Steward
The man responsible for running the day-to-day affa
irs of the castle when the lord was
absent. The steward organized farm work and kept ac
counts of the estate’s money.
Stewards were well-paid, powerful figures in the di
strict.
Bailiff
A peasant, next in importance to the steward. The
bailiff was not a serf but a freeholder
who owned his own land. He was in charge of giving
jobs to the peasants, overseeing the
care of the livestock, and taking care of building
repairs by hiring skilled craftsmen to do
the job.
Reeve
The bailiff’s right-hand man. A peasant chosen by
the other villagers. He carried a white
stick as a badge of office. He supervised work on
the lord’s demesne, checking that
everyone began on time, and ensuring that none of t
he produce was stolen.
Burgess
The holder of land or a house within a borough.
Labourers
A person engaged in physical work, esp. of an unski
lled kind, serfs.
Hinds
Farm workers
Maid
"A virgin, a young unmarried woman," a shortening o
f the word maiden. A female
servant, girl or young unmarried woman.
Scullery Maid
In great houses, scullery maids were the lowest-ran
ked and often the youngest of the
female servants and acted as assistant to a kitchen
maid. The scullery maid reported to the
cook or chef. Along with the junior kitchen-maid, t
he scullery maid did not eat at the
communal servants' dining hall table, but in the ki
tchen in order to keep an eye on the
food that was still cooking. Duties included the mo
st physical and demanding tasks in the
kitchen, such as cleaning and scouring the floor, s
toves, sinks, pots and dishes. After
scouring the plates in the scullery, she would leav
e them on racks to dry. The scullery
maid also assisted in cleaning vegetables, plucking
fowl, and scaling fish.
