Michael Jecks
THE OATH
2010
For
Beryl and Peter
The best parents possible!
With much love
GLOSSARY
Aketon – a thick tunic, originally padded or quilted, that was worn over the shirt but underneath a man-at-arms’ hauberk.
Alaunt – a hunting dog, like a greyhound but larger, with a broad head and shorter snout. Known for their ferocity, these dogs were used to hunt big game, even bears.
Ambler – horses for gentle riding were trained to ‘amble’, swinging both left legs together, then both right legs.
Amerce – a financial penalty that was a type of bond. For example, a man would be ‘amerced’ to attend court, and if he failed to appear, the sum was his fine.
Attach – to secure a man’s attendance at court by means of sureties.
Berner – the attendant in charge of hounds.
Centaine – a unit of men-at-arms in the King’s host: a hundred men.
Chevauchée – a technical military term, generally meaning to ride out and pillage an area.
Deodand – a tax, based on the value of a murder weapon, payable as a fine. This tax remained in force until the nineteenth century, when railway companies complained at the value of entire trains being levied for accidental homicides!
Fosser – the sexton, a gravedigger.
Garbage – animal offal used for food.
Guyenne – that part of France still ruled by the British King: Aquitaine, Anjou, etc.
Hainaulter – man from Hainault in Flanders.
Hauberk – the mail shirt that was worn over the aketon but beneath the pair of plates.
Heriot – a fine of the best beast, rendered to a serf’s lord when the serf died.
Hobelar – armed man who rode upon a ‘hobby’, a small riding horse.
Kennel – the central gulley or gutter in a medieval street.
Leyrwite – this was the fine imposed on women for adultery or sexual incontinence.
Lurdan – a term of opprobrium – a sluggard, a laggard, a dimwit.
Mastiff – a large dog, used as a guard and sometimes for baiting.
Murdrum – the fine imposed on a vill when none could prove ‘Englishry’ for a corpse. It had been a means of fining the English rebels after the Norman invasion, and was imposed when a body was thought to be Norman, as a way of punishing the community.
Pair of Plates – a form of body armour made by fixing overlapping plates of steel to the inside of a cloth or leather tunic. It was worn over the mail hauberk.
Palfrey – a small to medium-sized horse noted for its comfort.
Posse Comitatus – the force of the county, available to keep the peace or help hunt down felons.
Rache – a running dog, which we would probably call a greyhound today.
Rounsey – the common horse for general use: also used as a warhorse by men-at-arms, and as a packhorse.
Schiltrom – troops drawn up in battle order.
Vill – a territorial unit, comprising a number of houses and the land adjacent, which was the basic unit of administration under feudal law.
Vingtaine – a military unit of twenty men.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Sir Baldwin de Furnshill – Keeper of the King’s Peace, Baldwin was once a Templar, but now seeks a quiet life in Devon.
Simon Puttock – Baldwin’s closest friend, Simon has worked with him on many murder investigations.
Margaret (Meg) – Simon’s wife.
Peterkin (Perkin) – Simon and Margaret’s son.
Hugh – Simon’s long-suffering servant.
Rob – son of a prostitute in Dartmouth, Rob has become Simon’s servant too.
Jack – a young fellow accompanying Baldwin.
NOBLES
King Edward II – King of England.
Edward, Duke of Aquitaine, (also Earl of Chester) – the King’s eldest son, the future Edward III, who was never made a prince.
Sir Hugh le Despenser – Sir Hugh ‘The Younger’, the closest adviser to the King, his best friend, and alleged lover. Known for his outrageous greed and ambition.
Earl Hugh of Winchester – Sir Hugh’s father, known as ‘The Elder’, a loyal servant of King Edward I, but a man keen to enrich himself.
Queen Isabella – wife to the King, and figurehead of the rebellion against him.
Sir Roger Mortimer – lover to Queen Isabella and, with her, leader of the rebels.
Sir Ralph of Evesham – a knight in the service of the King.
Sir Charles of Lancaster – formerly a loyal servant of Earl Thomas of Lancaster, now he is in the service of the King.
BRISTOL
Arthur Capon – a wealthy burgess in Bristol.
Madame Capon – wife to Arthur.
Petronilla – Arthur’s daughter.
Cecily – maidservant to the Capon family.
Squire William de Bar – husband of Petronilla.
Father Paul – priest who became Petronilla’s lover.
Emma Wrey – widow of a successful merchant in Bristol.
Sir Stephen Siward – Coroner in Bristol.
Sir Laurence Ashby – the Constable of Bristol Castle.
Thomas Redcliffe – a merchant of Bristol ruined by pirates.
Roisea Redcliffe – Thomas’s wife.
SOLDIERS
Robert Vyke – a serf brought into the King’s host.
Otho – Sergeant from Vyke’s vill.
Herv Tyrel – a friend to Vyke.
Walerand of Guildford – also Walerand the Tranter, a carter pressed into the King’s service to help transport goods for the troops.