Friday, March 7, 2014

Revisiting past texts: Iron Bog Baronial Investiture

+Mathilde Poussin  asked today what people's favorite award texts (whether as author or recipient) were.  I have a lot of texts that I love.  But my hands down favorites have to be these, given out in January 2012 to my dear friends +Lynda Brooks and +Collin Monro upon their ascension to the Baronial seats of Iron Bog.

Collin's and Marion's Investiture texts were created out of the same document, a charter of James III of Scotland confirming lands held by the Bishop of Glasgow, 15 July 1476.  The source document was extremely long, so I cut the pertinent parts in half, effectively granting to Collin and Marion each a portion of the rights given to the Bishop.  I’d say about 90% of each of these texts is from the original source.  The SCA-specific parts are, of course, created by me.  In particular, the long list of properties and technical legal terms found in Marion’s text is exactly what the King of Scotland granted to the Bishop as his landed vassal.

For Collin:
Gregor, King of the East, third of that name, and Kiena our Queen, to all good men of all our land, clergy and laymen, greeting.  Whereas in times past, several of our predecessors the kings of the East freely gave and granted diverse liberties and privileges to the Barons of Iron Bog, in mere, pure and free regality; and whereas Collin Monro of Tadcaster has been chosen by the people of Iron Bog to assume the seat of Baron; and whereas the choice of the aforesaid Collin is pleasing in our sight; therefore we, for us and our successors, have approved, ratified and confirmed, and by these presents approve, ratify and confirm unto the aforesaid Collin, all and sundry gifts, grants and foundations formerly made by us or our predecessors the kings and queens of the East to the Barons of Iron Bog, and further endow the aforesaid Collin with whatsoever lands, revenues, possessions, rights of patronage, and whatsoever profits, liberties and privileges, to be held, possessed and had by the Barons of Iron Bog, as freely and quietly, in all things and by all things, as the charters and evidences thereupon made to them purport and witness, and as freely as any Baron within our realm is given, granted, or possessed, or can be given, granted, or possessed howsoever in the future.  And we do further by Royal authority and with deliberation and consent of our said parliament, give, grant and by this our present charter confirm to the aforesaid Collin the right to make arrestments and execute the mandates and precepts of the Crown of the East within the lands of the Barony of Iron Bog, and with the power of executing and administering justice in the name of the Crown, and with the right to appoint, make and have officers, bailiffs, serjeants or attendants, and with all and sundry liberties, profits and easements and just pertinents whatsoever, whether not named or named, belonging, or in future, in whatsoever manner, coming justly to belong, to the aforenamed Barony of Iron Bog. And furthermore, in acknowledgement of his status as aforesaid, we do Grant Arms to Collin Monro of Tadcaster as follows: Argent, a pithon erect and on a chief sable three Maltese crosses argent. Done 21 January, A.S. 46, sitting on our thrones in the Barony of Iron Bog.

For Marion:
Gregor, King of the East, third of that name, and Kiena our Queen, to all good men of all our land, clergy and laymen, greeting.  Whereas Marion del Okes has ascended to the Baronial Seat of the Barony of Iron Bog according to ancient right and custom; and also for the singular favour, zeal and love which we bear to the aforesaid Marion for her merits and free and faithful services; therefore we do now give, grant and by this our present charter confirm to the aforesaid Marion that she have, hold and possess perpetually in all times to come, the said Barony of Iron Bog in free, pure and mere regality, with all and sundry commodities and profits appertaining to the said lands, in woods, plains, muirs, marshes, roads, paths, waters, ponds, streams, meadows, grazings and pastures, mills, multures and their sequels, hawking, hunting, fishing, peat-muirs, turbaries, coal-mines, quarries, stone and lime, smithies, maltings, heath and broomlands, with courts and their issues, heriots, blood-wits, escheats and merchets of women, with free entry and exit, with homages, with free forest and warren, with fees, forfeitures, with justice and chamberlain ayres and their issues, escheats and amercements, and with the power of executing and administering justice, and with sok, sak, toll, theame, infangthief, outfangthief, hamesucken and forethought felon, with tenants, tenandries and services of freeholders, with rights of patronage, and with all and sundry liberties, profits and easements and just pertinents whatsoever, whether not named or named, belonging, or in future, in whatsoever manner, coming justly to belong, to a regality or royalty and barony; and that as freely, tranquilly, fully, wholly, honourably, well and in peace, in and by all things, as any regality or royalty or barony is more freely, tranquilly, wholly or honourably given, granted and donated to whatsoever Barons in our realm. Moreover we have granted, and by the tenor of our present charter grant, to the said Marion that she have, hold and possess perpetually the said Barony of Iron Bog, with all liberties and profits belonging to the same; with power to create and constitute within the same Barony provosts, bailies, serjeants and other officers, as often as it shall seem to her expedient, for the rule and governance of the same Barony; and of appointing and removing any person to and from those offices as often as she pleases.  In witness whereof we have ordered our great seal to be affixed to our present charter.  In Iron Bog, upon 21 January, A.S. 46.



I have a particular love for these texts because I was able to hew most closely to actual period practices -- the granting of lands and associated rights.   I also love these because I was able to incorporate a wide variety of Scots legal terms describing property rights that just don't fit into an SCA context otherwise.

For those curious about what the various terms mean:

Muirs
Mure, Muir, Mor(e), Moir, n. Also: mur, mwr(e, mwure, muer, murr-; muire, muyr(e), mwir(e), mwyr; moyr, moer; mour, mowr, mowir, mowyr; moor(e). [ME. mor(e), e.m.E. moor(e), OE. mór.]  1. Barren open country, moorland, heath. b. Rough, uncultivated, heathery land considered as part of an estate. 2. A tract or expanse of heath or moorland. b. plur., = sense 1 above. 3. A tract of open uncultivated ground appropriated to a proprietor or a community; a common; a park.
Multures:
Dry multure, n. ‘A yearly sum of money, or quantity of corn paid to a mill, whether those liable in the payment grind their grain at the mill or not’ (Bell).
Heriots:
Herieth, n.  [ME. heriet. See etym. note to Hereʒelde.]  Heriot .
Hereʒeld(e, Heri-, Herʒeld (e, n. Also: hereʒeild, heir(e)-, heyreʒeld, heri-, heryʒeld; herreʒelde, heryheld, -ʒeld, -ield, -iell; harʒeld, -ʒeill, hairʒeld; hyreild.  [Possibly f. Here n.1 (lord) and ʒelde n. (payment), but app. related in some way to ME. heriet (c 1290), later  heriot , which has exactly the same sense, although regarded as representing OE. hereʒeatwa, war-gear, with a shift in usage between the 11th and 13th centuries. Earlier Latinized examples are herietum (c 1120),  heriot um (c 1147), and the AN. heriet occurs in Britton. For a Sc. instance see Herieth.  If hereʒelde is a re-fashioning of heriet, the substitution of -ʒelde for -ʒet may have been suggested by the variation of ld and t in such words as herald, herat.  In its history and meaning the OE. hereʒeld is so remote from the Sc. use that the similarity in form can only be accidental.]  1. The best living animal or ‘best aucht’ (see Best a. 1. b), which by feudal custom the landlord claimed on the death of a husbandman tenant.  Sometimes commuted for a money payment.  2. The right of taking hereyeld payments from one’s tenants.   3. Hereʒeld hors, naig, etc.: An animal taken or claimed as hereyeld. 
Escheats and Merchets of Women
Eschete, Escheit,  Escheat , n. Also: escheite, es(s)cheitt, eschiet, -eet, esheit; escaete, eschaet(e), eschait; echeat, esheat; eschet(t), echet, eshet; asschet, aschaet(e), -eitt, -eat.  [e.m.E. and ME.  escheat e, eschete (ME. also echete, eshete, eschet), AF. and OF. eschete, eschaete, f. OF. escheoir, to fall to one’s share.]    1. Property, possessions, or goods taken from a person by forfeiture or confiscation, esp. falling to the king in this way.   2. ‘Any forfeiture or confiscation whereby a man’s estate, heritable or movable, or any part thereof falls from him’ (Bell).
Merchet , n. Also: -ett, -ete, -eit, -eat, -iett, -i(e)te, -iatte, mershet(e), marchet, -eit, market.  [North. ME. (? or AF.)  merchet  (12th c.) (see Acts I. Pref. 34/1), med. L. (Sc. and Eng.) marcheta, marketa,  merchet -, marchetum, of obscure origin.  Derived f. Welsh merch, plur. merched, -et, woman, young woman, daughter: early and medieval Welsh law had a corresponding due known as gobr merch or amobr or (in the Latin versions) merces filiarum ‘the fee paid to a lord by the person subject to that payment on the marriage of a female’.]   A feudal casualty payable to the lord on the occasion of the marriage of the daughter of a tenant or vassal.   For many additional examples, see Bludewite and Hereʒeld.   Commonly specified as one of the rights or privileges accompanying a grant of land.
Homages
Homage , n. Also: homag, -ege, -adge; omage, ymage.  [ME.  homage  (c 1290), omage (c 1300), umage (c 1400), OF.  homage , ommage, humage.]  Homage ; formal acknowledgement of allegiance by a vassal to his lord. Freq. in to make, or take, homage.
Warren
Warren , n.  [ME and e.m.E. warein (1377), warenne (1429),  warren  (1485), OF warenne, MDu. warande.] An area of land reserved for the breeding of game or rabbits.
Amercements
Amerciat, Amerciate, p.p. Also: amerchiat.  [med. L. amerciatus, p.p. of amerciare.] Subjected to, punished by, a fine; fined.
Americat(e), v. To amerce, fine.
Sok
Sok , n.1 Also: soc, sock(e).  [ME and e.m.E.  sok  (1228),  sok e (c1290), soc (c1460), OE sōcn, ON sókn, med. L. soca.]   1. A right of local jurisdiction.  2. ? The service due on land held by  sok age.
Sak
Sak, n.1 Also: sac(k).  [ME and e.m.E. sake (Trevisa), sacke (c1460), OE saca acc. and gen. pl. of sacu dispute, litigation, crime (cf. Sak(e n.), ON sqk.] Chiefly coupled with  Sok  n.1 in lists of rights in the tenendas clause of charters, originally denoting certain rights of jurisdiction but latterly appar. merely formal. 
Toll
Tol(l), n. Also:  toll e, tole, toil(l), toyl, towll, tell(e), tholl, thol(e), thoill.  [ME and e.m.E. tol (Layamon),  toll  (Cursor M.),  toll e (1393), towlle (1587), tole (1604), tholl (1607), OE  toll , MLG, MDu. tol, ON  toll r, L. telōnium.]    1. A tax or duty paid to a landowner, etc., chiefly on land held in tenancy, on exported or imported goods, for the privilege of selling goods at a market, for right of passage, etc. Also fig.
Theame
Tem(e), n. Also: team, teem, them(e),  theame , thame.  [ME and e.m.E. team (c1200), tem (a1250), teme (14th c.), teem (Manning), theam (Trevisa), teame (1523), OE téam.] a. Offspring. Only as Barneteme n. q.v. for examples. b. The right of a lord to jurisdiction in a suit concerning the recovery of goods alleged to be stolen in which a third party would vouch for the plaintiff’s claim to the goods. Chiefly, in collocation with toll. See Tol(l n. 2 for examples. c. Given as an alternative to or listed with toll (Tol(l) n. 1) appar. referring to a duty of some kind. d. In later use construed as the power of a lord to have servants, their families and goods as his property
Infangthief
Infang, n. Abbreviation of infangthief, chiefly used in indictments (in contrast to outfang) to denote theft committed within a manor or other estate.
Infang thift, n. Theft committed within a manor.
Outfangthief
Outfang , n.  [Abbreviated f.  Outfang theif(f or  Outfang -thift.] Coupled with Infang, q.v. for several further examples, in indictments for theft: ? = Theft committed outside the jurisdiction. (But perh. merely as a term of style.)  
Outfang theif(f), n. Also: -thief(e) and plur. -thewis.  [Early ME. utefangthef (1228), outefangethef (1228), e.m.E. outfanthef (1535),  outfang thiefe (1579), later var. of  Outfang and-thef(e).] A franchise, which is variously explained, granted to the lord of a private jurisdiction. 
Hamesucken
Hamesuk(k)in, n. Also: hame-, haymesokyn; hamesukkyn, -ing, -suckin(e, -en; hamsukkin, -suckin, -su(c)ken; haym(e)sukin, haimsuken, -suckin; hem(m)sucken; (homesukine).  [ME. hom-, hamsok(e)ne, OE. hám-sócn, ON. heim-sókn.] The crime of assaulting a person in his own house or dwelling-place. Freq. in various legal tags, as be way of hamesukkin, etc.  The circumstances in which an assault can, or cannot, be classed as hamesucken  are fully stated in Bell’s Dictionary of the Law of Scotland s.v.   b. ellipt. The right of trying cases of hamesucken .
Forethought Felon
For(e)thocht, Foirthocht, a. Also: fore-, forthoucht, forthowcht,  forethought , foirthogh(t).  [P.p. of ME. *forthinke (p.t. forthoght), OE. foreþencean. Cf. med. Fris. fortocht (1455) in the same sense.] Premeditated, planned. (Rare except with felony.)
1570 Sat. P. xx. 84.  Hurters and wounders of persouns upon auld feede and  forethought  fellonie; 1629 Reg. Privy C. 2 Ser. III. 258.  The crime … being of a higher nature, importing  forethought  fellony;
Tenandries
Tenandry , -i(e), Tennendry(e), -ie, n. Also: tenandré, -rye, tenawndry, tennandry, -i(e, tenantry, tenanrye, (tenandie), ten(n)endré, teneindri, tenend(u)ry, tenentri, -raye, tennentrie.  [ME and e.m.E. tenantry (c1450), tenauntrie (c1460), tenentrie (1606).]  1. Land or other property, etc. let for rent; those parts of an estate let out to tenants (Tenand(e) (n.)) rather than retained in the owner’s or superior’s own hands; land held of a superior ? chiefly or only for rent, also fre  tenandry  (see Tenand(e) n. d).
Tenand(e), Ten(n)ent, n. Also: tennand(e, ten(n)ant, -end, tanand    [ME and e.m.E. tenant (Manning), tenand(e (c1375), tenaunt (Piers Plowman), tenent (1607), OF tenant.]   A lessee; one who enjoys the use of land, property, etc. in return for rent.
All definitions are from the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (DOST), which contains information about Scots words in use from the twelfth to the end of the seventeenth centuries (Older Scots).  DOST is available on-line in searchable form at http://www.dsl.ac.uk/index.html.





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