194 History of the English Landed Literest. 



the head of the roll, both front and back. The first entry was 

 the arrears debited to the bailiff, then followed the rents ot 

 assize, i.e. fixed payments of the tenants ; next the rents of the 

 grinding and fulling mills, the corn and stock sales, commu- 

 tations for labour rents, sales of produce and wool, manorial 

 fines, heriots, pleas of court, and sundries. The expenses in- 

 cluded bad debts, charges payable, cost of ploughs, carts, corn, 

 stock, dairy utensils, etc., building charges, wages, and extra- 

 ordinary items. Lastly appeared the sums paid to and for 

 the employer. The back of the roll showed the valuation 

 of the stock carried over from the preceding Michaelmas 

 and compared with that taken a twelvemonth later, and 

 any balance to the good was debited to the bailiff's list of 

 liabilities. 



The auditors were often ecclesiastics, who performed all the 

 business required of the modern representative of this class, 

 but in addition had to go round the granges and check the 

 figures in the bailiff's stock account, even searching out 

 omitted items of produce and recounting the skins of dead 

 stock. 



It was customary to close the granges after harvest so as to 

 admit of the usual stocktaking before the visit of these officials. 

 A prudent landlord in such times of periodical famine was 

 wont to reserve a whole season's corn produce in his granges 

 as a resource during unfruitful years, in this way following out 

 the example set by Joseph in Egypt, though possibly incurring 

 the people's curse which Scripture imputes to him that with- 

 holdeth corn. The yearly visit of the lord, to examine the 

 accounts, and his attendance, together with that of the whole 

 population, periodically at the court or homage leets in the 

 manor hall, was the little that as a rule was seen of the great 

 landowners of this period ; but, as subinfeudation increased in 

 proportions, the baronies became subdivided among the rear 

 vassals, who no doubt by their permanent presence, save in 

 rare instances, rendered obsolete the office of seneschal and 

 the bailiff's occupancy of the manor house. The change was 

 so gradual as to have escaped the notice of historians ; but it 

 cannot be doubted that the system which it introduced of 



