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which carry him far back into the dark periods before the 
date of that mysterious compilation. We have then the results of 
the enquiries which were made concerning feudal rights, and, I 
may add, feudal usurpations, in the reigns of Henry III., Edward L,, 
and less remarkably, Edward II., contained in the Hundred Rolls, 
the Quo Warranto Rolls, Kirkby’s Inquest for the counties for 
which it exists, and the Nomina Villarum. Much matter also 
remains of record not incorporated in any of these, the grander 
records of the realm, in the accounts of the collections of feudal 
aids. But when we reach the reign of Henry III. we are within 
scope of a class of record evidence which is of all the most 
important for the particular purpose now under consideration. I 
mean the inquisition taken before the escheators on the deaths of 
persons all or most of whom were of the class of persons we are 
speaking of, either tenants in chief of the crown, or tenants of 
those who held of the crown, or tenants again of those tenants. 
The inquisitions show us distinctly who at a particular time held 
a particular property, with some circumstances of that property. 
But they show more, they show when an actual possessor died, 
who succeeded him, and of what age the successors were, and 
often transactions respecting the property. But they bear for 
the purposes of Topography information scarcely less important 
thau this. They show the tenures ; that is, the person dying 
held such a manor of such a person, thus giving us not the mesne 
lord only, but the chief lord also, and presenting us evidence of 
subinfeudations of which no contemporary record exists, and 
possibly where no written evidence was ever prepared. Those 
inquisitions are of unspeakable importance. Where the series is 
entire they present an authentic contemporary account of the 
transmission of feudal rights from the reign of Henry III. to that 
of Charles I., a noble stream of evidence, which it is to be lamented 
was ever allowed to be dammed up. Accompanying these are 
many other series of national records which might be consulted 
for the chances of what might be found in them were not the 
