What does corrody mean?
Corrody refers to a provision of life's essentials — food, drink, clothing, fuel, and sometimes lodging — granted regularly to an individual, most commonly in medieval England. Such allowances were often bestowed by monasteries or convents on benefactors, retirees, or servants, and were frequently specified in wills and charters with remarkable precision: so many loaves per day, a stated quantity of ale, a gown each year. In effect, a corrody functioned as a form of maintenance or pension in kind rather than in money. The word survives today almost exclusively in historical documents and academic studies of medieval social and economic life, making it unfamiliar to general readers. Its interest lies in what it reveals about pre-modern welfare arrangements, when security in old age was secured through guaranteed sustenance from a religious household rather than through wages or savings.
nounA historical provision of food, clothing, and other necessities granted to a person, typically as part of an agreement with a religious house or under a will; a daily allowance of sustenance.
- A daily or regular allowance of food, drink, clothing, or lodging granted to a person, especially by a monastery or under the terms of a will.
"By the terms of the grant, the abbey owed the retired knight a corrody of bread, ale, and a yearly gown."
"The will left her mother a corrody at the priory: lodging, two loaves daily, and fuel for winter."
"Medieval charters often record the precise corrody owed to each annuitant of a religious house."
The plural appears mainly in historical and scholarly contexts when referring to multiple such allowances.
"The priory's cartulary records numerous corrodies granted in exchange for gifts of land."
Retiring to a monastery in the Middle Ages could come with a lifetime meal plan called a corrody — essentially the original all-inclusive retirement package.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of corrody
Corrody entered English from Anglo-Norman French (corrodie) during the medieval period. It derives from a verb meaning 'to provide with a daily allowance', ultimately connected to the notion of furnishing provisions. It remained in legal and administrative use into early modern times before falling out of common usage.
How corrody is actually used
Corrody is an obsolete or historical term, encountered chiefly in medieval legal documents, monastic records, and scholarly writing on social history. It carries no modern everyday use and should not be confused with the unrelated verb 'corrode'.
Easily confused with corrody
'Corrode' is the verb meaning to eat away by chemical action, while 'corrody' is a noun denoting a medieval allowance of food and necessities.