We’re all familiar with the term ‘sheriff’ especially from cowboy films. The term came from ‘shire reeve’ the man directly responsible for the business of an estate. We’ve been looking at the officers of a medieval estate or lordship, first the seneschal and then the bailiff. Now we come to the reeve. A lord or other aristocrat may own an estate, or many estates, but he didn’t have the time to manage the details. These men did it for him. So there’s a lot of instructions about honesty and responsibility.
The reeve ought to be elected and presented by the common consent of the township, as the best husbandman and the best approver among them. And he must see that all the servants of the court rise in the morning to do their work, and that the ploughs be yoked in time, and the lands well ploughed and cropped, and turned over, and sown with good and clean seed, as much as they can stand. And he ought to see that there be a good fold of wooden hurdles on the demesne, strewed within every night to improve the land.
In this list of duties, detailed instructions were given about the keeping of stock and crops, including how many sheep, pigs etc, should be kept depending on the size of pasture. For crops, clean seed and well threshed should be produced, and there were warnings about watching out that workers not carry away any corn hidden in their clothes.
And the reeve ought often to see that all the beasts are well provided with forage and kept as they ought to be, and that they have enough pasture without overcharge of the other beasts, and he ought to see that the keepers of all kinds of beasts do not go to fairs, or markets, or wrestling-matches, or taverns, by which the beasts aforesaid may go astray without guard, or do harm to the lord or another, but they must ask leave, and put keepers in their places that no harm may happen; and if harm or loss do come about, let the amend by taken from the keepers and the damage made good.
Traditional ploughing – Karnataka
There was a limit to the reeve’s authority, and many complaints had to be referred to the bailiff, but he was responsible for payments to workers, and keeping an eye on the dairywomen, that they didn’t take home any cheese, butter, milk or curds.
A reeve served for a year at a time and was answerable to the bailiff for the performance of his duties.
Let no reeve remain over a year as reeve, if he be not proved most profitable and faithful in his doings, and a good husbandman. Each reeve ought every year to account with his bailiff, and tally the works and customs commuted in the manor, whereby he can surely answer in money for the surplus in the account, for the money for customs is worth as much as rent.
The bailiff and reeve must often see all the disrepairs of the houses in their charge, also of walls, ditches, hedges, carts, waggons, ploughs, harrows, folds, and all other costs, so that their foresight may do so much that it be not necessary through their fault to lose a mark for a matter of 12 pence; for each thing is valuable according as it is looked after.
Another thing I didn’t think of is that as people travelled from one manor or estate to another, the lord would not be happy with them using up the provisions and goods from the place they are visiting. No, they have to have permission or bring their food with them.
And no reeve on a manor may keep table to receive goers or comers at the lord’s cost, without special commandment by writ, for if those of the lord’s house come to the manors on their own business, the lord need not pay them for their profit, but if they come there, let them take their expenses from the lord’s wardrobe before they go anywhere, because there is no need to do two wrongs to one business. And no knight, or servant, or groom, or any other may be received on any manor by any bailiff or any provost to sojourn at the lord’s expense without writ, for at the account nothing shall be allowed them for the expenses of these.
Ann Marie Thomas is the author of five medieval history books, a surprisingly cheerful poetry collection about her 2010 stroke and two further poetry collections, and the science fiction series Flight of the Kestrel, of which there are four books are out now. Follow her at http://eepurl.com/bbOsyz and get free books.
