Vill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vill is a term used in English history to describe a land unit which might otherwise be described as a parish, manor or tithing.
The term is used in the period immediately after the Norman conquest and into the late medieval. Land units in Domesday are frequently referred to as vills, although the term is not used in Domesday itself. The vill is a geographical subdivision of the hundred and county.[1]
Traditionally, amongst legal historians, a vill referred to the tract of land of a rural community, whereas 'township' was referred to when the tax and legal administration of a rural community was meant. [2]
An unfree inhabitant of a vill was called a villein.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Maitland, Frederic William (1897). Domesday Book & Beyond. Cambridge University Press. p. 10.
- ^ Winchester, Angus (2000). Discovering Parish Boundaries. Shire Publications. pp. 21–29. ISBN 0-7478-0470-2.
 |
This history article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
