Legal Definitions - feorme

The term feorme refers to a historical legal obligation where an individual or entity granted the use of land (the grantee) was required to provide a specific portion of the produce from that land to the person who granted it (the lord). This arrangement was typically formalized and documented within a legal agreement, often called a charter.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a medieval farmer, John, who was granted the right to cultivate a plot of land by the local Baron, Lord Thomas. According to the charter outlining this grant, John was obligated to give Lord Thomas a certain percentage of his annual harvest, perhaps one-tenth of all the wheat and barley he grew, along with a few chickens. This regular delivery of agricultural produce to Lord Thomas by John represents the feorme.

• Consider a small village community that received a royal charter granting them the right to use a large tract of forest land for timber and hunting. In return for this privilege, the charter stipulated that the village, through its headman, must annually supply the King's court with a specific quantity of cured venison and a certain number of oak logs for shipbuilding. This annual contribution of forest resources from the village to the King constitutes the feorme.

• Picture a monastery that was granted a large estate, including vineyards and orchards, by a wealthy Duke. The charter for this land grant specified that, in addition to prayers for the Duke's family, the monastery was to provide the Duke's household with a set amount of wine from their vineyards and baskets of fruit from their orchards each year. These regular deliveries of wine and fruit from the monastery to the Duke exemplify the concept of feorme.