Anglo-Norman: The term for a variety of Old French spoken in aristocratic circles in England between 1066 and c 1475-1500 and written down in literary works, official documents and religious writings. From the early 13th C it began to give way to Middle English.

BI: Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, York University.

b: Born.

bap: Baptised/christened.

Beds: Bedfordshire.

BC: Birth certificate.

BL: British Library, London.

Branch: A line of descent from one progenitor, not necessarily limited in time or place. = line.

British Latin: See Medieval Latin.

BRO: Bedfordshire Record Office.

bur: Buried.

Byname: A second name before surnames became fixed and hereditary.

c: circa about.

C: Century.

Cadet: A younger son or line.

Cambs: Cambridgeshire.

chr: Christened.

Clan: A kin group one or more generations larger than a family, and whose members are close in time and usually place.

d: Died. Also with a preceding numeral: Penny or pence—12 in one shilling.

dau: Daughter.

DC: Death certificate.

DRO: Durham Record Office.

DUASC: Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections.

Dynasty: A family or clan, whose eldest line was particularly wealthy and influential. Four Brockett dynasties can be mentioned: those of Appleton, Wheathampstead, Headlam and Willingale Spains.

Early Modern English: The term for the indigenous language of England between c 1500-1700.

ERO: Essex Record Office document.

f: plus the following page, ff: plus the following pages.

Family: A three-generation span from grandparents to grandchildren. A 'family unit' indicates a mother, father and children.

FB: Franklin Brockett's Family History, see References.

Group: An overarching kin group whose members can be distant in time, place and social status. It is described by its ultimate-known origin. The Broket groups are four: the Bedfordshire group, the Lanarkshire group, the Northumberland group and the Yorkshire group. The Essex and Hertfordshire Brokets, and many of the wealthier London ones, belonged to the Yorkshire group. See also branch, clan, family, household, line, patriline.

Herts: Hertfordshire.

Household: A nuclear unit of parents and children, and sometimes servants.

HALS: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies.

HRO: Hampshire Record Office.

Hundred: A division of a county. A half hundred was sometimes a smaller division, as with Hitchin in Hertfordshire. See also Wapentake.

IGI: International Genealogical Index.

IPM: Inquisition Post Mortem or inquisition after death. Before 1660, on the death of any holder of land who was thought to have held that land direct from the crown—called a tenant in chief by knight service— an inquiry was held by the Escheator of the county involved. A local jury had to swear to the identity and extent of the land held by the tenant at the time of his death, by what rents or services they were held, and the name and age of the next heir.

JP: Justice of the Peace

Line: A line of descent from one progenitor, not necessarily limited in time or place. = branch.

Mark: Originally equal to 8 ounces of pure silver. After the Conquest 20 sterling pennies equalled an ounce, thus the mark equalled 160 pence, or 13s 4d. Amounts like 6s 8d and 3s 4d are often encountered, equalling half a mark and a quarter.

m or mar: Married. Also m with a preceding numeral: Miles; and with a following numeral: Membrane, sheet of parchment, mm in the plural.

MC: Marriage certificate.

Medieval Latin: The term for the language of religion and administration in England between 1066 and c 1475-1500. Sometimes termed British Latin.

Middle English: The term for the indigenous language of England between 1066 and c 1475-1500, descended from Old English and coexisting alongside Medieval Latin and Anglo-Norman. Spoken throughout the period, Middle English occurred in texts sporadically at first, and then increasingly replaced first Anglo-Norman and then Medieval Latin. The Middle English of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales represents London English c 1400, but by the 1430s a national written standard was emerging (Wakelin 1988 p 85).

Modern English: The term for the language since 1700.

MP: Member of Parliament.

n d: no date.

Old English: The term for the language in England prior to the Norman conquest in 1066. It did not descend from Latin.

Old French: The term for the dialects that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of north Gaul. Also called Langue d'Oïl. Anglo-Norman, Norman and Picard are terms for forms of Old French spoken in England and northern France.

OS: Ordnance Survey.

OPR: Old Parochial Register of the Church of Scotland.

p: Page, pp in the plural.

p a: Per annum—each year.

PCC: The Prerogative Court of Canterbury in London. The highest probate court in the land.

Patriline: Descent through the male line.

pr: Proved, of a will.

PRO: Public Record Office, Kew.

s: Shilling—20 in one pound (£1).

Sheriff: The chief official of a County (Hey 1998 p 415).

St Catherines: St Catherine's House Index. The General Register Office Index data of Births, Marriages and Deaths for England and Wales from 1837, named after St Catherine's House, London, the original home of the General Register Office in the UK. Q1, Q2 etc mean quarter, i.e. Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun etc.

TH: Historical Manuscripts Commission, Tabley House Collection, Cheshire CRO.

Vulgar Latin: The term for the language when spoken Latin was splitting into local dialects that eventually became languages like French, Spanish, Rumanian. After the 5th C the Vulgar Latin spoken in Gaul evolved into numerous dialects. Gaul's northern dialects are usually grouped under the term Old French.

Wapentake: A former division of a Yorkshire Riding; the equivalent of a southern 'hundred'.

Without impeachment of waste: Not being liable if anyone should proceed legally against you for waste committed—like cutting down trees—while you are a tenant for life.

WAM: Westminster Abbey Archives.