Reeve (England)
 |
| Cyning (sovereign) |
| Ætheling (prince) |
| Ealdorman (Earl) |
| Hold / High-reeve |
| Thegn |
| Thingmen / housecarl (retainer) |
| Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) |
| Churl (free tenant) |
| Villein (serf) |
| Cottar (cottager) |
| Þēow (slave) |
In
Anglo-Saxon England
Before the Conquest, a
Land was divided into a large number of
Tithings were organised into groups of 10, called
The word is often rendered in Latin as praefectus (Modern English prefect), by the historian Bede, and some early Anglo-Saxon charters. West-Saxon charters prefer to reserve the term praefectus for the ealdormen (earls) themselves.
After the Conquest
After the Norman conquest, feudalism was introduced, forming a parallel administrative system to the local courts. The feudal system organised land on a manorial basis, with stewards acting as managers for the landlords. The Norman term describing the court functionary—bailiff—came to be used for reeves associated with lower level courts, and with the equivalent role in the feudal courts of landlords.
Courts fulfilled administrative, as well as judicial, functions, and on the manorial level its decisions could concern mundane field management, not just legal disputes. The manorial bailiff thus could be set tasks such as ensuring certain crops were gathered, as well as those like enforcing debt repayment. Sometimes, bailiffs would have assistants to carry out these tasks, and the term reeve now came to be used for this position—someone essentially assisting the steward, and sometimes a bailiff, by effectively performing day-to-day supervision of the work done on the land within a particular manor.
He was usually himself a peasant, and was chosen once a year, generally at Michaelmas. In some manors the reeve was appointed by the lord of the manor, but in others he was elected by the peasants, subject or not to a right of veto by the lord. It depended on the custom of the manor, but there was an increasing tendency for election to be favoured. No doubt an elected reeve was more willingly obeyed, and sometimes the peasants would be made financially liable if an elected reeve defaulted.[3]
Although this reeve was subject to the steward, the steward might not always be resident within the manor, and might manage many, and would not usually concern himself with day-to-day working. A good reeve who carried out his duties efficiently, and was trusted by the lord and the peasants alike, was likely to stay in office more or less permanently. By the 14th century the reeve was often a permanent officer of the manor.
With the subsequent decline of the feudal system, and the subversion of its courts by the introduction of
Depiction by Chaucer
There is an exceptional literary portrait of a reeve in the second half of the 14th century. The reeve is one of the pilgrims who are making their way to
See also
- High-reeve
- Reeve (Canada)
- Sheriff
- Verderer
References
- ^ Loyn, Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest, 2nd ed. 1991:356.
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary:sheriff
- ^ see H. S. Bennett: Life on the English Manor (Cambridge 1937) p. 166 ff
- ^ Canterbury Tales. Prologue lines 590 ff. When he comes to tell his tale, it is appropriately about a miller who stole corn from two students who then get their revenge in bed with his wife and daughter.
External links
