The Final Toll
Page 21
Chausses: Stockings made of cloth (not knitted). Each leg ties onto the waist cord of the braies.
Courser: A swift, strong horse, used as a warhorse among those knights unable to afford the fabulously expensive and war-trained Destrier.
Crowner: From the Latin Coronarius, meaning Servant of the Crown. The word eventually evolves into 'Coroner'
Destrier: Usually stallions, bred specifically for war, with powerful hindquarters and the ability to coil and spring stop, spin, turn or sprint forward. They were as much a weapon as the knight's sword.
Dower: The bridegroom's offering to his bride. Generally dower should be one-third the value of the bride's dowry. Dower is an annuity for the wife, meant to support her after her husband's death. She holds her dower until death, and can accrue dower over the course of multiple marriages. Upon her death, her dower returns to the heirs of the original owner.
Dowry: What the bride brings to her husband upon marriage. Depending on her class, this can be a throne, estates, a skill (such as milling), or in the case of peasant brides, pots and pans and other household goods.
Hemp: A soft, strong fiber plant with edible seeds. Hemp can be twisted into rope or woven for use in making everything from storage bags to mattress covers.
Hundred: A geographic division of a county or shire.Although it once likely referred to an area capable of providing a hundred men at arms, or containing a hundred homes, by the 12th Century, it can be a far larger area.
Inland: Land that isn't eligible to be taxed by the Crown.
Pleas of the Crown: To plead for justice from the royal court, or representative of the court. Like going to your local police station and filing a complaint.
Toft and Croft: The area of land on which a peasant's house sits. The croft, generally measuring seven hundred feet in length and forty in width. It was in the croft that a serf would grow their personal food staples, such as onions, garlic, turnips and other root crops, legumes and some grains.
Withe: A thin, supple willow (but also hazel or ash) branch
THE FINAL TOLL
Copyright © Denise Domning 2018
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EDITED BY: Martha Stites and Kimberly Spina
COVER DESIGN: Denise Domning
Printed in the United States of America, First paperback edition: December, 2018