A
Alderman: Member of a council.
Amercement: A fine.
Amonson  Lancaster: The great mining city in the Mirror Sea.
Anon: Presently or very soon.
Aonach: Festival or Celebration.
Aquamanile: A bowl used for washing hands.
Assart: Tract of wasteland cleared or drained to be added to a village arable.
Assize of Bread and Ale: Royal law fixing prices and standards.
Athair: Father.

B
Bailey: A castle courtyard.
Bairn: Child
Balk: Turf left unplowed to provide separation between strips.
Belman: Member of House Bellisarius
Berand: The seat of House Bellisarius
Broken Men: (people whose blood ties to the House are either broken or non existent) were individuals or groups from other House who had sought and obtained the protection of the clan. In ancient times this often would have been caused by their own House having suffered terrible losses in warfare, leaving them a small group, these broken men ask to become part of the clan and most always were accepted if they were deemed to be of good integrity. In modern days, “broken men” are people (Commoners) who have simply applied for (and been inducted to the House), or people who have left their House because they have not approved of the actions/directions of their leaders. In addition, terms “native” and “broken” have more meaning depending on how egalitarian the House is.
Buisine: A horn with a raised bell.
Bylaws: Rules made by open-field villagers governing cultivation and grazing.

C
Chamberlain: A valet who maintains his or her private chambers.
Chambermaid: A lady who serves a noblewoman in her bedchamber.
Charter: Official document, usually deed or grant of privilege.
Chieftains: the heads of special sections/or branches within the House, and administer certain areas or necessary departments within the whole.
City of the Tower: Common name for the City of Erech.
Clocktower: The Clocktower of Erech
Cor: A hunting horn.
Corrody: Old age pension,
Cotter: Tenant of a cottage, usually holding little or no land.
Courier: A member of the Couriers Guild. Messengers and Deliverymen, they carry info and news throughout the continent and all points beyond. All contracts are guaranteed by the life of the courier. Primarily responsible for helping the people regain contact with each other in the centuries after the plague.
Curia: Courtyard.
Curia Regis: The court of justice in a city.

D
Demesne: Another term for land owned by a lord, commonly part of the manor cultivated directly by the lord.
Distraint: Summons or arrest.

District: Territorial boundary that marks the end of a municipitalities practical influence.
Drum Tower: A tower, normally round, that is constructed into the wall.

E
Enemy Collaboration Act: Instituted after the House Wars, it allows a Municipitality or Province to seize the assets of any member of the citizenry who has been determined to have been working to destabilize, or overthrow the government. The amount of property that is seized is typically limited to what would be needed to make restitution for property, and citizenry that were harmed by the activity. In addition, the act also allows Municipitalities and Provinces to oversee or restrict any and all trade between their citizens, and their enemies in times of wa
Erech: The main city of the north. Also referred to the City of the Tower, and Citadel of the Wolf and The Eagle.
Essoin: Excuse for non-attendance in court, or delay permitted a defendant.
Expressmen: Colloquial term for a member of the Couriers guild.
Extent: Document enumerating lands, services, and rents of a manor.
Eyre: Royal circuit court (“justices in eyre”).

F
Farm: Lease.
Fortnight: A period of two weeks.
Furlong: Plot of arable land, subdivision of a field.

G
Gallery: A balcony that overlooks the great hall in a castle.
Gersum: Entry fee for taking possession of a tenancy.
Gill: A liquid measurement denoting one-fourth of a pint. Also called a noggin
Gore: Wedge of arable land created by irregularity of terrain and plowing in strips.
Green Isle: The mythical birthplace of the Merchant Houses.
Guild: A loose association of craftsmen that have banded together to share resources and skills. The Guilds typically use the Merchant Houses as a moderator in matters of trade throughout the continent.

H
Headland: Segment of land left at end plow strips for turning the plow around.
House: Traditionally used to refer to the Merchant Houses that help regulate trade throughout the continent.
House Cant: The internal languages of each Merchant House.
House Coin: the currency issued by the Merchant Houses, of equal value to the coins of the Municipitalities.
House of the Dragon: Term for members of the scholar house Morissey. Also referred to as the House of Scribes or the House of the Scroll.
Hueshire: House rent.
Hide: Tax assessment unit of land area, varying in size, theoretically 120 acres.
Hue-and-Cry: Criminal apprehension system by which all within earshot were required to give chase to the malefactor.

I
Infangenethef: The right to prosecute thieves caught in the act within a territory and to confiscate their goods.

K
Kirtle: A woman’s dress.

L

Landsmen: Common term for a frontier settler.
Law of the House: Codes of Conduct common throughout all the Merchant Houses. The basic premise of the Law of the House is that all House members are treated fairly, and equally; and that the Head of the House is responsible for ensuring the well being of all members of the House. Within some House’s this term is also referred to as Brehon law.
Love-Day (Dies Amoris): An opportunity given to litigants to reconcile differences.

M
Mamaith: Mother
Manor: An estate consisting the lord’s Demesne and tenant’s holdings.
Manufactories: a group of buildings or an operation dedicated to the mass production of a particular trade good or item.
Messuage: House and yard.
Mortauth Council: or House Council is a moderating body that consists of members of all the Houses, and is intended to moderate and arbitrate disputes over territory and policy. Similar in many ways to the League of Nations that was formed after the Treaty of Versailles.
Municipitality: The term used for a city and the area that is directly under it’s governance. Also used to refer to the governors of city.
Multure: A portion of meal or flour kept by the miller in payment for his services.

N
Northern Eagle: Common reference to House Caladharas; also referred to as the House of the Eagle
Northern Wolf: Common reference to House Tindal; also referred to as the House of the Wolf
Native Men: were those who were related to the Taioseach, and to each other by blood ties. The members of the House were related to the Taioseach and principal heads of the House and in this consanguinity all were bound together in a common interest. The House also contained septs or branches composed of clansmen who had become powerful or prominent in some way, many times through marriage and founded families almost as important as that of the Chief. They chose to join a clan for mutual interests and protection.

P
Pledging: Legal institution by which one citizen served as guaranty for another’s court appearance, veracity, good conduct, payment of a debt, etc.

Q
Quarter: Unit of volume, eight bushels.

R
Ring: A unit of volume, four bushels.
Rummer: A large drinking container.

S
Seisin: Legal possession of a property.
Selion: Plow strip.
Sennight: A period of one weeks.
Servitor: Any mechanical machine, generally man shaped, designed to provide assistance.
Steward or Seneschal: Chief official of a colonized territory.
Solar: The private rooms of a castle.
Stew: A house of ill repute.
Suit: Attendance.

T
Taioseach: The Taioseach dispensed the law in times of peace (in modern times, some provincial areas have formed an impartial judiciary who is responsible for seeing that the laws are enforced), and led them in war (War was usually engaged in only with the consent of the Chieftains of the House). However, once the decision to wage war had been made, the old laws applied: The Taioseach may not be challenged during a time of war.
Tallow: A candle.
Tanist: the person next in succession to the Taioseach according to the laws of House, his special duty was to hold the House lands in trust for the House and their posterity. In the absence of the Taioseach he commanded the whole House. Tanist is usually a hereditary position. On the death/incapacitation/prolonged absence of the Taioseach he would assume permanent control of the House and a new Tanist would be named by hereditary lines, or acclaim of the Taioseach and Chieftains.
Toft: Yard of a village house.

U
Underlevels: common term for the network of underground tunnels and facilities that riddle the continent.

W
Wardens of Reaping: Officials appointed by the villagers to help supervise harvest work.
Wardship: Right of guardianship exercised by a lord over a minor.