benjamin harrison domestic policy

What is what? – Conqueror and Conquest
Duchy
A territory or domain ruled by a Duke or Duchess.
Duchy
A territory or domain ruled by a Duke or Duchess.
Earldom
The rank or title of an earl or the territory governed by an earl.
Shire
A county.
Hundred
A smaller subdivision of a county or shire.
Hide
A former measure of land used in England, typically equal to between 60 and 120 acres
Danelaw
The name given to the part of England where the laws of the "Danes" were in place and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxon
Homage
The ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position (investiture). It was a symbolic acknowledgment to the lord that the vassal was, literally, his man (homme).
Fealty
The oath implied lesser obligations than did "homage". Further, one could swear fealty to many different overlords with respect to different land holdings, but "homage" could only be performed to a single liege.
Liege homage
Liege homage (Feudal Custom), that homage of one sovereign or prince to another which acknowledged an obligation of fealty and services.
Rex
1. The reigning king. It is used following a name or in the titles of lawsuits.
Justiciar
Similar to the role of Prime Minister today – Medieval Kings spent long periods away from the country and needed a trusted administrator to rule in their absence.
Thegn
Used to describe a nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England
Earl (comites)
A British nobleman who ranks above a viscount but below a marquess.
Baron
1. A member of the lowest ranking of the British nobility.
Geneat
Someone who holds lands of a superior either by service or payment of rent.
Sheriff
The chief executive officer of the Crown in a county. They have various administrative and judicial functions.
Knight
A man who served his sovereign or lord as a mounted soldier in armour.
Castellans
The governor of a castle.
Cottar
A peasant farmer in the Scottish Highlands
Gebur/Boor
A rude, unmannerly or clumsy person.
Rectitudines
Moral uprightness or righteousness.
Fyrd
The local militia of an Anglo-Saxon shire.
Housecarls
A member of the body-guard of a Danish or English king or noble.
Laymen
1. A no ordained member of a church.
Vassal
1. A holder of land by feudal tenure on conditions of homage and allegiance.
Subregulus
1. A feudatory vassal.
Perjurer
A person who deliberately gives false testimony.
Witengemot (Wittan)
A political institution in Anglo-Saxon England.
Succession Crisis
A crisis over who was next in line to the English throne.
Nithing
A term for a social stigma implying the loss of honour.
Alliegence
Loyalty of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause.
Vilification
A slanderous defamation.
Feigned retreat
Feigned retreat is a false military retreat that is used to lure enemies and to split larger forces into smaller ones.
Conquest
The act or process of conquering territory.
Coronation
The ceremony of crowning a sovereign or a sovereign's consort.
Fuedal System
The social system that developed in Europe in the 8th century; vassals were protected by lords who they had to serve in war.
Exchequer
1. A royal or national treasury.
Danegeld
A Danish tax to pay tribute to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged.
Scutage
A form of taxation which allowed to a knight to buy out of the military service due to the Crown as a holder of a knight’s fee held under the feudal land tenure of a knight service.
Pipe Rolls
Collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer.
Writ
Formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction.
Charter
The grant of authority or rights.
Trial by Ordeal (Fire, Water, Battle)
An ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting the accused to an unpleasant or dangerous experience.

The Church – What is what?
Pope
Bishop of Rome and the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.
Bishop
A member of the Christian clergy who is entrusted with authority.
Archbishop
A Christian bishop who has higher power than a bishop.
Archdeacon
A senior clergy position.
Abbot
The word, meaning ‘father’ is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions.
Dean
A cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy.
Monk
A person who practices religious exercises.
Ecclesiastical men
Studiers of the Christian Church.
Benefit of Clergy
A provision which clergymen could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts.
Martyrdom
The death of a martyr.
Excommunication
A religious censure used to deprive membership in a religious community.
Canonize
The act by which the Catholic Church declares a deceased person to be a saint.
Appeals to Rome
In1532 the Church of England agreed to surrender its legislative independence and canon law to the authority of the monarch. In 1533 the Statute in Restraint of Appeals removed the right to appeal to Rome on matters of matrimony, tithes and oblations.
Legates
A personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations.
Papal Banner
A banner flown by William the Conqueror at Senlac Hill at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.