Live-Blogging Kalamazoo: Saturday 13:30
May. 12th, 2012 02:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjNew Work by Young Celtic Studies Scholars
(Note: I confess it makes me wince to hear people giving papers on Welsh topics mangling Welsh names and terminology. )
Of Amobr and Amobrwyr -- Lizabeth Johnson, South Dakota State Univ.
(Amobr = payment due from a woman or her family to the lord or to her father's superior on marriage or non-marital sexual activity, or on pregnancy if neither of the prevous had applied.) While native laws discuss amobr, it is only post-conquest court records that give evidence of the practicalities and problems of assessment, collection, and payment. The amount of the amobr was dependent on social status. The amobr was originally only due once for each woman but there is later evidence that it might be assessed multiple times in cases of remarriage or adultery, thus showing a drift from the original purpose. Although a judge would assess the payment, there were designated officials "amobrwyr" (amobr-men) whose job was to collect it. There were various dodges to avoid paying it, including claiming English (rather than Welsh) status. Various records show that the collection was farmed out to amobrwyr who paid a fixed annual amount to the lord in exchange for the right to do the collection (and presumably keep the proceeds). (Note: This suggests to me a motive for finding reasons for re-assessments!) The differences in amobr amount based on social and ethnic status could result in conflicts over the amount owed, as when the widow of a freeman re-married a bondman, but he was assessed the higher amobr of a free woman on the charge that she retained that status rather than taking his. Similarly, a woman whose first husband had held land by Welsh tenure had subsequently acquired land held by English tenure and claimed exemption on that basis on her second marriage, but it was held that she still had Welsh status and therefore owed the amobr. Two cases provide examples of unmarried women assessed amobr, presumably for illicit sex, who handed over garments in lieu of payment as they had insufficient funds. Several records of amobrwyr being violently assaulted when they showed up to collect the assessment, with the attackers being assessed further fines for the violence that could exceed the original assessment. Interestingly, though amobr could be assessed for illicit sex or re-marriage, evidently it was not assessed for certain non-marital cohabitation arrangements, thus creating a pressure in some cases to avoid formal marriage, although later this loophole was omitted. Similarly, in an earlier period an explicit professional prostitute was exempt from the payment (as contrasted with casual fornication) but later this loophole was also dropped.
A Land Now Vacant: Northeastern Wales as a Frontier, 1066–1283 -- Alexis Miller, Univ. of Missouri–Columbia
Question arises from a reference in the context of a dispute over ecclesiastical jurisdiction, where the region between the jurisdictions of Chester and Bangor is refered to as "a land now vacant". Area largely dependent on pastoral economy which proved a disincentive for settlers from the east (English of whatever flavor) along with geographic barriers. Place and personal names indicate the region remained largely Welsh up until the Edwardian conquest, although religious institutions showed more Anglo-Norman penetration. Welsh land tenure based on distribution of commonly-held land among kin groups with dispersed settlements (due to the logistics of seasonal pasturage and minimal arable land) linked by extended family relationships. Only significant town was Rhuddlan (near the mouth of the Clwyd). During the early Norman period, while there was significant foreign migration to South Wales, the migration to the north tended to be relocation of Welsh populations from other regions. Population density extremely low in comparative terms. The Norman landholders in this area recorded in Domesday tended to have more extensive holdings elsewhere and likely paid little attention to the area. In addition to the actual population density issue, there was an external perception that pastoral society was viewed as uncivilized and lazy, affecting perceptions of the value of the land and region. The relatively small amount of good arable land meant that the English habit of attracting and rewarding English settlers for newly established towns with land created disruption as the existing Welsh inhabitants of this type of land were relocated (or converted to English tenure). Some Welsh legal aspects remained, as records show that fees for landholding were still sometimes paid by the kin-group as a whole, rather than by individuals. But overall, despite population increases and shifts, there seem to have been only minor changes to the overall social and legal structures, even with the establishemend of English towns.
Chwedlau Odo: Middle Welsh Beast Fables -- Carol Witt, St. Michael’s College, Univ. of Toronto
(Speaker scratched.)
(Note: I confess it makes me wince to hear people giving papers on Welsh topics mangling Welsh names and terminology. )
Of Amobr and Amobrwyr -- Lizabeth Johnson, South Dakota State Univ.
(Amobr = payment due from a woman or her family to the lord or to her father's superior on marriage or non-marital sexual activity, or on pregnancy if neither of the prevous had applied.) While native laws discuss amobr, it is only post-conquest court records that give evidence of the practicalities and problems of assessment, collection, and payment. The amount of the amobr was dependent on social status. The amobr was originally only due once for each woman but there is later evidence that it might be assessed multiple times in cases of remarriage or adultery, thus showing a drift from the original purpose. Although a judge would assess the payment, there were designated officials "amobrwyr" (amobr-men) whose job was to collect it. There were various dodges to avoid paying it, including claiming English (rather than Welsh) status. Various records show that the collection was farmed out to amobrwyr who paid a fixed annual amount to the lord in exchange for the right to do the collection (and presumably keep the proceeds). (Note: This suggests to me a motive for finding reasons for re-assessments!) The differences in amobr amount based on social and ethnic status could result in conflicts over the amount owed, as when the widow of a freeman re-married a bondman, but he was assessed the higher amobr of a free woman on the charge that she retained that status rather than taking his. Similarly, a woman whose first husband had held land by Welsh tenure had subsequently acquired land held by English tenure and claimed exemption on that basis on her second marriage, but it was held that she still had Welsh status and therefore owed the amobr. Two cases provide examples of unmarried women assessed amobr, presumably for illicit sex, who handed over garments in lieu of payment as they had insufficient funds. Several records of amobrwyr being violently assaulted when they showed up to collect the assessment, with the attackers being assessed further fines for the violence that could exceed the original assessment. Interestingly, though amobr could be assessed for illicit sex or re-marriage, evidently it was not assessed for certain non-marital cohabitation arrangements, thus creating a pressure in some cases to avoid formal marriage, although later this loophole was omitted. Similarly, in an earlier period an explicit professional prostitute was exempt from the payment (as contrasted with casual fornication) but later this loophole was also dropped.
A Land Now Vacant: Northeastern Wales as a Frontier, 1066–1283 -- Alexis Miller, Univ. of Missouri–Columbia
Question arises from a reference in the context of a dispute over ecclesiastical jurisdiction, where the region between the jurisdictions of Chester and Bangor is refered to as "a land now vacant". Area largely dependent on pastoral economy which proved a disincentive for settlers from the east (English of whatever flavor) along with geographic barriers. Place and personal names indicate the region remained largely Welsh up until the Edwardian conquest, although religious institutions showed more Anglo-Norman penetration. Welsh land tenure based on distribution of commonly-held land among kin groups with dispersed settlements (due to the logistics of seasonal pasturage and minimal arable land) linked by extended family relationships. Only significant town was Rhuddlan (near the mouth of the Clwyd). During the early Norman period, while there was significant foreign migration to South Wales, the migration to the north tended to be relocation of Welsh populations from other regions. Population density extremely low in comparative terms. The Norman landholders in this area recorded in Domesday tended to have more extensive holdings elsewhere and likely paid little attention to the area. In addition to the actual population density issue, there was an external perception that pastoral society was viewed as uncivilized and lazy, affecting perceptions of the value of the land and region. The relatively small amount of good arable land meant that the English habit of attracting and rewarding English settlers for newly established towns with land created disruption as the existing Welsh inhabitants of this type of land were relocated (or converted to English tenure). Some Welsh legal aspects remained, as records show that fees for landholding were still sometimes paid by the kin-group as a whole, rather than by individuals. But overall, despite population increases and shifts, there seem to have been only minor changes to the overall social and legal structures, even with the establishemend of English towns.
Chwedlau Odo: Middle Welsh Beast Fables -- Carol Witt, St. Michael’s College, Univ. of Toronto
(Speaker scratched.)
