266 ENGLISH FIELD SYSTEMS 



in the earl}- lines and charters is there anything to indicate that 

 the ferling was composed of acre or half-acre or quarter-acre 

 strips.' 



Devon and Cornwall thus assume in the thirteenth- as well as 

 in the sixteenth-century documents the appearance of counties 

 the arable lands of which were very largely enclosed. The feet 

 of fines and the charters from this corner of England are in 

 marked contrast with those from the midlands and even with 

 those from the northwest. From all other Enghsh counties 

 (except perhaps from Kent and Essex) a considerable number 

 of tines and charters disclose on examination at least a few 

 which record each its list of small non-adjacent parcels of arable 

 land. The exceptional character of the Devon and Cornish 

 documents would lead us to beheve that even runrig was un- 

 known in these two counties, were it not for the testimony of the 

 sixteenth-century surveys.^ How uncertain is this testimony 

 relative to the extent and antiquity of open arable fields we have 

 seen, but about the existence of intermixed strips it is clear. It 

 suggests that Devon and Cornwall more closely resembled 

 Cheshire and Wales than any other region thus far examined. 

 In the valley of the Dee were townships which had common open 

 arable fields, small in extent, like those of the southwest. So 

 far as the latter were really ancient, a characteristic possibly 

 attributable to those of Brixham, it is perhaps allowable to call 

 them Celtic in their affinities and to assume that enclosure 

 occurred early, as it did in most parts of Wales. With these 

 inferences, the most probable that we can draw in view of the 

 perplexing evidence, Devon and Cornwall take their place along 

 with the other counties of western or northern England which 

 in their field arrangements were subject to Celtic influence. 



^ A parcel of land in a suburb of Exeter was once designated " unum sullonem " 

 (Cott. MS., Vitel. D IX, f. 138), but it may not have been part of a ferling or have 

 lain in open field. 



^ It win also be noticed that in the phrases quoted in the preceding paragraph 

 the term " rigge " was used to designate a furlong. 



