A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



Blyth and the Domesday under-tenant at West Markham and Elkesley. 

 The Ralf ' Novifori ' of Roger's charter bore a name which occurs fre- 

 quently in the documents of Roche Abbey, but unless he was the Ralf 

 who held at Elton, which is improbable, he does not appear in our 

 portion of the survey. 



It is rather surprising that there is no evidence directly to connect 

 the great family of ' Luvetot,' the lords of Sheffield and of Worksop and 

 many other manors in this shire with any Domesday under-tenant in our 

 county. But before 1 1 20, William de Luvetot had founded Worksop 

 Priory, and granted to it ' all the churches of his demesne ' of the honour 

 of Blyth, that is the churches of Gringley, Misterton, Walkeringham, 

 Normanton (upon Trent), Car Colston, Willoughby on the Wolds, Wysall, 

 and his part of the church of Treswell. 1 Now on referring to Domesday 

 we find that in six out of these eight places the under-tenant is given as 

 Roger, Roger (de Busli)'s man, Misterton is said to be held by ' Roger,' 

 which may, of course, stand either for the tenant or his overlord, and the 

 holder of Willoughby is not stated. If we cannot argue directly from 

 this as to the relationship of ' Roger ' and William de Luvetot, the com- 

 pleteness with which the former's group of manors had passed to the 

 latter is nevertheless very suggestive, especially in view of the probability 

 that Roger the under-tenant may be identical with Roger de Luvetot, 

 who is addressed in several writs belonging to the early years of Henry I 

 and relating to South Yorkshire. 2 



Returning again to the foundation charter of Blyth Priory, we 

 should certainly note one very exceptional and important feature which 

 it contains. In making his gift to his monks Roger grants them ' the 

 entire vill of Blyth with all its appurtenances and customs as the men of 

 that vill used to perform them, that is, to plough (arare), to do carrying 

 service (kariare) , to mow (falcare) , reap (bladum secare) , make hay (foenum 

 facere), pay merchet (merchetum dare), and to make the mill pool (stagnum 

 molendini facere}' He also grants 'all the dignities (dignitates) which 

 I used to enjoy in that vill, that is soc and sac and toll and team 

 and infangenethef, iron and ditch and gallows with the other liberties 

 (libertates), which I then held from the king.' Now this charter is dated 

 1088, and it is probable that we do not possess another outline of 

 the services done by the men of a vill to a lay tenant-in-chief, and of 

 his rights over them, so nearly contemporary with Domesday. In fact 

 we have here some of the most characteristic features of the later manorial 

 labour system, and this although Blyth in Domesday is merely entered 

 as sokeland of Hodsock, two miles distant, and contained no demesne of 

 its own. At Blyth, the only population consisted of four villeins and 

 four bordars, and it is precisely as to the services performed by men of 

 these classes that Domesday is most silent, while such information as it 

 does give relates almost entirely to the west of England. It is, of course, 

 unfortunate though inevitable that our charter merely indicates the 

 nature of these services and tells us nothing of their quantity ; but if the 



1 Mm. Angl. v, 1 18. ! Ibid, viii, 1 179. 



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