RESEARCH - Medieval England - Post 2: Hierarchy, Servants & Law

Hear me out, the hierarchy is actually really quite fascinating. No, really. 

For a long time, England was structured on Feudalism, thanks to William I, The Conqueror (of 1066 fame). Basically lords and vassals lived in obligation to one another, based on land tenure. Effectively, everyone not the king was a tenant! 

So, the king held lands, but leased them out to the barons, who leased them out to knights (vassals), down to villeins (serfs/fiefs). In return, working backwards, they provided food and services, protection and military services, money and knights.

However, by the 15th century, this system was crumbling. The Black Death was chiefly responsible, as 40-60% of the population had been wiped out in 1348-1349. When it struck again in 1361-1362, a further 20% lost their lives. This led to a severe labour shortage, amongst other things!

The first quarter of the 14th century saw the beginnings of centralised government, so this had already started that ball rolling, to be fair. 

The king was the 'liege lord' - he was effectively the lordiest lord of the land. Henry VII (Tudor) was allegedly the first English king to be called 'Your Majesty' (although some say Henry VIII has that claim to fame). Before that, they were called 'Your Grace'.

So, in the 15th century, we had a watered down version of this. Tenant farmers were emerging; renting the land and paying monies (not goods) to the lords. 

Mercantilism was on the rise! The merchant class was breaking through. Mercantilism is an economy with the belief that trade generates wealth that a government should encourage and protect. It really took hold from around 1500-1750.

Later, this would develop into capitalism - where that trade is controlled by private owners for profit.

The Ranks of The Nobility

{  King

{  Duke

{  Marquess

{  Earl

{  Viscount

{  Baron

The role of baronet was around, but was not of the peerage, and only came into modern use in 1611.

Please note that these nobles were usually of military might. The laws of succession were not the same. e.g. my good knight, Sir William had earned his title and it would not be passed down to his son. That sort of thing didn't really happen until 1660. 

Above the king, sat The Church / The Pope, by the way.

Forms of Address

{  King - Your Grace

{  Bishop – Your Excellency

{  Baron – Lord (title) & his wife Lady (title)

{  Knight – Sir (first name) & his wife Lady (surname)

{  Priest – Sir (first name)

Class

So, the classes in 15th century were made up of:

{  Pope

{  Monarch

{  Nobles

{  Knights/Vassals

{  Merchants/Farmers/Craftsmen

{  Peasants/Serfs

Servants of the Inner House

Did you know the vast majority of servants in a medieval household were male? Washing, cooking, cleaning - all men. It was not uncommon for the only female to be the lady's maid. 

So, what did they all do? 

{ Clergy - sang mass and say prayers

{ Steward - supervised the running of the courts, made local appointments, procurement, negotiated tenancy agreements, accompanied auditors to check annual accounts, logistics

{ Chamberlain - matters of the chamber; looked after the family chest (at the end of the bed and contained family deeds & money), ensured the chamber was warm & comfy, took charge of the liveries and clothes (which were often decorated with jewels) - kept them in the garderobe

{ Chaplain (in larger households; the Chancellor) -  presided over daily Mass, attended the spiritual welfare. Had his own clerks.

{ Scribes / Clerks - dealt with correspondence, kept records of the estates & business matters

{ Squires - lesser nobility companions, would accompany on travels

{ Musicians - music was an important part of entertainment, along with (often travelling) actors, troubadours, acrobats and jesters

{ Valet (aka Groom) - collected purchases and prepped meals. Well-born but lower servants.

{ Young Men - accompanied masters/mistresses on journeys, ran errands and took messages

{ Kitchen Staff - Cook was in charge, plus a pastry cook, saucier, baker, butcher, waferer, fruiterer, spit-boys and scullions

{ Butler - part of the kitchen staff, but worth noting: in charge of the buttery, served alcoholic beverages

{ Men - to tend horses and traction animals (not known as grooms as those were valets)

{ Maintenance Servants - looked after living quarters; window cleaning, washing floors, keeping fires/candles/rushlights alight

{ "Boys" - lowest servants

{ Additional Staff - if there were frail and elderly to take care of

 

{ Bailiff - not of the inner house, but important. He collected rents and was a representative of the manor. Lowlier than the steward. Basically, oversee the farming part of the estate; from ensuring livestock were looked after, thievery was minimal, oversaw sheep shearing, bought in items such as nails, tar and iron, sold wood and skins, decided when lovestock should be bought/sold.

{ Receivers - officials who oversaw financial matters for a group of distant manors (especially those leased for cash)

Society contained other ranks and offices, of course. Let us look at The Law...

Sheriff

Oh, like I could resist using this image!

From around 1077, men of high rank and power could be nominated (their names offered to the king) to be appointed sheriff for one year. He could then not be re-appointed for three years afterwards. His duty was to investigate allegations of crime in his shire, conduct investigations, try lesser cases and detain those accused of greater offenses so they may be tried. 

He was also responsible for collecting rents and revenues within his district. He would have to pay any shortfall in those - ouch! 

And, he had to host visiting judges and dignitaries. It could all be very costly! And yet, a great honour. There were many men who tried to avoid it due to the cost implications, but if you were chosen you could not refuse. 

Justice of the Peace

In 1327, there was an act which brought in the Justice of the Peace. This good and lawful man would be elected or appointed by means of a commission. His role was to actually to guard the peace in his region. There were typically eighteen per county. The contract stipulates he should, "bind over unruly persons to be of good behaviour". They were there more for prevention than punishment. 

They conducted arraignments in all criminal cases and tried misdemeanours. They were actually quite important and useful people.

However, it was an unpaid office! They were typically members of the gentry, and (*coughs*) may have been more concerned with the prestige. 

This leads me to give a very high level view of the court system. 

Judicial Courts

Look, this can all get a bit confusing, and you probably won't need it, so I'm just going to give the basics. 

Often, the first port of call was the Manorial Court. This was for the manor's tenants, and would typically deal with issues such as land disputes; things the lord of the manor had jurisdiction of. It was the lowest court of the land. 

Court Leet - this was more on a baronial level. A jury would sit, comprised often of freehold tenants. Officers of the leet could be the likes of manorial stewards or bailiffs. It was a court of record and a place to protect the peace. They also became responsible for ensuring the good condition of watercourses, roads, paths and ditches. It also sought to protect public rights and the use of common land and defended against the adulteration of food. The court leet would only sit a few times per year. 

Chancery - the start of appeals of Common Law 

The King's Bench - as the name suggests, serious matters which needed to be brought before the king. 

The Star Chamber - introduced in the late 15th century, lasting until the mid 17th century. It sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, and tried typically the very important people who had too much political power/influence to be tried by the lower courts. It tried civil and criminal matters. But became a bit big for its boots and was abused to inflict political oppression!? 

I'm just going to round up all this by saying, yes there was a strict hierarchy in place. And there were many laws to protect that. However, people did sue one another. A woman could take another to court for calling her a whore, for instance! 

Always in love and light,

TL

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To protect her family, she must marry the enemy!

The fictitious tale of a knight’s daughter, living life as it very well may have been in 1484.

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