Emma’s Quest – A Medieval Murder Mystery
Map of Old Bristol
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Glossary of Terms Used
Glossary of Medieval Terms Used
Alms – Charitable donations, often collected by religious houses for the poor.
Assizes – Periodic court sessions held by visiting judges to try serious criminal cases.
Beadle – A minor local official – part messenger, part usher, part enforcer of local order.
Brazier – A metal container or basket holding burning coals, used for heating rooms.
Compline – The final church service of the day, held after nightfall; also the bell announcing it.
Coif – Close‑fitting linen cap worn by both men and women for warmth, modesty, and to keep hair clean under hoods or hats
Cotehardie – Is a close‑fitting, buttoned garment that follows the body’s shape and serves as a neat, tailored outer layer. A sign of higher status.
Curfew – The evening bell signalling that fires should be covered and people should be off the streets; also the restriction itself.
Daub – A mixture of clay, straw and dung applied over wattle (woven sticks) to form walls.
Farthing – A small silver coin worth one quarter of a penny. See ‘Coinage’ below
God’s acre – cemetery
Goodman / Goodwife – Polite terms of address for a married man or woman of common rank.
Greyfriars – Franciscan friars, named for their grey habits; their friary in Bristol was near the town centre.
Groat – Gold coin worth four pennies. See ‘Coinage’ later.
Guild – An association of merchants or craftsmen regulating trade and providing mutual support.
Guild-Master – The elected head of a guild.
Halfpenny – A coin worth half a penny. See ‘Coinage’ later.
Hogshead – A large barrel, typically holding around 63 gallons of wine.
Hourglass – A measurement of an hour. The time taken for sand to trickle from an upper glass bulb to a lower one.
Indulgence – A payment to the church reducing time in purgatory for sins.
Inquest – A coroner’s formal inquiry into a death.
Kirtle – Medieval woman’s gown, usually lace trimmed.
Lychgate – A roofed gateway at the entrance to a cemetery.
Mantle – A cloak or wrap, fastened at the shoulder or throat.
Mazer – Wooden drinking bowl with a decorative metal rim.
Noble – A Noble coin made of gold worth six shillings and eight pennies. See ‘Coinage’ later.
Pallet – Wooden-framed bed.
Parchment – Specially prepared animal skin—usually sheep, goat, or calf—used for documents, books, and legal records
Pattens – Wooden overshoes with raised soles, worn to keep feet above mud and wet streets.
Penny – The basic unit of currency; twelve pennies made one shilling. Silver coin. See ‘Coinage’ later.
Postern – A back or side gate, especially a small private entrance.
Pottage – A thick soup or stew, the common daily meal of most households.
Serjeant – An officer of the law, responsible for keeping order and making arrests.
Settle – As furniture. A high-backed wooden bench.
Shilling – A unit of currency equivalent to twelve pennies. Not a coin. See ‘Coinage’ later.
Shift – Undergarment.
Strete – Medieval spelling of “street.”
Tables – A board game similar to backgammon, popular in medieval times.
Terce – The mid-morning church service, around 9 a.m.; also the bell announcing it.
Tonsure – The shaved crown of a monk or friar’s head, signifying religious dedication.
Trencher – Flat slab of bread or wood used as a plate for serving food.
Trestle-Table – Long, portable table made by laying a board across two or more trestles—simple supports that form a sturdy, easily assembled dining or work surface.
Tun – A very large barrel for wine, holding around 252 gallons.
Twist of Tow – This is a small bundle of coarse, unspun flax fibres twisted together into a little strand.
Ullage – Wine lost through leakage, evaporation or spoilage during transport.
Wax tablet – A wooden board coated with wax, used for temporary writing with a stylus; the wax could be smoothed and reused.
Wain – Wooden four-wheeled wagon. Wheels made of wood. The wain, often covered with leather. Bench at the front for a driver. Usually pulled by two horses. A tailboard for getting in and out.
Medieval Canonical Bells
Medieval Canonical Hours – January 1395, Bristol
In late January, Bristol would have roughly eight hours of daylight (sunrise around 8:00am, sunset around 4:15pm). The hours shifted with the seasons.
| Hour | Meaning | Approximate Time |
| Matins | Night office | 2:00 – 3:00am |
| Lauds | Dawn prayers | 7:00 – 7:30am |
| Prime | First hour | 8:00am (sunrise) |
| Terce | Third hour | 9:00 – 9:30am |
| Sext | Sixth hour | 12:00 noon |
| None | Ninth hour | 2:00 – 3:00pm |
| Vespers | Evening prayers | 4:00 – 4:30pm (sunset) |
| Compline | Night prayers | 5:30 – 6:30pm |
Notes:
- Curfew typically rang shortly after Compline, signalling fires to be covered and streets cleared.
- The Benedictines and Franciscans (Greyfriars) kept slightly different schedules. The Benedictine Compline before curfew while the Franciscan Compline was later, often after curfew as they had evening visitations around the town before returning to pray.
Coinage
Coinage around 1395 and Their Value
The shilling was a unit of currency but not a physical coin. It had a value of twelve pence. A shilling was denotes by ‘s’ and a penny by ‘d’. Despite appearances, the ‘s’ does not come from ‘shilling’ but came from the roman coin ‘solidus’. The ‘d’ also came from a roman coin, this time the ‘denarius’.
Farthing – quarter penny
Halfpenny – a half a penny
Penny – 1d
Half-Groat – 2d
Groat – 4d
Quarter Noble – 1s 8d
Half Noble – 3s 4d
Noble 6s 8d
In accounting terms there was also the Pound denoted by a ‘L’ for the latin ‘libra’ (a unit of weight).
Originally one pound of sterling silver was the value of the pound’. It was divided into 240 pennies (each 1/240 of 1 pound of sterling silver). By 1395 this strict link had long fallen by the wayside.
Bristol Streets and Landmarks
Bristol Streets and Landmarks – As Used in the Manuscript
Streets and Lanes
Brode Strete – One of Bristol’s main thoroughfares, running through the town centre.
Corne Strete – A principal street where the Fenwick shop and residence is located, between St Werburgh Church and St Leonard Gate.
Fenwick Lane – The narrow lane running behind Fenwick Hall, connecting Corne Strete to Smale Strete, skirting the graveyard.
Fysher Lane – A lane outside the walls near Quay Head, leading toward the Custom House.
Grope Strete – A lane outside the Blind Gate; the women’s quarter.
Guildhall Lane – A lane connecting Brode Strete to Smale Strete.
Seynt Jony’s Lane – A lane within the walls, beside the graveyard, where Walter lodges.
Smale Strete – A street where the goldsmith’s shop is located.
Toures Strete – A street leading toward the Blind Gate.
Gates
Blind Gate – A town gate on the northern wall.
St Leonard Gate – A gate at the end of Corne Strete, leading outside the town walls toward Quay Head.
Churches and Religious Houses
All Saints – A parish church where Father Jerome hears confessions.
Greyfriars – The Franciscan friary near the town centre, where Edmund worked as a clerk.
St James’s Priory – The Benedictine priory; their Compline bell is heard throughout the town.
St Nicholas – A parish church near the quay.
St Werburgh Church – A church on Corne Strete, near Fenwick Hall.
Taverns and Inns
Cyder House – A tavern off Smale Strete where Alice works as a barmaid.
Whyte Harte – A tavern on Brode Strete.
Other Landmarks
Custom House – The royal customs office on the River Frome at Quay Head, where import duties are collected.
Fenwick Hall – The Fenwick family residence and wine shop on Corne Strete, with a postern entrance on Fenwick Lane.
Frome Bridge – The bridge crossing the River Frome, connecting the town to Greyfriars.
High Cross – The central crossing point of Bristol’s main streets; the heart of the town.
Quay Head – The quayside area outside the town walls on the River Frome, where Richard owns a warehouse.
The castle – Bristol Castle, where the assizes are held and prisoners are kept.
The Nails – Bronze pillars or tables near the quay where merchants conducted business and settled debts (origin of the phrase “pay on the nail”).
Street Layout
Bristol Town – A Simple Orientation
The Heart of Town
The High Cross stands at the centre where the four main streets meet. From here:
- Brode Strete runs roughly north toward Frome Bridge and Greyfriars beyond
- Corne Strete runs west toward St Leonard Gate and the river
The Fenwick Properties
Fenwick Hall (shop and residence) sits on Corne Strete, between St Werburgh Church (toward the High Cross) and St Leonard Gate (toward the river).
Behind the hall runs Fenwick Lane, a narrow passage connecting Corne Strete to Smale Strete. The lane skirts a graveyard on its eastern side.
The postern entrance – the back gate to Fenwick Hall – opens onto Fenwick Lane.
Key Distances from Fenwick Hall
- To Smale Strete (via Fenwick Lane): A short walk south through the lane
- To High Cross (via Corne Strete): A few minutes east
- To St Leonard Gate (via Corne Strete): A few minutes west
- To the goldsmith’s shop: South on Smale Strete
Outside the Walls
Passing through St Leonard Gate, one exits the town walls onto Quay Head – the busy quayside along the River Frome.
Turning right (north) along the outside of the wall leads to:
- Fysher Lane
- Fenwick’s warehouse (a two-storey wooden structure with a hoist)
- The Custom House
North of Town
Crossing Frome Bridge from Brode Strete leads to:
- Greyfriars (the Franciscan friary where Edmund worked)
- Beyond, the Blind Gate in the northern wall
- Outside the Blind Gate lies Grope Strete (the women’s quarter)
- Toures Strete leads toward the Blind Gate from within the walls
Seynt Jony’s Lane
Within the walls, running beside the graveyard. Walter’s lodgings are here – recognisable by the straight shutters and clean whitened daub.
Ciaran Leamy - Author 