ALANUS DE WORTLEY (stamvader) x met die dogter van Reiner
le Fleming, die Lord of WATH.
Die 12de en 13de eeue was periodes
van groot ekonomiese groei in Engeland.
Die bevolking van Engeland het van een en ‘n half miljoen in 1086
gegroei tot vyf miljoen in 1300. Die
Engelse ekonomie het uit drie groepe bestaan: the ordines, those who fought, or the nobility;
laboratores, those who worked, in particular the peasantry; and oratores, those
who prayed, or the clerics. (Wikipedia)
Handel en handelaars het ‘n klein rol gespeel en is dikwels swartgesmeer
aan die begin van die tydperk, hoewel hulle toenemend verdra is aan die einde
van die 13de eeu.
Alanus de Wortley is met die dogter van die Lord of Wath getroud.
Alanus de Wortley is met die dogter van die Lord of Wath getroud.
Reiner le Fleming, death: bef 1148 of Wath on
Dearn, co. Yorks. “Rainer Flandrensis”
steward of the honour of Skipton enfeoffed in the barony of Copeland by William
le Meschin. Children: William (-1166); Walter.
William le Fleming , death: bef 1166 of Wath on Dearn, co. Yorks. 'Willelm Flandrensis', succeeded his father
ca. 1140; succeeded by his son Reiner before 1166. Of the fee of one and a half knights of new
feoffment held by Reiner Flemengus in 1166 one knight's fee included land in
Wath-upon-Dearne and several places in that parish, in Darfield and Wombwell,
par. Darfield, and in Wortley, par. Tankersley. (Farrer, William & Clay, Charles Travis: Early
Yorkshire Charters: Volume 7, The Honour of Skipton). His
son, the founder of Kirklees priory.
Reiner II le Fleming of Wath on Dearne, co. Yorks, held 1 1/2 knights'
fees ' of the new feoffment of the honour of Skipton, including land in
Wath-upon-Dearne and elsewhere.
(Rootsweb) Familiewapen: (The history of Dalton Medieval wives’
families. http://www.daltondatabank.org/Chronicles/RDaltonBook/20.htm)
Wath-upon-Dearne (ook bekend as Wath-on-Dearne of net Wath) is ‘n klein dorpie aan die suide kant van die Dearne Valley in die historic county van West Riding Yorkshire en die Metropolitan Borough van Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, 5 myl (8 km) noord van Rotherham, ongeveer halfpad tussen Barnsley en Doncaster. Die manor of Wath was deur die Conqueror aan Roger de Busli, (tenant-in-chief) gegee, vanaf wie se familie dit oorgegaan het na die Flemings en daarna na die Wentworths. (Rotherham. The Unofficial Website. www.rotherhamunofficial.co.uk)
(https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028079618#page/n7/mode/2up)
Gedurende die periode 1150 tot 1170 was daar ‘n
groot hoeveelheid kerke in Engeland opgerig. (Hunter, Joseph: The History and Topography of the Parish of
Sheffield : with Historical and Descriptive Notices of the Parishes of
Ecclesfield, Hansworth, Treeton and Whiston, and of the Chapelry of Bradfield.
London. 1819. Bl. 26) Distrikte was aan die kerke verbind. Hierdie distrikskerke was gestig en toegerus
deur die Lords of the manor vir die
gerief van hul eie huishoudings, sowel as vir huurders wat binne afstand van
die kerk gewoon het. Die bou van 'n nuwe kerk het 'n nuwe gemeente beteken en in so ‘n geval
was die lord onthef van die betaling
van tiendes aan 'n kerk wat verder geleë was.
Dit het ook beteken dat die lord
sy eie priester kon aanstel. (Newton,
Richard: Wortley through the ages. The
History of the Long Term Development of the Landscape Surrounding Wortley Hall
from the End of the Ice Age to the Modern Period. http://www.wortleyheritage.org.uk/Home/history/wortley-through-the-ages) The better to secure the regular performance of
religious services in the churches which they erected, they were, according to
the prevailing custom of the times, attached to certain monastic
establishments. (Hunter,
Joseph: The History and Topography of
the Parish of Sheffield : with Historical and Descriptive Notices of the
Parishes of Ecclesfield, Hansworth, Treeton and Whiston, and of the Chapelry of
Bradfield. London. 1819)
Primogeniture was largely a matter of custom and operated in law only
when a property owner died without a will, which no competent landowner would
ever allow to happen. Hence the most important device for ensuring the passage
of an estate intact was the strict settlement. These settlements, wills
carefully drawn up and defended by the law, provided that each inheritor got
the land under severe restrictions: he must not alienate (sell) any of it; it
was thus entailed. By the principle of entailment, therefore, strict
settlements turned the owner of an estate into a sort of life tenant. A squire
might settle his land on his son, but on legal condition that the son in turn
pass the estate to the grandson. And the son, by powerful social custom,
resettled the estate on his son by making the same sort of will, and so on down
the generations. (http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf/PeoplesBritishIslesII_Chapter_03.pdf)
Om ridderskap in 11 tot 13de eeuse Europa te verkry, moes die persoon eerstens
uit 'n adelike huis gebore wees. Tweedens, het hy, tussen die ouderdomme van
vyf en agt, 'n page geraak wat
hofetiquette, sowel as ander vaardighede wat die Lord of the Manor vereis, aangeleer het. Derdens, op die ouderdom van tien of elf, het hy 'n squire to a knight geraak en dit was die
ridder se werk om hom op te lei in die kuns van oorlogvoering. Nadat hy sy vaardigheid in oorlogspeletjies
bewys het, is hy na die koning of 'n powerful
lord geneem om hom dan tot ridder benoem het. For
instance, to be a Knight represented the solemn dedication of self, after a
period of retirement, meditation, and prayer, to a life of unselfishness and
beneficence. " Be thou brave, true, and loyal," was the final charge
delivered to him when the sword was laid upon his shoulder. The very word Knight (in its original Saxon
"knecht") means a servant or pupil. To call oneself an Esquire
comprised not merely the unmeaning affix of
Esq." after the name, but a period of discipline and subordination to
another, required even of the noblest, by which alone he could become worthy of
the higher degree. And to be a Retainer implied conduct consistent with his reputation
whose service men entered and whose badge they bore. (Purey-Cust, A.P. (Rev): The
Heraldry of York Minister, a key to the history of its Builders and
Benefactors. As shewn in the
Stained-Glass Windows, and in the Carved Work in Stone. Leeds. 1890. http://archive.org/stream/heraldryofyorkmi01custuoft/heraldryofyorkmi01custuoft_djvu.txt
) Die
inlywing van ‘n ridder in die dae van chivalry was ‘n solomn godsdienstige
seremonie. (The Early Monks
http://www.robinhoodloxley.net/mycustompage0021.htm)
Behalwe vir oorlogvoering, het die ridders ook aan toernooie deelgeneem,
‘n gebruik wat in die 11de eeu begin het.
Afgesien van die vermaak wat dit vir die toeskouers verskaf het, was dit
ook 'n soort oefening in oorlogvoering. Weapon
practise included enhancing skills in the two-handed sword, battle axe, mace,
dagger and lance. A Knight would be expected to guard the Castle and support
his liege lord in Middle Ages warfare. (Middle Ages knights http://elearning.masterprof.ro/lectiile/engleza/lectie_18/middle_age.html)
(https://au.pinterest.com/pin/491666484293072756/)
In die Middeleeue het die edeles dikwels in
ontoeganklike plekke gewoon. Daar was
min boeke en nog minder mense wat hulle kon lees. Om te reis was gevaarlik en is selde gedoen,
behalwe vir 'n pelgrimstog of 'n kruistog en 'n mens kan verstaan dat
besoekers gretig verwelkom is. Smouse,
jongleurs (jugglers) en mountbacks van alle soorte is
voortdurend verwelkom. Die mees welkom
van almal was die siterspeler (minstrel) of sanger. Die Lord
en Lady, die kinders en die dienaars
sou dan bymekaarkom rondom die kaggel van die groot saal om te hoor hoe die
siterspeler sy spannende verhale van liefde, oorlog, en magtige dade, sing. Through
his songs ran the spirit of chivalry which was the social ideal of the feudal
age and which taught knights to defend the Church, to make war against the
infidel unceasingly, to be courteous, and to keep their word no matter what
difficulties arose. (The Age of Chivalry and Romance http://www.robinhoodloxley.net/mycustompage0023.htm)
In ‘n tyd toe geld
uiters skaars was, was dit algemeen vir die groot grondeienaars to portion their daughters with parts of
the domain to be held by their husband and posterity on military service. (Hunter,
Joseph: The History and Topography of
the Parish of Sheffield : with Historical and Descriptive Notices of the
Parishes of Ecclesfield, Hansworth, Treeton and Whiston, and of the Chapelry of
Bradfield. London. 1819. Bl. 36) Elke
grondtransaksie met 'n dogter se bruidsskat was van die uiterste belang vir die
sosiale stand en veiligheid van haar familie; en in sommige gevalle, vir sy oorlewing.
Huwelike was gereël, dikwels terwyl die toekomstige egpaar nog baie jonk
was. Dit was hoogs beplande sake, en
baie aktes gee notulebesonderhede van grond (welvaart) wat oorgedra moet word. Verder was hulle geneig om die huwelike within kinship groups of closely-knit
families aan te gaan.
…as nothing was more
natural than that the baron when called to perform his quota of military
service should prefer to be surrounded rather by those who were connected with
him by the ties of kindredship, than by strangers. (Hunter,
Joseph: The History and Topography of
the Parish of Sheffield : with Historical and Descriptive Notices of the
Parishes of Ecclesfield, Hansworth, Treeton and Whiston, and of the Chapelry of
Bradfield. London. 1819. Bl. 36). Op hierdie
manier is die welvaart binne in hul groep behou, en bande van beskerming in tye
van burgerlike onrus, versterk. Hierdie
inteling het egter gelei tot die onvermoë van latere geslagte om manlike
erfgename te lewer.
Die opeenvolgende Nicholas de Wortleys het gunstige huwelike aangegaan,
wat tot die toevoeging van groot landgoede gely het. These knights at first held
Wortley as their single and sole possession;
but by a series of fortunate marriages they, in time, added to it a
number of important estates. (Timbs,
John: Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls
of England and Wales. Their legendary
lore and popular history. Vol 3 London.)
Those
who held land in the places described herein were of the minor gentry and their
yeoman tenants, who assiduously planned advantageous marriage alliances, so as
to attain a better position. (Stanhope, M.:
Barnburh, Cadeby, High Melton, and Wildethorp – a brief history http://barnburghcadebyhighmeltonandwildethorp.webs.com/
)
In terms of a proper strategy to thrive within the changing times, the use of marriage alliances proves to be one of the best. Even in the beginning with Alanus de Wortley, each Nicholas was strategically married to rich families with plenty of estate that would be included in marriage dowries. Alanus knew he could use this to his advantage to gain the land needed to prosper in the north and create his holding power in the area. The rest of the family will use this same strategy in the future in order to stake their claim to the rest of the lands they will acquire and create the lasting alliances, and enemies that will shape their actions. (https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/17153/Worthley%2C%20Nicole.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y)
In terms of a proper strategy to thrive within the changing times, the use of marriage alliances proves to be one of the best. Even in the beginning with Alanus de Wortley, each Nicholas was strategically married to rich families with plenty of estate that would be included in marriage dowries. Alanus knew he could use this to his advantage to gain the land needed to prosper in the north and create his holding power in the area. The rest of the family will use this same strategy in the future in order to stake their claim to the rest of the lands they will acquire and create the lasting alliances, and enemies that will shape their actions. (https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/17153/Worthley%2C%20Nicole.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y)
