DAUB: A mud and clay mixture applied over wattle to strengthen and seal it.
DEMESNE: The part of the lord's manorial lands reserved for his own use and not allocated to his serfs or freeholder tenants. Serfs worked the demesne for a specified numbers of days a week.
DENARIUS: The English silver penny, hence the abbreviation "d."
DEXTER: The right-hand side of a shield.
DIMIDIATION: In heraldry, the method of impalement in which the dexter half of one coat of arms was joined to the sinister half of the other.
DIOCESE: A district subject to the jurisdiction of a Bishop/Archbishop. The name was derived from the administrative districts created by the Roman emperor Diocletian.
DOLOIRE: (wagoner's axe) European battle axe used in the 15th century; socketed steel head is fitted to a wooden haft.
DOUBLET: A masculine tunic worn especially from the 15th to 17th century. Originally of quilted manufacture, although its style changed over the years, it remained a fundamental outer body garment.
DUKE: From the Roman Dux, a Duke ruled a district called a duchy. In England, the title was reserved for members of the royal family.
DUN: A Scottish single-family hill fort.
EARL: The highest title attainable by an English nobleman who was not of royal blood. Also known in earlier times as Ealdorman.
EIRE: Ireland.
EMBRASURE: The low segment of the alternating high and low segments of a battlement.
EPAULE DE MOUTON: Steel defense for the complete arm; developed during the 15th and 16th centuries; used exclusively in jousts.
ESCHEAT: The right of a feudal lord to the return of lands held by his vassal, or the holding of a serf's land, should he either die without lawful heirs or suffer outlawry.
ESCUTCHEON: A small charge in the form of a shield.
ESPADON: European two-handed sword of the 15th century.
ESTOC: Long, stiff and sharply-pointed sword for thrusting at the joints in plate armour, first introduced in the second half of the fourteenth century.
EXCHEQUER: The financial department of the royal government. The chief officers of the Exchequer were the Treasurer, the Chancellor, and the Justiciar. Sheriffs, in their role as regional chief accountants, presented reports to the Exchequer at Easter and Michaelmas.
EYRE: The right of the king (or justices acting in his name) to visit and inspect the holdings of any vassal, usually done at intervals of a few years.
FAIRE: A market held at regular intervals, usually once to twice a year. Fairs tend to offer a wider range of goods than normal markets and were generally licensed by either the king, a local lord, or a chartered town.
FALCHION: 1. Short, heavy, broad-bladed sword with a single edge, bearing a similarity to a heavy scimitar. 2. Short, curved single-edged sword with a broad blade.
FALLING BAND (also FALLING COLLAR) (1540-1670): Any turned-down collar, often lace-edged, and worn instead of a ruff.
FARM: A fixed sum or rent, usually paid annually, for the right to collect all revenues from land. Lords could "farm" land to vassals, receiving a fixed annual rent in place of the normal feudal obligation. Many sheriffs "farmed" out their shires, contracting in advance to pay a fixed annual sum to the crown, thus obtaining the right to collect any additional royal revenues for their own profit.
FARTHINGALE: The canvas or linen petticoat containing whalebone hoops worn in the 16th century.
FAULD: Skirt of overlapping lames riveted to leather and protecting the wearer below the waist, usually attached to a breastplate.
FEALTY (Oath of): The oath by which a vassal swore loyalty to his lord, usually on a religious relic or on the Bible.
FEUDALISM: The system of governing whereby semiautonomous landed nobility had certain responsibilities to the king, in return for the use of grants of land (fiefs), worked by the labor of a semi-free peasantry (serfs).
FIEF: Heritable lands held under feudal tenure, or the lands of a Tenant-in-Chief. Often called a Holding.
FIELD: In heraldry, the surface of a shield on which charges are placed.
FIST MACE: Iron or steel mace used in Europe shaped like a clenched fist.
FLAIL: Large foot soldier's weapon used in Europe; normally made of wood and reinforced with metal bands; some were fitted with hooks to keep the head from swinging around while marching.
FLAMBERGE: European two-handed sword with a undulating blade.
FLAXEN: Pale-yellow in color: straw-colored.
FLETCHER: Arrow maker.
FLEURET: European fencing sword with a cup hilt.
FOREPART: Any underskirt-usually highly decorated-which was revealed through the inverted-V opening in the front of a skirt.
FORMARRIAGE (also MERCHET): The sum commonly paid by a serf to his lord when the serf's daughter married a man from another manor.
FRANK PLEDGE: The legal condition under which each male member of a tithing (district) over the age of 12 was responsible for the good conduct of all other members of the tithing.
FRENCH HOOD (1530-1630): A small bonnet made on a stiff frame and worn far back on the head. Folds of material fell below the shoulders from a short flat panel at the back. They were usually dark in color but decorated with "biliments" (borders of silk, satin, or velvet, and trimmed with gold or jewels) and worn over a crespin.
FULLER: Broad groove running down the center of each side of some sword blades (usually to make the sword lighter in weight, not to allow a "channel" for blood to drip off the sword as commonly thought).
FYRD: The Anglo-Saxon militia. Special "King's Peace" prevailed while journeying to, from, or during Fyrd service.
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