A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



In NORTUNA [Norton l ] Mascherel holds 

 55 acres, which were held by Brictric, a free 

 man, in King Edward's time. Then i 

 plough on the demesne ; afterwards and now 

 2. Then as now (semper) 1 plough belonging 

 to the men, and 5 villeins. Then and after- 

 wards 5 bordars ; now 8. Then and after- 

 wards 3 serfs ; now 2. (There is) wood(land) 

 for 40 swine, (and) i o acres of meadow. It 

 was then worth 40 shillings ; afterwards and 

 now 60. 



In BEBENHERS [Pebmarsh] Levecilt, a free 

 man, held and still holds 3 acres ; and Derolf 

 4 acres in ALFELMESTUNA [Alphamstone] and 

 Holt, a free man, i acre (there) ; and Lewin' 

 and Lemar' 5 acres in BUMESTEDA [Bump- 

 stead] ; and Algar 20 acres in SALINGES 

 [(Old ?) Saling 2 ~\ ; and Brictolf 30 acres in 

 OLVITUNA [Ovington 3 ]. These had in all 

 (omnes) 3 ploughs in King Edward's time. 

 Then and afterwards 3 bordars ; now 8. 

 Then and afterwards 2 serfs ; now none. 

 (There is) wood(land) for 12 swine, (and) 8 

 acres of meadow. Then and afterwards it 

 was worth 30 shillings ; now 45 shillings 

 and 2 pence. 



Of these abovesaid men Wisgar had only 

 the ' commendation.' 4 



fo. I02b 



In BENEDISC [Bendish (Hall) 6 ] Wisgar, 

 R[ichard]'s predecessor, seized (invasit) 30 

 acres after the king came into this country 

 (patriam). 6 And afterwards Ingelric had it 

 (iilam), and the Hundret (court) testifies that 



1 This Norton must have been somewhere in 

 the neighbourhood of the places among which it 

 is entered, and this conclusion is confirmed by the 

 fact that its tenant was ' Mascherel,' who was 

 Richard's under-tenant at Bulmer (p. 479). 



2 Morant appears to have overlooked this entry. 



3 Morant does not mention this entry under 

 Ovington (which was usually ' Ovituna ' ) ; but 

 one can hardly hesitate so to identify it. 



4 Wisgar was the predecessor in possession of 

 Richard de Clare, who, it is meant, claimed greater 

 rights over these men than had been given to 

 Wisgar by their ' commending ' themselves to him 

 in order to secure his protection. The entry under 

 Colne below (p. 573, note 2) should be compared on 

 this point. It is, unfortunately, by no means clear 

 to how many of the 'abovesaid' holdings this 

 clause applies, but, as no details are given as to 

 the character of any of Richard's encroachments 

 down to this point, it is probable that they are all 

 covered by it. 



6 A manor in Radwinter. 



6 This is an important note of date as proving 

 that Wisgar (the lord of Clare) survived the Con- 

 quest. 



it used to belong to Ingelric's fief ; but 

 Richard has held it (illam) hitherto (hucusque}. 



In BYRDEFELDA [(Great) Bardfield] Felaga * 

 held of Earl JElfgar (dlgaro) i hide and 30 

 acres. And after the king came into this 

 country (patriam), R[ichard] seized (invasit) 

 this land, 9 which, as the Hundret (court) 

 testifies, was not held by his predecessor. 

 Then as now (semper) 3 villeins. (There 

 are) now 7 bordars. Then 3 serfs ; now I . 

 Then i^ ploughs on the demesne ; now i. 

 Then as now (semper) i plough belonging to 

 the men. (There is) wood(land) for 100 

 swine, (and) 27 acres of meadow. Now 

 (there is) i mill. It was then worth 4 

 pounds ; now 60 shillings. 



In HOOSENGA [ 10 ] Felaga held 



half a hide. Richard holds (it) now like the 

 (land) abovesaid, and Walter (holds it) of him. 

 Then as now (semper) 2 villeins, and i plough. 

 (There is) wood(land) for 2 swine, (and) 4 

 acres of meadow. It is worth 1 2 shillings. 



In HASINGHAM [ u ] a free man 



held 2^ acres, in the Hundret of Laxedana 

 [Lexden]. Now R[ichard] (holds them). 

 And there is now i mill there rendering 15 

 shillings 18 ; and yet (the holder) was only 

 ' commended ' to Richard's predecessor. 18 



In the Hundret of Laxendena [Lexden] 

 Luttin' held in COLUN [Colne u ] 40 acres. 

 Now R[ichard] (holds them). And over (/') 

 this land his predecessor had no rights (con- 



7 The manor of Bendish (hall) had been held 

 by Ingelric, whose successor, Count Eustace, was 

 holding it in 1086 (p. 471 above). 



8 He had held the adjacent manor of Ashwell 

 (Hall) in Finchingfield, less than two miles to the 

 east of Great Bardfield (p. 560 above). 



9 Probably because it adjoined his large and 

 valuable manor of Little Sampford. 



10 This appears to be a lost name. As it had 

 been held by Felaga, one would expect to find it 

 in the neighbourhood of Great Bardfield and Ash- 

 well. 



11 This also appears to be a lost name. 



18 So in the text ; but the value is probably that 

 of the holding as a whole. 



13 The meaning of the corrective ' yet ' (tamen) 

 appears to be that Richard was holding the land, 

 although its tenant's ' commendation ' to his pre- 

 decessor gave him no such right. 



14 It would hardly be safe to assert in which of 

 the Colnes this holding and the other just below 

 were situate. 



572 



