Legal Definitions - miskering

Miskering is a historical legal term that refers to the privilege or immunity from an "amercement." To understand miskering, it's important to first understand amercement. An amercement was a discretionary monetary penalty imposed by a court or a feudal lord in medieval times for various minor offenses, defaults, or failures to perform duties. Unlike a fixed fine, the amount of an amercement was not set by statute but was at the "mercy" of the court or lord. Therefore, miskering meant that certain individuals, groups, or institutions were exempt from having to pay these specific types of penalties.

• Example 1: Royal Grant to an Individual

  Imagine a loyal nobleman, Lord Alaric, in 12th-century England, who received a special charter from the King for his distinguished service in battle. This charter explicitly stated that Lord Alaric and his descendants would possess the right of "miskering."

  How it illustrates miskering: If Lord Alaric were later accused of a minor offense, such as failing to appear at a local shire court when summoned (a common reason for amercement), he would be immune from the monetary penalty that other subjects would typically face for the same default. His royal grant of miskering protected him from this specific financial consequence.

• Example 2: Privilege Granted to a Town

  Consider the thriving merchant town of "Riverton" in the 14th century. Its town charter, granted by a powerful baron, included a clause bestowing "miskering" upon its burgesses (citizens).

  How it illustrates miskering: This meant that if a burgess of Riverton committed a minor infraction within the baron's jurisdiction, such as allowing their market stall to obstruct a public pathway, they would not be subject to the discretionary amercement penalty that a non-burgess or a visitor to the town might incur. The town's collective privilege shielded its citizens from these particular financial penalties.

• Example 3: Ecclesiastical Immunity

  In certain historical periods, a prominent abbey, "St. Benedict's Monastery," might have been granted "miskering" through a royal decree or a special ecclesiastical privilege.

  How it illustrates miskering: If a monk from St. Benedict's was involved in a minor transgression that would typically result in an amercement, such as failing to maintain a section of a public bridge that crossed monastic lands, the monastery's grant of miskering would protect the institution and its members from having to pay that specific penalty, even if other landowners would be liable for it. This immunity underscored the special status of the abbey.