Deopham Manors – Glossary – Deopham History

Contents

A

“A” as a designation before a name in listings of tenants is believed to stand for Aletus / Aletus Tenens which is Latin for Ale-Taster. Their role was to:
– inspect the quality and price of ale;
– ensure the assize of bread and ale was followed, and
– present offenders to the court.

Alien

Alien is short for the Latin alienus meaning that the person after whose name this appears is a stranger to the Manor – not a tenant – neither freeholder nor copyholder. The person so identified is therefore not eligible to serve as a juror. The reasons that he might have been recorded as being present in the Court include being resident in the parish but
– renting from a tenant, not directly from the Lord of the Manor;
– not holding land of the Manor;
– was a resident labourer, craftsman or servant.
It may also be that he was related to a tenant of the Manor.

Alius Ventris

The latin term alius ventris was used to identify a person as being “of another womb”, i.e. a different mother. It could be used as a tag to distinguish individuals with the same or related names over generations.

Als Fugit

This is a Latin descriptor which appears in lists of tenants. It designates the name after which it appears as belonging to someone who is absent from the manor or in default of his obligations. Possible reasons for acquiring this epithet are that the tenant:
– repeatedly failed in his duties to the Court;
– absconded;
– left the Manor without licence, or
– fled from obligations.

Ar

This appears as a title after names in the Court Rolls; it has been suggested that it indicated tenants who were in arrears to the Court or Lord of the Manor, Ar being an abbreviation of the Latin “arrearagium debiti“.
Mark Bailey¹ has warned that arrears might include debts that would never be collected, but which the auditors refused to sign off.
It is more likely however that Ar is an abbreviation of “Armiger” which translates literally as “armour bearer”, but as a title “esquire” is the usual translation. This fits its usage in Court documents for key owners of Deopham land.

Assessors

The role of the assessors (Latin afferatores) was to determine the value of penalties imposed.
In the Courts of the Manor of Deopham of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury, they are not mentioned after the Court of October 14^th 1680.

The Affeerer’s Oath.

YOU shall well and truly affeer and affirm the several Amerciaments here made, and now to you remembred. You shall spare no one out of Love, Fear, or Affection, nor raise or inhance any one out of Malice or Hatred, but impartially shall do your Duties herein.
So help you God.

This Oath is usually administred to two of the substantialest and most knowing Tenants of the Manor, who are to judge of the Amercements in the Court Baron, and affeer them if they see Cause.²

Attorney

An attorney often represented amember of the Court in a property transaction when they were unable or unwilling to attend in person. The attorneys were not necessarily members of the legal profession.

Bailiff

The local official responsible for the day-to-day management of the Manor; a salaried post.

Clerk

This title frequently appears after a name to designate a clerk in holy orders – i.e. a priest. It is often abbreviated to Clc (from the Latin clericus), but in the transcripts on this website it has been expanded to read “clerk”.
This title could also mean “clerk” in the bureaucratic sense, but no such usage in the Deopham documents has so far become apparent.³

Constable

In 1781, and presumably years before and after, the Constable was summoned to the Court Leet as follows:

YOU shall inquire, and true Presentment make, of the several Offences committed in your Office since the last Court, as have come to your Knowledge.
So help you God.⁴

The steward was required to ask of the Constable at the start of the Court Leet how he had discharged his duties in the “arresting of Felons, pursuing of Hues and Cries according to Law, and apprehending of Rogues, Vagabonds, and sturdy Beggars.”⁵

After a new constable was elected at the Court Leet for the following twelve months, he was required to swear the following oath:

YOU shall well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King, and the Lord of this Leet, in the Office of a Constable, in and for this Hundred of B. until you be thereof discharged according to due Course of Law. You shall well and truly do and execute all Things belonging to your Office, according to the best of your Knowledge.
So help you God.⁶

James Sharpe has written that research indicates that constables, churchwardens and other parish officials were recruited in the seventeenth century almost exclusively from the upper stratum of village society. He suggests that this means that the richer members of the community were attempting to curb the activities of the poorer. ⁷
In the 16th & 17th centuries, there were times when the same person was both churchwarden and constable.⁸ During the early 17th century the constable continued to be elected and sworn in by his fellow villagers at the Court Leet, but he was also required to take an oath of allegiance to the justices of the peace. This made him “the king’s man” in the village, and the local communities representative to the state and its officials. He could find himself representing the village in negotiations about levels of taxation, as well as being responsible for the assessment and collection of taxes and rates. In many ways this placed him in a difficult position, especially since the constable was in office for one year, whereas he would have to live the rest of his life in the village. By the end of the 1630s, the position of constable was looking unattractive.
In 1662 legislation was introduced which allowed the justices to fill the post of constable if for some reason he could not be appointed locally. There is no indication of this in the records of the election of constables at the Courts of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury.⁹

Court Baron

There is a description of the requirements for holding a Court Baron in 1781 here.

Court Leet

There is a description of the requirements for holding a Court Leet in 1781 here.

Customary tenant

The customary tenants held their property by virtue of holding a copy of the Court Roll entry for their premises. This was issued once the tenant had paid his initial fine to the Lord of the Manor (often via the Steward).

Distrain

A temporary confiscation of land to enforce a court’s decision to to recover a debt.

Ecclesiastical calendar

Up until 1752 the dates in the Court Rolls (and other documents on this site) followed the ecclesiastical calendar under which the year began on Lady Day, March 25^th. This meant. for example, that the Court of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury dated February 1647 followed after the Court dated September 1647.
This convention continued until 1752 when the year was deemed to start on January 1^st. A further complication in that year was that because of the years previously not being long enough, the day following September 2^nd 1752 was September 14^th.

Essoin

Attendance at the manor court was normally compulsory for all unfree tenants, and an occasional requirement (perhaps once a year, and whenever involved in a case) for free tenants, although local variations on this general rule can be found… A tenant who was unable to attend could apply at the court through a third party to be excused attendance, or ‘essoined’, and applications for essoins were invariably recorded at the top of the court roll before the main proceedings began. In some places, essoins could only be claimed by free tenants or were only relevant to those involved in active cases. The reasons for non-attendance by individual tenants are rarely given, although sufficient grounds were required. Courts placed limits on the number of successive essoins each tenant could claim, and punished those who stayed away without due cause.¹⁰

The supplement to the 1675 Court of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury indicates that a monetary sum was paid to the Court by the essoins. It is not apparent how this sum was calculated.
Various reasons are given as excuses for non attendance, including

Essoin de servitio regis Excused due to royal service (e.g., in the king’s army or household);
Essoin de malo lecti Excused due to illness “in bed” (very ill);
Essoin de secta Excused from suit of court obligations;
Essoin de coi Excused due to illness at home — milder or personal;
Essoniatur per nnn A named person (called an Essoinour or essoinée) attended as a substitute;
essoin de ultra mare Excused for being overseas” (literally “beyond the sea”): this was an excuse that the person was abroad;
essoin de malo veniendi, Excused because of becoming ill “en route”, the person had fallen ill on the way to court;
Essoin de capitales plegii: A general purpose formal notice of absence from the capital pledges;
Finem fecit A fine was paid voluntarily in order to be excused.

The last essoin listings for the Manor of Deopham of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury were in the records of the Court held on September 23^rd 1690. After that, fines were issued to those who failed to appear at court sessions.

Famuli

aka

Famile

A Latin term for which the dictionary translations generally indicate “servant”.

fect fm

The Latin abbreviation fect fm appears after some names in the lists of tenants. It stands for fecit firmam meaning that the tenant had renewed the terms of his rental at this Court.

Fine

A fine was paid by Copyhold tenants to the Lord of the Manor as an admission fee. It does not have any connotations of penalty for a misdemeanor. Fines might also be due to obtain a particular concession from the Lord – such as being excused from attendance at a session of the Court.

Free Tenant

The Free Tenant was obliged to pay an annual rent to the Lord of the Manor, but apart from this they had no obligations, unlike the Villein (Latin nativus). In the summaries of the Courts in this website, free tenants are identified as such, otherwise it can be assumed that tenants are villeins who held their land by Copyhold tenure.

Handborough

The village population over the age of 12 was divided into tithing groups, each nominally consisting of ten men. The Handboroughs were the members of a tithing group.

Headborough

The Headborough was the man in charge of a tithing group.

Inquisitores Ex Officio

These were members of the Homage who were appointed to act proactively, not because someone had complained, but because their office or role required them to notice and report any wrongdoing or breach of custom.
The last instance of this appointment for the Manor of Deopham of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury was at the Court held on October 23^rd 1679.

jc

This is an abbreviation for jurator curiae: i.e. a person belonging to the homage/permanent jury panel. This would be someone eligible to be called to sit on the jury, but not called in this instance.

Jure Uxoris

This is a Latin term indicating that the husband is only entitled to property by virtue of his wife’s inheritance. It is often abbreviated to jure ux.

Milit

“Milit“ after a name is an abbreviation for the Latin word “miles“, meaning knight.

Pindar

The role of the Pindar was to round up stray animals – especially on the commons – and fine their owners.

Reliefs

Relief is a certain Sum of Money, which every Freeholder payeth unto his Lord, being at full Age, at the Death of his Ancestor. It is the Key, which opens the Gate to give the Heir free Passage to the Possession of his Inheritance; for by Payment thereof he relieves, and as it were raiseth up his Lands again, after they were fallen down.¹¹

Sworn

In the latin records this was recorded as juravit. The tenant swore to do his duty as a member of the jury of the Court:

You shall inquire and true presentment make of all such things as shall be given to you in charge, and of all such other matters as shall come to your knowledge presentable at this court. You shall present nothing out of hatred or malice, nor conceal anything through fear, favour, or affection, but in all things shall true and just presentment make, according to the best of your understanding.
So help you God.¹²

Tenement

The “package” of messuage and land.

Villicus

Variously translated as steward, farm manager, reeve, bailiff. This role was essentially responsible for management of the Lord’s farm. e.g. Edward Stone employed Gilbert Mouse as his villicus at the Court of the Manor of Deopham of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury in 1687.
However, at the Court of the Manor of Deopham of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury in 1684 two villici were appointed at the same Court to different masters.

Footnotes

The English Manor, Mark Bailey, Pg 110 ↩︎
The Complete Court-Keeper, Giles Jacob, 1781, Pg 40 ↩︎
Medieval Society and the Manor Court, ed Razi & Smith, 1996, pp 60ff ↩︎
The Complete Court-Keeper, Giles Jacob, 1781, Pg 30 ↩︎
The Complete Court-Keeper, Giles Jacob, 1781, Pg 33 ↩︎
The Complete Court-Keeper, Giles Jacob, 1781, Pg 39 ↩︎
J.A. Sharpe, The People and the Law in Popular Culture in Seventeenth Century England, Page 256 ↩︎
Joan Kent, The English Village Constable, 1580-1642: The Nature and Dilemmas of the Office in the Journal of British Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Spring, 1981) Page 29 ↩︎
Joan Kent, The English Village Constable, 1580-1642: The Nature and Dilemmas of the Office in the Journal of British Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Spring, 1981), pp. 26-49 ↩︎
The English Manor, Mark Bailey, Pg 170 ↩︎
The Complete Court-Keeper, Giles Jacob, 1781, Pg 10 ↩︎
Parliamentary papers by Great Britain, House of Commons; Publication date 1731; page 22. ↩︎

Date	Change
12/6/25	Published