Legal Definitions - nummata terrae

nummata terrae refers to a historical unit of land measurement, primarily used in medieval legal and administrative documents, that was equivalent to an acre of land.

Here are some examples illustrating its use:

• Imagine a 12th-century English land grant where a local baron bestows property upon a loyal retainer. The charter might read, "We grant to our faithful servant, Thomas, two nummata terrae situated near the old mill, to be held by him and his heirs."

  This example demonstrates nummata terrae as a specific, quantifiable measure of land—two acres—being formally transferred as property. The term clearly defines the size of the parcel being granted.

• Consider a medieval manorial survey, similar to the Domesday Book, detailing the agricultural holdings of various tenants for taxation purposes. A record might state, "William the Ploughman holds four nummata terrae of arable land, for which he owes annual rent and service to the lord of the manor."

  In this context, nummata terrae is used to quantify William's landholding (four acres), which directly determined his feudal obligations and the amount of tax or service he owed. It served as a standard unit for assessing wealth and duties related to land.

• During a boundary dispute between two neighboring villages in the 13th century, ancient parish records are consulted to establish historical property lines. One document describes a contested field as "the meadow known as 'Shepherd's Green,' comprising six nummata terrae, bounded by the river to the south."

  Here, nummata terrae provides a precise historical measurement (six acres) of the disputed meadow. This measurement would have been critical evidence in defining the extent of the land and resolving the boundary disagreement between the communities.