Surrey & South London Will Abstracts 1470-1856 - Glossary
Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
A | |
almain-rivets | a kind of light armour |
ambry | a cupboard |
andiron | fire-dogs used to support burning wood in a grate |
B | |
beadroll | list of persons to be prayed for |
bombrach | not in Oxford English Dictionary; some sort of armour [eg SW/5A_137] |
bongrace | broad-brimmed hat |
branches | probably branched candelabra for holding the tapers burnt before an altar or image |
broach | a spit |
broched | work with raised figures or designs |
buckram | a word used for two quite different cloths, one a fine linen or cotton, another, its more modern meaning, a much coarser cloth stiffened with gum, normally here probably the former |
budge | kind of lamb's skin fur, with the wool dressed outwards |
butteret | not in OED; presumably a blacksmith's tool of some kind |
C | |
calaber | squirrel fur |
celure | a canopy covering bed or altar |
chafing | dish (or pot) vessel used to hold burning charcoal |
chamblet | form of camlet, a material originally a costly eastern fabric, by the sixteenth century a light stuff usually made from goat's hair |
cherchesse or churchue | not in OED; possibly a sort of ecclesiastical due levied in corn |
close | an enclosed piece of land, as opposed to a medieval strip of land |
cobiron | iron on which spit turned |
cock boat | small ship's boat, very light craft |
coney (or cony) | rabbit |
corporas | cloth on which the consecrated elements placed during mass |
corse | a silk ribbon round a girdle |
D | |
diaper | linen fabric |
dicker | ten hides [of leather] |
doublet | close-fitting body garment with or without sleeves |
dumbeling | not in OED; used to describe a horse |
E | |
ell | a measure of 45 inches |
F | |
fitches or fitchet | fitchew, fur of the polecat |
fosser, focer or forcer | a coffer or chest |
frieze | covered with nap |
fusterer | maker of pack-saddles |
fustian | coarse cloth |
G | |
gaberdine | a smock frock |
garbrass | not in OED; may = guard brass |
garled | spotted or speckled |
ghostly father | parish priest |
grig well | basket-work trap for catching grigs [eels] |
H | |
hawked | spotted or streaked |
heling | clothing or covering |
house of office | lavatory |
K | |
kammes | possibly combs [SW/1_6] |
keel | boat |
kembing | a brewing vessel |
kercher or kerchief | cloth used to cover woman's head |
kine | cows |
kirtle | a gown for men or women according to OED, but here used solely for women |
kiver | a shallow wooden tub |
L | |
laver | a basin to wash in |
M | |
mark | 13s 4d |
maser | bowl or drinking-cup |
mell | last sheaf of wheat, etc. |
messuage | the plot of land on which a house was built, the house being the tenement |
mind | reminder service of death, thus month's mind and year's mind |
moiety | half |
mother church | the cathedral of the diocese in question, in this case Winchester Cathedral also known as St Swithin Winchester |
murrey | dark red |
N | |
noble | a coin for which two different values are possible; a George noble being worth 6s 8d and a Henry noble 10s |
nuncupative | oral as opposed to written will |
nutte or nut | a cup formed from or in the likeness of a coconut shell mounted on metal |
O | |
obit | a commemoration of the dead |
P | |
palm | (310) tool used by sailmakers instead of thimble; OED gives first use as 1769-76, and the occupation of this testator is leatherseller, so this identification may be incorrect |
partlet | a ruff or band worn round the neck |
pillowbere | pillowcase |
polrongs | not in OED, possibly armour for head |
portall | portable partition between rooms |
posnet | a small metal pot for boiling, with a handle and three feet |
pottinger | vessel for holding liquid food |
pottle | a measure of two quarts |
Q | |
quiltorn | an instrument for turning a weaver's quills [eg SW/1_6] |
R | |
rail | sometimes used for woman's gown, sometimes for neckcloth, the latter when the phrase double rail is used |
raye | as of gown in 208 possibly descriptive of pattern |
rood | cross, thus rood light, rood screen, etc. |
S | |
sarcenett or sarsenet | a very fine and soft silk material |
shanks | fur from the legs of animals |
shoote | a young pig |
stammel | coarse woollen cloth |
St Swithin | see mother church |
swage | a joiner's gauge |
T | |
tallage | an early tax |
teg | a yearling sheep |
tenement | a house |
tippet | a word which has several conflicting meanings; it can be a scarf or a cape |
todd | 28 pounds of wool |
trental | a set of thirty requiem masses |
trest | a three-legged stool |
trevell | (241) not in OED, presumably a tool used by blacksmiths |
trussing bed | a portable, packed bed suitable for travelling |
twibill | kind of axe used for making mortices |
U | |
unwatered | water was sprinkled on some fabrics to create a lustrous finish |
W | |
weaner or weanling | calf or sheep weaned in current year |
wether | male sheep, especially castrated ram |