New Acquisition: Medieval Deed
The library has recently acquired a Medieval deed recording the sale of a parcel of land in Norfolk that will aid students and researchers interested in the study of the history of law and land-holding in Western Europe.
This document is a type of late Medieval land deed called a feoffment which records the sale of real land or structures between two parties. These types of deeds were born out of the feudal system of land holding in England where a vassal was granted possession of a lord’s land (a fief) in exchange for service and the serfs, peasants who lived on the land, in turn served the land-holders. When granting a fief a vassal promised an oath of fealty, from the Latin fidelitas or fidelity, which included military or non-military service to the lord.
