Society of Scotland in the High Middle Ages
Encyclopedia
Scottish Society in the High Middle Ages pertains to Scottish
society roughly between 900 and 1286, a period roughly corresponding to the general historical era known as the High Middle Ages
.
in early Gaelic society than perhaps any other early medieval European society, owing primarily to the large body of legal texts and tracts on status which are extant. These texts give additional understanding high medieval Scottish society, so long as inferences are kept conservative. The legal tract that has come down to us as the Laws of Brets and Scots
, lists five grades of man: King, mormaer
/earl
, toísech/thane, ócthigern and serf. For pre-twelfth century Scotland, we should add slave to this category. The standard differentiation in medieval European society between the bellatores ("those who fight", i.e. aristocrats), the oratores ("those who pray", i.e. clergy) and the laboratores ("those who work", i.e. peasants) was useless for understanding Scottish society in the earlier period, but becomes more useful in the post-Davidian period.
Early Gaelic Society
in the period before the coming of the Normans to Scotland, before the reign of David I. We know a little more about the court of the later twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In the words of Geoffrey Barrow, this court "was emphatically feudal, Frankish, non-Celtic in character". Some of the offices were Gaelic in origin, such as the hostarius, the man in charge of the royal bodyguard, and the rannaire, the Gaelic-speaking member of the court whose job was to divide the food.
In the thirteenth century, all the other offices tended to be hereditary, with the exception of the Chancellor. The royal household of course came with numerous other offices. The most important was probably the hostarius, usher or durward (also Doorward), but there were others such as the royal hunters, the royal foresters and the cooks (dispensa or spence).
was directly under a lord who in medieval Scottish
was called a Mormaer
. The term was translated into Latin as comes, and is misleadingly translated into modern English as Earl
. These secular lords exercised secular power and religious patronage like kings in miniature. They kept their own warbands and followers, issued charters and supervised law and internal order within their provinces. When actually under the power of the Scottish king, they were responsible for rendering to the king cain, a tribute paid several times a year, usually in cattle and other barter goods. They also had to provide for the king conveth, a kind of hospitality payment, paid by putting-up the lord on a visit with food and accommodation, or with barter payments in lieu of this. In the Norman era, when called upon to do so, they provided the servitum Scoticanum ("Gaelic service", "Scottish service" or simply forinsec) and led the exercitus Scoticanus , the Gaelic part of the king's army that made up the vast majority almost any national hosting (slógad) in the period.
s are on record from the Middle Ages, sixty-nine of which are in the eastern part of Scotland-proper, and two in Lothian.
. Sometimes these offices were formalized, but mostly they are informal. The head of the kinship group was called capitalis in Latin and cenn in medieval Gaelic
. In the Mormaerdom of Fife, the primary kinship group was known then as Clann MacDuib ("Children of MacDuff
"). The head of the group seems to have borne the right to use the title MacDuib, which is why some of the heads of the Fife kin-group are known only by that name. Similarly, the Lords of the Isles could and would call themselves simply MacDomhnaill. In Fife, the Mormaer was usually the head of Clann MacDuib, but not always. After the introduction of primogeniture
, many mormaers succeed as minors; invariably though in this scenario, the leadership of the kin-group did not fall to a minor, but to another senior figure. Other kin-groups which are famous from medieval Scotland are Cennedig (from Carrick
) and Morggain (from Buchan
).
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
society roughly between 900 and 1286, a period roughly corresponding to the general historical era known as the High Middle Ages
Scotland in the High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages of Scotland encompass Scotland in the era between the death of Domnall II in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III in 1286...
.
Stratification
High Medieval Scottish society was stratified. We know more about statusSocial status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
in early Gaelic society than perhaps any other early medieval European society, owing primarily to the large body of legal texts and tracts on status which are extant. These texts give additional understanding high medieval Scottish society, so long as inferences are kept conservative. The legal tract that has come down to us as the Laws of Brets and Scots
Leges inter Brettos et Scottos
The Leges inter Brettos et Scottos or Laws of the Brets and Scots was a legal codification under David I of Scotland...
, lists five grades of man: King, mormaer
Mormaer
The title of Mormaer designates a regional or provincial ruler in the medieval Kingdom of the Scots. In theory, although not always in practice, a Mormaer was second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a toisech.-Origin:...
/earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
, toísech/thane, ócthigern and serf. For pre-twelfth century Scotland, we should add slave to this category. The standard differentiation in medieval European society between the bellatores ("those who fight", i.e. aristocrats), the oratores ("those who pray", i.e. clergy) and the laboratores ("those who work", i.e. peasants) was useless for understanding Scottish society in the earlier period, but becomes more useful in the post-Davidian period.
- Nemed (sacred person, highest rank )
- Ard rí (High King)
- Rí ruirech (King of overkings)
- Ruiri (Overking)
- Rí Túaithe (Local king)
- Flaithe (Lord, prince)
- Nemed non-rulers
- Ollam (master of some knowledge or skill)
- Fili (poets)
- Clerics
- Dóernemed (lit. Base-Nemed)
- Brithem, tradesmen, harpists, etc.
- Freeman
- Bóaire (Cattle lord)
- Ócaire (Little Lord)
- Fer midboth (semi-independent youth)
- Fuidir (semi-freeman)
- Unfree
- Bothach (serf)
- Senchléithe (hereditary serf)
- Mug (slave)
King and court
We do not know the structure of the Scottish royal courtRoyal court
Royal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:* The Royal Court , Timbaland's production company*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court...
in the period before the coming of the Normans to Scotland, before the reign of David I. We know a little more about the court of the later twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In the words of Geoffrey Barrow, this court "was emphatically feudal, Frankish, non-Celtic in character". Some of the offices were Gaelic in origin, such as the hostarius, the man in charge of the royal bodyguard, and the rannaire, the Gaelic-speaking member of the court whose job was to divide the food.
- Seneschal or dapifer (i.e. the StewardButlerA butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
), had been hereditary since the reign of David I. The Steward had responsibility for the royal household and its management. - The Chancellor was in charge of the royal chapel. The latter was the king's place of worship, but as it happened, was associated with the royal scribesScribesScribes is a minimalist and extensible text editor for GNOME that combines simplicity with power. Scribes focuses on ways workflow and productivity can be intelligently automated and radically improved...
, responsible for keeping records. Usually, the chancellor was a clergyman, and usually he held this office before being promoted to a bishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
ric. - The Chamberlain had control and responsibility over royal finances
- The Constable, likewise, hereditary since the reign of David I. The constable was in charge of the crown's military resources.
- The Butler
- The Marshal or marischal. The marischal differed from the constable in that he was more specialized, responsible for and in charge of the royal cavalry forces.
In the thirteenth century, all the other offices tended to be hereditary, with the exception of the Chancellor. The royal household of course came with numerous other offices. The most important was probably the hostarius, usher or durward (also Doorward), but there were others such as the royal hunters, the royal foresters and the cooks (dispensa or spence).
Mormaers and Earls
Most of the territory subject to the King of Scots north of the ForthScotia
Scotia was originally a Roman name for Ireland, inhabited by the people they called Scoti or Scotii. Use of the name shifted in the Middle Ages to designate the part of the island of Great Britain lying north of the Firth of Forth, the Kingdom of Alba...
was directly under a lord who in medieval Scottish
Middle Irish language
Middle Irish is the name given by historical philologists to the Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English...
was called a Mormaer
Mormaer
The title of Mormaer designates a regional or provincial ruler in the medieval Kingdom of the Scots. In theory, although not always in practice, a Mormaer was second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a toisech.-Origin:...
. The term was translated into Latin as comes, and is misleadingly translated into modern English as Earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
. These secular lords exercised secular power and religious patronage like kings in miniature. They kept their own warbands and followers, issued charters and supervised law and internal order within their provinces. When actually under the power of the Scottish king, they were responsible for rendering to the king cain, a tribute paid several times a year, usually in cattle and other barter goods. They also had to provide for the king conveth, a kind of hospitality payment, paid by putting-up the lord on a visit with food and accommodation, or with barter payments in lieu of this. In the Norman era, when called upon to do so, they provided the servitum Scoticanum ("Gaelic service", "Scottish service" or simply forinsec) and led the exercitus Scoticanus , the Gaelic part of the king's army that made up the vast majority almost any national hosting (slógad) in the period.
Toísechs and Thanes
A toísech ("chieftain") was like a mormaer, providing for his lord the same services that a mormaer provided for the king. A toísech was normally a hereditary tenant of either a King (on royal demesne), a mormaer (on comital demesne), an abbot or a bishop. The Latin word usually used is thanus, which is why the office-bearers are often called "thanes" in English. Although toísech, as the older word, was broader in meaning than thanus, many scholars spend a great deal of time arguing over when the office of thanus was introduced, when it is perhaps more reasonable to regard this institution, like other institutions, as formalisations and incorporations of pre-existing social structures by the Scottish rulers. However, it was perhaps in the tenth century that this particular institution acquired its Latin name, borrowed from Anglo-Saxon England. The formalization of this institution was largely confined to eastern Scotland north of the forth. Seventy-one thanageThanage
A thanage was an area of land held by a thegn in Anglo-Saxon England.Thanage can also denote the rank held by such a thegn....
s are on record from the Middle Ages, sixty-nine of which are in the eastern part of Scotland-proper, and two in Lothian.
Kinship Groups
Behind the offices of toísech and mormaer were kinship groupsClan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
. Sometimes these offices were formalized, but mostly they are informal. The head of the kinship group was called capitalis in Latin and cenn in medieval Gaelic
Middle Irish language
Middle Irish is the name given by historical philologists to the Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English...
. In the Mormaerdom of Fife, the primary kinship group was known then as Clann MacDuib ("Children of MacDuff
Clan MacDuff
Clan MacDuff is a Scottish armigerous clan, which is registered with Lyon Court, though currently without a chief. Moncreiffe wrote that the Clan MacDuff was the premier clan among the Scottish Gaels. The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the Earls of Fife...
"). The head of the group seems to have borne the right to use the title MacDuib, which is why some of the heads of the Fife kin-group are known only by that name. Similarly, the Lords of the Isles could and would call themselves simply MacDomhnaill. In Fife, the Mormaer was usually the head of Clann MacDuib, but not always. After the introduction of primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
, many mormaers succeed as minors; invariably though in this scenario, the leadership of the kin-group did not fall to a minor, but to another senior figure. Other kin-groups which are famous from medieval Scotland are Cennedig (from Carrick
Carrick, Scotland
Carrick is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.-History:The word Carrick comes from the Gaelic word Carraig, meaning rock or rocky place. Maybole was the historic capital of Carrick. The county was eventually combined into Ayrshire which was divided...
) and Morggain (from Buchan
Buchan
Buchan is one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by the council in 1996, when the Aberdeenshire unitary council area was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994...
).