42 Domesday and Feudal Statistics 



mills and other sources of profit) may have been in 

 view. The same conception may be made of the 

 Knights' Knight's Fee, either the whole tenement being 

 regarded as X fees, or but certain portions of it 

 which total X ; thus a fief of 10 fees might be 

 made up of 7 of old feorFment and 3 on the 

 "dominicum," or one of 15 fees, of 12 of old, 

 5 of new feofFment, and the " dominicum " quit, 

 in which latter case there appears an excess of fees. 

 Sure it is, there must ever have been a balance for 

 the lord of the fee ; in the former case the 

 " dominicum " if entirely subinfeuded would be 

 more than 3 fees, tho' only liable for that number ; 

 Bishop of to take an actual case the Bp. of Durham said he 

 case, am ' ought (L. R. Rolls Series) the service of 10 knights, 

 &rrw, an ^ senc j s m a certificate of about 70 ; he can name 

 Retainers. anv Io o f these as his service to the King, and his 

 entire tenement comprises either 10 or 70 fees,* the 

 service being dischargeable from but a small portion 

 of his estate. For taking the Bp.'s statement to be 

 correct (and in an ordinary case I do not discover 

 he ever paid on more), he is not bound to enfeoff a 

 tenant who owes him i knight's service in -^ of 

 his estate that, subject perhaps to custom, is a 

 matter of arrangement between the Bp. and pro- 

 spective tenant, and an excess of fees above service 

 is easily comprehensible. In 19 Hen. III. (Testa 

 de Nevill, aid to marry), when all tenants paid on 

 both old and new feofFment (theoretically), as con- 

 ceded by the common council of the realm, the 

 said Bp. (p. 373 T. de N.) pays 200, equal, at 

 2 marcs per fee, to 150 fees ; but for the Gascony 

 escuage circa 1242 (p. 412 T. de N.) his fees are 



* As early as A.D. 1088, himself is a witness for his 

 100 milites (not necessarily all feudal tenants), the Durham 

 CMS. is almost certainly from that of a writer, living Wm. II. : 

 again Caerlaverock reports Anth. Bek had 160 men at arms in 

 1300, whilst Ro. de Cjraystanes (contemporary), states, habuit 

 de familia sua XXf^I vexillarios et communiter de sua sect a CXL 



