Honour (land)
Encyclopedia
In medieval England
, an honour could consist of a great lordship, comprising dozens or hundreds of manor
s. Holders of honours (and the kings to whom they reverted by escheat
) often attempted to preserve the integrity of an honour over time, administering its properties as a unit, maintaining inheritances together, etc.
The typical honour had properties scattered over several shire
s, intermingled with the properties of others. Usually, though, a more concentrated cluster existed somewhere. Here would lie the caput (head) of the honour, with a castle that gave its name to the honour and served as its administrative headquarters.
A lordship could consist of anything from a field or two to vast territories all over England. Thus the designation honour can distinguish the large lordship from the small. The term has particular usefulness for the eleventh and twelfth centuries, before the development of an extensive peerage
hierarchy.
Traditional mediaeval property-based honours included:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, an honour could consist of a great lordship, comprising dozens or hundreds of manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
s. Holders of honours (and the kings to whom they reverted by escheat
Escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in limbo without recognised ownership...
) often attempted to preserve the integrity of an honour over time, administering its properties as a unit, maintaining inheritances together, etc.
The typical honour had properties scattered over several shire
Shire
A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...
s, intermingled with the properties of others. Usually, though, a more concentrated cluster existed somewhere. Here would lie the caput (head) of the honour, with a castle that gave its name to the honour and served as its administrative headquarters.
A lordship could consist of anything from a field or two to vast territories all over England. Thus the designation honour can distinguish the large lordship from the small. The term has particular usefulness for the eleventh and twelfth centuries, before the development of an extensive peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
hierarchy.
Traditional mediaeval property-based honours included:
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Eye Castle Eye Castle is a motte and bailey medieval castle with a prominent Victorian addition in the town of Eye, Suffolk. Built shortly after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the castle was sacked and largely destroyed in 1265... Long Crendon Long Crendon is a village and civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, about west of Haddenham and north-west of Thame in neighbouring Oxfordshire.The village has been called Long Crendon only since the English Civil War... Gloucester Castle Gloucester Castle was a castle in the cathedral city of Gloucester in the county of Gloucestershire.- Early Norman Motte & Bailey Castle :It began as a motte castle during the reign of William the Conqueror when 16 houses were demolished to make way for it. It was enlarged by William Rufus who... Honour of Grafton The Honour of Grafton is a collection of manors in the south east of Northamptonshire, England. The Honour is historic, dating back at least as far as 1542 when a bill for its management was before parliament.... Huntingdon Castle Huntingdon Castle was situated in the town of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire .The site was originally occupied by the Saxons. In 1068 a Norman motte and bailey castle was built for William the Conqueror. During the Anarchy the castle was held by David, King of Scotland through his marriage to... Knaresborough Castle Knaresborough Castle is a ruined fortress overlooking the River Nidd in the town of Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England.-History:The castle was first built by a Norman baron in c.1100 on a cliff above the River Nidd. There is documentary evidence dating from 1130 referring to works carried out... Honour of Lancaster The Honour of Lancaster was a medieval English honour located primarily in the north-west of England, between 1066 to the 15th century.-Details:... Leicester Castle Leicester Castle is located in the city of the same name in the English county of Leicestershire. The complex is situated in the west of the city centre, between Saint Nicholas Circle to the north and De Montfort University to the south.... Mowbray Mowbray is an Anglo-Norman baronial house, derived from Montbrai in Normandy. From this village came Geoffrey de Montbrai who came to be Bishop of Coutances and accompanied Duke William of Normandy at the Conquest of England in 1066.... Penrith, Cumbria Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area.... Honour of Peverel The Honour of Peverel is a collection of buildings and land. The honour was granted to William Peverel by William the Conqueror... Pontefract Castle Pontefract Castle is a castle in the town of Pontefract, in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It was the site of the demise of Richard II of England, and later the place of a series of famous sieges during the English Civil War-History:... |
Richard's Castle Richard's Castle is a village, castle and two civil parishes on the border of the counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire in England.The village lies on the B4361, 5½ miles south of the historic market town of Ludlow... Honour of Richmond The Honour of Richmond in north-west Yorkshire was granted to Count Alan Rufus by William the Conqueror in 1071AD. The honour, which was assessed for the service of 60 knights, was one of the most important fiefs in Norman England. - Territory :... Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some west of Dieppe at the junction of the D53, D20, D79 and the D925 roads... Skipton Castle Skipton Castle is situated within the town of Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. The castle has been preserved for over 900 years, built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron.- History :... Tutbury Castle Tutbury Castle is a largely ruinous medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Grade I listed building... Winchester Castle Winchester Castle is a medieval building in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1067. Only the Great Hall exists now; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester.-Great Hall:... Honour of Wallingford The Honour of Wallingford was a medieval English honour located circa 1066 to 1540 in present-day Oxfordshire.The Honour of Wallingford was established after the Norman conquest of England, which began in 1066. The Honour initially encompassed Wallingford and Harpsden and thereafter gained... , circa 1066 to 1540 Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire Whitchurch is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about four miles south of Winslow, four miles north of Aylesbury and has approximately 850 residents.... Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it... Kington - Places :In England* Kington * Kington, Herefordshire* Kington, Worcestershire* Kington Langley, Wiltshire* Kington Magna, Dorset* Kington St Michael, Wiltshire* West Kington, Wiltshire- People :* L. Brent Kington, American Artist and Metalsmith... Herefordshire |