“Maud, William the Conqueror's queen, held the town and soke as part of the king's demesne.”
“One contrasts the soke of the manor with the inland and with the berewicks.”
“We must start with this that soke, socna, soca, is the Anglo-Saxon scn and has for its primary meaning a seeking.”
soken
The ancient right (usually conferred by royalty) to hold a local court of justice and levy specific fees and fines. A 'soke' or 'soken' was the area over which this right was established. More specifically, the 'resort' (right) of specific farmers to have their grain ground at a specific mill or, inversely, the right of a mill to that custom. Also, specifically, a right of prosecution and judgement. Older meanings include a place that is regularly frequented. The word 'soken' is used in Stow (1598) in a way that implies regular usage / clear meaning, e.g. with reference to Portsoken Ward, outside the walls of the City of London which originated as a 'liberty' (a practically synonymous term) for a guild of knights.
“Some thegns had soken or jurisdiction over their own lands and others did not.”
socage
(historical) In the Middle Ages (and chiefly, but not necessarily medieval England), a legal system whereby a tenant would pay a rent or do some agricultural work for the landlord.
