Estate Economy. 301 



Googe's treatise has been somewliat neglected by later 

 agricultural writers owing to a not wliolly justifiable prejudice 

 that it is more or less a transcript from a German work on 

 husbandry.^ Sir A, Fitzherbert's writings are undoubtedly the 

 most valuable of those still in existence ; but even he has 

 helped himself largely to the information contained in Walter 

 of Henley and other thirteenth-century authors, and possibly 

 he may have also freely plagiarised portions of those extinct 

 Flemish or English works which Googe has cited as his sources 

 of information. Nevertheless enough is known of Fitzherbert's 

 life to insure for anything that he says, either on law or agri- 

 culture, a most respectful hearing. In addition to the works 

 already mentioned, there have been experts ^ of the present 

 day who have placed on paper the results of long and careful 

 research into the archives of our public record office, museums, 

 colleges, universities, and libraries which afford additional and 

 valuable data for the purpose in hand. 



Separating then the mass of information thus obtained under 

 the headings of Land Management and Agriculture, we propose 

 to treat these two subjects in the order named.^ When the 

 internal economy of a landed estate was last discussed, it will 

 be remembered that the management was in the hands of a 

 large staff of officials, rising gradually in the social scale from 

 the various lowly herdsmen to the exalted personage known 

 as the seneschal. It is probable that the latter individual was 

 still indispensable to the wealthy owner of an Honour or group of 

 manors, though he might be known under the less pretentious 

 term of supervisor or surveyor. One of Fitzherbert's works is 

 undoubtedly intended as a useful handbook for officials of this 

 class, and is for all practical purposes an advanced treatise on 



^ Googe's allusion to a car armed witli sharp sickles is the first mention 

 of the mechanism of a reaping machine. 



2 Hubert Hall, Society in the Elizabethan Age; Thorold Rogers, Prices 

 and Agriculture, etc. 



^ Mr. Thorold Rogers, in his works on Agriculture, has given a brief 

 epitome of Fitzherbert's treatises. In order to avoid clashing with his 

 arrangement of history, I shall describe the land tenure and agriculture 

 of the period in general terms, giving references to the authors whence I 

 draw my information. 



