THE EAST ANGLIAN SYSTEM 345 



eriung.^ In the thirteenth century the units of villein tenure 

 often assumed other names. " Plena terra " was much in favor. 

 The excellent series of Ely extents already quoted frequently 

 employs this phrase and attaches to it, as to a unit, the enumera- 

 tion of villein services. Its area was uniform within the same 

 manor. At Walpole it contained 30 acres; at Walton, 24; at 

 Feltwell, 20; at North wold, 48; at Terrington, 24.- Sometimes 

 no name at all was given to the full villein holding. The Ely 

 manor of Emneth leaves unnamed its unit of 23 acres,^ and the 

 Ramsey cartulary finds no term to apply to holdings " in lan- 

 cectagio." ^ 



At this point it will be of assistance to note the way in which 

 Norfolk manors are treated by this cartulary in its two series of 

 extents, one from the middle of the twelfth century, the other 

 from the middle of the thirteenth.^ Ramsey had only two con- 

 siderable manors in Norfolk — Brancaster and Ringstead — 

 whereas in the midlands she had many. In the latter the villein 

 holdings were always denominated virgates, and the enumeration 

 of virgates is usually lengthy. At Ringstead, however, as we 

 learn, " Non sunt ibi hydae, vel virgatae terrae. Aestimantur, 

 tamen, quod ibi sint quinque hydae terrae praeter dominicum." 

 At Brancaster, '' Ibidem sunt decem hydae. Nescitur, quot vir- 

 gatae faciunt hydam, nee quot acrae faciunt virgatam." ^ Far- 

 ther on we are told that three of the Brancaster hides were villein 

 land. The extents which thus deny the existence of virgates 



^ The word occurs in an important passage in the Ramsey cartulary. Cf. 

 below, p. 348. 



2 Cott. MS., Claud. C XI, ff. 192, 199, 254, 2586, 182. 



3 Ibid., f. 206. 



^ In this cartulary such is the usual designation for villein land. " Gilbertus 

 Potekyn . . . recognovit viginti quatuor acras terrae, quas tenet de domino 

 Abbate, esse lancectagium Abbatis, et quod debent omnes consuetudines serviles, 

 salvo corpore suo " (court roll of 1239, Cartulary of Ramsey Abbey, i. 424). 



* In the first series we find that " Eadwinus de Depedale tenuit in diebus Regis 

 Henrici, et nunc tenet ..." (ibid., iii. 261); many extents of the second series 

 are dated 1250-125 2. Unlike the tenants in the second series, those in the earlier 

 one usually have no surnames, and their names have a more archaic Saxon or 

 Danish character than was usual a century later. 



« Ibid., i. 405, 413- 



