A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



the king's woods (siha). 1 And i hide was 

 given by Harold to a certain priest of his ; 

 but the Hundret (court) knows not whether 

 he gave (it to be held) freely (liber<e) or in 

 almoine. It is now held by R[obert] Bishop 

 of Hereford. And (there is) half a hide 

 which was held freely by I sokeman who 

 rendered ' soke ' in the manor, but (et tamen) 

 could betake himself (posset ire) with his land 

 whither he would. 8 Count Eustace added 

 (adjunxit) him to his land. In this manor are 

 still included (semper jacent) 2 sokemen with 

 (de) half a hide and 10 acres, who have now 

 as then (semper) half a plough ; there are 4 

 acres of meadow ; (this is) included (apprecia- 

 tum) in the above 100 pounds. 



In WIRITELA [Writtle] the same bishop 

 holds 2 hides and 20 acres, of which i hide 

 belonged to (fuit in) the church in the time 

 of King Edward and the other (was) of (in) 

 the king's fee (sic). Then as now (semper) 3 

 villeins and I priest. Then 2 bordars ; 

 now 8. Then 2 serfs ; (now none). Then 

 as now (semper) I plough on the demesne and 

 2 ploughs belonging to the men. (There is) 

 wood(land) for 100 swine, (with) 8 acres of 

 meadow ; and it is worth 50 shillings. 3 



HALF HUNDRET OF MELDUNA [MALDON] 



In MALDUNA [Maldon] the king has i 

 house and pasture for 100 sheep. And (there 

 is) i sokeman with (de) 49 acres who has i 

 bordar ; (there was) i plough in the time 

 of King Edward, (and) now a half ; it was 

 then worth 10 shillings, (and) now 5. In the 

 same (Maldon) the king has 180 houses held 

 by burgesses and 1 8 messuages (mansuras) that 

 are waste ;* of which (burgesses) 15 hold half 

 a hide and 21 acres, while (et) the other men 



fo. 6 



hold no more than their houses in the 

 borough. And among them they have 12 

 rounceys (runcinos) and 140 beasts (animalia) 

 and 103 swine and 336 sheep. From the 

 king's hall (balla) there are always received 

 (exeunt) 6 shillings and 8 pence, and from 

 Suen's land 4 shillings, 6 and from (the) 2 

 houses of Eudo dapifer 16 pence which the 



1 This is an interesting allusion to Robert's own 

 office of king's forester. 



2 i.e. could choose his lord. 



3 This entry of the bishop's land in Writtle is 

 repeated below under his own fief (p. 460). 



* This passage seems to imply that ' quas tenent 

 burgenses ' merely means ' inhabited ' as opposed 

 to ' vastatas ' uninhabited. 



6 This is duly entered under Suain's fief below 

 (p. 491) as a ' customary due ' received by the king. 



king has not received (non habuit) since he 

 came into this land. From the aforesaid 

 sokeman Ranulf Peverel has received (habuit) 

 yearly a customary due of (consuetudinem per) 3 

 shillings ; but in King Edward's time his pre- 

 decessor had only (the man's) commendation. 

 And in King Edward's time the whole to- 

 gether rendered 13 pounds and 2 shillings; 

 and when Peter 6 received it 24 pounds ; now 



1 6 pounds by weight. 



HUNDRET OF TENDERING [TENDRING] 

 AND . . . 7 



BRICTRICESEIA [Brightlingsea] was held by 

 Harold as a manor and as 10 hides. Now 

 King William (holds it). Then as now 

 (semper) 24 villeins. Then I o bordars ; after- 

 wards 1 1 ; now 1 6 bordars ; and i o bordars 

 who hold no land. 8 Then 4 serfs; new 5. 

 Then 3 ploughs on the demesne ; afterwards 

 and now 2. Then the men had 16 ploughs ; 

 afterwards and now 1 1 . (There is) wood- 

 (land) for 100 swine. (There is) now i mill. 

 Pasture for 600 sheep. Then as now 

 (there were) 16 beasts (animalia) and 5 roun- 

 ceys (runcini) and 1 66 sheep and 62 swine. 

 Then Brictriceseia [Brightlingsea] and Her- 

 chesteda [Harkstead] 9 between them rendered 



2 nights' ferm (nodes de firma) ; 10 and when 

 Pfeter] 11 received them 25 pounds ; now 22 

 pounds. But that outlying estate (berewita) 

 lies in Suffolk. 12 In the demesne are 4 beasts 

 (animalia) and 5 swine. 



LALEFORDA [Lawford] was held by Harold 

 as i manor and as 10 hides, and is now so 

 (pro totidem) held by King William. Then 

 as now (semper) there were 1 5 villeins and 24 

 bordars. Then 7 serfs ; now 6. Then as 

 now (semper) 4 ploughs on the demesne. 

 Then the men had 20 ploughs between 

 them ; and 16 when Baignard held (it) ; 18 but 

 when P[eter] 14 received it, 9 ; and 9 (similiter) 



6 Peter de Valognes, the sheriff. 



7 So read by the Record Commission's edition, 

 but probably ' Tenderinge ' only was intended. 



8 It is just possible, judging from the entry of 

 Leigh on the Thames below, that these represent 

 a maritime element. 



9 In Suffolk, on the north shore of the Stour 

 estuary. 



10 See Introduction, p. 336. 



11 Peter de Valognes, the sheriff. 



12 The meaning of this passage seems to be that 

 the diminution in the value of Brightlingsea is due 

 to the fact that at the time of the survey Harkstead 

 was farmed separately by Peter as a part of Suffolk, 

 where we find it separately valued in 1086 (ii. 



13 i.e. as sheriff. 



14 Peter de Valognes, the sheriff. 



434 



