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A Brief, Incomplete, and Rather Stopgap Article about European Household and Other Group Names Before 1600:
England - Manors

See the Introduction for an explanation of what is contained in this article, and links to other sections.

(If you know of an article that A Brief, Incomplete, and Rather Stopgap Article about European Household and Other Group Names Before 1600 should link to instead of this section, or one covering a time, culture, language, and/or naming pattern not yet covered, please contact me and let me know!)

England - Manors

As defined in the Middle English Dictionary (MED), in the late Middle Ages a manor was "1. (a) A manorial estate, consisting of a manor house, service buildings, lands, etc. ..." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) ). The earliest examples of use of the word in the MED date to circa 1300. Spellings listed in the header of the MED are: "maner ... Also manar, manir & manour, manor, manoir, manair".

One pattern for the identification of manors used in England (in English) was:

manor of <place name>

Historical examples include:

• (1400): "The for seyd 3eurl hadde in Cornwaylle the castel of Trematoun..the manour of Calstoke with hys portenances..the burgh of Lostwythyel with the purtenaunce..the manoir of Penkneth wyth the purtenaunce." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (1411): "Y wille þat William myn son haue þe maner of Chale." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (1417): "I will that same manoirs of Hederset and Wodethorp. be delyvered to..the heir of William, my son." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (1422): "The sone of Eadmond Clopton sente aftyr me in to his manyr of Newenham in Asschedon" (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (1423): "The pore tenaunts..be grevyd and chargyd with the ferme of v wyndmylles sumtyme longyng to the maner of Sutton." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (a1447): "Ye maner and the toun of Hilton ys of and withyn the paresche of Monkwermouth." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (1448): "The enffeffeis..Shullen enffeffe and make lauful estaste..to the seid John and Kateryn of the seid maner of Tymberlacke." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (c1465): "These ben..mean estates..of all inheritours, purchasours and occupiers of the manor of Estchaldefeld." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (1470): "The manere of Tileshide, some tyme parcell of the Abbey of Caen, with all the appurtenaunces of the Manere of parsonage of Felstede..all the same Priorye Maners, parsonages, soyle, grownde, and wodys, [etc.]." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )

Another pattern was:

<place name?> manor
or
<place name?>manor

Historical examples include:

• (1401): [William Marmyon, knight, was seised in his demesne as of fee of the manor of Billingborough called] "Gravenemaner." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (1426): "I woll þat þe maner icalled Piriesmaner be sold." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )
• (1436): "Electus fuit dominus Johannes Stow in abbatem..perquisitum fuit manerium vocatum le Moynes Maner." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )

Another pattern was:

<place name> hall
or
<place name>hall

Historical examples include:

• (1360): [Delivery of seisin of Baketon manor called] "Latymerhall." (MED, s.v. hal(le (n.) )
• (1378): [The site of the manor called] "le Overhalle." (MED, s.v. over (adj.) )
• (1388): [Two manors called] "Overhall" [and] "Nethurhall." (MED, s.v. hal(le (n.) )
• (1430): "Thomas Knevet of Stanewey esquyr entered..in to certeyn londes, meduwes, wodes, and pastures with all the appurtenaunces..claymyng the seide londes with all the appurtenaunces by eschete as parcell of hys maner called Stanewey halle." (MED, s.v. maner (n.(1)) )

Bibliography

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