GENERAL
GENERAL
Abeden
To announce.
Adamant
Exceeding hardness; impenetrability.
Adept
As a noun, an alchemist who claimed to know the secret of turning base metals into gold.
Adulterine Castle
A castle built without a person’s liege lord’s approval.
Affere
1)To assess. 2) To affix the price or market value.
Airling
Sycophant.
Aknow
To admit; confess.
Alder
Most.
Alder–first
First of all.
Alder–leifest
Dearest.
Almshouse
Court or terrace of self–contained cottages designated for the poor at an endowed chantry; 15th–century innovation that remained the standard for English homes for the elderly well into the present century. See bedesman.
Almyfluent
Beneficient; bounteous.
Ambage
Ambiguity.
Amber
A measure of weight.
Ambry
A chest or cupboard, used for keeping food.
Amulet
A charm, usually worn around the neck, to ward off illness or evil.
Angel
Small, gold coin, first struck in 1465.
Angevin
Literally meaning ‘from Anjou’, applied to the first English kings of the Plantagenet Dynasty, i.e., Henry II (1154-89, Richard I (1189-99), and John (1199-1216).
Anow
To admit; confess.
Apanage
Territory assigned to provide for the maintenance of a king's younger brother. The custom began in 13th–century France.
Apertly
Openly.
Appurtenances
A minor property, right or privilege belonging to another subordinate.
Aqua Fortis
Nitric Acid.
Aqueduct
A conduit to carry water; a bridgelike structure carrying a water pipe over a river or hollow.
Arpent
A measure of land roughly equal to a modern acre; often used to measure vinelands.
Arrerages
Accounts or payments in arrears.
Assassins
A revolutionary Islamic sect formed in1094 in northern Iran, which soon spread to Syria where its leader was called ‘The Old Man of the Mountain’. They used murder as a political weapon, for their own ends or on hire to other rulers. Their name is derived from hashish, which their enemies accused them of using to make them fearless, since their assassination missions meant certain death.
Assotted
Besotted.
Avaunce
Profit, financial success, in the dialect of Chaucer's London.
Avoutry
Adultery.
Awhape
Amazed.
Baggage–wain
A laden waggon.
Baggingly
Squint–eyed.
Balas–ruby
A red spinel; a semi–precious gem.
Balays
Rubies.
Baldachin
A rich embroidered silk with gold thread used for canopies.
Bale
Sorrow.
Barehides
Tanned hides used as protective coverings for packages, clothes, and so forth. Considered to have been of sufficient value to have been mentioned in medieval wills, on occasion.
Barful
Ominous, dangerous.
Barrow
An earthen burial mound.
Battle–dore–book
Alphabet hornbook used in the medieval schoolroom. "...B from battledore," implied that someone was either illiterate or very ignorant.
Baulk
Mistake, blunder.
Becks
Beckonings.
Bedesman
Resident of an almshouse on the premises of an endowed chantry. One of the most enduring are the almshouses of Ewelme in Berkshire, endowed in the will of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk in 1450. They were modernized in the 1970s at immense cost borne entirely by the chantry foundation.
Beltane Eve
The eve of 30 April, one of two occasions when supernatural occurences are most common. Also known as May Day Eve.
Besom
Brooom made of twigs.
Bestad
Circumstanced.
Bezant
Gold coin of Byzantium.
Blazing Star
Comet.
Bob
Cheat.
Bobance
Pride; pomp; boasting.
Boldings
Encouragement.
Blockhouse
A square wooden fort used extensively in the piecemeal conquest of the eastern Baltic lands (e.g., Pomerania, Prussia, and Lithuania) and the military orders.
Boon work
The extra labor required annually from a serf during peak agricultural seasons.
Borel–folk
Rough, unlettered people.
Bourdon
A pilgrim's staff.
Bracer
Horn, leather, cuir-bouilli, or bone guard worn to protect the inside of an archer's wrist from the bowstring of the longbow.
Brass
Memorial engraved in brass, set in a stone slab. Surviving brasses, especially the full–length engravings of people as they appeared to, or were remembered by, those commissioning the brass, have augmented our knowledge of the details of medieval life, particularly in the area of costume research and "rubbings" of the brasses have become a popular art form with history buffs, over and above the informative value.
Brethling
Coxcomb; sycophant.
Burh
An Anglo–Saxon fortified town, or major defended place, not necessarily urban.
Butt
Wooden barrel for the storage of wine; capacity – 126 gallons.
Buxom
Obedient.
By Knyf
Small, auxilliary knife carried in the scabbard of a larger blade; commonly found with Scottish dirks and hunting swords.
Byre
Animal pen.
Cam
Awry; crooked.
Capetian
Dynasty of French kings which ruled from 987-1328.
Car
Small cart with two wheels, apparently covered with barehides, used for transporting light goods such as clothing or books.
Caravel
Fast–sailing ship; 15th century equivalent of the frigate.
Cardinal Virtues
Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice.
Carolingian Script
A written Latin script with rounded letter forms adopted at the urging of Charlemagne that became the basis for modern print type.
Carrack
Large, triple–masted ship, built in Italy, but fairly common in all European marine operations; often hired, rather then bought, from either Genoa or Venice.
Cartouche
Stone tablet with ornate forms, usually an elliptical shape and bearing a coat of arms or an inscription.
Carucate
A measurement in land, equal to a hide (according to Danelaw).
Cautelous
Artful; deceitful.
Cenotaph
Empty funerary monument that is not a burying place.
Chinchery
Stinginess; niggardly.
Cinquefoil
A flower with five equal parts; probably based on the wild rose in early heraldry. E.g., the white rose of York, the red of Lancaster and their successor, the Tudor rose.
Cistern
A tank for collecting and holding water, especially rainwater.
Clapping
Chattering; idle talk.
Cleped
In the dialect of London in the late Middle Ages, called, as by one's name.
Clip
To embrace.
Close Stool
Chamber pot inside with a lid.
Clout
Heavy blow, or to strike a heavy blow.
Codex
The form of bound book found in the Middle Ages. Usually made of sheets of parchment (or animal hide) of relatively uniform size, with text handwritten on both sides, and enclosed between wooden or leather covers.
Cog
Broadly–built cargo ship. Also called a cogue.
College
Endowed assembly of clerics, but sometimes expert laymen, as in the College of Arms; often used interchangeably with chantry.
Complexion
An individual's temperment or disposition, as determined by the proportions of the four humors in his/her constitution.
Consanguity Chart
A chart drawn to establish the relationship by blood to a common ancestor, used in arranging suitable marriages.
Convey
A medieval euphemism for the act of theft.
Corage
Heart, in the psychological sense.
Coronation
The act or ceremony of crowning a sovereign or the sovereign’s consort.
Cottager
A peasant of the lower class, with little or no land.
Counterpoint
Counterpane.
Courtier
An attendant at the court or a prince or sovereign.
Courtoisie, Courtly Love
A medieval form of amorous relationship, in which the love expressed is illicit and potentially adulterous; known for the lyric poetry of the medieval French languages.
Crack
To boast of brag.
Crannog
An Irish dwelling residing on a natural or man-made island.
Crowner's Quest
Coroner's inquest.
Cruel, cruelly
In the Middle Ages, cruel meant hard or exceedingly,respectively, rather the more modern interpretations implying wickedness or evilness.
Cymraeg
The name for the Welsh language.
Cymru
Wales.
Dad
One's father; recorded in use prior to 1500, becoming mostly dialect and /or American in the 19th and 20th centuries. See also Papa.
Damsel
Girl, young woman; standard English; used in reference to social equals, or members of a higher social status. See Wench.
Dark Ages
The period during which Europe experienced an intellectual, civil, and social decline, generally from 476 to 1000, also called the Early Middle Ages.
De Arte Amandi
A work by Ovid being circulated among the courtiers of Edward IV in the 1460s, according to reference made to it in the Paston correspondence.
Dees
Dice, in the vernacular of Chaucer.
Demesne
Noble's own estate as distinct from lands granted to vassals, but of which the noble remained nominal head.
De Remedio
Another of Ovid's works that found favor with the courtiers of the 1460s, according to the Paston correspondence.
Denizen
Foreign, not native.
Deniers
Silver coins or "pennies" used in England and France. Larger denominations were had by weighing deniers. A sou was 12 denier weight. A livre was one pound denier weight. Gold coins, rare in England and France, were worth about twenty–five silver denier.
Despitously
Contempuously; scornfully.
Devoir
Duty.
Devyse
To tell, relate. Chaucer uses it in that context in relation to the narrator's role in The Canterbury Tales.
Dictes and Sayings
of the Philosophers
First book printed in English; a translation made by Anthony Woodville, brother–in–law of Edward IV, and published by William Caxton in 1477.
Dirige
Original form of the word, dirge.
Disguysings
Origin of the masquerade and very close to mumming, with all the performers appearing in costume. It was the chief entertainment at Christmas and on other important occasions.
Disseisin
Act of wrongfully depriving a person of the possession, seisin, of lands, rents or other rights.
Dotalicium
A woman's marriage portion; her dowry.
Dowry
The money, goods, or estate brought by a bride to her husband at marriage.
Dreadless
Without doubt; for certain.
Dreng
A free peasant in Northumbria and sometimes in Yorkshire and Lancashire. The term usually means that land is held in return for military service.
Dun
A Scottish single family hill fort.
East March (towards Scotland)
Northeastern Northumberland; the area around Norham Castle and most of the Durham Palatinate, with the River Aln forming the south boundary. Administrative Center: Berwick.
Eche
To add to, or increase.
Eek
Also, too.
Eire
Ireland.
Elements
The theory that all material things in the universe were made of one or more of the four elements – Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.
Ell
Standard measure – 45 inches.
Emayled
Enamelled.
Erse
The Irish language.
Esplanade
A flat, grassy area, open to public gatherings or for walking.
Even–Christians
Fellow man.
Everichon
Everyone; London dialect of Chaucer.
Exemplar
The model copy of a work which a copyist was to follow. Within medieval university circles the original writer of the work would often approve an exemplar for its reproduction by booksellers and student or their copyists.
Exemplum
A situation, perhaps allegorical, serving as illustration for a moral example or lesson, which was provided or repeated for the benefit of medieval listeners or readers.
Explicit
The closing words or sentences of a written work which a medieval manuscript may provide the only indication of the author or title of the work.
Fair
A market held at regular intervals, usually once or twice a year. Licenced by the king, local lord, or a chartered town, fairs offered a larger range of goods than a market.
Fathom
Standard measure – six feet.
Fatimids
Caliphs and rulers of Egypt from 969 until overthrown by Saladin in 1171. They were of a minority, Shi’I form of Islam, and therefore bitter enemies of the majority Sunni form.
Favel
Flattering.
Felice
Harlot.
Fem Sole
Designation of a woman, married or single, who was an independent member of the business community, a not entirely unheard of position for women in the 15th–century England. E.g., members of the London Silkwomens' guild, a thriving organization with a flourishing apprenticeship program and both domestic and foreign trade contracts.
Ferly
Strange; a wonder.
Ferne–ago
Long ago.
Fetching
Crafty scheme.
File
Harlot.
Fist
Penmanship, handwriting; standard English in the Middle Ages.
Fitz
An Anglo-Saxon prefix for son.
Flayers
Outlaw gangs which plagued Normandy during the final stages of the English occupation. Destruction, pillage and robbery were their stock and trade and they derived their name from their habit of stripping their victims, then flaying them alive.
Fleer
Mock; laugh at scornfully.
Fliting
Strife; contention.
Florin
A Spanish or Italian coin, usually made of gold.
Fob
Imposter.
Foison
Plenty.
Foot Sheets
Sheets did not, apparently, extend the full length of medieval beds. Hence, there were specific items called head and foot sheets.
Forest
Not always woodlands, but that land reserved for the King's or a great noble's hunting; generally under the control of a forester, rather than a sheriff and judically governed by the Verderer’s Court.
Forlogne
A hunting term meaning to leave behind at a great distance.
Forepyned
Wan, wasted, as used in the text of Chaucer.
Forsaught
Distracted.
For Sothe
Even so, in Chaucer. Later became forsooth.
Forthy
Therefore, nevertheless.
Fosse
Ditch.
Frankish Fare
Excessive politeness Also called French fare.
Frape
Crowd; pack.
Free Alms
See Frankamoign, chantry, and bedesmen.
Fresco
1) The art of painting on fresh plaster before it dries, using pigments dissolved in water; 2) A painting done in this manner.
Friends
In the context of 15th–century power and prestige, the great affinities of the magnates; groups of household and estate officials augmented by scores of annuitants, whose loyalty was more of a contractual obligation than one of either emotional or psychological consideration. See Livery and Maintenance.
Fuir
Fire.
Fuller(s)
Groove or grooves cut into a sword blade to make it lighter, while still retaining its stiffness. Sometimes called "blood gutters," but that is considered an incorrect usage.
Fulling
To increase the weight and bulk of cloth by moistening, heating, and pressing.
Fyre Dogs
Fire irons equipped with hooks to support a cauldron.
Gael
The Celtic inhabitants of Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man.
Gainbite
Remorse.
Gaingiving
Misgiving.
Galley
Large, slender ship, propelled by oars, used for navigating the Mediterranean Sea.
Garboil
Brawl; tumult.
Gentil
Noble; well–bred.
Gentilesse
Fellow–feeling; generosity; fairness. A key concept of Chaucer, who twice associated it with Christian virtue, at least rhetorically repudiating the overtone of solely aristocratic genility.
Geste
Deed or tale.
Gigilot
1) Wencher; 2) Adulterer; 3) Strumpet.
Gisant
An effigy depicted as a naked corpse. In the late Middle Ages, there was a marked fascination with the physical realities of death and the decomposition of the body, possibly as a result of the already marked preoccupation with the graphic details of eternal damnation. Whatever its inspiration, expression of what might seem to be a somewhat macabre obsession can be seen in tomb sculptures of the period. E.g., at Ewelme, the tomb of the Duchess of Suffolk, widow of William de la Pole, the 1st Duke; the effigy of Bishop Richard Fleming at Lincoln or that of Bishop Thomas Beckingham at Wells. Having come into vogue in the aftermath of the Black Death, gisants seem to disappear in the 17th century, for the most part.
Glean
To gather grain or produce left behind by reapers.
Glossery
1) Flattery; 2) Falsehood.
Goky
Foolish.
Goodman
Husband.
Grete Sea
The Mediterranean.
Groat
Four–pence piece.
Grutching
Grumbling.
Guerdon
Reward.
Guyenne
Synonymous with Aquitaine; also, in some instances, with Gascony, all of which, in England referred to the same province in France.
Handfast
Troth–plighted; betrothed.
Hangman's Tippett
Hangman's rope; 15th to around mid–19th century; humorous colloquialism verging on standard English. See tippett.
Grand Company/Great Companies
The title of a combination of mercenary bands based in central-southern France in 1350s and1360s, fighting under the name of Edward III; then on their own account.
Hearth Son
A younger brother who becames a member of his eldest brother’s household, promising never to marry.
Heathenish
Barbarous.
Heeth
Meadow, in the London dialect of Chaucer.
Heptarchy (Seven Kingdoms of the)
Names given to seven pre-Viking Kingdoms of England - Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, East Anglia, Essex, and Sussex.
Hethenesse
Heathen places of lands, in the context of Chaucer.
Hip–halt
Lame; halting.
Hold Up Oil
Consent flatteringly.
Holt
Wood; wooded area.
Hook
To move with a sudden twist or jerk.
Hop–thumb (Hop–o'–my–thumb)
A dwarf. Perhaps the origin of Tom Thumb's stage name?
Hour (Astrogical)
An hour was assigned to each planet (and the diety for which it was named) starting with the planet for which a given day was named. The hours were considered "unequal" since the period from sunrise to sunset, or sunset to sunset to sunrise was astrogically divided into 12 hours, no matter how long or short that period was at various times of the year. In the Middle Ages, the influence of these astrological hours was an important determining factor in the state of one's health, fortune and general well–being, not so much because of a belief that anything about them could be changed as the notion that the movement of the planets across the Heavens exerted an unseen and unalterable force that contributed to every aspect of life on Earth.
Howsomever
Nevertheless; standard English until nearly modern times.
Hurling
Strife; tumult.
Huck
To bargain.
Hussites
Bohemians who followed the ideas of the Czech reformer Jan Hus, who was burned for heresy at Constance in 1415, and were allied with Czech national fervor. Five crusades between 1420 and 1431 failed to crush the Hussites.
Hutch
Chest; a cabin on a boat or ship.
Idée
Idea. Apparently the modern pronunciation and spelling did not become standard English until sometime in the 18th century.
Ilke
Same.
Illumination
The decoration of a medieval written work by means of gold and silver and colorful inks.
Importable
Unbearable; insufferable.
Incipit
The beginning words or sentence of a written work which in a medieval manuscript may provide the only indication of the author or title of the work.
Indenture
Sealed contract specifying the terms of an agreement between a magnate and a knight or an esquire. The latter may be retained for one campaign in return for wages, or for life, receiving an annual fee for service for war and in peace.
Indurable
Not lasting.
Ipomedon
Book in which Richard of Gloucester's elusive "tant Le deser(e)" was found; a tale of the glorious deed of a young knight which would have been especially appealing to an adolescent male of the Middle Ages, who might easily have chosen the hero as a role model.
Iqta’
A grant of land or revenues by an Islamic ruler or individual. From the 11th century, the most important iqta’s were those held by emirs, who were required to bring military contingents with them when summoned.
Jack
1) A common fellow; 2)As a euphemism, in a sentence, it meant "the least bit".
Jack–eater
Braggart.
Jack of Dover
An allusion to the prosperous fishing industry of that city, specifically, sole, which was even then famous for its quality and taste. Though Chaucer used the phrase, he is not credited with having coined it, so it may have even earlier roots.
Jack–raking
1) Drudgery; 2) Garbage collecting.
Janglery
Jesting.
Janisseries
Soldiers raised by the Ottomans in the 14th century to provide their cavalry forces with reliable infantry.
Jeffrey's Day
Never.
Jointure
An arrangement by which a man sets aside property to be used for the support of his wife after his death, and the property so designated.
Ken
To know; to understand completely.
Kennels
Gutters along a street.
Langue d'Oc
Language of southern France.
Langue d'Oil
Language of northern France.
Largesse
Generosity in giving money or gifts, a much–prized element of chivalry.
Lay–a–water
Defer judgement, especially too long.
Lay At
To attempt to strike.
Lazar
Leper.
Learn
To teach; that usage was standard English from the Middle Ages into the 18th century.
Leasehold
Land tenancy limited to a specific number of years.
Leasings
Lies.
Leman
Mistress.
Let–game
Spoil–sport.
Lettice
Also letuse; a species of fur of a pale grey or greyish–white color; some sources identify it as pelts from the polecat of ferret
Lettow
Lithuania.
Liberal Arts
Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, rhetoric, logic, and grammar – required subjects of students.
Lickerish
Amorous.
Licour
Moisture, as from a rain shower, in the Chaucerian London dialect.
Lifelode
Family inheritance; estates from which income was derived.
Liquorings
Curing, as of barehides.
Lists
Fenced–off arena in which a joust or tournament was held; also called "the barriers". See tilt.
Livres
See deniers.
Lome
Often. Oft and lome; time and again.
Losel
Worthless creature.
Losengery
Flattery.
Lousy
Contemptible, mean, filthy, standard English in that context until the 20th century, when became a perjorative colloquialism.
Lout
Bow ( in salute or greeting).
Lower
A reward; recompense, derived from the Old French "Louier," meaning reward.
Lugnasadh
The Celtic celebration of the start of the harvest.
Lyford Law
Euphemism bordering on standard usage, meaning to hang first and try later, or any arbitrary procedure in judgement.
Lyvelode
See lifelode.
Magik Naturel
Natural "magic," as opposed to the black arts; based on astronomy and widely used in the practice of medicine.
Malapert
Presumptuous or impudent person.
Malten–hearted
Cowardly; poor–spirited.
Mammet
See Mawmet.
March
Frontier or border territory, often entrusted to a vice–regent with quasi–royal powers and special military responsibilities, and where laws appropriate to a mixed population and unsettled conditions prevailed See Border Law.
Mark
Monetary unit equaling two–thirds of a pound sterling.
Market
A place where goods may be bought or sold, established in a town or village with the authority of the king or lord.
Marybones
Marrowbones, in the dialect of Chaucer's London.
Mawmet
Puppet; idol. The word most likely originated during the Crusades, when there was widespread belief that the Moslems worshipped idols of Mohammed, which were given a corrupted form of the Prophet's name by the Europeans. The English, on coming home, applied the word to dolls and, sometimes, to scarecrows.
Mede
Meadow, in the dialect of Chaucer.
Mell
Meddle.
Messauge
Parcel of four acres of land.
Midsummer's Noon
Madness; lunacy; probably derived from an ancient folk proverb: "when the moon is in the full, wit is on the wane".
Mighty
Very greatly; standard English in that context until around the middle of the 18th century.
Mimbudget
Silent.
Mint
Money; standard English as early as the 8th century, not becoming a colloquialism until around the middle of the 16th. Sometimes spelled mynt.
Moiety
A portion, up to half of an inheritance or estate.
Moldboard
The curved metal plate of a plow that lifts, turns, and pulverizes the soil.
Molle
A clay model, worked to scale.
Moorish
Muslim.
Moral Proverbs
Translation of a Christine de Pisan work done by Anthony Woodville; printed and published by William Caxton in 1478.
Morning–gift
A husband's gift to his wife the morning after their wedding.
Mortal, mortally
Excessive; excessively; usage standard English until about the Middle of the 18th century.
Muchel
Much.
Mumbudget
Silent.
Mumpish
Sullenly angry; depressed in spirit.
Munne
Mouth; more or less slang. Also spelled mun or munn.
Murrey
Reddish–purple color; one of the colors of the House of York.
Namore
No more, the the vernacular of Chaucer and the London of his day.
Neck Verses
A few lines of Latin or Bible verses quoted by criminals to establish themselves as members of the clergy, thereby entitling them to trial in the more lenient church courts.
Nightertale
Night–time; found in Chaucer.
Nithing
Cowardly person.
Nolle
The head; standard English from the 9th throughout the 18th centuries. Also spelled noll, nol, and nole.
Nose Thrilles
Nostrils.
Pale
Region around Dublin heavily settled by the English after the late 12th century, and by the 15th century the only region under the English king’s rule. Origin of the phrase ‘beyond the Pale’, referring to the native Irish whom the English considered uncivilized and barbaric.
Parchment
Originally, the skin of a sheep or goat, prepared as a material on which to write; later, paper made in imitation of this material.
Poacher
One who hunts or fishes on the property of another.
Portieres
Small tapestries, cut into panels, used to cover vacant doorways and keep out drafts.
Provençal
Relating to the Romance language of Provence, especially the literary language of the troubadors.
Quadrivium
Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music; the scientific subjects of the seven Liberal Arts.
Queen of Love and Beauty
A symbolic title for the Lady who was elected to preside over tournament festivities.
Quill
A writing instrument made from a feather shaft.
Roundship
A type of large, skeleton-built sailing cargo vessel used by western powers in the Mediterranean from the mid-12th century, with a rounded hull.
Rushlight
Cheap candle made by dipping dried rush stem in tallow.
Samhain
A Celtic feast, held 1 November, on the day believed to divide the seasons, seen by the Celts as a doorway between the spirit world and the real world, when strange creatures and ghosts might roam the land.
Scratchplow
A primitive plow.
Scrips
A pouch or purse.
Sennight
Seven days.
Sestrier
A measure of weight.
Seven Arts
The seven subjects considered of primary importance in medieval higher education, divided into two main categories: the trivium and the quadrivium.
Shilling
A measure used for accounting purposes only. Equal to 12 pennies.
Solstice
Either of two times a year, in June and December, when the sun is farthest from the celestial equator.
Sous
See deniers.
Stews
Brothels.
Stewes
See also garderobe.
Stylus
A wooden writing instrument with a wax tablet.
Sub Urbe
Merchants’ quarters which grew up outside the walls of fortified settlements.
Sulung
A measurement of land in Kent. Equals two hides.
Tatterdemalion
Rags, patchwork.
Teazle
A thistle–like plant used in woolmaking.
Thatch
A covering for a roof made of straw, rushes, reeds, or leaves.
Tilt
A wooden fence or barrier separating the combatants in a joust; also, to fight with lances; to joust.
Tourney
Mock combat for knights.
Trivium
Grammar, rhetoric, and logic; the literary components of the seven Liberal Arts.
Tumbril
Cart.
Usury
Interest charged on a loan. Although forbidden by Church law, it was used by the Knight Hospitalars and Knight Templars in the later Middle Ages.
Viking
Any of the seafaring Scandinavian peoples who plundered the coasts of northern and western Europe from the eighth through the 10th centuries.
Visigoths
The western Goths who invaded and sacked Rome in the fifth century.
Wax Tablet
A tablet with a reusable wax writing surface.
Week Work
The amount of work owed by a serf to his landlord on a regular basis.
Yoke
A measurement of land in Kent equal to one quarter of a sulung.
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