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A '''rape''' is a division of the county of [[Sussex]] and unique to that county.  The origin of the rapes is unknown, but they certainly predate the Norman Conquest.<ref>The origin was still reported as "contested" as late as 1942 (Helen Maud Cam (preface dated 1942), ''Liberties & communities in medieval England: Collected Studies in Local Administration and Topography'', 1944:193).</ref> Each rape is split into several [[hundred]]s.
[[File:Sussex Hundreds.svg|right|thumb|450px|Map of the Rapes and Hundreds of Sussex]]
{{county|Sussex}}
'''The Rapes of Sussex''' are the major divisions of that county, comprising groups of [[hundred]]s. ({{kmloutline}}) [[Sussex]] is unique in using this designation of its divisions.  Neighbouring [[Kent]] has divisions known as [[Lathes of Kent|lathes]], likewise unique to their county.


The rapes of Sussex may derive from the system of fortifications devised by Alfred the Great in the late ninth century to defend against the Vikings,<ref>[http://www.domesdaybook.net/helpfiles/hs1070.htm Domesdaybook.net: Rape]</ref> or King Alfred's system may in turn have its roots in an earlier age, I the division of the Kingdom of Sussex. If so, the Sussex Rapes, like the Kentish Lathes, go back to the dawn of English history when their main function would have been to provide food-rents and military manpower to the king.<ref>[http://www.domesdaybook.net/helpfiles/hs1070.htm Domesdaybook.net: Rape]</ref>
The origin of the rapes is unknown, but they appear to predate the Norman Conquest.<ref>The origin was still reported as "contested" as late as 1942 (Helen Maud Cam (preface dated 1942), ''Liberties & communities in mediæval England:  Collected Studies in Local Administration and Topography'', 1944:193).</ref> Sussex was once a separate Saxon kingdom with its own institutions, but whether the rapes go back that far cannot be known.


==Etymology==
There are various theories about the origin of the rapes of Sussex.  The most ambitious suggestion has them as survivals from the Romano-British era,<ref name=PBSx/> or they might represent the shires of the Kingdom of Sussex.<ref name="EncBrit1910-22"/> The rapes may be later though, deriving from the system of fortifications devised by Alfred the Great in the late ninth century to defeat the Vikings.<ref>[http://www.domesdaybook.net/helpfiles/hs1070.htm Domesdaybook.net:  Rape]</ref> The latest date suggested has them as creations of William the Conqueror, which is certainly possible.
The origin of the name is uncertain.  F E Sawyer's derivation from the Saxon ''rap'', a rope, suggesting that ropes were used to mark out territory,<ref>F.E. Sawyer "The rapes and their origin", ''Archaeological Review'' '''1''' (1888), p. 54-59.</ref> though J H Round sagely asked "do those who advance such views realize the size of the districts they have to deal with?"<ref>Round, letter in ''Archaeological Review'' '''1''' (1888), p. 229.</ref> A rope may bound also the precincts of a court for the rape, but any such explanation can be mere speculation.


==Norman castleries==
The Sussex rapes each had a headquarters in the developed south where the lord's hall, court, demesne lands, principal church and peasant holdings were located,<ref name=PBSx/> whereas to the north there were smaller dependent settlements in the marsh, woodland and heath.<ref name=PBSx/> Each rape is split into several hundreds.
[[File:Sussex_administrative_map_1832.png|right|thumb|400px|Map of Sussex (1851) showing the six Rapes]]
 
At the time of the Norman Conquest there were four rapes: [[Arundel]], [[Lewes]], [[Pevensey]] and [[Hastings]].  The rape of Arundel consisted of the entire area of Sussex west of the River Adur, corresponding to the boundaries of both the western division of the church in Sussex (the origin of the Archdeaconry of Chichester)<ref name="SussPeople">{{Cite book|last=Hare|first=Chris|title=A History of the Sussex People|publisher=Southern Heritage Books|location=Worthing|year=1995|isbn=978-0952709701}}</ref><ref name="VCHSxChi">{{Cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41682|title=Victoria County History - The rape of Chichester|publisher=British History Online|accessdate=31 July 2010}}</ref> and the boundaries of the traditional western area of the Sussex dialect.<ref name="SussPeople"/>  By the time of the [[Domesday Book]], William the Conqueror had created the Rape of Bramber out of parts of the Arundel and Lewes rapes, so that the Adur estuary could be better defended.<ref name="VCHSxChi"/><ref name="PBSx">{{Cite book|last=Brandon|first=Peter|title=Sussex|publisher=Phillimore|year=2006|isbn=9780709069980}}</ref><ref name="VCHSxLewes">{{Cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56907|title=Victoria County History - The rape and honour of Lewes|publisher=British History Online|accessdate=31 July 2010}}</ref>   
==Name==
One suggested origin of the word, suggested by Edward Lye in the 18th century, is suggested by the Icelandic territorial division known in Old Norse as ''hreppr'', meaning 'district or tract of land'.  An actual origin in the Norse word is rejected in the ''New English Dictionary'', and according to the English Place-Name Society 'phonologically impossible'.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc>{{Cite book|last=Mawer|first=Allen, F.  M.  Stenton with J.  E.  B.  Gover|title=Sussex - Part I and Part II|publisher=English Place-Name Society|origyear=1929|year=1930}}</ref>
 
The suggestion made by William Somner in the 17th century<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/> has the derivation of the word from the Old English ''rap'' meaning 'rope'.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/> The suggestion that ropes were used to mark out territory,<ref>F.E.  Sawyer "The rapes and their origin", ''Archaeological Review'' '''1''' (1888), p.  54-59.</ref> was well countered by J H Round, asking "do those who advance such views realize the size of the districts they have to deal with?"<ref>Round, letter in ''Archaeological Review'' '''1''' (1888), p.  229.</ref> However, Heinrich Brunner explained the application of 'rope' to an administrative district by the old German custom of defining the limits of the 'peace' of popular open-air courts by stakes and ropes,<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/> the ropes then giving a name first to the court and then afterwards to the area of its jurisdiction, and produced a case where ''reep'', the Dutch cognate of ''rap'', is applied to such a judicial area.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/> A rope may bound also the precincts of a court for the rape, but any such explanation can be mere speculation.
 
If these territories are not of Anglo-Saxon origin but were introduced by the Normans, then it has been suggested that the term may come from the old French ''raper'', meaning to seize or take by force,<ref name=castles>{{cite web|url=http://www.sussexcastles.com/sussex-timeline/1067-origin-of-the-sussex.html|title=Origin of the Sussex 'Rapes'|publisher=Sussex Castles|accessdate=2015}}</ref> which gives us also the other meaning of the word in English.
 
==History==
===Origins===
The origin of the Rapes is not known.<ref name=hull>{{cite web|url=https://hydra.hull.ac.uk/assets/hull:522/content|title=Sussex|publisher=University of Hull|first1=Caroline|last1=Thorn|first2=Frank|last2=Thorn|type=RTF|date=June 2007|accessdate=30 August 2015}}</ref> It is possible that the rapes represent the shires of the ancient kingdom of Sussex, especially as in the 12th century they had sheriffs of their own.<ref name="EncBrit1910-22">{{cite web|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/encyclopaediabri22chisrich#page/900/mode/2up|title=The Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition, 1911, Online Version|accessdate=13 March 2012}}</ref> According to John Morris, the boundary between the Rapes of Lewes and Pevensey, since it cuts through the middle of Lewes, probably pre-dates the founding of Lewes in the late 9th or early 10th century.  If one boundary had existed so early then it is quite possible that other boundaries also existed.<ref name=hull/> Sussex's rapes may have been a similar division to the six or seven Lathes of neighbouring [[Kent]], which were undoubtedly early administrative units.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/>
 
Another possibility is that the rapes may derive from the system of fortifications, or ''burhs'' (boroughs) devised by Alfred the Great in the late ninth century to defeat the Vikings.  The Rapes, or similar predecessors may have been created for the purpose of maintaining these early boroughs, or they may have re-used earlier divisions for this purpose.<ref name=hull/> In Sussex, the fortifications in the Burghal Hidage were recorded as being at ''Eorpeburnan'' on the Sussex-Kent border, Hastings, Lewes, [[Burpham]] and Chichester.  The 'Burghal Hidage' lists boroughs in geographical order.<ref name=hull/> Burpham was the predecessor of Arundel and ''Eorpeburnan'' or ''Heorpeburnan'' should be the predecessor of Rye.<ref name=hull/> Pevensey and Steyning were not included.  It looks as if the lands of Steyning served Lewes and those of Pevensey served Hastings, while the eastern portion of the later Hastings rape was attached to the Rye area.<ref name=hull/> It is possible that these divisions might be rapes as four of them (taking Burpham as equivalent to neighbouring Arundel) had the same centres as later rapes.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/> If this is the case then the rapes must have been completely reorganised in the next century and a half.  Since the system of fortifications introduced by Alfred the Great extended into [[Surrey]] and [[Wessex]] as well, but neither of these regions have rapes or any similar divisions.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/>
 
It is also possible that the '[[Rape of Arundel]]' that is twice mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] was the later rape of Arundel and not the whole 'rape of Earl Roger (of Montgomery)', which included the later rape of Chichester.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/> The existence of the rapes before the Norman Conquest provides the most natural explanation of the fact that the two later rapes of Chichester and Arundel are represented in the Domesday Book of the single 'rape of Earl Roger', William the Conqueror's most important grantee in Sussex.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/> William might of course have created five rapes only, one of which, out of all proportion to the others in size, was afterwards divided, but for this there is no evidence.<ref name=EPNS-AMetc/>
 
===Norman castleries===
Although the origin and original purpose of the Rapes is not known, their function after 1066 is clear.  With its own lord and sheriff, each Rape was an administrative and fiscal unit.<ref name=hull/> The organisation of the whole of Sussex apart from royal and church lands into territorial blocks each with a fortress near the sea was exceptional.<ref name=hull/> Situated between Normandy and London, control over Sussex was strategically important to William the Conqueror, who needed to protect his major communication routes.
 
At the time of the Norman Conquest, four rapes are recorded: [[Arundel]], [[Lewes]], [[Pevensey]] and [[Hastings]].  The Rape of Arundel consisted of the entire area of Sussex west of the River Adur, corresponding to the boundaries of both the western division of the church in Sussex (the origin of the Archdeaconry of Chichester)<ref name="SussPeople">{{Cite book|last=Hare|first=Chris|title=A History of the Sussex People|publisher=Southern Heritage Books|location=Worthing|year=1995|isbn=978-0952709701}}</ref><ref name="VCHSxChi">{{brithist|41682|The rape of Chichester}} ({{VCH}})</ref> and the boundaries of the traditional western area of the Sussex dialect.<ref name="SussPeople"/>  By the time of the [[Domesday Book]], William the Conqueror had created the Rape of Bramber out of parts of the Arundel and Lewes rapes, so that the Adur estuary could be better defended.<ref name="VCHSxChi"/><ref name="PBSx">{{Cite book|last=Brandon|first=Peter|title=Sussex|publisher=Phillimore|year=2006|isbn=9780709069980}}</ref><ref name="VCHSxLewes">{{brithist|56907|The rape and honour of Lewes}} ({{VCH}})</ref>   


In the Domesday survey, five great Norman lords held the rapes into which Sussex was divided, four of them giving their names to four of the five divisions as they were called in Domesday Book; at the accession of Henry I of England in 1100<ref>Henry's dealings with the lords of the rapes is discussed in Judith A. Green, ''The Government of England Under Henry I'' 1989:115.</ref>they were Robert of Bellême in Arundel rape,<ref>Confiscated by Henry in 1102 and held by the Crown through his reign (Green 1989)</ref> Robert's nephew William, Count of Mortain in Pevensey,<ref>Pevensey was confiscated by Henry in 1102 and regranted to Gilbert de l'Aigle (Green 1989).</ref>  William of Warenne in Lewes,<ref>William transferred his allegiance to Henry and remained a stalwart supporter (Green 1989) as Earl of Surrey.</ref> the count of Eu in Hastings and, the only fully trustworthy Sussex lord at the time, Philip de Braose.
In the Domesday survey, five great Norman lords held the rapes into which Sussex was divided, four of them giving their names to four of the five divisions as they were called in Domesday Book; at the accession of Henry I of England in 1100<ref>Henry's dealings with the lords of the rapes is discussed in Judith A. Green, ''The Government of England Under Henry I'' 1989:115.</ref>they were Robert of Bellême in Arundel rape,<ref>Confiscated by Henry in 1102 and held by the Crown through his reign (Green 1989)</ref> Robert's nephew William, Count of Mortain in Pevensey,<ref>Pevensey was confiscated by Henry in 1102 and regranted to Gilbert de l'Aigle (Green 1989).</ref>  William of Warenne in Lewes,<ref>William transferred his allegiance to Henry and remained a stalwart supporter (Green 1989) as Earl of Surrey.</ref> the count of Eu in Hastings and, the only fully trustworthy Sussex lord at the time, Philip de Braose.


Under the Normans each traditional rape was now centred on a castle: Sir Henry Ellis's observation that the rapes "were military districts for the supply of the castles which existed in each" applied to the Anglo-Norman period<ref>Ellis,quoted in Norman John Greville Pounds, ''The medieval castle in England and Wales: a social and political history'' 1993:17.</ref>  Each rape had a single sheriff and ran as a strip, north-south, from the border with [[Surrey]] or [[Kent]] to the [[English Channel]]. The castles of Arundel, Bramber and Lewes were sited on positions overlooking the rivers [[River Arun|Arun]], [[River Adur|Adur]] and [[River Ouse, Sussex|Ouse]] respectively, while those at Chichester, Hastings and Pevensey overlooked the coast.
Under the Normans each rape was now centred on a castle: Sir Henry Ellis's observation that the rapes "were military districts for the supply of the castles which existed in each" applied to the Anglo-Norman period<ref>Ellis,quoted in Norman John Greville Pounds, ''The medieval castle in England and Wales: a social and political history'' 1993:17.</ref>  Each rape had a single sheriff and ran as a strip, north-south, from the border with [[Surrey]] or [[Kent]] to the [[English Channel]]. The castles of Arundel, Bramber and Lewes were sited on positions overlooking the rivers [[River Arun|Arun]], [[River Adur|Adur]] and [[River Ouse, Sussex|Ouse]] respectively, while those at Chichester, Hastings and Pevensey overlooked the coast.


Between 1250 and 1262, the rape of Chichester was created from the western half of Arundel rape.<ref name="VCHSxChi"/>  From this time onwards, Sussex was divided into&mdash;from west to east&mdash;Chichester, Arundel, Bramber, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings rapes.
Between 1250 and 1262, the rape of Chichester was created from the western half of Arundel rape.<ref name="VCHSxChi"/>  From this time onwards, Sussex was divided into&mdash;from west to east&mdash;Chichester, Arundel, Bramber, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings rapes.


===Modern period===
The rapal courts continued to meet and stewards for the Rapes were recorded into the 18th century.  In the 17th century an annual muster took place at the same place in each Rape, such as at [[Ditchling Common]] for the Lewes Rape and [[Berwick, Sussex|Berwick Common]] for the Rape of Pevensey.  The muster could take place more frequently at times of perceived danger.  Each Rape also had a horse company which would meet at [[Bury Hill, Arundel|Bury Hill]] for the Rapes of Arundel, Bramber and Chichester, and at [[Piltdown]] for the Rapes of Hastings, Lewes and Pevensey.<ref>{{harvnb|Grehan|Mace|2012|p=176}}</ref>
By 1894 most administrative functions of the Rapes had ended.  The Rapes of Arundel, Bramber and Chichester each responsible for the repair of bridges and the Rape of Hastings had a separate coroner, which lasted until 1960.<ref>{{harvnb|Somerville|1894|p=762}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/2bb0fbae-5767-4dcf-96e3-fe2c16b1cfc6|title=Coronership of the Rye District of East Sussex and predecessor jurisdictions|publisher=The National Archives|accessdate=29 September 2015}}</ref>
==The Sussex rapes==
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! | Name  
! Name  
! colspan="1" | Castle
! colspan="1" | Castle
! colspan="1" | Hundreds
! width="40%" | Hundreds
! colspan="1" | Towns and cities
! colspan="1" | Towns and cities
! colspan="1" | Population
|-
|-
| Rape of Chichester
| [[Rape of Chichester]]
| align="left" | Chichester Castle
| align="left" | [[Chichester Castle]]
| align="left" | Aldwick, Bosham, Box and Stockbridge, Dumpford, Easebourne, Manhood, Westbourne and Singleton
| align="left" | Aldwick, Bosham, Box and Stockbridge, Dumpford, Easebourne, Manhood, Westbourne and Singleton
| align="left" | [[Bognor Regis]], [[Chichester]], [[Midhurst]], [[Selsey]]
| align="left" | [[Bognor Regis]], [[Chichester]], [[Midhurst]], [[Selsey]]
| align="right" | 153,477
|-
|-
| Rape of Arundel
| [[Rape of Arundel]]
| align="left" | Arundel Castle
| align="left" | [[Arundel Castle]]
| align="left" | Avisford, Bury, Poling, Rotherbridge, West Easwrith
| align="left" | Avisford, Bury, Poling, Rotherbridge, West Easwrith
| align="left" | [[Arundel]], [[Littlehampton]]
| align="left" | [[Arundel]], [[Littlehampton]]
| align="right" | 153,717
|-
|-
| Rape of Bramber
| [[Rape of Bramber]]
| align="left" | Bramber Castle
| align="left" | [[Bramber Castle]]
| align="left" | Brightford, Burbeach, East Easwrith, Fishersgate, Patching, Singlecross, Steyning, Tarring, Tipnoak, West Grinstead, Windham and Ewhurst
| align="left" | Brightford, Burbeach, East Easwrith, Fishersgate (Western half-hundred), Patching, Singlecross, Steyning, Tarring, Tipnoak, West Grinstead, Windham and Ewhurst
| align="left" | [[Crawley]], [[Horsham]], [[Shoreham-by-Sea]], [[Worthing]]
| align="left" | [[Crawley]], [[Horsham]], [[Shoreham-by-Sea]], [[Worthing]]
| align="right" | 357,326
|-
|-
| Rape of Lewes
| [[Rape of Lewes]]
| align="left" | Lewes Castle
| align="left" | [[Lewes Castle]]
| align="left" | Barcombe, Buttinghill, Dean, Fishersgate, Holmstrow, Poynings, Preston, Street, Swanborough, Whalebone, Younsmere
| align="left" | Barcombe, Buttinghill, Dean, Fishersgate (Eastern half-hundred), Holmstrow, Poynings, Preston, Street, Swanborough, Whalebone, Younsmere
| align="left" | [[Brighton]], [[Hove]], [[Haywards Heath]], [[Lewes]]
| align="left" | [[Brighton]], [[Hove]], [[Haywards Heath]], [[Lewes]]
| align="right" | 429,744
|-
|-
| Rape of Pevensey
| [[Rape of Pevensey]]
| align="left" | Pevensey Castle
| align="left" | [[Pevensey Castle]]
| align="left" | Alciston, Bishopstone, Burleigh Arches, Danehill Horsted, Dill, East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Flexborough, Hartfield, Longbridge, Loxfield Dorset, Loxfield Pelham, Pevensey Lowey, Ringmer, Rotherfield, Rushmonden, Shiplake, Totnore, Willingdon
| align="left" | Alciston, Bishopstone, Burleigh Arches, Danehill Horsted, Dill, East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Flexborough, Hartfield, Longbridge, Loxfield Dorset, Loxfield Pelham, Pevensey Lowey, Ringmer, Rotherfield, Rushmonden, Shiplake, Totnore, Willingdon
| align="left" | [[East Grinstead]], [[Eastbourne]], [[Uckfield]]
| align="left" | [[East Grinstead]], [[Eastbourne]], [[Uckfield]]
| align="right" | 328,056
|-
|-
| Rape of Hastings
| [[Rape of Hastings]]
| align="left" | Hastings Castle
| align="left" | [[Hastings Castle]]
| align="left" | Baldstrow, Battle, Bexhill
| align="left" | Baldstrow, Battle, Bexhill, Foxearle, Goldspur, Gostrow, Guestling, Hawkesborough, Henhurst, Netherfield, Ninfield, Shoyswell, Staple
| align="left" | [[Battle]], [[Hastings]], [[Rye, Sussex|Rye]]
| align="left" | [[Battle]], [[Hastings]], [[Rye, Sussex|Rye]]
| align="right" | 190,648
|}
|}
===Rapal castles===
<gallery class="center" widths="165px" heights="120px">
File:Arundel Castle - motte and quadrangle, England (18 April 2006).jpg|[[Arundel Castle]]
File:Bramber castle.jpg|[[Bramber Castle]]
File:Chichester Castle remains.jpg|[[Chichester Castle]]
File:Hastingscastle.jpg|[[Hastings Castle]]
File:Lewes Castle keep.JPG|[[Lewes Castle]]
File:Pevensey castle-09.jpg|[[Pevensey Castle]]
</gallery>
==Hundreds==
Each Rape is subdivided into several hundreds and half-hundreds.  The half-hundreds arose when the Rape of Bramber was created in the late 11th century where the new Rapal boundary divided a pre-existing hundred in two.  This happened at [[East Easwrith|East]] and [[West Easwrith]], which was divided between the Rapes of Arundel and Bramber, and [[Fishergate]], which was divided between the Rapes of Bramber and Lewes.  By the 19th century the Rapes were each subdivided for administrative purposes into two divisions.  Each Rape had an upper division covering the northern, Wealden half of each Rape, and a lower division covering the southern, coastal half of each Rape.
[[File:Flag of Sussex.svg|right|thumb|200px|The Flag of Sussex]]
==Symbolism==
The six martlets on the Sussex [[Flag of Sussex|flag]] and emblem are said to represent the six Rapes, a design which goes back to at least the 17th century.


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Lathes of Kent]]
*[[Lathes of Kent]]
*[[Hundred]]
*[[Hundred]]
*[[Riding]]
*[[Ridings of Yorkshire]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}


{{Catself}}
[[Category:Sussex]]
[[Category:Sussex]]

Latest revision as of 11:24, 7 June 2023

Map of the Rapes and Hundreds of Sussex

The Rapes of Sussex are the major divisions of that county, comprising groups of hundreds. (map) Sussex is unique in using this designation of its divisions. Neighbouring Kent has divisions known as lathes, likewise unique to their county.

The origin of the rapes is unknown, but they appear to predate the Norman Conquest.[1] Sussex was once a separate Saxon kingdom with its own institutions, but whether the rapes go back that far cannot be known.

There are various theories about the origin of the rapes of Sussex. The most ambitious suggestion has them as survivals from the Romano-British era,[2] or they might represent the shires of the Kingdom of Sussex.[3] The rapes may be later though, deriving from the system of fortifications devised by Alfred the Great in the late ninth century to defeat the Vikings.[4] The latest date suggested has them as creations of William the Conqueror, which is certainly possible.

The Sussex rapes each had a headquarters in the developed south where the lord's hall, court, demesne lands, principal church and peasant holdings were located,[2] whereas to the north there were smaller dependent settlements in the marsh, woodland and heath.[2] Each rape is split into several hundreds.

Name

One suggested origin of the word, suggested by Edward Lye in the 18th century, is suggested by the Icelandic territorial division known in Old Norse as hreppr, meaning 'district or tract of land'. An actual origin in the Norse word is rejected in the New English Dictionary, and according to the English Place-Name Society 'phonologically impossible'.[5]

The suggestion made by William Somner in the 17th century[5] has the derivation of the word from the Old English rap meaning 'rope'.[5] The suggestion that ropes were used to mark out territory,[6] was well countered by J H Round, asking "do those who advance such views realize the size of the districts they have to deal with?"[7] However, Heinrich Brunner explained the application of 'rope' to an administrative district by the old German custom of defining the limits of the 'peace' of popular open-air courts by stakes and ropes,[5] the ropes then giving a name first to the court and then afterwards to the area of its jurisdiction, and produced a case where reep, the Dutch cognate of rap, is applied to such a judicial area.[5] A rope may bound also the precincts of a court for the rape, but any such explanation can be mere speculation.

If these territories are not of Anglo-Saxon origin but were introduced by the Normans, then it has been suggested that the term may come from the old French raper, meaning to seize or take by force,[8] which gives us also the other meaning of the word in English.

History

Origins

The origin of the Rapes is not known.[9] It is possible that the rapes represent the shires of the ancient kingdom of Sussex, especially as in the 12th century they had sheriffs of their own.[3] According to John Morris, the boundary between the Rapes of Lewes and Pevensey, since it cuts through the middle of Lewes, probably pre-dates the founding of Lewes in the late 9th or early 10th century. If one boundary had existed so early then it is quite possible that other boundaries also existed.[9] Sussex's rapes may have been a similar division to the six or seven Lathes of neighbouring Kent, which were undoubtedly early administrative units.[5]

Another possibility is that the rapes may derive from the system of fortifications, or burhs (boroughs) devised by Alfred the Great in the late ninth century to defeat the Vikings. The Rapes, or similar predecessors may have been created for the purpose of maintaining these early boroughs, or they may have re-used earlier divisions for this purpose.[9] In Sussex, the fortifications in the Burghal Hidage were recorded as being at Eorpeburnan on the Sussex-Kent border, Hastings, Lewes, Burpham and Chichester. The 'Burghal Hidage' lists boroughs in geographical order.[9] Burpham was the predecessor of Arundel and Eorpeburnan or Heorpeburnan should be the predecessor of Rye.[9] Pevensey and Steyning were not included. It looks as if the lands of Steyning served Lewes and those of Pevensey served Hastings, while the eastern portion of the later Hastings rape was attached to the Rye area.[9] It is possible that these divisions might be rapes as four of them (taking Burpham as equivalent to neighbouring Arundel) had the same centres as later rapes.[5] If this is the case then the rapes must have been completely reorganised in the next century and a half. Since the system of fortifications introduced by Alfred the Great extended into Surrey and Wessex as well, but neither of these regions have rapes or any similar divisions.[5]

It is also possible that the 'Rape of Arundel' that is twice mentioned in the Domesday Book was the later rape of Arundel and not the whole 'rape of Earl Roger (of Montgomery)', which included the later rape of Chichester.[5] The existence of the rapes before the Norman Conquest provides the most natural explanation of the fact that the two later rapes of Chichester and Arundel are represented in the Domesday Book of the single 'rape of Earl Roger', William the Conqueror's most important grantee in Sussex.[5] William might of course have created five rapes only, one of which, out of all proportion to the others in size, was afterwards divided, but for this there is no evidence.[5]

Norman castleries

Although the origin and original purpose of the Rapes is not known, their function after 1066 is clear. With its own lord and sheriff, each Rape was an administrative and fiscal unit.[9] The organisation of the whole of Sussex apart from royal and church lands into territorial blocks each with a fortress near the sea was exceptional.[9] Situated between Normandy and London, control over Sussex was strategically important to William the Conqueror, who needed to protect his major communication routes.

At the time of the Norman Conquest, four rapes are recorded: Arundel, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings. The Rape of Arundel consisted of the entire area of Sussex west of the River Adur, corresponding to the boundaries of both the western division of the church in Sussex (the origin of the Archdeaconry of Chichester)[10][11] and the boundaries of the traditional western area of the Sussex dialect.[10] By the time of the Domesday Book, William the Conqueror had created the Rape of Bramber out of parts of the Arundel and Lewes rapes, so that the Adur estuary could be better defended.[11][2][12]

In the Domesday survey, five great Norman lords held the rapes into which Sussex was divided, four of them giving their names to four of the five divisions as they were called in Domesday Book; at the accession of Henry I of England in 1100[13]they were Robert of Bellême in Arundel rape,[14] Robert's nephew William, Count of Mortain in Pevensey,[15] William of Warenne in Lewes,[16] the count of Eu in Hastings and, the only fully trustworthy Sussex lord at the time, Philip de Braose.

Under the Normans each rape was now centred on a castle: Sir Henry Ellis's observation that the rapes "were military districts for the supply of the castles which existed in each" applied to the Anglo-Norman period[17] Each rape had a single sheriff and ran as a strip, north-south, from the border with Surrey or Kent to the English Channel. The castles of Arundel, Bramber and Lewes were sited on positions overlooking the rivers Arun, Adur and Ouse respectively, while those at Chichester, Hastings and Pevensey overlooked the coast.

Between 1250 and 1262, the rape of Chichester was created from the western half of Arundel rape.[11] From this time onwards, Sussex was divided into—from west to east—Chichester, Arundel, Bramber, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings rapes.

Modern period

The rapal courts continued to meet and stewards for the Rapes were recorded into the 18th century. In the 17th century an annual muster took place at the same place in each Rape, such as at Ditchling Common for the Lewes Rape and Berwick Common for the Rape of Pevensey. The muster could take place more frequently at times of perceived danger. Each Rape also had a horse company which would meet at Bury Hill for the Rapes of Arundel, Bramber and Chichester, and at Piltdown for the Rapes of Hastings, Lewes and Pevensey.[18]

By 1894 most administrative functions of the Rapes had ended. The Rapes of Arundel, Bramber and Chichester each responsible for the repair of bridges and the Rape of Hastings had a separate coroner, which lasted until 1960.[19][20]

The Sussex rapes

Name Castle Hundreds Towns and cities Population
Rape of Chichester Chichester Castle Aldwick, Bosham, Box and Stockbridge, Dumpford, Easebourne, Manhood, Westbourne and Singleton Bognor Regis, Chichester, Midhurst, Selsey 153,477
Rape of Arundel Arundel Castle Avisford, Bury, Poling, Rotherbridge, West Easwrith Arundel, Littlehampton 153,717
Rape of Bramber Bramber Castle Brightford, Burbeach, East Easwrith, Fishersgate (Western half-hundred), Patching, Singlecross, Steyning, Tarring, Tipnoak, West Grinstead, Windham and Ewhurst Crawley, Horsham, Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing 357,326
Rape of Lewes Lewes Castle Barcombe, Buttinghill, Dean, Fishersgate (Eastern half-hundred), Holmstrow, Poynings, Preston, Street, Swanborough, Whalebone, Younsmere Brighton, Hove, Haywards Heath, Lewes 429,744
Rape of Pevensey Pevensey Castle Alciston, Bishopstone, Burleigh Arches, Danehill Horsted, Dill, East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Flexborough, Hartfield, Longbridge, Loxfield Dorset, Loxfield Pelham, Pevensey Lowey, Ringmer, Rotherfield, Rushmonden, Shiplake, Totnore, Willingdon East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Uckfield 328,056
Rape of Hastings Hastings Castle Baldstrow, Battle, Bexhill, Foxearle, Goldspur, Gostrow, Guestling, Hawkesborough, Henhurst, Netherfield, Ninfield, Shoyswell, Staple Battle, Hastings, Rye 190,648

Rapal castles

Hundreds

Each Rape is subdivided into several hundreds and half-hundreds. The half-hundreds arose when the Rape of Bramber was created in the late 11th century where the new Rapal boundary divided a pre-existing hundred in two. This happened at East and West Easwrith, which was divided between the Rapes of Arundel and Bramber, and Fishergate, which was divided between the Rapes of Bramber and Lewes. By the 19th century the Rapes were each subdivided for administrative purposes into two divisions. Each Rape had an upper division covering the northern, Wealden half of each Rape, and a lower division covering the southern, coastal half of each Rape.

The Flag of Sussex

Symbolism

The six martlets on the Sussex flag and emblem are said to represent the six Rapes, a design which goes back to at least the 17th century.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The origin was still reported as "contested" as late as 1942 (Helen Maud Cam (preface dated 1942), Liberties & communities in mediæval England: Collected Studies in Local Administration and Topography, 1944:193).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Brandon, Peter (2006). Sussex. Phillimore. ISBN 9780709069980. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition, 1911, Online Version". http://www.archive.org/stream/encyclopaediabri22chisrich#page/900/mode/2up. Retrieved 13 March 2012. 
  4. ↑ Domesdaybook.net: Rape
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Mawer, Allen, F. M. Stenton with J. E. B. Gover (1930) [1929]. Sussex - Part I and Part II. English Place-Name Society. 
  6. ↑ F.E. Sawyer "The rapes and their origin", Archaeological Review 1 (1888), p. 54-59.
  7. ↑ Round, letter in Archaeological Review 1 (1888), p. 229.
  8. ↑ "Origin of the Sussex 'Rapes'". Sussex Castles. http://www.sussexcastles.com/sussex-timeline/1067-origin-of-the-sussex.html. Retrieved 2015. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Thorn, Caroline; Thorn, Frank (June 2007). "Sussex". University of Hull. https://hydra.hull.ac.uk/assets/hull:522/content. Retrieved 30 August 2015. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Hare, Chris (1995). A History of the Sussex People. Worthing: Southern Heritage Books. ISBN 978-0952709701. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 The rape of Chichester (A History of the County of Sussex - Volume : {{{2}}} (Victoria County History))
  12. ↑ The rape and honour of Lewes (A History of the County of Sussex - Volume : {{{2}}} (Victoria County History))
  13. ↑ Henry's dealings with the lords of the rapes is discussed in Judith A. Green, The Government of England Under Henry I 1989:115.
  14. ↑ Confiscated by Henry in 1102 and held by the Crown through his reign (Green 1989)
  15. ↑ Pevensey was confiscated by Henry in 1102 and regranted to Gilbert de l'Aigle (Green 1989).
  16. ↑ William transferred his allegiance to Henry and remained a stalwart supporter (Green 1989) as Earl of Surrey.
  17. ↑ Ellis,quoted in Norman John Greville Pounds, The medieval castle in England and Wales: a social and political history 1993:17.
  18. ↑ Grehan & Mace 2012, p. 176
  19. ↑ Somerville 1894, p. 762
  20. ↑ "Coronership of the Rye District of East Sussex and predecessor jurisdictions". The National Archives. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/2bb0fbae-5767-4dcf-96e3-fe2c16b1cfc6. Retrieved 29 September 2015. 
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