Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen Elizabeth — John Shaqi
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
The survey revealed, for instance, that one estate had "on the
home farm five plough teams: there are also 25 villeins and 6
cotters with 14 teams among them. There is a mill worth 2s. a
year and one fishery, a church and four acres of meadow, wood
for 150 pigs and two stone quarries, each worth 2s. a year, and
two nests of hawks in the wood and 10 slaves." This estate was
deemed to be worth 480s. a year.
Laxton "had 2 carucates of land [assessed] to the geld. [There
is] land for 6 ploughs. There Walter, a man of [the lord]
Geoffrey Alselin's has 1 plough and 22 villeins and 7 bordars [a
bordar had a cottage and a small amount land in return for
supplying small provisions to his lord] having 5 ploughs and 5
serfs and 1 female serf and 40 acres of meadow. Wood [land] for
pannage [foraging by pigs] 1 league in length and half a league
in breadth. In King Edward's time it was worth 9 pounds; now [it
is worth] 6 pounds."
Ilbert de Laci has now this land, where he has twelve ploughs in
the demesne; and forty-eight villani, and twelve bordars with
fifteen ploughs, and three churches and three priests, and three
mills of ten shillings. Wood pastures two miles long, and one
broad. The whole manor five miles long and two broad. Value in
King Edward's time sixteen pounds, the same now.
That manor of the town of Coventry which was individually held
was that of the Countess of Coventry, who was the wife of the
earl of Mercia. "The Countess held in Coventry. There are 5
hides. The arable land employs 20 ploughs. In the demesne lands
there are 3 ploughs and 7 ploughs. In the demesne lands there are
3 ploughs and 7 bondmen. There are 50 villeins and 12 bordars
with 20 ploughs. The mill there pay[s] 3 shillings. The
woodlands are 2 miles long and the same broad. In King Edward's
time and afterwards, it was worth 22 pounds [440 s.], now only
11 pounds by weight. These lands of the Countess Godiva Nicholas
holds to farm of the King."
The survey shows a few manors and monasteries owned a salt-house
or salt-pit in the local saltworks, from which they were
entitled to obtain salt.
This survey resulted in the first national tax system of about
6s. per hide of land.
The survey also provided William with a summary of customs of
areas. For instance, in Oxfordshire, "Anyone breaking the King's
peace given under his hand and seal to the extent of committing
homicide shall be at the King's mercy in respect of his life and
members. That is if he be captured. And if he cannot be
captured, he shall be considered as an outlaw, and anyone who
kills him shall have all his possessions. The King shall take
the possessions of any stranger who has elected to live in
Oxford and who dies in possession of a house in that town, and
without any kinfolk. The King shall be entitled to the body and
the possessions of any man who kills another within his own
court or house excepting always the dower of his wife, if he has
a wife who has received dower.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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