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Although this reeve was subject to the steward, the steward might not always be resident within the manor, and might manage many, and would not usually concern himself with day-to-day working. A good reeve who carried out his duties efficiently, and was trusted by the lord and the peasants alike, was
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repayment. Sometimes, bailiffs would have assistants to carry out these tasks, and the term reeve now came to be used for this position—someone essentially assisting the steward, and sometimes a bailiff, by effectively performing day-to-day supervision of the work done on the land within a particular
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Courts fulfilled administrative, as well as judicial, functions, and on the manorial level its decisions could concern mundane field management, not just legal disputes. The manorial bailiff thus could be set tasks such as ensuring certain crops were gathered, as well as those like enforcing debt
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is a general term that could refer to a variety of administrative officials. Royal reeves worked for the king, but nobles and bishops also employed reeves. Some reeves served as estate managers, while others held positions in towns and
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This reeve has been described as "the pivot man of the manorial system". He had to oversee the work which the peasants were bound to perform, as an obligation attached to their holding of land in the Manor, for the
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Canterbury Tales. Prologue lines 590 ff. When he comes to tell his tale, it is appropriately about a miller who stole corn from two students who then get their revenge in bed with his wife and daughter.
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and peasants on the estate. He was also responsible for many aspects of the finances of the manor such as the sale of produce, collection of monies and payment of accounts.
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There is an exceptional literary portrait of a reeve in the second half of the 14th century. The reeve is one of the pilgrims who are making their way to
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In the late 7th and early 8th centuries, royal reeves oversaw royal estates. By the 10th century, royal reeves performed a variety duties in
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likely to stay in office more or less permanently. By the 14th century the reeve was often a permanent officer of the manor.
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was introduced, forming a parallel administrative system to the local courts. The feudal system organised land on a
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With the subsequent decline of the feudal system, and the subversion of its courts by the introduction of
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acting as managers for the landlords. The Norman term describing the court functionary—
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He was usually himself a peasant, and was chosen once a year, generally at
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Life on the
English Manor: A Study of Peasant Conditions, 1150–1400
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land; such reeves acted generally as the overseer of the
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454:(magistrates), this use of reeve fell out of practice.
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Specific offices within this wider category include:
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observes, "he is the earliest
English specialist in
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Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England
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The Oxford
History of the Laws of England: 871-1216
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246:Further information:
805:Obsolete occupations
800:Feudalism in England
497:The Canterbury Tales
488:The Canterbury Tales
458:Depiction by Chaucer
350:improve this article
210:and overseer of the
118:(churl, free tenant)
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186:Anglo-Saxon England
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348:Please help
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301:shire-reeve
194:Old English
784:Categories
627:References
479:Canterbury
437:Michaelmas
293:scirgerefa
272:High-reeve
216:H. R. Loyn
138:(cottager)
66:High-reeve
775:, c. 1275
533:Loyn 1991
520:Citations
386:feudalism
362:June 2024
282:Portreeve
262:ealdorman
108:(bailiff)
87:housecarl
48:Ealdorman
743:(2008).
709:(2014).
685:(1991).
653:(2012).
637:(1938).
514:Verderer
503:See also
394:stewards
258:hundreds
236:boroughs
212:peasants
105:Verderer
92:retainer
83:Thingmen
711:"Reeve"
483:Chaucer
426:demesne
424:on the
398:bailiff
392:, with
288:Sheriff
125:Villein
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199:gerefa
135:Cottar
128:(serf)
41:(king)
38:Cyning
470:" by
430:serfs
406:manor
231:Reeve
226:Types
208:manor
190:reeve
115:Ceorl
101:Reeve
73:Thegn
751:ISBN
727:ISBN
693:ISBN
669:ISBN
308:Cnut
256:and
188:, a
145:Þēow
62:Hold
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184:In
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