Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen ElizabethReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen Elizabeth
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
Folk land was that land that was left over after allotments had
been made to the freemen and which was not common land. Book
land was called such because this holding was written down in
books. This land was usually land that had been given to the
church or monasteries because the church had personnel who could
write. So many thegns gave land to the church, usually a hide,
that the church had 1/3 of the land.
An example of a grant of hides of land is: "[God has endowed King
Edred with England], wherefore he enriches and honors men, both
ecclesiastic and lay, who can justly deserve it. The truth of
this can be acknowledged by the thegn AElfsige Hunlafing through
his acquisition of the estate of 5 hides at Alwalton for himself
and his heirs, free from every burden except the repair of
fortifications, the building of bridges and military service; a
prudent landowner church dues, burial fees and tithes. [This
land] is to be held for all time and granted along with the
things both great and small belonging to it."
A Bishop gave land to a faithful attendant for his life and two
other lives as follows: "In 904 A.D., I, Bishop Werfrith, with
the permission and leave of my honorable community in Worcester,
grant to Wulfsige, my reeve, for his loyal efficiency and humble
obedience, one hide of land at Aston as Herred held it, that is,
surrounded by a dyke, for three lives and then after three lives
the estate shall be given back without any controversy to
Worcester."
The lands of the large landholding lords were administered by
freemen. They had wheat, barley, oats, and rye fields, orchards,
vineyards, and bee-keeping areas for honey. Hand mills and/or
water mills were used for grinding grain. On this land lived not
only farm laborers, cattle herders, shepherds, goatherds, and
pigherds, but craftsmen such as goldsmiths, hawk-keepers,
dog-keepers, horse- keepers, huntsmen, foresters, builders,
weaponsmiths, embroiderers, bronze smiths, blacksmiths, water
mill wrights, wheelwrights, waggon wrights, iron nail makers,
potters, soap-makers, tailors, shoemakers, salters (made salt at
the "wyches"), bakers, cooks, and gardeners. Most men did
carpentry work. Master carpenters worked with ax, hammer, and
saw to make houses, doors, bridges, milk- buckets, wash-tubs, and
trunks. Blacksmiths made gates, huge door hinges, locks,
latches, bolts, and horseshoes. The lord loaned these people land
on which to live for their life, called a "life estate", in
return for their services. The loan could continue to their
children who took up the craft. Mills were usually powered by
water.
The land of some lords included fishing villages along the
coasts. Other lords had land with iron-mining industries.
Some smiths traveled for their work, for instance, stone-wrights
building arches and windows in churches, and lead-workers
putting lead roofs on churches.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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