A HISTORY OF LEICESTERSHIRE 



Framland wapentake, which seem to be complete," and certainly reveal no 

 obvious scribal errors, fall into three groups based on a unit of 1 8 carucates, a 

 unit which is suggestive in view of the probability that the ' hide ' of Domes- 

 day and the present survey consisted of the sum in question. The groups are 

 as follows : 



Eastwell hundred 

 Melton Mowbray hundred 

 Long Clawson hundred 

 Bottesford hundred 

 Sproxton hundred 



Kirby Bellars hundred . 

 Harby hundred . 

 Waltham hundred 

 Croxton Kerrial hundred 



Cold Overton hundred . 

 Nether Broughton hundred 

 Scalford hundred . 

 Barkestone hundred 

 Stapleford hundred 



36^ carucates 



= 1 80 carucates 



= 162 carucates 



= 216 carucates 



Of course the fact that the figures for Framland wapentake permit of 

 this duodecimal grouping may be the result of chance, though the probabili- 

 ties of the case seem decidedly against this. But even in Gosecote wapentake, 

 the survey of which is incomplete, and includes at least two awkward scribal 

 errors, two similar groups can be constructed on the i8-caracute basis. With 

 such scanty evidence before us we cannot say that the duodecimal grouping 

 of hundredal totals can be definitely proved, but the possibility of such a 

 system should certainly be taken into account in considering the distribution 

 of the Leicestershire assessment. 



The Leicestershire Survey is also valuable as helping us to reconstruct 

 the assessments of the several wapentakes of the county. Owing to its 

 fragmentary condition it does not go very far in this direction, but we 

 know so little about this subject in relation to the Danelaw that it is worth 

 while to see if any suggestive facts arise from a combination of the evidence 

 afforded by the present survey with the figures given by Domesday. The 

 present survey assigns 552 carucates to Framland wapentake, and 706 to 

 that of Gosecote, this last figure of course excluding the group of vills on 

 the Nottinghamshire border to which reference has already been made. 

 The three hundreds in Gartree wapentake which are included in the docu- 

 ment are assessed at 43$ carucates, and on completing the assessment of the 

 wapentake from Domesday we obtain a total of 557 carucates, a curiously 

 close approximation to the 558 carucates assigned above to Framland wapen- 

 take. The figures for Guthlaxton wapentake have to be compiled from 

 Domesday alone, and the total of 760 carucates which is thus obtained 

 does not at first suggest any system. If, however, we add in the 1 5 carucates 

 which Domesday assigns to Barrow on Soar we obtain a total of 775 carucates 

 as the assessment of Guthlaxton wapentake. Gosecote wapentake, according 

 to the Leicestershire Survey, answered for 706 carucates, to which must be 

 added a sum of 65 carucates representing the assessment of the omitted vills 



11 Redmile is not mentioned by name in the present survey, but its assessment is probably included in 

 the figure given for Bottesford. 



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