Legal Definitions - wood-corn

Wood-corn refers to a historical payment, typically made in oats or other grain, by tenants living on a lord'sestate. This payment was given to the lord in exchange for the right to gather fallen or broken wood from the lord's land, which was essential for fuel, building materials, or other domestic uses.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a medieval farmer named Thomas, who lives on land owned by Lord Blackwood. Thomas needs wood to heat his cottage and cook meals for his family. He doesn't own the forest, but he has a traditional right to gather fallen branches and deadwood from Lord Blackwood's woodlands. To maintain this crucial privilege, Thomas annually pays Lord Blackwood a specific quantity of oats from his harvest. This yearly payment of oats for the right to collect wood is a classic example of wood-corn.

• Consider a small village in 15th-century England, where all the households are tenants of the local baron. The villagers rely heavily on the baron's extensive forest for their firewood. As part of their customary duties and in exchange for the communal right to collect deadwood from the forest, each household contributes a portion of their harvested barley to the baron's steward. This collective payment of barley, securing their access to the forest's fallen wood, demonstrates the principle of wood-corn.

• Eleanor, a tenant on the Earl of Pembroke's estate, needed to repair a broken fence around her small vegetable garden. She knew she could find suitable fallen branches and small logs in the Earl's woods. Before she went to gather the necessary wood, she delivered a sack of rye to the Earl's steward, fulfilling her traditional obligation for the right to collect wood from the Earl's land. This payment of rye for the privilege of collecting wood for her repairs is a clear instance of wood-corn.