Headborough facts for kids

The headborough was a very old job in English law, like a local leader or a community police officer in medieval England. This person was in charge of a small group of people, often called a tithing. A tithing was a bit like a small neighborhood or village, and sometimes, especially in places like Kent or Sussex, it was called a borough. The headborough's main job was to help keep the peace and manage local matters.

What Was a Headborough?

A headborough was the leader of a tithing. Imagine a group of about ten families living close together. The headborough was their main representative and had important duties. The Latin words used for this role were capitalis plegius, which means 'chief pledge', or decennarius, meaning 'tenner' (because of the ten families).

Keeping the Peace: The Frankpledge System

The headborough was a key part of a system called frankpledge, or frith-borh. This system was designed to help communities police themselves. If someone in a tithing broke the law, everyone in that tithing was responsible for making sure the person was brought to justice.

The headborough's job was to oversee this system. They made sure the people in their tithing followed the rules and helped solve local problems. It was a way for communities to manage their own safety and order without a large central police force.

From Headborough to Constable

Over time, the role of the headborough changed. By the early 1500s, this position had evolved into what was known as a parish constable. A parish constable was a local officer who worked within a specific parish, which is like a small administrative area.

The parish constable still had many of the duties of the old headborough, but they were now part of a more organized system. They usually reported to a higher-ranking officer called a hundred-constable.

Two Kinds of Constables

It can be a bit confusing because both the parish constable and the hundred-constable used the word "constable." However, their jobs were quite different:

• The hundred-constable was a more senior officer. Their role was closer to what we might think of as a regional police chief today, often dealing with more serious issues and enforcing civil order over a larger area (a "hundred" was a bigger region than a parish). The word "constable" actually came from this higher-ranking role.
• The parish constable was more focused on daily life in the local community. They handled a wide range of tasks, from keeping the peace to dealing with administrative matters in their parish. They were the local "police" for everyday issues.

So, when you see the term "headborough" used in old texts, especially when it's compared to a "constable," it usually means the local parish officer, while "constable" refers to the more senior hundred-constable.

Headborough in Famous Stories

The term "headborough" even appears in the famous plays of William Shakespeare. For example:

• In The Taming of the Shrew (written around 1590-1592), a character says, "I know my remedie, I must go fetch the Headborough." This shows that the headborough was known as the person to call when there was trouble in the community.
• In Much Ado About Nothing (written around 1598-1599), one of the characters, Verges, is described as a Headborough. He works under Constable Dogberry, who is a rather funny and often confused police officer in the play. This shows the headborough as a subordinate, or assistant, to the constable.