Feudal England: Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth CenturiesRound, John Horace
History
Feudal England: Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries
Round, John Horace
Domesday book; Feudalism -- Great Britain; Great Britain -- History -- Norman period, 1066-1154; Normans -- Great Britain
Another class of exceptions is accounted for by the tendency of both
texts, as we have seen, to enter a virgate too much or too little, and
to confuse virgates with their fractions. Thus at 'Litlingetona'
our figures give us a virgate in excess of the assessment, while at
'Bercheham'[80] and again at 'Witlesforde' we have a virgate short
of the amount. At 'Herlestona' we have, similarly, half a virgate too
much, and 'Kingestona' half a virgate (15 acres) too little. Lastly,
at 'Wicheham', the aggregate of the figures is a quarter of a virgate
short of the amount.
A third class of these exceptions is due to the frequent omission
in the I.C.C. of estates belonging to the king. Thus at Wilbraham it
records an assessment of 10 hides represented only by two estates of
four hides apiece. But on turning to Domesday (i. 189 _b_) we read:
'Wilborham dominica villa regis est. Ibi ii. hidæ.' The missing factor
is thus supplied, and the apparent discrepancy disposed of. So, too,
at 'Haslingefelda' (Haslingfield), where the I.C.C. accounts only for
twelve hides and three virgates out of an assessment of twenty hides.
Domesday here, again, supplies the missing factor in a royal Manor of
seven hides and a virgate. We thus obtain, instead of an exception, a
fresh illustration of our rule.
_Haslingfield_
_H._ _V._ _A._
Rex 7 1
Picot 4 3
Count Alan 1 1/2
The same 1/2
Geoffrey de Mandeville 5
Guy de Raimberccurt 1 1 3
Count Alan 12
---- ----- ----
20 0 0
Domesday omits altogether, so far as I can find, the holding of Guy,
an omission which would upset the whole calculation. But, in the
case of Isleham, the apparent exception is due to the I.C.C., not to
Domesday Book. Its assessment, in that document, is given as four
hides. But the aggregate of its Manors, as there recorded, gives us
an assessment of three hides _plus_ eighty acres. Here any one who was
rash enough to argue from a single instance (as Mr Eyton and Mr Pell
were too apt to do) might jump at the conclusion that the hide must
here have been of eighty acres. Yet Domesday enables us to collect
all the constituents of the 'Vill', among them the king's estate, here
again omitted. The real figures, therefore, were these:
_H._ _V._ _A._ _D.B._
The King 6 0 40 i. 189 _b._
Bishop of Rochester 1-1/2 0 20 i. 190 _b._
Hugh de Port 1-1/2 0 20 i. 199 _a._
Earl Alan 40 i. 195 _b._
----- --- ----
10 0 0
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