The Thirteenth Century Record:

Liber Feodorum

The books of the middle ages were written in Latin, the language of the Romans whose literary tradition was used by the clerics of Europe. However, since the languages were largely germanic, or frankish, the words which crept into the books were not classical latin, but germanic words conjugated into latin forms. Medieval latin is therefore a different language than classical latin, although a good medieval scholar can easily read all the classical works. Let's look at some latin words...

The title of our volume is:



Testa de Nevill sive "Liber Feodorum" in Curia Scaccarii...Temp. Hen.III & Edw.I



which means:



Nevill's Evidence or "Book of Fee Holders" for the Office of the Exchequer ... in the Time of Henry III and Edward I




Liber: The latin word meaning, "the book, treatise, list, registry".

Feodorum: Although this word has been conjugated into medieval latin usage, it is not a latin word, but a frankish one, which made its way into english usage with the norman conquest. "Feodorum" is the plural genitive conjugation of the singular nominative, "feodum" or "feudum", often translated as "fief," or "feoff", and meaning, "the land of a tenant-in-chief or of an under-tenant, all held of the king."
It is from "feudum" that we get "feudal", meaning, "having the nature of a medieval system of tenancy, held from the good grace of an overlord, for services and fees owed to the overlord."
So, "feodorum" means "of the fees of the tenant-in-chiefs and of the under-tenants".
We will take the title of this book, "Liber Feodorum", to mean, "the book containing lists of the fees owed by the tenants of the king."

Curia: From the latin for "district (of taxation)" or "ward". In medieval times, it refers to a designated district under a single appointed church authority, such as an archbishop or cardinal. In this way it came to signify an exclusive religious jurisdiction. However, the word in classical latin referred to the office of the local tax collector.
In this case, its usage is the genitive case and means "Office of", or "Department of".

Scaccarii: Originally, "scascar". Again, not a latin word. This is a singular genitive case, for "scaccarium", meaning "double cut" or "double blade", and from which we get both "scissor", and "checker".
Derived from the saxon words, "sca", meaning "blade", and "scaerp", for "sharp", we also get "scab",   "scalpel", "scabbard", "scar", "scapula" (shoulder blade), "scantling" (cutting), "scare", "scarlet" "scathe", and "scandinavians" (blade people with ships).
It is the name, "scaccarium" that was given to the game of the two armies, chess, played on a chequered board. From this particular usage derives a reference to the reckoning board of an early accounting method, which also used a chequered board. The Scaccarium in England was the chequered floor of the king's financial centre, the taxation and revenue accounting department. It was due to the chequered floor of this office that it took on the name, "Scaccarium", which has since changed in dialect and spelling to become "Exchequer". So, "scaccar" became "checker", which is why a tally keeper is today called a "checker", and why the teacher is said to "check" the scores on an exam.
Interestingly, while the two games which we play today on a checkered board are both named after the scaccarium, one is named with the hard "c" sound, checkers, while the other now uses our soft "c" sound, chess. However, the winning play in chess is still pronounced "check".
It is almost a certainty that the games of the checker's board were originally played and popularized by the accountants who worked with the boards and colored playing pieces for a living, tallying the liege lord's assets with them, and playing games with them in their spare time.
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The "Liber Feodorum" was eventually compiled from Nevill's old records for the use of the king's exchequer between the close of the reign of Edward II, and the beginning of the reign of Edward III. So it was around 1325 A.D. that this work was completed.
It is likely that the Nevill, whose name has been forever attached to this work, was Ralph de Nevill, listed in the "Liber Feodorum" as a landholder in Rutland. Folio 175 reads:

"De testa de Nevill.

Ricus Arbalistar de SAETON in ROTELAND mortuus est & fil' & hes & ejus vocat' Ernisius sz terra illa faisita est in man dni Reg' Et appciata est ad Cs Et p ministrat' debet eam tene Et hoc est veredem de visneto.
Rad de Normanvill & Rad de Nevill collcores redd' cpotu de auxilio concesso dno Regi ad maritand' forore suam Rom' Impatori."

Ralph (Rad) de Nevill was an accountant in the Exchequer and Collector of Aids in the Reign of Henry III.
The entries specifically entitled "Testa de Nevill", are quotations from a Roll bearing that name, from the age of Edward I. The Liber Feodorum is not as informative as was the Domesday Book , the information contained is mainly lists of hundreds of landholders, an example being these few lines from the lists for Berkshire, folio 555:

"Johes de Muniru dim' feodu in PURTESHULL.

Robtus de Estwode dimidiu feodum ibidm.

Henr' de Bibbesford tres ptes ibidm.

Ythenard de Elrug terciam ptem ibidem."


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