Moot Hill
A moot hill or mons placiti (law hill) is a hill that was used as a gathering place in historical times. In the early Middle Ages of Britain , these mounds were used to hold moots , that is, gatherings of the people of a locality to settle local affairs. Among other things, at a moot proclamations were made, decisions were made and court hearings were held. Even if some moot hills were originally natural elevations or had been created long before as burial mounds, others were built specifically for the purpose of moots . Many of these hills can still be seen today, but very few are still in use.
etymology
The word moot or mote has its origins in the Old English language . It was derived from the verb to meet and originally describes any type of public gathering. However, over time the meaning of the word has expanded across the UK . In England , the word folkmoot became a special term for a local assembly with recognized legal authority. In Scotland , the term is used in the literature in the absence of other uniformly accepted terms.
Many moot , mote or mute hills are still known by these names today. Others have regional names such as Court Hill , Justice Hill , Judgment Hill , Mount , Munt, and many more. Many are also associated with names such as knol , knock , knowe , law (law) or a combination thereof. In northern Scotland the term cuthill (Gaelic 'comhdhail' - a place of assembly) is also common.
Locations
Moots like to pre-existing archaeological hills as barrows (ger .: tumuli or burial mounds ) and moths (ger .: mottes have gathered). Others, on the other hand, met on completely natural elevations, which were either left as they were or man-made for their intended purpose. A common aid in identification is that moot hills are usually smaller than moths and also show no signs of defensive walls or ditches.
Some hills, which are now called moot hills , were actually originally mottes , i.e. of a type of castle built primarily in wood, the main feature of which is an artificially created mound. A ring trench was often dug and the excavation was piled up in the middle. A tower-shaped building and palisades around it were often built on the central hill. In this way one quickly and easily got a well defensible structure. In some cases, a hill originally built as a moth may later have taken on the function of a real moot hill, i.e. a location for regional assemblies.
Some well-known moot hills are surrounded by water, such as Mugdock , Mound Wood and Court Hill at the "Hill of Beith", some may have been earlier, such as Hutt Knowe . Such inaccessibility would require the use of a boat or a jetty. Wood Mound is undoubtedly man-made, indicating that the relationship between these places and the water had a functional or religious meaning. Silbury Hill is an example of how often Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments were built at transition points or crossing points in the landscape and close to the water.
origin
It is known that in the early Middle Ages in Scotland, especially in the Highlands, Brehons or judges ruled on 'Court Hills'. At that time these elevations were called tomemoid (from Gaelic tom a 'mhòid ), which means something like court hill . At that time there were hardly any suitable buildings for this purpose, which is why there was usually no alternative to using a meeting place in the open air. It is reported that Irish immigrants brought the Brehon Laws , the use of moot hills, and the tanistry (tradition of royal and clan succession) with them to Scotland.
The expanded role that moot hills received in jurisdiction has its origins in the introduction of feudalism in England by the Normans and in Scotland by the Scottish kings . Such as David I of Scotland 1125-1153, who introduced feudalism and gave extensive areas of jurisdiction to favorites such as Walter Fitzallan , 1st High Steward of Scotland ( Renfrewshire & the northern half of Kyle) or Hugo of Morville (Cunningham) who in turn passed on extensive powers to their own vassals in the form of the newly introduced baronies (English: baronie , the feudal district of a baron ). These men, mostly of Norman , Flemish or Breton origin, to whom important lands were conferred under feudal law, had been invited by the Scottish kings, who were now themselves French, and did not come as conquerors, as was the case with England. In certain cases there was a close relationship between the ancient Celtic Thaneages (a non-military liege of the early Scottish crown with an inherited title) and the new feudal baronies. Each baron had a moot hill to exercise his delegated judicial rights. But also in a number of chartulars of religious institutions it is recorded that they also used moot hills to hold courts.
The free cities (Scottish: burgh , English borough ), which were also newly created in the feudal system from the 12th century on , held their dishes in the open air, around the market cross , a menhir , a moot hill or a prominent tree. These courts found three times a year: the main course after Pesach (Passover or Easter), the next after Michaelmas (September 29) in which the magistrates or the Vogt (ger .: reeve ) were elected and the third after the Yule or Christmas . All citizens were obliged to appear.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mons Placiti ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at www.fifetoday.co.uk
- ↑ Dane Love: Legendary Ayrshire. Custom: Folklore: Tradition , Auchinleck, 2009: Carn Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9518128-6-0 . Pp. 91-100
- ↑ The Early Medieval Landscape of Struan at www.electricscotland.com
- ↑ David Field (2003): Silbury Hill , British Archeology. V. 70.
- ^ A Researcher's Guide to Local History Terminology
- ↑ James Dobie: Cuninghame topographized by Timothy Pont . Ed. John Tweed, Glasgow, 1876. p. 35
- ↑ James Knight: Glasgow and Strathclyde , London, Thomas Nelson & Sons, p. 87
