Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Early Middle English and Anglo-Saxon form of
borough .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete See
burg .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The population served included the people living in the burh and those living in its immediate area within about 20 miles or so.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
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Whether burh defence would come under 'troops available for muster' I'm not quite sure.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
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The size of each burh was determined by the population it served, with 1 hide (a hide was the amount of land required to support one family, roughly speaking, although as you would expect (!) there are disagreements about its definition) = 1 man = 4 yards of wall.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
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When danger threatened, the people living outside were supposed to move into the burh for their own protection and to contribute to its defence.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
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AD 907 – Chester refortified by Aethelflaed Lady of the Mercians to create a defensive burh.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
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The king's army service might be closer to modern reservists, though I would expect there was a lot of overlap, and no doubt people who had served in the king's army would also serve in their burh defence, either instead perhaps when they got a bit older? or as well as army service.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
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The difference being that if you were a burh defender you only had to serve in your local area a sort of Home Guard, if you like, while if you were in the king's army you were expected to fight away from your local area if need be.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
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AD 907 – Chester refortified by Aethelflaed Lady of the Mercians to create a defensive burh.
Archive 2009-03-01 Carla 2009
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Mason's tantalising mention of "subsequent refortification" predating the medieval wall is also undated, so although it seems plausible to attach it to the burh of 907, it could be considerably earlier.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
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The burh system required one man per hide to defend the burh when needed, and one man per five hides had to serve with the king's army for part of the year.
Chester in the seventh century: the fortress defences Carla 2009
yarb commented on the word burh
Primeval heathland spattered with the bones of mice and birds; where adders basked and bees made provision, mantling the inner walls of their burh:
Coiled entrenched England: brickwork and paintwork stalwart above hacked marl. The clashing primary colours - 'Ethandune', 'Catraeth', 'Maldon', 'Pengwern'. Steel against yew and privet. Fresh dynasties of smiths.
- Geoffrey Hill, Mercian Hymns, XX
August 30, 2008