Legal Definitions - metteshep

Metteshep is a historical legal term originating from feudal systems, referring to two distinct types of obligations or consequences for tenants.

• First, it could refer to an acknowledgment or payment, often made in agricultural produce like corn, as a form of rent or tribute to a lord, signifying the tenant's recognition of the lord's authority and ownership of the land.

• Second, it could signify a penalty or fine imposed on a tenant for failing to perform a specific duty or service required by their tenancy agreement.

The term was also sometimes spelled mettenschep.

Examples:

• Imagine a medieval farmer, Elara, who cultivates a plot of land belonging to Lord Blackwood. As part of her annual agreement, Elara is obligated to deliver three sacks of oats to Lord Blackwood's granary after each harvest. This delivery serves not only as a form of rent but also as a symbolic gesture acknowledging Lord Blackwood's ownership of the land and Elara's tenancy. This payment of oats would be considered a form of metteshep.

  This example illustrates metteshep as a payment in agricultural goods (oats) made by a tenant to acknowledge their lord's authority and fulfill a tenancy obligation.

• Consider a village where all tenants are required to contribute one day a month to maintain the communal irrigation ditches that serve the lord's fields. If a tenant named Thomas repeatedly fails to show up for his assigned duty to clear the ditches, the lord might impose a penalty. This penalty could involve Thomas having to provide an additional measure of barley from his own stores to the lord, beyond his usual dues. This fine for neglecting his communal duty would be a metteshep.

  Here, metteshep functions as a penalty (an additional measure of barley) imposed on Thomas for his failure to perform a specific, required communal service that was part of his tenancy agreement.

• In another scenario, a tenant named Isabella is obligated by her tenancy to provide a certain amount of skilled labor, such as repairing the lord's fences, for two days each spring. If Isabella, without valid excuse, fails to perform this specific service, the lord could levy a fine. This fine might require Isabella to deliver a specific quantity of dried fish (a valuable commodity) to the lord's pantry as compensation for her unfulfilled labor. This penalty for not performing her contractual duty would also be a metteshep.

  This example demonstrates metteshep as a penalty (a quantity of dried fish) for a tenant's failure to provide a specific, agreed-upon service (skilled labor), highlighting the punitive aspect of the term for neglect of duty.