Legal Definitions - affeer

Affeer is a historical legal term that describes the process of formally determining and setting the specific monetary amount of an "amercement." An amercement was a discretionary financial penalty imposed by a court or a lord in medieval and early modern times, often for minor offenses, procedural failures, or breaches of feudal duties. Unlike a fixed fine, the exact sum of an amercement was not predetermined but had to be "affeered" or assessed by a group of individuals (often called affeerers) to ensure it was appropriate for the offense and the offender's capacity to pay.

• Example 1: Village Court Proceedings

  Imagine a medieval village where a farmer, John, failed to maintain his section of the communal fence, allowing his sheep to wander into a neighbor's field. The local manorial court found John liable for this transgression and decided to impose an amercement. Instead of a fixed fine, a small group of respected villagers, acting as affeerers, would then convene to affeer the penalty. They might consider the extent of the damage, John's financial standing, and local customs to determine that John should pay, for instance, two shillings as his amercement.

  This example illustrates "affeer" because the act of the villagers assessing and setting the specific two-shilling penalty for John's fence neglect is precisely the historical process of affeering an amercement.

• Example 2: Merchant Guild Regulations

  Consider a bustling medieval market town where a baker, Eleanor, was found to have sold loaves of bread that were underweight, violating the town's strict guild regulations. The town's merchant court ruled that Eleanor must pay an amercement for her deceitful practice. A committee of senior guild members, acting as affeerers, would then meet to affeer the amercement. They would weigh factors such as the severity of the underweight loaves, whether it was a first offense, and Eleanor's overall reputation to decide on a fair monetary sum, perhaps five shillings, as the specific penalty.

  Here, the guild committee's action of evaluating the circumstances and then assigning the five-shilling monetary penalty to Eleanor for her underweight bread demonstrates the act of affeering the amercement.

• Example 3: Feudal Service Obligations

  In a feudal system, a knight, Sir Reginald, might have been obligated to provide military service to his lord for a certain number of days each year. If Sir Reginald failed to appear for a required campaign without a valid excuse, his lord's court could impose an amercement for this breach of duty. A panel of the lord's trusted advisors would then be tasked to affeer the amercement. They would consider the value of the missed service, the impact of his absence, and Sir Reginald's wealth to determine a specific monetary equivalent that he would have to pay to compensate for his failure, perhaps a sum of ten pounds.

  This scenario shows "affeer" in action as the lord's advisors are determining the exact financial penalty (the ten pounds) that Sir Reginald must pay for failing to fulfill his feudal military obligations.