Genealogy Chat

I googled it but it sweetly asked me if I meant to type in Sealion? I keep coming across it in mediaval documents. I only know rods poles and perches. Olde Crone

Don't you just hate google sometimes? :~) Here's what I found: Sel'ion (?), n. [OF. seillon a measure of land, F. sillon a ridge, furrow, LL. selio a measure of land.] A short piece of land in arable ridges and furrows, of uncertain quantity; also, a ridge of land lying between two furrows. PS Google in North America wants to know if I meant 'Celine'. :~)

I found the same think on Google as Lisa. Kath. x

This what I got. I would understand it as being no set size Selion is a mediaeval open strip of land or small field used for growing crops, usually owned or rented to peasants. There could often be several selions to the acre. Monasteries or similar institutions were often bequeathed selions and then derived an income from them by letting. Regards Brian

Thankyou everyone, that is most interesting. From that, I take it that the mention of 'seven sellions' could be seven separate strips of land, either in the same field, or miles apart! Olde Crone

From my days studdying medieval history a lot of manors practised crop rotation, Oats, Wheat, Barley, fallow, clover then Wheat again when clover's over- the clover put nitrogen back in the soil - so serfs were usually given strips in different fields so that they would have a fair share of the different crops.

At once I knew I would have to get up from my chair and proceed to the library department, a couple of feet behind me.............. Here I would see the copy of Collins Universal Dictionary, 1956, which was the only book that could tell me what a ''Cyprian woman'' might be (a prostitute) when I needed to know, in connection with the tree of my hubby (I don't have those on mine lol) 'Selion (sel'-yun) n. a ridge between two furrows, about the breadth of a single furrow [Fr. sillion, a furrow].'' Now I will have to consult my ggg-uncle, Robert Maynard, inventor of agricultural machinery, who will be able to give precise measurements of the breadth of a furrow....... He says it's about as wide as the ridge in between...... Happy Hunting! Merry

If you put: define: selion into Google you get... Definitions of selion on the Web: * Selion is a mediaeval open strip of land or small field used for growing crops, usually owned or rented to peasants. There could often be several selions to the acre. Monasteries or similar institutions were often bequeathed selions and then derived an income from them by letting. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selion I just remembered that you can put define: word-you-don't-know into Google and it finds definitions for you on the Web. Christine

Christine Thankyou very much for the Search tip - that'll be where I was going wrong! Merry This is the first time my trusty old dictionary has failed me (although it does list 'carucate' which was another land measure bothering me). All this has jogged my memory - a history lesson about how the land-strip farming system was ended and the Enclosures Act (to the detriment of the Peasantry). But I don't remember selions ever being mentioned! Thanks everyone. Olde Crone