68 History of the English Landed Interest, 



whicli the county of Lincoln was divided ? Perhaps Bishop 

 Stubbs ^ has collected all the evidence on the subject that can 

 be found. It may, however, be suggested that the counties 

 represent some division of the English lands into principalities 

 of an earlier date than those of the Heptarchy ; when there 

 was a polyarchy of little States, each with its cjmiug and 

 separate court of law. According to tradition, the more 

 symmetrical subdivision of the counties into hundreds with 

 their subordinate courts of jurisdiction was the later work of 

 the monarchy.- 



If, then, we may assume that the old Court Leet of each 

 principality now became the Sheriff's Tourm of the same dis- 

 trict under its new name of county, we may thus explain the 

 presence of the Frank-pledge and Jury of Presentment in the 

 Scyremote. 



Where however, in the administration of Alfred, it was 

 thought fit to leave these old powers in seignorial hands, the 

 old name also of Court Leet might linger on, for the purpose 

 of distinguishing between the administration of justice that 

 was public and that which was seignorial.^ The origin of 

 these early courts, both private and public, dates from a time 

 when the popular rights were graduall}^ lapsing into the hands 

 of the overlord, and the community no longer monopolised 

 the reins of government. Yet though the pHmus inter pares 

 of the earlier system is hardly recognisable in his new position 

 of absolute lord, many traces of the old polity survive and will 

 continue to survive. Lammas lands, for example, exist, which 

 are still subject to the old rights of the Mark system ; and the 

 recent enclosure of commons has not altogether swallowed up 

 that Ager Publicus, which possibly existed under a Roman 

 title long before this Anglo-Saxon period. 



* Stubbs, Constit. Hist., cli. v. 



* Heni-y Adams suggests tliat the State of the seventh century became 

 the shire of tlie tenth, while the shire of the seventh century became the 

 hundred of the tentli. Anglo-Saxon Courts of Law. Vide Essay on 

 AiKjlo-Saxon Laui. 



* We shall see later on, that oven on the private manorial estates of 

 the allodialists there were jjublic lands, the administration of which 

 required the public officer. 



