The Devil's Acolyte

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Donations of food, or money, or clothing to the poor and needy, for example beggars at the Abbey’s gates or the lepers living at the Maudlin.

Almoner

The monk whose duty it was to distribute alms to the poor.

Calefactory

A room in the convent set aside for relaxation. Here, the monks could sit with a mug of ale and let their aches and pains drift away.

Centenar

In the King’s Host, the officer in charge of a hundred men.

Coining

This was the process by which tin was assayed or tested. It was taken to a coinage town (e.g. Tavistock), where it was weighed, a corner was chipped off and checked, and the amount of tax due was called out and paid before the ingot was stamped ready for sale to one of the waiting pewterers. We know that there were five such coinings per annum at Tavistock in 1303.

Commission of Array

The feudal Host was available to the King for his wars. As a matter of duty, all able-bodied males aged between sixteen and sixty were inspected by the Commissioners of Array, and the best taken, in theory.

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