Reeve (England)

In Anglo-Saxon England, a reeve (Old English: gerefa) was an administrative official serving the king or a lesser lord in a variety of roles.

After the Norman Conquest, it was an office held by a man of lower rank, appointed as manager of a manor and overseer of the peasants.

[3] Specific offices within this wider category include: After the Norman Conquest, feudalism was introduced, forming a parallel administrative system to the local courts.

Courts fulfilled administrative, as well as judicial, functions, and on the manorial level its decisions could concern mundane field management, not just legal disputes.

A good reeve who carried out his duties efficiently, and was trusted by the lord and the peasants alike, was likely to stay in office more or less permanently.

With the subsequent decline of the feudal system, and the subversion of its courts by the introduction of justices of the peace (magistrates), this use of reeve fell out of practice.