The Accounting Historians Notebook Volume 17 Article 5 Number 1 Spring 1994

1994 Accounting in the thirteenth century manuscripts on estate management Robert M. Kozub

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Recommended Citation Kozub, Robert M. (1994) "Accounting in the thirteenth century manuscripts on estate management," The Accounting Historians Notebook: Vol. 17 : No. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_notebook/vol17/iss1/5

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Archival Digital Accounting Collection at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Accounting Historians Notebook by an authorized editor of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Kozub: Accounting in the thirteenth century manuscripts on estate management ACCOUNTING IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY MANUSCRIPTS ON ESTATE MANAGEMENT by Robert M. Kozub University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee References to the accounting system Walter of Henley used for manors are contained in three early Due to a boom in farming during the thir­ manuscripts on estate management. These teenth century, a shortage of manorial clerk early manuscripts dealt with husbandry, and auditors developed. To alleviate this that is, the wise use of resources, and were shortage, formal accounting instruction addressed to the lords of the estate. Each began to be taught at Oxford University manuscript provided practical hints intend­ (Chatfield, 1974, p.28). An instructor at ed to aid individuals in the management of Oxford University during this period, their business affairs. Although the institu­ Walter of Henley, wrote a treatise on hus­ tions and practices referred to in these man­ bandry (Circa 1221) which contained a sec­ uscripts have long since passed away, these tion on manorial accounting (Power, 1934, treatises provide a fairly complete picture of p. 106). In discussing the works of Walter of the life in a thirteenth century manor. The Henley, Power states that a copy of this authors dealt: simply with the matters of manuscript at Cambridge refers to Walter as ordinary experience and did not attempt to a knight and later as a monk (p. 106). As a follow and apply the principles of any clas­ monk, Walter of Henley spent some time at sical authority. Instead, each of these Luffield Priory and taught at Oxford authors attempted to record the wisdom of University. the time. Walter's treatise is a survey of the Not all of the works dealt specifically operations of an agricultural estate, which with accounting, but rather as a group, dis­ included plowing, harrowing, and har­ cussed the unwritten management wisdom vesting; selecting animals to breed or of the time. Contained within this written slaughter; estimating the amount of time wisdom, however, are methods for ensuring needed to plow the estate, the cost or that the accounts provided by the lord's keeping each animal, and the expected employees are correct. It is evident that return from operations. He gives sugges­ accounting was considered to be a signifi­ tions to enable the lord to avoid "leakage" cant management tool at this time. which occurs so easily when careful super­ While these treatises are similar, and to vision is lacking. This treatise assumes some degree they overlap, they also supple­ that the lord would personally look into ment each other. The first of these treatises every operation. Among the advice Walter is Walter of Henley's Husbandry, which pro­ provides is the computation of the vides an overview of estate management. expense of keeping various livestock, the The second treatise is also entitled number of plow teams and the amount of Husbandry, and it is primarily concerned time required to work the estate, the yield with the estate's accounts. Its author is of the harvest, and the cost of production. unknown. The author of the third treatise, This advice was offered so that the lord Senescbaucie, is also unknown. This work could understand the account offered by deals with the individuals employed on an his bailiff. Walter also describes how the estate and their functions. Each treatise is servants should behave and warns the lord discussed with emphasis on the accounting to beware of disloyalty and theft among theme in each treatise. his servants. In order to protect his

6 The Accounting Historians Notebook, Spring, 1994 Published by eGrove, 1994 1 income, Walter recommendThe Accountings that a Historianslord Notebook,later copie Vol.d 17hi [1994],s work No., fo1, rArt. in 5no case was hold at least one "view" per year (e.g., this treatise reissued under Walter's own detailed review) and "survey" (e.g., an name. audit) annually. Evidently, this advice was widely An Anonymous Husbandry accepted, since it has been reported that This anonymous treatise is primarily the medieval manorial written accounts concerned with the bailiff's estate usually passed through three distinct accounts. The author advises a traditional phases (Denholm-Young, 1937, pp. 132- policy of making the estate as self-suffi­ 5). In the middle of the financial year, or cient as possible. This treatise describes whenever the "view" was held, the "visus how the accounts should be kept and compoti," a detailed record of income and passed. Like Walter of Henley's Husbandry, expenditures to date, was prepared for this treatise also gives rough estimates in examination and correction by those tak­ order that the lord may check the rates at ing the view. An audit occurred at the which the bailiff calls on him to pay. This end of the financial year. At this time, the work is not a reference to the actual man­ "compotus" roll of each manor, based on agement of the agricultural activities of the visus compoti, but without its the estate but rather a guide to the minute details, was presented before the accounts of the bailiff and the means of auditors at the central exchequer, or if the verifying them. audit were an itinerant one, upon the There is no indication of the author­ auditor's arrival at the manor being ship or the date of the writing of this trea­ audited. When the auditors verified the tise. Judging by the limited number of account, the account passed through the existing copies, this work enjoyed a small­ final stage. The form of the account, as er circulation than Walter of Henley's amended by the auditors, was carefully Husbandry. Apparently this treatise was copied onto a single roll, known as the considered to be a practical guideline work, counter roll. There is usually a noticeable which was intended to keep the records in simplification of the arrangement of the a handy form. accounts in the counter roll. Items which The method of entering the data in were recorded under separate headings in each account was by the single entry the view were lumped together in the method. In preparing the accounts, the audit as one entry (Denholm-Young, structure is relatively simple. The 1937, pp.133-4). The counter roll was accounts are divided into two main sec­ kept for official purposes. tions, the cash account and the grain and The treatise had real vitality, and his stock account. It was common practice in practical hints had a lasting importance. England to record the cash accounts on Walter's treatise continued to be used and the front of a membrane and the grain and copied and bounded with other treatises stock accounts on the reverse side (Selected for use as a reference book long after it Documents of the English hand of the Abbey of was written. In the fifteenth century, Bec, 1951, pp. 146-85). The cash account Wynkyn de Worde printed Walter of was divided into receipts and expendi­ Henley's Husbandry. Fleta, published in tures, and ends by striking a net balance 1647, contained long extracts of Walter's between the two. The grain and stock work. In 1856, M. Louis Lacour printed a account contains a subaccount for each French version of Husbandry as Traite ined- grain crop and each type of animal. The it d'economie rurale. While his work con­ separate subaccounts contain sections for tinued to be republished, the author, acquisitions and disposals. In addition to however, was badly treated by those who Continued on page 23

The Accounting Historians Notebook, Spring, 1994 7 https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_notebook/vol17/iss1/5 2 Kozub: Accounting in the thirteenth century manuscripts on estate management Estate Management . . Continued from page 7 (A detailed account of the disposals followed) grain and livestock, this account was used The amount used as seed to record the yearly production of cheese In allowances and provisions and the fleeces of wool. The structure of In fodder both the cash and the grain and stock The amount sold (usually the balance accounts are illustrated in Exhibit One. remaining) or the amount left over

Exhibit One Type of Animal Structure of the Accounts in (Each type of animal had a separate section) Thirteenth Century England The number remaining from last year Cash Account The number bought or received during the Statement of arrears and assisted rents year, plus the number coming from stock Discharges and deficiencies in rent The number coming from the heriot fine Summary remains (a preliminary balance) Any found Receipts from the sale of the issues of the (Then follows the entries recording their manor (i.e. stock, hides, grain, wool, disposal) pannage, herbage, potfald, and occasion­ In payment of tithes ally Peter's Pence). By death or slaughter Perquisites of lord's courts By sale Releases By transference to other manors Total Receipts Those disposed of in allowances made according to the custom of the manor Expenditures The account of the yearly production of Expenses cheese, mainly for sale, and the fleeces of Cost of repairs to implements, and farm wool, were recorded in this section. buildings, including the construction of sheep folds The purposes of a medieval account roll Expense of harvesting and threshing and a modern income statement are very grain dissimilar. A medieval account roll sought Expense of transporting produce where to determine the extent the manorial official carrying services are not performed has fulfilled his obligations to his lord. Upkeep of dairy (Denholm-Young, 1937, pp. 126-30; and Cost of feeding boon workers during Levett, 1938, pp.58-60). The income state­ Lent and Autumn ment, on the other hand, is prepared in Livery of the manorial bailiff order to determine the profit or loss for the Extraordinary expenses (i.e. Cost of provid­ financial period. Thus, it is obvious that one ing the lord's visitors with hospitality) cannot accept the ending balance, appearing Total Expenses at the end of every account, as an indicative Net Total (Receipts less expenses) of profit and loss. A debit balance may indi­ Grain and Stock Account cate a loss, bad debts accruing over a period of years inherited by the provost from his Name of Crop predecessor, or money held in reserve to (Each grain crop had a separate section) meet any unexpected expenditure during The amount remaining from last year the weeks following the audit. On the other The amount from the annual harvest hand, a credit or surplus may indicate a The amount received (if any) from any profit or arrears from previous years. other manor, or bought Therefore, every item included in an account must be scrutinized before it is pos- The total

The Accounting Historians Notebook, Spring, 1994 23 Published by eGrove, 1994 3 sible to declare thaThet aAccounting precise profi Historianst or losNotebook,s writs) Vol. 17, [1994],statutes No., 1,proclamations Art. 5 , and legal was sustained by a manor. Despite these dif­ treaties. ferences, the medieval account, however, This reference is further removed from was ideally constructed to report the respon­ the details of the agricultural activities of an sibility of the accounting official, and the estate than the two preceding treatises. The extent that these responsibilities were dis­ treatise deals with the duties and functions charged. In an economy that was just begin­ of each officer of an estate, and it reveals the ning to accept the idea of production for a then current division of labor and hierarchy market, instead of for personal consump­ of estate management. This treatise is more tion, profit and loss were not of primary wordy and is written in a more formal style concern to a lord. Instead, the lord's rela­ than the two previous works. Due to its con­ tions with the manorial officials, and the tents, this reference was probably used by a efficiency with which they performed their lord's legal advisors. Table One presents the duties was of concern. hierarchy of the manorial administration on For aiding in determining whether the thirteenth century estates and their relation­ accounts are accurate, the author states the ships. rates at which various farming operations In the Seneschaucie, the duties and the should cost. For example, it was stated that requirements of each position were dis­ three acres of crops should cost a penny. In order to know how many acres there are on Table One an estate and in each crop, a table for con­ The Administrative Hierarchy of verting acreage based on poles of 18, 22, or Thirteenth Century Estates 24 feet to acres based on a pole of 16 feet is contained in this treatise. While the calcula­ The Lord of the Estate tions in this work are correct, it is obvious .. Auditors (Holds View & that the author had difficulties in the addi­ Seneschal Assists at Audit) tion of fractions. For example, the author (Manorial Steward) expresses 1 acre 3 9/16 roods in the cumber­ some form "one acre and a half and a rood Bailiff and a half and the sixteenth of the rood." The table offers only a rough approxima­ Provost Provost tion, since the recognized pole, as defined by (Reeve) (Reeve) statute, was not 16 feet, but 16 1/2 feet. Bailiff farming gradually ceased to be Hayward economical, and it began to disappear. As a result, the methods for verifying the bailiff's Ploughmen Miller Cowherd Swineherd accounts as detailed in Husbandry also Shepard Dairymaid became obsolete. Waggoners —

The Seneschaucie cussed. The lord's duties, for example, Like the previous treatise, this work were to hear the accounts annually, review does not contain any indication of who the accounts, and to inquire about the wrote it. In addition, the exact year that it seneschal from the senechal's subordi­ was written in is also unknown, but it is nates. Table Two presents the duties of obvious that it was written before the time each manorial official, the requirements of of Edward I (1239-1307, king 1272-1307). the office, and the principal characteris­ It appears that the main purpose of this trea­ tics required by each office. tise was to be a reference work, for it con­ In the early thirteenth century, a tained a registrum brevium (the register of seneschal or manorial steward was respon-

24 The Accounting Historians Notebook, Spring, 1994 https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_notebook/vol17/iss1/5 4 Kozub: Accounting in the thirteenth century manuscripts on estate management Table Two Thirteenth Century Manorial Officials, Duties, Responsibilities, and Characteristics Officials Duties Requirements Characteristics Lord of the Manor Hear accounts annually; Understand the To love God and Justice (Born to position or Review the accounts; and operation of the manor appointed by the Crown) Inquire about the Seneschal from his subordinates

Auditors Holds Views; Knowledge of accounting Faithful & Prudent (Appointed by the Lord) Assists at Audit

Chancery Staff Accounting; Assists at Knowledge of accounting Faithful & Ptudent (Appointed by the Lord) Views; Assists at Audit

Seneschal or Instruct subordinates; Knowledge of the law; Faithful & Prudent Manorial Steward Measure land of manor; Knowledge of farming (Appointed by the Lord) Know number of acres for each crop Inquire about expenditures, increases and profits

Bailiff Daily survey of estate; Knowledge of farming Prudent, Faithful & Profitable (Appointed by the Lord) General supervision of (Good Husbandman) farming operations; Co-responsibility for accounts.

Provost or Reeve Specific supervision of Knowledge of farming Best Husbandman; (Elected by villagers) farming operations; Knowledge of accounting Faithful Accounting responsibilities

Hayward Direct supervision of Knowledge of farming Active & sharp man; (Appointed by the Lord) farming operation; Faithful Aid the provost with tallies

Ploughmen Plowing & sowing; Knowledge of plowing, Faithful Care of oxen sowing & equipment repair

Waggoners Care for horses, harnesses Knowledge of horses & Faithful & wagons; To sleep with equipment repair horses each night & guard them

Cowherd Care for cattle Knowledge of cattle Faithful

Swineherd Care for swine Knowledge of sheep Faithful

Shepard Constant care of sheep Knowledge of sheep Faithful

Dairymaid Milking; Knowledge of milking, Faithful, of good repute, Making butter & cheese making butter & cheese keeps herself clean

Miller Grinding grain; Knowledge of milling Faithful Bundling straw

sible for both financial and legal duties on head of the ministerial hierarchy, the most the estate (Benett, 1937, p.l60). By the important was the seneschal, and the end of the thirteenth century, the other two people assisting the seneschal, seneschal's legal duties were his primary the lord's treasurer and the clerk of the responsibility, and his financial responsi­ chancery staff. bilities were delegated to subordinates The two officials most concerned (Levett, 1938, p. 103). Two other persons with the accounting and finance of an shared the duties of steward, which was a estate are the treasurer, and the chamber­ common arrangement on both ecclesiasti­ lain. The treasurer would be the most cal and lay estates in England throughout important. In most cases, he received the the thirteenth century (Denholm-Young, net receipts from the provost (reeve) of 1937, p.67). Of this triumvirate at the each manor. No disbursements would be

The Accounting Historians Notebook, Spring, 1994 25 Published by eGrove, 1994 5 The Accounting Historians Notebook, Vol. 17 [1994], No. 1, Art. 5 made by the treasurer. Any cash bailiff of the manor. The provost was allowances made for the provosts would indispensable to the smooth running of be deducted from their receipts. The the manor, upon whom rest the primary chamberlain was responsible for the responsibility for the profit or loss judges chambers. He was authorized to incurred by the manor in any year. make loans to local officials in financial The decline in bailiff farming affected difficulties. In addition, as the lord's rep­ the Seneschaucie as it did the anonymous resentative, the chamberlain authorized Husbandry. As the economy changed these certain extraordinary expenditures, such two treatises became outdated. as expenditures for entertaining visitors to the manor. Conclusion A lord's chancery staff form the liter­ These thirteenth century treatises ate element in the system of estate organi­ reveal much about the relationship zation where a great degree of responsibil­ between a lord and his tenants. In addi­ ity was placed on the shoulders of an illit­ tion, these works provide evidence on how erate local executive. The clerks traveled a medieval lord safeguarded and enforced among the manors of a wealthy lord his customary financial dues through the assisting in the compilation of the accounting system. provost's account shortly after the harvest, The main features of the medieval and they may have held the view on some accounting system were the local view of manors (Bennett, 1937, p.187). the account held in February, and a reg­ An intermediate position in the man­ ular audit held at Michaelmas each year agerial hierarch between the seneschal and (September, 29). To aid in the adminis­ the provost of each manor was the bailiff. tration of the estates of wealthier lords, The bailiff and the provost of each manor manors were grouped into an adminis­ would be present at the annual audit. The trative unit, the bailiwick. By delega­ bailiff would act in a capacity subordinate tion of authority, a lord administered his to the auditors. He performed general estate(s). Such authority was shared by a duties of supervision over the reeves and literate bureaucracy in the form of a over the actual farming operations. A fea­ treasurer, a chamberlain, and a seneschal ture of manorial administration during or manorial steward and flowed to a less this time was that manors in the same literate level comprised of bailiffs, and shire were grouped into an administrative ultimately to the illiterate provosts or unit called the bailiwick for which the reeves. bailiff was responsible. This was a solu­ tion to the problems of administering References extensive estates {Ministers' Account of the Bennett, H.S., (1937), Life on the English Earldom of Cornwall 1296-97, 1942, Manor (Cambridge Studies in Medieval pp.xix-xxiv; and Fox, 1940, p.20). Life and Thought: Cambridge: The provost was most important man Cambridge University Press, 1937). on the manor. He was the chosen leader of Chatfield, Michael, (1974), A History of the community, but did not receive any Accounting Thought, (Hillsdale, IL.: The wages. The provost was of a lower social Dryden Press, 1974). class than the bailiff, and was illiterate, Denholm-Young, N., (1937), Seignorial but was responsible for the detailed Administration in England, (Oxford accounting function on the manor. Historical Society, Oxford, 1937). Indeed, the provost was more closely asso­ Fox, L., (1940), The Administration of the ciated with the work performed on the Honor of Leicester in the 14th Century, manor than either the seneschal or the (Leicester: University Press, 1940).

26 The Accounting Historians Notebook, Spring, 1994 https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_notebook/vol17/iss1/5 6 Kozub: Accounting in the thirteenth century manuscripts on estate management Levett, A.E., (1938), Studies in Manorial Power, Eileen, (1934), "Discussion on History, H. M. Cam, M. Coate and L.S. the Question of a New Edition of Sutherland, (Oxford: Oxford University Walter of Henley's Husbandry," Press, 1938). Royal Historical Society, xvii (1934), Ministers' Account of the Earldom of pp.101-116. Cornwall 1296-97, (1942), 2 vol. L.M. Selected Documents of the English Land of the Midgley, (Royal Historical Society, 3rd. Abbey of Bec, (1951), M. Chibnall, ed. series, volumes 66 and 68: Camden, (Royal Historical Society, Camden England, 1942 & 1945). Series 73, 1951).

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A THOUGHT FROM THE PAST

"The great business of man is to improve his mind and govern his manners." —Marcus Aurelius

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The Accounting Historians Notebook, Spring, 1994 27 Published by eGrove, 1994 7