical anomaly resulted from this war. A new race was created in the southern part of Holland during the six decades that Spanish and Portuguese soldiers were stationed there. Their "fraternization" with the Dutch girls produced dark-skinned children which were the beginning of the "Black Dutch."
Henry R. Price in "Melungeons: The Vanishing Colony of Newman's Ridge" offers a theory that the mysterious people were descendants of Sir Walter Raleigh's lost colony of Roanoke, Virginia (now Roanoke Island, North Carolina) established July 23, 1587. Another expedition arriving three years later found no trace of the vanished colonists.
John Fetterman in "The Melungeons" suggests that they are descendants of Carthagenian sailors who fled to Portugal when Carthage fell to the Arabs in A.D. 698.
English historian David Beers Quinn postulates that in 1586 Sir Francis Drake deposited several hundred Turkish and Moorish sailors, liberated from the Spanish in present-day Central America, on the coast of North Carolina at Roanoke Island. No trace was found of these people when later English vessels dropped anchor for re-resupplying. It is possible, if not likely, that many of them survived and were absorbed into the surrounding Native American tribes. This is particularly intriguing when one considers that most sixteenth-century Turkish sailors were themselves of central Asian heritage, thus making them literal cousins to the Native Americans they would have encountered, if the purported Bering Strait-migration thesis is to be believed.-- from the Melungeon.org website
"Melungeon" is itself pronounced identically to the Arabic and Turkish terms "Melun jinn" and "Melun can" meaning "cursed soul." This term was in common usage among sixteenth-century Ottoman Turks, Arabs, and Muslim Conversos in Spain and Portugal, and is still understood by modern Arabs and Turks as a self-deprecating term by a Mulsim who feels abandoned by God. A recently initiated linguistics study involving American and Turkish/Arabic linguists is now underway to take a truly qualified look at such evidence in order to rule out coincidence. -- from the Melungeon.org website.

MEMORIAL

a legal document, which represents the facts of the owners right and title to the property. South Carolina had an entire series of Memorials, because the legislature ordered everyone to file one, explaining how they came by their land. There was no such law in Virginia, so they are scattered in deed and court books. They generally are of two types in Virginia. First, they are used like a caveat, or warning, that there was some kind of problem with the title. ["This is a memorial to announce that a previous deed was judged invalid."] Memorials can be used if someone defaults on payments of a sale, and the land reverts to a previous owner. The owner makes it clear what happened and why he is the true owner again. The second type might just be making clear how someone obtained title, usually for the purpose of a sale. Details of previous ownership are usually given. This type might give a line of descent in a family, proving how the land was passed from grandfather to father, to son. This is done when the land passed by operation of law, [as in intestate succession] without a deed being filed. Sometimes they just state previous sales. This might be done if a buyer wanted proof that the seller had a right to sell, and not necessarily because there was problem with the title. Memorials are informal, much like a deposition concerning title. They are filed in addition to any deeds, in order to make the chain of title clear. -- Langdon Hagen-Long, GEN-MEDIEVAL, 23 Nov 2004

MENNONITE:

a Swiss Protestant group formed in 1525 who were followers of Menno Simons, which migrated to America by way of Alsace, England and Russia. They settled primarily in Kansas, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.

MENSIS

[Latin] month

MERCH

[Welsh] girl, daughter. Also as verch.

MERCHET

a sum paid by a villein to his lord to give his daughter in marriage

MERLETTE

[French] See martlet

MERLON

the high segment of alternating high and low segments of a battlement of a castle

MEROVINGIANS

[medieval] the dynasty of Frankish rulers of central Europe. The dynasty is named after Merovch [Merovee], King of the Franks. There were certainly a number of Frankish kings before him, but they tend to by mythical, and the exact relationships are speculative. This dynasty prospered until the 7th C., when their authority was taken over by the Carolingians, who were their Mayors of the Palace. The genealogical connection between the Carolingians and the Merovingians is probable, although actual relationship is at present uncertain.

MESE [MECE]

a piece of land with a dwelling on it

MESNE CONVEYANCE

an intermediate conveyance, one occupying an intermediate position in the chain of title between the first grantee and the present holder

MESNIE

military personnel of a castle

MESSER, MESSOR

custodian of the manor's harvest

MESSUAGE

[English] a small homestead with garden average 90x120 feet in size, usually with a right to farm several strips in a communal field and to pasture animals in an open common field

METAL

[heraldry] There are two metals: or and argent

METHEL

council, meeting

METROPOLITAN

in the eastern orthodox church, the bishop of a large metropolis, overseeing a provincial area.

METES AND BOUNDS

A description of the boundaries of a piece of land that uses landmarks such as stones, hills, and trees. A "mete" is where two property lines meet (intersect)

MICHAELMAS

a religious holiday celebrating St. Michael, and occurring annually on September 29th. Annual rents, the most common form in medieval times, were generally due on this day. With Hock Day, these two dates divided the year into a summer and winter season.

MILENUM

1000

MILITARY DEATH INDEX

database of 100,000 men and women who died in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

MILITIA

armed forces raised locally to protect the citizenry, and may be called upon to serve in a wider conflict as happened in the American Revolution and Civil War.

MILLEROLE

a dry measure in Provence

MILREIS

a coin used in the western Mediterranean

MINIM

[paleography] a description of the problem of medieval manuscripts, in which the script appears as a series of vertical letters. This word becomes the example, for "minim" appears to look like "iiiiiiiiii".

MISPRISON

when one hides one's knowledge of an intended treasonable act

MISSI

a royal agent under the Carolingians

MISSUS DOMINICUS

[Latin: envoy of the lord] an official sent by some Frankish kings and emperors to supervise provincial administration. Used sporadically by Merovingian and early Carolingian rulers, the missi became a normal part of the administrative machinery under Charlemagne (reigned 768-814). From about 802 onward almost all of his empire was periodically divided into missatica, or inspection circuits; these were visited--in theory for four months out of every year but often in practice less regularly--by at least two missi, one a bishop or abbot, the other a layman, probably a count. The missi were powerful men protected with a wergild equal to that of a member of the sovereign's family. They had full investigatory powers and were to rectify all error and injustice. Missi administered the oath of allegiance exacted from all freemen on the occasion of a new sovereign, informed local communities of the content of imperial decrees, and reported back on local conditions and needs. The difficulties that beset the Carolingian empire after about 830 paralyzed and finally virtually destroyed the system of missi dominici by the end of the 9th century.

MITTIMUS

an order by the court of jurisdiction to the sheriff to arrest and convey an individual to jail as a prisoner, subsequent to further order by the court

MODIFIED REGISTER

a book of one's descendants

MOEL

[Welsh bald] Also as foel.

MOIETY

an undivided part or share, usually used in conjunction of a split of area, such as a medieval Honour. Moities generally develop either where a person dies intestate, and the property must be dividing between several heirs, especially if their are no male heirs, and it must be divided between co-heiresses.

MOLET

[Heraldry] a five-pointed star

MOLINE

[Heraldry] a cross each arm of which is divided at the end into two rounded branches or divisions

MONEYER

an individual licensed to mint coins. Traditionally he was allowed to keep 1/240 for himself as payment for the effort.

MORGANATIC

an unequal marriage in social status, which meant (and still often does mean) that any child of such a marriage will be denied succession rights and will have a lesser status

MORAVIAN:

immigrants from an area now part of the present day Czech Republic.
the United Brethren is a Protestant group formed in Bohemia about 1415 which spread to Poland, Prussia, Germany and England.

MORGANGIFU

a gift from a husband to his wife the morning after the wedding

MORMAER:

[Scot.] a medieval territorial ruler usually considered equivalent to an earl/jarl/count, but really more a sub-king. Literal translation meant "greater man" and in early medieval times functioned as Great Steward; later although subject to the king, he acted fairly independent with almost kingly powers. There were seven mormaers in the 9th C., when it began to be absorbed into the English feudal system.

MORMONS

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), more commonly known as the Mormons. This church is very active in collecting genealogical information for religious purposes. Their huge collection of data is available to the general public as well

MORT D'ANCESTOR

a court pleading regarding claims of an heir the another individual has usurped his property

MORTALITY SCHEDULE

the enumeration (census counting) of deaths during the 12 months preceding census day. The U.S. Census included Mortality Schedules from 1850 through 1900, although the 1890 and 1900 schedules have been destroyed

MORTH

murder

MORTHERAS

murderers

MORTMAIN

[French dead hand] a medieval feudal principle, later common law, that property could not be sold or given to a entity other than a person, specifically to a corporation or religious entity, except by permission of the king. During that period, most all was owned by the king, and by grant to his lords. The property was subject to fees, including military service. To allow property to be owned by an alienated entity deprived the lords, and subsequently the king, of their their income and military support. Mortmain was not in effect in the U.S., with the possible exception of Pennsylvania.

MORTIS

[Latin] death

MORTUARY

a gift to the church upon one's death

MOURNING RING

Mourning jewelry and mourning gifts often borne the name or initial of the deceased, the date of death and sometimes the age of the dead person, such rings, bracelets, pins, gloves, scarves and pendants were given to mourners as remembrances of the deceased.

MOYN

[Welsh tender, sweet-natured]

MR.

a title that could only precede the names of gentlemen, clergymen or government officials.

MRS.

a feminine equivalent of Mr., it did not denote marital status but social position (women of the aristocracy). An unmarried woman of social status might be referred to as "Mrs."

MULATTO

an individual with both black and white heritage

MULIEREM

[Latin woman]

MULLET

[Heraldric] star

MULTURE

payment of a portion of grain to the miller for his effort

MUND

[Old English] the King's Peace

MUNDBRECH

[Old English] breach of the King's Peace

MUNDBYRD

[Old English] guardianship

MUSTER

an early colonial census where inhabitants were called out to appear to be counted

N

NAIFTY: the state of being born into serfdom
NATIVI: [Latin, born] a serf or bondman. Also seen as nativi domini.
NATIVI DE SANGUINE: [Latin, born of blood] children, but possibly a widow, of a deceased serf. They were required to fulfill the feudal contract contract of the serf.
NATUM: [Latin] born
NATURALEM: natural
NATURAL CHILD: not recognized by law as lawful offspring; an illegitimate child. See also Base Born.
NATURALIZE: to grant full citizenship to one of foreign birth
NECROLOGY: register book of deaths
NEE: [French, born] signifying a woman's maiden surname
NEHGS: New England Historical & Genealogical Society. > Their magazine is the Register (NEHGR).
NEIF: a female serf
NEPHEW: practically the same usage as today, except in very old records it could also mean niece. In Middle English it meant grandson or granddaughter
NEPOS/NEPTIS: [Latin, nephew/niece] during medieval times, it could mean a variety of blood relatives including nephew, grandson, or cousin
NGS: National Genealogical Society
NICKNAME: an unofficial name given to a personin addition to the original name
NUNCUPATIVE WILL: an oral will declared by the deceased before dying, in the presence of witnesses, and transcribed by another.
NOBILISSIMUS: [Latin] in the 3rd century AD, a title to describe the emperor's eldest son. By the 4th century, it became an independent title, with a dignity just below Cæsar, but was still confined to the imperial family. Later in medieval times, the term "nobility" or part of the royal, developed from this concept.
NOBILITY: families of high and hereditary rank. Often descended from younger sons of kings. Often the only families which royalty would marry into. In the English system today, the head of a noble family is a duke, marquess, earl, viscount, or baron
NOBLE: see NOBILITY above; [archaic] distinguished by virtue of position, character or exploits {O}
NOBLE MAN: In the early medieval period, the term in England was reserved for someone of high birth or their family. This would include princes, dukes, earls and knights of great wealth. However, from the 1400s men of lesser knightly or gentry were addressed as noble man. This can be seen in the Papal Registers, and generally in the French form as noble homme. Douglas Richardson, GEN-MEDIEVAL, 13 Dec 2011
NON-TITHABLE: In 17th and 18th Century Virginia, those persons not tithable. Reasons for being exempt from tithe included:; (1) Being a white woman
(2) Not being a citizen of Virginia
(3) Being a political employee -- everything from a constable to state governor
(4) Being a professor at a college
(5) Being a minister of the Gospel
(6) Being a soldier or sailor
(7) Being old or infirm -- the person was exempted by applying to the county court so records of those exempt for this reason can be found in the court order books
(8) Being a ferryman
(9) Being a non-resident -- the tax was imposed only once, so if a man owned property in two counties, or in two different "quarters" in one county, he was exempt from the tithe except at his place of residence
NONE: part of the monastic timetable for liturgy, called horarium. This worship service typically occurred between 1pm-2pm in winter and 2pm-3pm in summer
NONES: [Latin] under the Roman calendar, the 7th of the month in March, May, July and October; the 5th in the remaining months
NONPATERNITY EVENT: a change in birth surname of an individual due to adoption, illegitimacy, or deliberate name change
NOTARY: a person officially authorized to draw up or attest to contracts, wills, deeds, or similar documents, to protest bills of exchange
NOVEM: [Latin] nine
NOVERCA: [Latin] the other wife, or step-mother, depending on the point of reference
NOVICE: a member of a religious house who has not yet taken final vows
NOW WIFE: exclusively found in wills, this term implied that there was a former (or ex-) wife, although it sometimes had the meaning simply that the wife listed was the current, but possible only won the testator had
NUPTUALAE: [Latin] bride/wife
NUBER HUC ADVENTIS: [Latin] recently arrived here
NUDUS MILES: [Latin] a simple squire not wearing full armor
NUMMUS: [Latin] coins
NURUS: [Latin] usually daughter-in-law, although occasionally seen as mother-in-law, which is usually 'socrus

O


OAST HAYRE: the cloth on the oast above the fires where the hops are dried.
OATH OF ABJURATION: sworn statement renouncing a former allegiance
OATH OF ALLEGIANCE: an oath in the American colonies during the Revolution requiring immigrants to swear that they supported the new American government rather than the King of England
OB: [Latin] before - in front of - because of - on account of
OBIT: [Latin] died; abbreviation: ob.
OBITUARY: a notice, in recent times in a newspaper or journal, announcing the death of an individual and frequently providing familial and genealogical details
OBLATE: a child placed with a religious house with the intent that he would eventually take vows
OBOLE: a half denarius; hapenny
OCTAVE: referring to dates, especially feast days, it is the eighth day past the date, including the date itself
OCTO: [Latin] 8
OF COLOR: see Colored.
OFERHYNES: disobedience
OLD STYLE DATE: Certain dates before 1752 are based on the "Old Style" (O.S.) calendar. By Act of Parliament passed in 1750, the Gregorian (New Style) calendar replaced the previous one. The day following 2 September 1752, was called 14 September. At the same time the beginning of the legal year was changed from the 25th of March to 1 January. Many European countries had adopted the Gregorian calendar as early as 1700. Because of the resulting confusion, it had become the custom in England and her colonies to give two dates for the period between 1 January and 25 March, (example: 13 January 1709/10). The day following 24 March 1709/10 was given as 25 March 1710." {Q}
ONOMASTICS: use of naming patterns to develop a possible lineage
ONCE REMOVED: See "Cousins" on our website.
OPPIDO: [Latin] town
OR: [Heraldric; French gold] one of the seven colors allowed in heraldry -- gold colored and represented in engraving by a white surface covered with small dots
ORA: 1/8 of a mark. Fifteen orae equaled one pound in the 10th Century.
ORATOR/ORATRIX: [Latin] an attorney handles case and legal proceedings but uses the name orator/oratrix to identify the man or woman that instigated the case and related the events to him. ie: a wife's personal tale of the actions of her spouse when no witness was present.
ORDEAL: a method of trial whereby the accused is given a physical test, usually dangerous or painful, only by which if he is successful is he innocent
ORDEL: the power to try by ordeal
ORDINARY: in addition to to current one meaning "commonplace":; 1. A dining room or eating house, or house of public entertainment (as opposed to a house of private entertainment) where a meal is prepared for all comers, at a fixed price for the meal, in distinction from one where each dish is separately charged;
2. A heraldric term which includes one of nine or ten geometric sshapes which are in constant use. The bend, chevron, chief, cross, fesse, pale, and saltire are types of ordinaries;
3. A legal term - (Roman Law) An officer who has original jurisdiction in his own right, and not by deputation. (b) (Eng. Law) One who has immediate jurisdiction in matters ecclesiastical; an ecclesiastical judge; also, a deputy of the bishop, or a clergyman appointed to perform divine service for condemned criminals and assist in preparing them for death. (c) (Am. Law) A judicial officer, having generally the powers of a judge of probate or a surrogate.; 4. a bishop of a diocese {W}
ORPHAN TRAINS: over the 75 year span of the Orphan Train movement from 1853 to 1928, it is estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 "orphan" children in the big cities of the East were relocated to new homes in the Midwest via the Orphan Trains. But the term "orphan" is used loosely in many cases. Some children were true orphans, no parents, no other family to look after them, living on the streets, sleeping in doorways, fending for themselves by whatever means necessary. But many of these children had parents.
ORPIMENT: yellow dye
ORWIGE: outlawed
OUTFANGTHIEF: a medieval jurisdictional authority which allowed the holder of the authority to chase a thief down outside his territory. See also INFANGTHIEF.
OVERLAND: land (such as pastures) which contained no dwellings and was usually held by freehold
OXFORD SYSTEM: notes with source references. The notes can either be placed at the bottom of the page, known as footnotes, or at the end of each chapter or section, or (most commonly) collected in a special section at the end of the work, called endnotes.
OXGATE: a measure of land also known as an bovate. It was 1/8 of a ploughgate(or as much land as one ox could plough in a year). An oxgate varied in acreage from 8 to 18 acres, depending on how arable the land was.

P

PAEN

[Heraldry] sable with spots of or tufts of or

PALEOGRAPHY

the study of ancient forms of writing

PALATINATE

(1) in Germany, the area west of the Rhine River
(2) a regality, a region, usually on the frontier of a country, whose lord enjoys semi-royal jurisdiction although still a subject and tenant-in-chief of the Crown--an arrangement that was designed mainly to strengthen defence against invasion. Palatinates were usually in remote areas. The best known palatinate in England was that of Durham, whose local government was in the hands of the Bishop of Durham until--believe it or not--1836. Chester and Lancaster were also palatinates, and Kent briefly. The Count Palatine was the ruler of the palatinate.

PALATINE

people from the Palatinate area in the Rhineland of Germany. In 1688, Louis XIV of France began persecuting German Protestants from the west bank of the Rhine River. Queen Anne of England helped a group to come to America in 1708. More than 2000 arrived in New York in 1710 and settled along the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. Others settled in Pennsylvania. The term also applied to the two palatine counties (marches) of Chester and Durham in England.

PALSGRAF

see COUNT PALATINE

PANNAGE

the privilege or money paid to a lord permit swine or other animals to feed in a wood

PAPILLONY

[Heraldic] like fish scales

PARAGE

see TENURE EN PARAGE

PARASANG

[Persian] a unit of length of 30 stadia, or about three miles

PARENS MEUS

[Latin, my relative] something uncertain -- a distant cousin, or a granduncle -- when you know that there may be a connection, but you're not sure which one.

PARENTES

[Latin] kinsmen

PARISH

per "A Hornbook of VA History", "When the first English settlers came to Virginia in 1607 they followed the familiar patterns of the Church of England and established parishes that served as local units of ecclesiastical and community organization. ---In Colonial Virginia the General Assembly established parishes and fixed their boundaries, often at the same time that it created or altered counties. A decade after independence, on 16 Jan 1786, the General Assembly passed Thomas Jefferson's Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, ending state-enforced support for the formally established church and its parishes." In Louisiana, parishes are still a secular unit of government, equivalent to a county.

PAROCHUS

rector/pastor

PASCHAL

pertaining to Easter

PASCUARIUM

payment for pasturage

PASSENGER LIST

list of names and information about passengers that came to the United States on ships.

PATENT

an instrument making a conveyance of public lands; also : the land so conveyed

PATHMASTER

An archaic term for a person responsible for maintaining a particular road or roads in the town

PATRIARCH

the individual heading one of the five great jurisdictions of the Catholic Church, including Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria, although the pope in Rome did not assume the title of patriarch

PATRICIAN

the group of elite families, including any adopted members, in ancient Roman society. Although the title changed over the breadth of the Roman period, it generally, at least in the beginning deferred a sort of noble status on its members. thus it differentiated the nobility from the common man, or plebeians. The honor was hereditary, and could only be conferred by the emperor or the Senate. Likewise, an individual and his family could be demoted for criminal acts or failure to carry out civic responsibilities.

PATRILINEAR

see agnatic lineage.

PATRINUS

[Latin] godfather (sponsor)

PATRIOTIC SERVICE

[American] having participated in the American Revolutionary War, exclusive of military service. Patriotic Service includes: Collector of Provisions; Defender of Fort or Frontier; Delegate to a Continental Congress or to a Provincial Congress; Express Rider, Fence Viewer; Furnishing a substitute, Gunsmith who gave his services; Inspector of provisions; Legislator; Member of the Boston Tea Party; and many others.

PATRITIUS

[Latin, paternal]

PATRONYM

a surname derived from a paternal ancestor, such as "Williamson, the son of William". See also matronym.

PATRUUS

[Latin] brother or half-brother of one's father, i.e., uncle

PAUCIS HEBDOMADIBUS [Latin]

few weeks

PEASANT

the lowest feudal class

PEDAGIUM

a toll to use a highway or bridge

PEDIGREE

recorded ancestry or line of descent

PEDIGREE CHART

a more-or-less standard genealogical form for recording several generations of one's ancestry

PEDIGREE COLLAPSE

an ancestor to a person in several ways. Children of parents who are cousins is an example of pedigree collapse.

PEEL

a long handled broad shovel used for putting bread into an oven.

PEER

A holder of a noble title. See PEERAGE

PEERAGE

Dukes, earls, counts, viscounts, marquesses, barons, archbishops, bishops and judges. Baronets are not members of the peerage. -- Renia Simmons (edited)

PENCE

a coin, unit of British currency, symbolized as d

PENTHEROS

[Greek] father-in-law

PEPPERCORN RENT

Peppercorn rents originated during the Middle ages in Britain. When a piece of property was deeded over as a reward for good service (or because the tenant was a favorite of the overlord) a nominal rent was charged as a reminder that the tenant didn't own it outright. A single peppercorn (or a single rose i.e. rose rents) was among the most popular forms of this style of "quit rent" but there were various other curious forms of payment, such as a frog, a roast pork dinner or the donation of a petticoat to a poor woman. The Feast of St. Michael or Michaelmas (September 29) is one of the standard days for paying rent or settling debts.

PER

[Latin] for

PER STIRPES

[Latin] see STIRPES

PERCHE

a measure of about 50 feet; as an area of measure it was about 1/4 acre

PERSONAL PROPERTY

property other than land

PERSONALTY

[English] personal property, q.v. above

PER STIRPES

[Latin] a method of dividing an estate so that children act as a group, rather than individually, taking what their deceased ancestor was entitled to.

PHEON

[Heraldric] an arrow with a flat barbed head

PICTURA

a portion of a field

PIERCED

[Heraldic] hole in the center

PINFOLD

a place for confining impounded horses or cattle

PITTANCER

an official of a religious house whose responsibility it is to distribute charitable gifts or allowances of food

PLANTAGENET

a surname commonly applied to members of the English Royal House of England between 1154 and 1485. Members of that house were descended from the union between Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and Maine, and the Empress Matilda, [1102-1167] daughter of the English King, Henry I "Beauclerc". Although the practice is well-established, it has little historical justification. The name Plantagenet seems to have originated as a sobriquet or nickname for Count Geoffrey. It has variously been explained as referring to his practice of wearing a sprig or branch of yellow broom (Latin: [planta] genista; Old French:
plante genet in his helm, or more probably to his habit of planting brooms to improve his hunting cover. "Plantagenet" was not, by any means, a hereditary surname and Geoffrey's progeny remained without one for more than 300 years, although surnames became common outside the Royal Family. Henry II Curtmantle FitzEmpress [1133-1189] [son of Geoffrey and Matilda The Empress] and his own sons, Richard I and John I, are now generally styled by historians as the Angevin (from Anjou) kings. For want of a better name, their successors, notably Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, and Richard II are still described as Plantagenets. Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI may properly be called the House of Lancaster; while Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III constitute the monarchs of the House of York. The first official use of the surname Plantagenet by any descendant of Count Geoffrey was in 1460, when Richard, 3rd Duke of York [1411-1460], claimed the throne in the name of "Richard Plantaginet." [N.B. Yes, there was no standard spelling in English in 1460.] Richard, 3rd Duke of York, was Protector of England, Earl of March and Ulster, and Earl of Cambridge. The legitimate male issue of Count Geoffrey and Matilda The Empress became extinct with the death, in 1499, of Edward, [1475-1499] 18th Earl of Warwick, grandson of Richard, 3rd Duke of York. He was the son of George [1449-1478], Duke of Clarence, who allegedly met his end in the Tower of London as did his son, but George was supposedly drowned in the famous butt of Malmsey. The Madeira Wine, "Duke of Clarence" is named after this event. Henry VII resented Edward, 18th Earl of Warwick's proximity to the throne and he was executed at the Tower of London on 28 Nov 1499. -- Spencer Hines (edited)

PLEBEIAN

a class of Roman citizen, individually called plebs, consisting of those not in the upper, noble patrician class. Although it generally was made up of the middle and low classes, some plebs were wealthy and influential. Over time the distinction between patricians and plebeians became minor, although some public offices were restricted to one class or the other. For example, plebeians had their own tribune, ædile and council.

PLOUGHGATE

A ploughgate or plowland, also known as a carucate equaled 8 oxgangs or bovates. A uniform (clerks) ploughgate appeared to be around 104 acres, but it could range from 60 to 120 acres. This meaasure was based on the amount of land a team of eight oxen could plow in a year

POLL

a head count. A poll tax is a tax in each individual.

POLLED DEED

a poll deed is a deed made by one person or party only, to which he alone is bound, and executed only by himself. The name arose as a result of the practice of cutting the top or side edge of the deed in a straight line (polled) as opposed to an indenture (deed indented) which cut the parchment or paper in a notched or saw-tooth edge. This was done as a practical matter of distinction. The deed poll of trust would record the transfer of title to real property via trustee.

PONE

a writ to remove an action from a shire court to the royal court

PONTAGE

a bridge toll

PONTIFEX

One of the high priests of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs. This was a important position in the Ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC. A distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic. The head priest was called the pontifex maximus. This rank gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office. Its last use with reference to the emperors is in inscriptions of Gratian. From this office, today the Roman Catholic Pope if sometimes called the Pontiff, derived from the Latin pontifex.

POPULATION SCHEDULE

a completed population census questionnaire

PORPHYROGENITUS

[Latin, purple born] A Byzantine appellation for those offspring born while their father was emperor

PORT REEVE

the chief magistrate in a mercantile town

PORTCULLIS

a heavy timbered grill that can be raised or lowered at the gate of a castle

PORTER

door keeper; one of the minor orders in a church

POSTHUMOUS

born after the father's death

POSTULANT

an individual seeking to enter a religious order

POTENT

[Heraldry] a fur surface, also called 'meirré', composed of patches which are supposed to represent crutch heads; they are always alternately argent and azure, unless otherwise specially mentioned. Counter potent is a fur differing from potent in the arrangement of the patches.

POURPARTY

The division among partners of lands which were formerly held in common.

PRÆCENDE

[Latin previous, preceding]

PRÆ

[Latin] in front, before, through

PRÆFECTUS

[Latin, one who stands in front] a Roman official appointed by a magistrate, for a number of functions including commanding troops, distributing food, administering pensions, guarding a treasury, governor of a province, etc.

PRÆFECT URBIS

[Latin] the Mayor of Rome

PRÆFECTURE

In late Roman times, one of four great sections -- Gaul, Italy, Illyricum and the East, under which all of the provinces/dioceses were governed

PRÆTOR

[Latin, the one who goes before] a Roman magistrate, responsible for the administration of justice. Their role changed over time, and the number authorized varied from a single one in the 360s BC, to one for each province under the Republic, up to 18 under the Empire. A prætor could have six bodyguards, and was entitled to wear a purple-bordered toga. The prætor was responsible for spending money on games and other public works. There were eight prætors in the East, and were named by the Senate ten years in advance so they could save enough funds to later hold the office, from which funds solely came from their own pockets. Based on the Lex Villia Annalis (181 BC) and Lex Cornelia Annalis (81 BC), a prætor had to be at least 39 years of age entering the office.

PRÆTOR URBANIS

[Latin] the prætor of the City of Rome

PREBENDARY

a cathedral official, usually a member of the chapter who drew a prebend, or salary, from the cathedral

PRECARIUM

a charter whereby property is received on the basis of an annual payment, which may be a payment in kind

PRECENTER

a religious official in charge of making sure there are the proper number of books for the liturgy

PREFIX TITLE

precedes one's name. (i.e.: Dr. or Mrs.)

PREMONSTRATENSIAN

a reform order of clergy in NE France formed in the 12th C., and adhering stricly to the doctrines of St. Augustine. They were a stricter form of the Austin Friars. Also known as the White Canons.

PRETENDER

in terms of a title or position, a pretender is one who claims that position, but who has no right to it. The term is typically derogatory, used by those claim the right against those to whom they deny it. A historical "Pretender" was the Scottish Bonnie Prince Charlie.

PRIDIE/PRIEDE

[Latin, the previous day]

PRIESTER

any kind of priest

PRIMARY RECORD

a record created at the time of the event (birth, death, marriage, etc.), as opposed to records written years later

PRIME

part of the monastic timetable for liturgy, called horarium. This worship service typically occurred between 7am-8am in winter and 5am-6am in summer

PRIMOGENITOR

the earliest known ancestor or forefather

PRIMOGENITURE

the right of the eldest child (especially the son) to inherit the estate of both parents.

PRINCE

the male member of a royal family. Also, rulers of autonomous states, subject to the overlordship of a king

PRIOR

(1) a superior in a priory, whether an abbot, provost or dean

(2) second-in-command of an abbey

PRIORY

a monastic house headed by a prior. Typically a priory was smaller than an abbey.

PRISAGE

a toll levied on wines

PRIVATE

person, family, event, note, or alternate name can be set as private, which means that information about the person can be excluded when exporting to GEDCOM or prints.

PRIVY SEAL

the personal seal of the king, used for less formal letters and documents

PROAVUS

[Latin] great-grandfather

PROBATE

legal establishment of the validity of a will

PROBST

provost, a clerical office

PROCESSIONER

used in colonial Virginia and Kentucky describing a surveyor of sorts. His job was to decide upon property boundaries to mark, and describe them in the processioner's book. Each four years all landowners in a community would ride or walk along the boundaries of all their plantations. Surveyors who accompanied this procession would redraw any disputed lines. This custom came from England to Virginia as a means of avoiding disputes arising from poor surveys or loss of boundary markers such as trees.

PROCONSUL

a Roman magistrate, formerly a consul, used to extend the command of a consul beyond his normal term under a prolonged war. In later times, proconsuls governed important provinces, "as if they were consuls".

PROCTOR

legal representatives, usually associated with the ecclesiastical courts, although he sometimes participated in the king's council. He was the individual responsible for preparing cases. He was the equivalent of an attorney.

PROCURANT

[Latin] stand instead of , i.e., a proxy

PROCURATOR

a Roman official originally administering large amounts of money or agricultural domains. Later they were responsible for taxation in the provinces. Ultimately, as in 41 in Judea, they were the governors of the provinces, or were the chief ministers of the Roman government

PROCURATOREM

[Latin] in behalf of

PROGENY

children

PROGENITOR

an originator of a line of descent, frequently used in reference to the immigrant ancestor.

PROPINQUUS

[Latin] a relative in the next generation down, such as a nephew or niece

PROSOPOGRAPHY

the study of collective biography, for individuals of a certain group (social class, profession, time frame, geographic origin, etc.). By accumulating data on individuals in a group, one learns more about the group. The term may have been coined by anthropologists but it is widely used among medieval historians, particularly social historians.

PROVED

a will taken to court by the executor and sworn to by one or more of the witnesses. It is evidence that the testator had died before the date of probate (proving). The witnesses had to appear to verify that they had seen the testator sign the will, not that they knew what the will said. After a will was proved to the court's satisfaction, the executor and administrator (if any) were authorized to carry it out. They could sell, divide, rent, or otherwise dispose of property under the provisions of the will. -- Kathleen Much

PROVOST

A university administrator of high rank.
The highest official in certain cathedrals or collegiate churches.
The keeper of a prison.
The chief magistrate of certain Scottish cities.

PROXIMO

[Latin] a date in the following month

PURPARTY

see POURPARTY

PURPESTURE

land illicitly obtained from another

PURPURE

[Heraldry] purple, or represented in black-and-white as the diagonal lines from sinister chief corner

PYTEL

a small field or enclosure

Q

QIST

[Arabic] a measure equaling 1.2 to 1.5 liters

QUÆSTOR

[Latin, the man who asks questions] the Roma magistrate originally an investigator of murders, this office evolved to control the finances of the Empire, and controlled the public treasury and were the paymasters of the army. Later, the quæstor augustii were responsible for messages to/from the emperor, and supervised the Games. The quæstor had no bodyguard, but was authorized to wear a purple-trimmed toga. Originally, there were four quæstors, but in the later Roman empire there were as many as 20.

QUADRANS

a farthing

QUADROON

a person with one black grandparent

QUAKER

a member of the Society of Friends, formed in England in 1648. Early restrictions brought them to New Jersey in 1675 and some 230 English Quakers founded Burlington, NJ in 1678. William Penn was granted the territory of Pennsylvania in 1681 and within two years there were about 3000 Quakers living there.

QUARTA

[Latin] 4

QUARTANUM

a fourth part of a measure

QUARTER

an old English term from a rural trading post - commonly used in colonial America
a method of medieval capital punishment to separate a person's body from its limbs
to house, frequently troops
a section of land that a non-resident owner had an overseer work, usually for shares, rather than work it for his own benefit

QUARTER DAYS

the first day of the new quarter of the year, when rents fell due

QUATREFOIL

[Heraldry] a representation of a flower with four petals or a leaf with four leaflets

QUI

[Latin, French] who - whereby

QUINDENE

the fifteen day after a festival

QUINQUE

[Latin] 5

QUINTAIN

a dummy with a shield on a post used as a target to practice jousting or other medieval martial arts

QUIT RENT

a rent paid by a freeman in lieu of services required under feudal custom. During the colonial period the land in Virginia belonged to the King with the exception of the Northern Neck, which belonged to the Proprietor (Lord Fairfax for many years). Although persons could claim the land, sell it, or keep it and pass it on to their heirs, they could hold it only if they paid a small annual quit-rent to the King (or to the Proprietor). If the quit-rent was not paid, the land was then reclaimed by the King (or the Proprietor), and could then be granted to another. This system existed until the Revolution. See also "Peppercorn Rent".

QUITCLAIM

one's renouncing any claim or right to a property or possession. In most cases, the individual would well know that they are part owner. This instrument was and is frequently used to resolve property received by right of inheritance or dower, but re-distributed to other members of the family.

R

RAMPANT: [Heraldry] an animal standing on its hind legs
RAPE: (1) the equivalent of a hundred in co.Sussex, England; (2) the abduction of a woman for the purpose of marriage. In medieval times, this did not include sexual involvement as the current connotation of the word provides, but was generally a consensual act between two unrequited lovers, common in a time where all marriages were arranged
REAFLAC: robbery
REBECK: a three-stringed instrument played with a bow, the early forerunner of the violin
REDEMPTIONER: a Colonial emigrant from Europe to North America who paid for his voyage by serving as a bondservant for a specified period of time after arrival
REEVE: an officer, steward, bailiff, or governor; the current derivation is sheriff, ie., shire reeve. Originally, the reeve was local administrative agent of an Anglo-Saxon king. Later, he was a medieval English manor officer responsible chiefly for overseeing the discharge of feudal obligations. {W}
REGNAL DATE: a date expressed in terms of the number of years of a monarch s reign. For example, 7 Henry VI = 7th year of the reign of King Henry the Sixth of England. He ruled from 31 Aug 1422, so that is when his regnal year begins. 7 H VI, thus means, sometime between 31 Aug 1429 and 30 Aug 1430. Edward III's double-dating is another difficult one. Between 1340 and 1360, when he asserted and renounced his claim to the French crown, Edward III added his French regnal years. When he resumed the claim in 1369 he added them again counting in the years between 1360 and 1369. Hence, 25 January 1360 - 8 May 1360 is 34 & 21 Edw. III and 11 June 1369 - 24 Jan 1370 is 43 & 30 Edw. III, the first number being his English regnal year. Another oddity is the year of Henry VI's restoration. Edward IV's regnal years ignore it. 9 Oct. 1470 - 14 April 1471 is 49 & 1 Hen. VI but it lies inside 10 - 11 Edw. IV, 4 Mar 1470 - 3 Mar 1472. -- Ivor West (edited). Henry V's death was on 31 Aug, but Hy VI accession was on 1st Sept. Some regnal years are taken from the same day as the death of the previous king, some the following day. King John's regnal years are difficult, he was crowned on Ascension Day and -being a movable feast - his regnal year changed accordingly. Charles II was deemed to have succeeded at the execution of his father Charles I, but during the Interregnum, ordinary dating was used. -- Adrian Channing
RELICT/RELICTUS: widow/widower
RENT ROLL: the list of rent payments due to a proprietor or the crown, paid usually annually, frequently on Michaelmas.
REPLEVIN: A lawsuit in which the plaintiff says the defendant has property belonging to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff wants the property returned. Contrasts with trover (q.v.).
REPOSITORY: place where a source can be found. (i.e.: Library, History center)
REREDORTER: a building containing the latrines at a monastery
RITTER: [Ger.] the lowest level of nobility, they were hereditary knights.
ROGATION DAYS: the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday between Rogation Sunday and Ascension Day when the boundaries of a parish were walked and defined
ROOM: [Archaic] as successor to, or in place of
ROOT PERSON: the person who is the starting point in a family register
ROTA: a measure, less than a quintarium
ROYALTY: the rulers (princes) and their near families.
RUN: a small creek

S

SABLE

[Heraldry] black, or represented in black-and-white as horizontal and vertical lines crossing

SAC

jurisdiction in matters of dispute

SACKLESS/SACKELESE

[Leg.] blameless

SACRIST

a religious official charged with ensuring the security and cleanliness of a church. he was also the keeper of the altar vessels

SAKE AND SOKE

a right of jurisdiction claimed by a lord of a manor

SALANDRA

a ship of Alexandria

SALIC LAW

The rule by which royal succession could only pass through sons, derived from an old law of the Franks about land inheritance. It was used by the French Royal House to justify the exclusion of daughters from succession but is wrongly believed to be the legal basis on which women were excluded from succession. It did not apply in England and was only introduced in Spain in 1713. The LEX SALICA (in Latin) was set down by Clovis, the founder of the Merovingian dynasty in Western Europe, around the end of the 5th century. It is a code of laws covering many matters, but the clause governing questions of inheritance stated that daughters could not inherit land and that all land should go to sons. This prohibition on land inheritance by a daughter had nothing to say about royal inheritance, per se, and was modified very early to allow daughters to inherit land if there were no sons. The law was forgotten and "rediscovered" in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was subsequently adapted to justify the exclusion of a daughter from inheriting the throne of France and of those whose descent from a previous sovereign is traced only through a woman. -- Matthew Harley, GEN-MEDIEVAL, 27 Mar 1002

SALTIRE

[Heraldry] one of the primary ordinaries on a shield, comprising a large X across the body of the shield

SANTAE MARIAE

[Latin] St. Mary

SATRAP

In ancient Middle East, a provincial ruler, with virtual unlimited power, under Ptolemaic and Persian empires

SCEAT, SCÆT

four sceats equal one penny

SCHEPEL

a bushel

SCIPPOND

a Baltic measure equaling 300-400 pounds

SCOT AND LOT

the rights and duties of a citizen

SCOTS-IRISH:

The descendants of the Presbyterian Scots who had been placed in the northern counties of Ireland by British rulers in the early part of the 17th Century. Most came to America from 1718 until the Revolution. They settled first in PA, then moved south and then westward to the frontier.

SCRIPTORIUM

the room or building in a monastery where a the monks copied books and documents

SCUTAGE

a shield tax in place of required military service

SECONDARY RECORD

or secondary source; a record created some time after the event

SEIGNEUR

[French] indicate a fief's owner (noble or not), and sometimes a noble person (owning fief or not). See also sieur, sire.

SEIZE QUARTIERS

[French] sixteen quarters. To be of true nobility in medieval times, one had to show the lineage (noble, of course) back 4 generations, where one would have 16 great-great-grandparents. This led during this period to the frquent creation of fictitious genealogies.

SEIZIN

possession of real property under claim of freehold estate. Possession with an intent on the part of him who holds it to claim a freehold interest. Right to immediate possession according to the nature of the estate .{B}

SELECTED PERSON

in Genney the person in the family register that has focus and the person who appears in the status bar.

SELECTMAN

a town official, as in New England, USA

SELION

a narrow strip of land between two furrows dividing an open field

SEMY

[Heraldic] a bunch of

SENESCHAL

An official in a medieval noble household in charge of domestic arrangements and the administration of servants; a steward or major-domo. From Middle English, from Old French, of Germanic origin

SENNIGHT

aweek; seven days

SEPTEM

[Latin] 7

SEPULCHERED

buried

SERF

a semi-free peasant who works the lord's demesne, and pays dues for the use of the land, the possession (but not ownership) is inheritable. Also known as villeins, churls, boors, and naifs.

SERVI

serfs or slaves

SERVUS/A SERVARUM

[Latin] servant/servants

SESTER

4 gallons

SETIER

3-1/4 liters

SEWER

someone who superintended the formalities of a banquet i.e. arrangement of seating, serving of dishes

SEWERY

a store room for provisions, linen or furniture

SEX

[Latin, French] 6

SEXTON

A church official in charge of keeping the churchyard, cemetery

SHAMBLES

an area of town where the butchers threw out their waste

SHERIFF

a magistrative office dating to medieval England. The term derives from "shire's reeve", of the King's representative in the shore (county), charged with enforcing the King's law's and orders. In colonial America, "the office of sheriff rotated approximately at two-year intervals among justices of the county court, who were planters, farmers, craftsmen-businessmen, or members of the professions. The sheriff received a salary along with a richer source of income: fees for specific duties he performed and portions of the funds he collected. Together with their other duties, deputy sheriffs kept records of tax delinquents and conducted "sheriff's sales" of goods forfeited by people who could not pay court-ordered judgments. These deputies, like the sheriffs they served, were not necessarily chosen for any particular aptitude as crime-stoppers. Rather, they joined together to "farm the sheriffalty"---meaning, in the utterly frank language of the time, that the deputy sheriffs split both the "labour" and the "profits" attending the functions of the sheriff's office." (Melvin Patrick Ely, Israel on the Appomattox, 2004, pp. 245-246. Vintage Books, New York)

SHERIFF'S PLEAS

a medieval jurisdictional authority which allowed the authority to hear any case that would be heard in court.

SHILLING

a unit of British currency, used only for accounting purposes, equaling 12 pence

SHIRE

[Britain] county

SIBLING

a brother or sister

SIC

[Latin] thus

SILIQUA

[Visgothic] 1-1/3 silver solidi

SILIQUE

1/24 of a solidus

SEIGNEUR

[French] lord

SIEUR [French]

1. lord of a "place". Very often "place" is only residence and "sieur" evokes prominence, and designates land-holding, without right of lordship, thus non-noble
2. an honorific address of formality or politeness, especially after the 16th C., equivalent to the colonial English use of Mister. Sieur is often found associated with a person's name in legal documents in New France, and it does not necessary mean the person was socially prominent. There is no noble title such as "sieur", it is used as an honorific, although a titled nobleman is sometimes called a "sieur" or "sieur de". See also seigneur, sire.

SIMONY

the buying and selling of spiritual things, such as church offices and benefices

SINISTER

[Heraldry] Right as seen from the shield's front, but left as seen by the wearer.

SIR

[fr French sire] father

1. the current modern honorific address of formality or politeness, especially after the 16th C., equivalent to the colonial English use of Mister.
2. the medieval title associate with knights. Not all "sirs" were knights. In the medieval period, clergymen were titled "Sir", as are the Baronets created since "invented" by James VI. Barons were not "Sirs", they were "Lords". -- Renia Simmons (edited)

SIRE {D}

[fr French seigneur, fr Latin senus, senor]

A father.
The male parent of an animal, especially a domesticated mammal such as a horse.
Archaic. A male ancestor; a forefather.
Archaic. A gentleman of rank.
Archaic. Used as a form of address for a superior, especially a king.

SISTER

has definitions comparable to "brother"

SITULAE

a measure containing 8 setiers

SKALD

[Old Norse] a medieval Scandanavian poet

SLAVE SCHEDULE

completed questionnaire for the enumeration of slaves in 1850 and 1860 censuses

SMOCK WEDDING

one of the more unusual customs that came to America. Under English common law if a widow remarried and brought any of her late husband's property to the marriage, the new husband became liable for any and all the debts of the previous husband. Women owned nothing in their own right, and this included their clothing. So it became the custom for indebted widows to get married in their underwear, or smocks. The smock wedding was tripple-fold. It was a bankruptcy proceeding; it was a marriage ceremony; it was an investiture because the bride then got a new wardrobe from her new husband. In theory the ceremony was held for all to see, on a public highway. But in practice many smock weddings were indoors. When Major Moses JOY married Widow Hannah WARD of Newfame, Vermont, in 1789, she was stark naked. She was in a closet, her hand extended through a hole cut in the door. Then she put on a fine set of clothes and emerged from her closet in style, to the general admiration of the assembled. --Harold Oliver from "Ancestors of Lewis Ross Freeman", by Patty Myers

SOBRINA/SOBRINO

[Spanish] niece/nephew

SOKEMAN

a free peasant

SOC

jurisdiction granted by the king to an individual

SOCAGE

feudal tenure of land by a tenant, in return for agricultural or other nonmilitary services or for payment of rent in money. The holder was not a villein, but a free man. His obligations included the duty of attendance at the manor court held by the lord of the manor. After the decay of feudalism, socage tenure became freehold.

SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX (SSDI)

index of Social Security Death Benefit records which document how much the government has paid to an individual (spouse, child, etc.) as a result of a relative's death. An individual will appear in the Social Security Death Benefits Index if he or she died between 1937 and 1993 and had applied for Social Security during their lifetime, and someone must have applied for their Social Security death benefits at the time of death.

SOCN

sanctuary

SOCRUS

[Latin, mother-in-law]

SOKEMAN

free tenant

SOLIDUS

[Latin] the gold coin which was the standard of the Roman monetary system from Constantine c.500 AD, and used as the standard of currency until the 13th Century

SON-IN-LAW

in addition to the current meaning as the husband of one's daughter, in colonial and medieval times, it could also carry the meaning of stepson

SORPENNY

payment for pasturage

SORORATE

the marriage of one man to two or more sisters usually successively and after the first wife has been found to be barren or after her death

SORORIS

[Latin, sister] referring to one's relatives, it includes a sister's husband, a wife's brother, or a sister's son

SOUNDEX

a filing system, usually for recording.

SPECTIBLES

[Latin] the second of three ranks of the high officials of Imperial Roman service, all of whom were senators. This rank included proconsuls, vicars, and military governors, among others. The other ranks were the illustres and the clarissimi. {H}

SPINSTER

a woman who has never been married

SPORTA

a basket

SQUIRE

a member of the knightly class, and an assistant to a knight, and part of the gentry

STABILITAS

the right of a lord to force a vassal to live on his land

STALLAGE

payment for a stall at a market or fair

STALLER

(1) in medieval England, a high ranking official equivalent to a constable
(2) A small trader holding a stall and not in a guild
(3) a confederate to a pickpocket
(4) a deputy to a vicar

STANNERY

tin-mining district of Devon and Cornwall, under the jurisdiction of special courts

STATANT

[Heraldry] standing

STATEGOS

a title in the ancient Near East with a variety of meanings:
(1) in Asia Minor: general, leader, commander
(2) in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt: military & civil governor
(3) in Jerusalem: officer with custody of the Temple
(4) in Alexandria: superintendent of police

STATUTE MERCHANT AND STATUTE STAPLE

a British medieval authority, now repealed, for an individual, originally a merchant, to seize and hold a merchant's goods and hold them for non-payment of debt.

STATER

[Visgothic] a gold coin worth three solidi

STICA

a bundle of 20 eels

STINTING

limiting, especially in the rights of pasturage

SUCCENTOR

a religious official responsible for the music and the library of the church

SUIT OF MILL

the obligation of tenants to use aa specified mill

SULTAN

a Muslim ruler equivalent to a king

SULUNG, SULONG

a measure of land equal to two hides, in co.Kent, England

SURNAME

the family name that is passed down directly through generations or created. It is usually based on a name, title, or epithet added to a person's name or names, esp. one derived from his birthplace or from some quality or achievement. {O}

SURETY

as relates to marriage, someone who is bonded to guarantee a groom will marry the bride. This is done to keep a groom from promising or proposing marriage, then backing out. The surety puts up a bond of an amount of money, which he would lose if the groom does not marry. See also Magna Carta Surety.

SURSISSE

penalty for contempt of court

SUTTLER

a peddler of various sundries to an army in the field, used during the Civil War

SYXHYNDEMAN

wergeld of 600 schillings

T

TABULARIUS

a serf reed by charter

TAILLE

(1) an imposition levied by a king

(2) property tax

TALLAGE

(1) a tax levied on a borough

(2) a tax levied by a lord on his unfree tenants

TALLY STICK

a stick split in two, one piece given by the Exchequer, the second piece retained by the sheriff as a receipt for the collections submitted, measured by notches in the stick. Tally system was used until 1826. In 1834, a fire burning the sticks got out of control and burned most of Westminster Palace to the ground

TANAISTE

the successor apparent to a Celtic chief, usually the oldest or worthiest of his kin, chosen by election among the tribe during the chief's lifetime.

TARLETAN

a thin, stiff transparent muslin.

TAWYER/TOYER

a white-leather worker

TEG

[Welsh fair, beautiful]

TENEMENTAL

see Frankpledge.

TENNE

[Heraldric, French tanne] one of the six tinctures used to stain the nobility of arms, it was dark orange or orange brown metal color, sometimes to be called one of the two "dishonourable" colors, sanguine being the other. Under abatements, rebatements, or marks of disgrace, it is attached to heraldic arms by reason of a dishonorable act of the bearer. In engravings it should be represented by lines in bend sinister [sic - Black's Law Dictionary] crossed by others bar-ways.

TENURE EN CHIEF

[medieval tenant en capite] property held directly from the king, the holder of which was known as a tenant-in-chief. Others then held land of the tenant-in-chief, and so on. you held land of someone, you did so of their good will and had to pledge loyalty to them, as your feudal superior. In fact you did not have full right to any land until you had made this pledge, or done homage as it was called. There were two categories of tenants in chief -- ut de corona and ut de honore. The former held their property on behalf of the king, whereas the latter held the property with the king as an ordinary lord. The distinction was made with the Magna Carta, but over time there was little difference.

TENURE EN PARAGE

originally a pre-medieval form of land possession, whereby land descended equally and undivided to one's heirs, usually daughters. The younger children and their heirs did no homage to the eldest heir until the younger children and their heirs until the younger children's third heir has entered. Were homage once done, the younger children's share could come to the eldest heir. Nonetheless, during the tenure en parage, the eldest co-heir is held responsible to the overlord for any military and other services attached to the property, and any demand for service by the youngerheirs had to be transmitted through the eldest. The process of parage apparently ended by 1202, due to the difficulty in splitting any knight's service required.

TERCE

[Scot.] a widow's right, where she has no conventional provision, to a life rent of a third of her husband's heritable property

TERSE

part of the monastic timetable for liturgy, called horarium. This worship service typically occurred between 9am-10am in winter and 7am-8am in summer

TESTAMENT

the disposition of one's personal property by will

TESTATE

having made or left a valid will. Without a will, one is intestate.

TESTATOR

[Latin] a man who died leaving a valid will

TESTES

[Latin] witnesses

TESTATRIX

[Latin] a female TESTATOR

THANE/THEIGN

in the 12th C. and before, a Scottish officer in charge of royal lands and collection of dues. At one time there were 63 thanages, but many were combined over time. The thanages are confined primarily to the east coast and their names are pre-Gaelic, probably Pictish. This designation was grafted onto the earlier Toiseach system, which is now synonymous with Thane. The Toiseach was both the lord of the kindred and its military leader.

THELONY

a toll levied on imports and exports

THEODEN

chief, lord, prince

THEOW

slave

THING

a court of law or assembly

THIRD PENNY

The right granted by English kings to earls (or higher peers) to a third of the taxes collected in the shire courts

THORO

marriage - union

THRYMSA

[Mercian] a three pence coin

TIHTBYSIG

of bad repute

TIHTLE

accusation; see furmtihtle as first accusation

TILDE

the diacritical mark (~) on various romance language words

TINCTURE

[Heraldry] One of the two metals, seven colors, or eight furs used in armory.

TINE

tub, cask

TINEMAN

a tithing man, i.e., a freeman

TINY TAFEL

a standardized file format used to exchange surnames of interest between computers. Tiny Tafels are brief "shorthand" of what the originator has researched, limited to the surname only, Soundex, beginning and ending dates as well as beginning and ending locations.

TITHE

a portion, usually 10%, of one's income given to the church

TITHABLE

in the 17th or 18th century Virginia, refers to a person who paid, or for whom someone else paid, one of the taxes that the General Assembly imposed for the support of the civil government of the colony, usually in the form of a poll tax or a capitation tax. By 1658, persons defined as tithable was either free white males age 16 or older (i.e., not females), plus all male and female negro slaves and Indian servants, however procured, who were at least 16 years of age. Subsequent laws made the immigrants' descendants tithable also. Slaves and servants did not pay their own taxes; their owners or masters were therefore "tithable" for both themselves and for the their servants and slaves.. Replaced by the poll tax and eventually by the current property tax system for support of local government functions such as community buildings and poor-relief. See also non-tithable.

TITHING

a company of ten householders under a frankpledge

TITHINGMAN

the chief man of a tithing

TITULAR

one who holds title or rank

TITULATURE

a set of titles borne by an individual

TOFT

a small land holding, including the house and its outbuildings

TOISEACH

see THANE

TOLL

payment for leave to sell livestock

TOLVET

a measure - holding half a bushel.

TONSURE

a head shaved in a particular fashion to signify admittance to a religious order

TOPONYM

surname based on a place or possession. Frequently such was designated by "de", "of", "von" or "van" (or other linguistic equivalent) preceding the surname. This was common for nobility during medieval times, but for some families has continued to this day..

TORY

a resident of the American Colonies who remained loyal to England during the Revolutionary War (see Loyalist)

TOURN

A special court of a Hundred from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century held after Easter and Michaelmas by the High Sheriff, the main object of which was to check that the system of frankpledge was being observed

TRANSIENTIBUS

[Latin] in transit from - traveling

TREASON

[English law] The Treason Act of 1351 followed and defined high treason as encompassing or imagining the death of the king, the queen, or the king's son and heir; violating the king's companion, his eldest daughter unmarried, or the wife of his eldest son and heir; levying war against the king and his realm, or giving aid and comfort in the realm and elsewhere; slaying the chancellor, the treasurer or the king's justices; counterfeiting the king's seals or money; and importing counterfeit money. Petty treason as opposed to high treason, by the way, was the slaying of a master by his servant, of a husband by his wife, and of a prelate by an inferior religious or secular man.

TREASURY WARRANT:

a short-term obligation of a governmental body (as a municipality) issued in anticipation of revenue. See also Warrant.

TREE CLAIM

in U.S., There were two land acts that related to trees:

The Timber Culture Act of 1873 required the payment of only filing fees for obtaining up to 160 acres of land if the claimant planted a minimum of 40 acres of new trees. The property had to be naturally empty of trees at the time of the claim. There was no residence requirement. You got payment after ten years for your tree planting efforts. Of over 260,000 timber entries only about 25 percent were concluded. Records for claims are in the National Archives. An individual case file may contain property descriptions, testimonies of claimants and witnesses, residences, ages, citizenship information, assessment of property condition and the trees. There may be naturalization records, marriage records and death records if the individual was either a naturalized or the heir of the claimant continued the claim. They are filed by land office.
The Timber and Stone Law allowed the sale of non-mineral surveyed land without agricultural value to be sold at appraised value, but not less than $2.50 an acre. I don't think that this is the "trees claim" that is of interest.

TRES

[Latin,French] three

TRIBUNE

[Latin] a Roman magistrate, sort of an ombudsman, whose responsibility it was to protect the common people from oppression, Both the plebs and the military had tribunes.

TRIBUTARII

freedmen, part of the coloni class

TRIBUS MENSIBUS

[Latin] 3 months

TRIENS

1/3 of a solidus

TROVER

A lawsuit in which the plaintiff says the defendant has property belonging to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff wants reimbursement for the value of the property. Contrasts with replevin (q.v.).

TRUCKLE BED

trundle bed with casters to run under a higher bed.

TRUG

a basket with a fixed handle like an old American woven wooden grape basket.

TRUSTEE

a person or agent holding the legal title to property until any outstanding loans or liens are paid off in full

TUATH

[Celtic] a large family/clan group or tribe ruled over by a chieftain or king

TUN

village, town

TUNNEL

a funnel.

TURNOUT

an equipage, a carriage with its horses, attendants, and equipment.

TURRET

a small tower rising above the main towers of a castle, to serve as a watchtower

U

UA: [Gaelic] the surname prefix which constitutes a surname or parentage. This later was transliterated into "O'", as in O'Toole.
UDAL: freehold tenure in absolute ownership
UÍ: [Gaelic] the surname prefix which denotes the sept or dynasty of an individual
ULAMA: [Arabic] scholar
ULEMA: [Turkish] scholar
ULTIMO: [Latin] last, often abbreviated as "ult." in older obituaries, indicating a previous month or year
UMLAUT: A "double dot over a letter". The double-dot (called a diuresis; the letter-symbol combination is called an umlaut) is the correct, German way of writing the word; the ue, oe or ae letter combinations are a way of representing the umlaut in non-germanic alphabets which lack the umlauts.
UMM: [Arabic] mother of
UNCIA: [Visgothic] six solidi
UNCUS: Baltic measure of land
UNPROBATED: the will and the estate not submitted for probate
UNSOLEMN WILL: a will in which the executor is not named
UMQUHILE: [Scottish] former, late, deceased
UNGENTLE: not befitting of a gentleman
UNUS: [Latin] Numeral one (1)
URADEL: [Ger.] the nobility whose titles were created prior to 1350
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, is the character string that identifies a particular resource on the network, such as a web page.
USURY: interest charged on a loan, which is forbidden under Canon Law. This was largely ignored either by having non-Christians, i.e., Jews, provide the loans, or by giving the lender a share of the property income.
UTERINE: of the mother; this usually refers to two siblings who share a mother, but have separate fathers
UTF-8: UCS Transformation Format-8-bit, is the encoding that can represent every character in the Unicode character set.
UTFANGENTHEOF: the right to chase and hold a thief from beyond the jurisdiction where the crime occurred
UTTAVES: octave
UTWARE: service
UXOR: [Latin] wife - the married state, abbreviated as "ux"

V

VAIN: [Welsh narrow, thin] Also as main.
VAIR: [Heraldry] originally indicating squirrel fur, it is represented by a series of small shields, resembling bells, placed close together, and alternately white and blue. Counter vair is a fur resembling vair, except in the arrangement of the patches or figures.
VALCH: [Welsh fine, proud, splendid]. Also as balch
VAS: vessel
VASSAL: a freeman who holds a fief from a lord, to whom he pays homage and swears to be faithful. in return, he may owe various specified services, especially military.
VAUGHN: [Welsh young, junior] See also fychan.
VAVASOR: an inferior baron or vassal, holding of a baron
VENALITII: [Latin] slave dealers
VENTER: wife, mother
VERCH: [Welsh daughter of] Properly as 'ferch'. "Verch"/"ferch" comes from the word "merch" meaning "daughter". It also developed forms without the "v" or "f" in the late Middle Ages - "ach", "arch", "erch" - but they don't seem to have been as widely used. Verch is the English corruption of ferch, since the Welsh 'f' is pronounced as 'v' in English.
VERO: [Latin] certainly - to be sure
VESPERS: part of the monastic timetable for liturgy, called horarium. This worship service typically occurred between 4pm-5pm in winter and 6pm-7pm in summer
VERT: [Heraldry] green, or represented in black-and-white as diagonal lines from dexter chief corner
VESTRY: The vestry is an elected body of people, usually around 10 people, to make decisions necessary for an Episcopal church's continued function. Terms of office vary from time frame to time frame, and parish to parish.
VICAR: [Latin, vicarius]; [English]
(1) an administrative deputy
(2) a minister of a church who serves under the authority of another minister
[Roman] -- in late Roman times, the provincial governor over one of the dioceses
VIDAME: [Latin vice-dominus] One of a class of temporal medieval European officers who originally represented the bishops, but later erected their offices into fiefs, and became feudal nobles.
VIEW OF FRANKPLEDGE: a medieval jurisdictional authority which allowed the owner to control the militia to enforce the law. See also FRANKPLEDGE.
VIGIL: the day before
VILL: village, equivalent to a civil parish. Seen in old English documents.
VILLEIN: a member of a feudal class of partially freemen, who were serfs with respect to their lord, but otherwise had some of the rights and privileges of freemen, was subject to the manorial court and bound to the land. He typically was a tenant of 20-40 acres. {R}
VIRCA: tenure by delivery of a wand
VINCINITATE: neighboring area
VIRGATE: also know as a yardland, it was a medieval English unit of area equal to about a quarter of a hide, or about 30 acres
VIRGINAL: in the 1700's, a small keyed instrument, sort of a miniature harpsichord, generally played by unmarried daughters to entertain suitors and guests, thus the name "virginal"
VISITATION: a visit for the purpose of making an official inspection or examination. This term was used to describe:
(1) census activities.
(2) In order to determine whether individuals were illegally using coats of arms to which they were not entitled, and to establish descent and maintain clear title to lands, the English Crown sent heralds across the countryside to make record of the families using arms, and their pedigrees, to assist in determining their right to that coat. The records of such visitations provide contemporary and reliable information on the families involved (and also less contemporary and less reliable information as one moves back the pedigrees provided). -- Todd Allen Faramerie, GEN-MEDIEVAL
VITAL RECORDS: document the major events in a person's life: birth, marriage, divorce, death. (i.e: birth certificates, death certificates, etc.)
VIZ: [Latin, from videlicet] Namely
VIZIER, WAZIR: [Arabic] high civilian officer of state, generally head of the bureaucracy and the day-to-day conduct of government
VOGT: [Ger.] steward, usually of an abbey or convent, not a priest or nun, and usually with other titles

W


WALLOON:: From southern Belgium, the language of the Walloons is a dialect of French. Cornelis May of Flanders, Holland and about 30 to 40 families came to America in 1624 and established Fort Orange. This town is now known as Albany, NY.
WALREAF: despoiling the dead
WAPENTAKE: [Anglo-Saxon wapen-getaec, weapon-taking] a name given subdivisions in the formerly Danish areas of shires of York, Lincoln, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Rutland, although in some of these the word hundred is also used, similar to the hundreds of southern counties and the wards of more northerly counties, so called from the inhabitants being formerly taught the use of arms. The theory is that wapentake is the Danish equivalent for the hundred, as the word is only found in parts settled by this people. It was used for a meeting before it became the name of a district, and originated in the ceremony of touching the chief's spear as a sign of homage. Like the hundreds, the wapentakes vary in size, and in early times had their own courts of justice.
WAQF: a form of endowment or trust, or income-producing land
WARD: a political subdivision of a city, typically represented by an alderman. in medieval times, the ward had its own court called the Ward-Moots Court
WARDEN: a keeper, head officer, or guardian. This term is used in the Anglican church, as well as for other purposes.
WARDSHIP: the right of a lord to income of a fief during the minority of its heir, ostensibly to support the minor, but most frequently just to enrich the lord. The lord was theoretically required to maintain the fief, and return it to the minor was he was of age.
WARRANT:: a commission or document giving authority to do something; especially : a writing that authorizes a person to pay or deliver to another and the other to receive money or other consideration. See also Treasury Warrant
WARRANTY DEED: a deed guaranteeing from the seller to the buyer that it is a clear title to the property
WÄS/WAES: [German (Volgan)] aunt
WATTLE: a mat of woven sticks and weeds
WAVY: [Heraldic] curved in waves
WAY OFFICE: a way station; a station intermediate between two principal stations, such as on a railroad
WED: pledge
WERGILD: [Saxon] price paid to a slain man's relatives
WEY: a measure of weight equal to a pondus
WHIPCORDER: maker of whips
WHITEFRIARS: see CARMELITES
WHITE MONKS: see CISTERCIANS
WIC, WICH, WYCH: town
WIDOW: a woman whose husband has died
WIDOWER: a man whose wife has died
WILL: the legal document containing the statement of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after death. Prior to 1786, a will in VA did not have to name the wife or eldest son. A widow received her 1/3 dower and eldest son received remaining 2/3, unless otherwise specified in the father's will. Eldest son also received his mother's share if she died. If eldest son had died, eldest grandson of the whole blood became the heir-at-law, not the second son. If a man were unmarried, his heir-at-law was his eldest brother, never his father or uncle. See also Birthright.
Variarions:: (1) unsolemn will -- a will in which the executor is unnamed
(2) non-culpatory will -- a verbal will: (3) holographic will -- a handwritten will
WITAN: [Anglo-Saxon] a council which advised the king, who was elected by it
WITE: payment for punishment
WITHIN AGE: in medieval times, a male or female being above the age of seven, and below the age of majority, that is fourteen for males, and twelve to fourteen for females, depending upon the onset of puberty. [RT, Winter 2001 TPC, pg. 229]
WITNESS: an individual present at an event such as a marriage or the signing of a document who can vouch that the event took place.
WOODWARD: a forester
WRIT: a court, king's or parliamentary order. Types of writs:; (1) Writ of attachment -- a court order authorizing seizure of property sufficient to satisfy the debt and court costs; (2) Writ of Capias; (3) Pone
(4) Writ of diem clausit extremium (Lat. He as closed his final day) -- the writ served by the king upon the death of one of his tenants-in-chief
WUDE: wood
WUDEHEWET: cutting of wood

Y


YARDLAND: a peasant holding, also know as a virgate, it was a medieval English unit of area equal to about a quarter of a hide, or about 30 acres, possessed by a gebur
YEOMAN:: 1) an experienced man capable of keeping account of supplies and costs; 2) a farmer/freeholder who tills his own small acreage, ranking below a gentleman; 3) a person who can be counted on to work diligently and effectively; 4) a clerk or writer in the navy.{E}
By 15th C. English common law, he was a freeholder or copyholder, farming at least 50 acres and have an annual income of 40 shillings from his freehold property. His social status depended on who he served and responsibilities given. It was very important to know for whom he was a yeoman to understand the meaning of his occupation. The yeoman was considered to be below a gentleman but above a villein. "Yeoman" is also a term for "fighting men." It also became common for the word to be used in a very general way to describe outdoorsmen or hunters skilled in "wodecraft" (a term that encompasses the yeoman's knowledge of the rules and conventions that governed medieval hunting practices), possibly because they, like England's celebrated military yeoman, were viewed as being skillful archers. In many of the Robin Hood poems and ballads, for example, Robin's men are regularly called yeomen, more likely because of their expertise with the bow and arrow than because they enjoyed a particular social standing or were small landholders.
YOKE: (1) a measure of land in co.Kent, England equivalent to 1/4 of a sulung; (2) the harness of an oxen or other draft animal

Source: freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com