Tlie Ruaal Pojndaiion of England. 177 



tlie side of tlic compact and organized one. 5. That we know 

 as a fact tliat there was sucli an intrusion of Danes, and that 

 the intruders had their centre and seat precisely in those 

 counties where we find the socmen. 6. That the Danish ori- 

 gin of the socmen is further sujiported by the passage in the 

 laws of King Cnut, wliich speak of Danish thegns who have 

 their soken, as well as the law of Edward the Confessor, which 

 speaks of sokemanni in the Danalagu, as contrasted with the 

 rest of England. 



It does not follow from these arguments that all the soclie- 

 manni registered in Domesday Book were of Danish origin, or 

 that all of Danish origin were sochemanni or liheri homines. 

 The point to be explained is the existence of these two great 

 classes in a certain group of counties, by the side of the two 

 classes of viUani and hordari% which are found everywhere. 

 This circumstance is easiest explained by supposing a prevail- 

 ingly Danish origin. But the time when Domesday Book was 

 compiled, was a time of rapid and sweeping changes ; the Con- 

 quest must have acted powerfully in breaking up the old 

 organizations and mixing together the several classes of popu- 

 lation. After this time we find no mention of hordarii ; the 

 term villanus gradually lost its dignity and became equivalent 

 to "serf;" ^mKAq sochemanni were no longer confined to the 

 Danish counties, but the name came in time to be applied to 

 the bod}^ of the free peasantry in all parts of England. 



