Soke (legal)
Encyclopedia
The term soke at the time of the Norman Conquest of England
generally denoted "jurisdiction", but due to vague usage probably lacks a single precise definition.
In some cases soke denoted the right to hold a court
, and in others only the right to receive the fines and forfeitures
of the men over whom it was granted when they had been condemned in a court of competent jurisdiction. Its primary meaning seems to have involved seeking; thus soka faldae was the duty of seeking the lord
's court, just as secta ad molendinum was the duty of seeking the lord's mill. The Leges also speaks of pleas in socna, id est, in quaestione sua (pleas which are in his investigation).
Evidently, however, not long after the Norman Conquest considerable doubt prevailed about the correct meaning of the word. In some versions of the much-used tract Interpretationes uocabulorum soke is defined: aver fraunc court, and in others as interpellacio maioris audientiae, which glosses somewhat ambiguously as claim ajustis et requeste.
The word "soke" also frequently appears in association with sak or sake in the alliterative jingle sake and soke, but the two words lack etymological links. The word sake represents the Anglo-Saxon sacu, originally meaning "a matter or cause" (from sacan "to contend"), and later the right to have a court. The word "soke", however, appears more commonly and appears to have had a wider range of meaning.
The term "soke", unlike "sake", sometimes applied to the district over which the right of jurisdiction extended (compare Soke of Peterborough
.)
Adolphus Ballard
argued that the interpretation of the word "soke" as jurisdiction should be accepted only where it stands for the fuller phrase, "sake and soke", and that "soke" standing by itself denoted services. Certainly, many passages in the Domesday Book
support this contention, but in other passages "soke" seems to serve merely as a short expression for "sake and soke". The difficulties about the correct interpretation of these words will probably not unravel until historians elucidate more fully the normal functions and jurisdiction of the various local courts.
A sokeman belonged to a class of tenants
, found chiefly in the eastern counties, occupying an intermediate position between the free tenant
s and the bond tenants or villeins. As a general rule they had personal freedom, but performed many of the agricultural services of the villeins. Historians generally suppose they bore the rank of "sokemen" because they belonged within a lord's soke or jurisdiction. Ballard, however, held that a sokeman was merely a man who rendered services, and that a sokeland was land from which services were rendered, and was not necessarily under the jurisdiction of a manor
.
The law term, socage
, used of this tenure, arose by adding the French suffix -age to soc.
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...
generally denoted "jurisdiction", but due to vague usage probably lacks a single precise definition.
In some cases soke denoted the right to hold a court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
, and in others only the right to receive the fines and forfeitures
Asset forfeiture
Asset forfeiture is confiscation, by the State, of assets which are either the alleged proceeds of crime or the alleged instrumentalities of crime, and more recently, alleged terrorism. Instrumentalities of crime are property that was allegedly used to facilitate crime, for example cars...
of the men over whom it was granted when they had been condemned in a court of competent jurisdiction. Its primary meaning seems to have involved seeking; thus soka faldae was the duty of seeking the lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
's court, just as secta ad molendinum was the duty of seeking the lord's mill. The Leges also speaks of pleas in socna, id est, in quaestione sua (pleas which are in his investigation).
Evidently, however, not long after the Norman Conquest considerable doubt prevailed about the correct meaning of the word. In some versions of the much-used tract Interpretationes uocabulorum soke is defined: aver fraunc court, and in others as interpellacio maioris audientiae, which glosses somewhat ambiguously as claim ajustis et requeste.
The word "soke" also frequently appears in association with sak or sake in the alliterative jingle sake and soke, but the two words lack etymological links. The word sake represents the Anglo-Saxon sacu, originally meaning "a matter or cause" (from sacan "to contend"), and later the right to have a court. The word "soke", however, appears more commonly and appears to have had a wider range of meaning.
The term "soke", unlike "sake", sometimes applied to the district over which the right of jurisdiction extended (compare Soke of Peterborough
Soke of Peterborough
The Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England that is traditionally associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire...
.)
Adolphus Ballard
Adolphus Ballard
Adolphus Ballard was an English historian and solicitor. The eldest son of Adolphus Ballard and Frances Ann née Stafford he was born in Chichester, Sussex, educated in Hastings, Sussex and articled as a solicitor in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire before moving to take up the position of Town Clerk...
argued that the interpretation of the word "soke" as jurisdiction should be accepted only where it stands for the fuller phrase, "sake and soke", and that "soke" standing by itself denoted services. Certainly, many passages in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
support this contention, but in other passages "soke" seems to serve merely as a short expression for "sake and soke". The difficulties about the correct interpretation of these words will probably not unravel until historians elucidate more fully the normal functions and jurisdiction of the various local courts.
A sokeman belonged to a class of tenants
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
, found chiefly in the eastern counties, occupying an intermediate position between the free tenant
Free tenant
Free Tenants, also known as Free Peasants, were peasants in Medieval England who occupied a unique place in the Medieval hierarchy. They were characterised by the low rents they paid to their Manorial Lord as well as being subject to fewer laws and ties than villeins.-Definition:One of the major...
s and the bond tenants or villeins. As a general rule they had personal freedom, but performed many of the agricultural services of the villeins. Historians generally suppose they bore the rank of "sokemen" because they belonged within a lord's soke or jurisdiction. Ballard, however, held that a sokeman was merely a man who rendered services, and that a sokeland was land from which services were rendered, and was not necessarily under the jurisdiction of a 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...
.
The law term, socage
Socage
Socage was one of the feudal duties and hence land tenure forms in the feudal system. A farmer, for example, held the land in exchange for a clearly defined, fixed payment to be made at specified intervals to his feudal lord, who in turn had his own feudal obligations, to the farmer and to the Crown...
, used of this tenure, arose by adding the French suffix -age to soc.
See also
- History of English land lawHistory of English land lawThe history of English land law derives from a mixture of Roman, Norman and modern legislative sources.Such terms as "fee" or "homage" carry us back into feudal times. Rights of common and distress are based upon still older institutions, forming the very basis of primitive law...
- Soke used in place-names:
- PortsokenPortsokenPortsoken is a historical district in the City of London, located outside the former London Wall, on the eastern part of the City, near Aldgate. It is one of the 25 wards of the City....
a district in the City of London - Soke of PeterboroughSoke of PeterboroughThe Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England that is traditionally associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire...
- Thorpe-le-SokenThorpe-le-SokenThorpe-le-Soken is a village in Essex, located west of Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea and north of Clacton-on-Sea.-History:Thorpe-le-Soken's history can be traced back to Saxon times....
- Kirby-le-SokenKirby-le-SokenKirby-le-Soken is a small village in the Tendring District of North East Essex, England, in an agricultural and increasingly residential corner of the county. Although the village has managed to stay distinct and separate from the growing conurbations of Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze , it...
- Walton-le-Soken
- Portsoken
Sources
- Ballard, Adolphus (1906). The Domesday Inquest. London: Methuen & Co.
- Baring, Francis Henry (1909). Domesday Tables for the Counties of Surrey, Berkshire, Middlesex, Hertford, Buckingham & Bedford & for the New Forest. London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd.
- Maitland, Frederic WilliamFrederic William MaitlandFrederic William Maitland was an English jurist and historian, generally regarded as the modern father of English legal history.-Biography:...
(1897). Domesday Book and Beyond; Three Essays in the Early History of England. Cambridge: University Press. - Round, John Horace (1909). Feudal England; Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. London: S. Sonnenschein.
- James Tait (1897). Review of The Domesday Inquest. In English Historical Review 12 pp. 768–777. Also in Red Book of the Exchequer (Rolls SeriesRolls SeriesThe Rolls Series, official title The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources, published in the second half of the 19th century. Some 255 volumes, representing 99 separate...
), iii. 1035.