A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



hard to find, though we know^ that the hundred of South Greenhoe con- 

 sisted of fourteen leets, whereas that of Clackclose had ten/ while Mr. Round 

 gives a perfect specimen of a hundred in leets from Suffolk. We may, 

 perhaps, assume that the vills were so distributed among the leets that a fair 

 proportion of taxation fell upon each vill at the time when the assessment was 

 made. Thus, out of every pound levied on the hundred,* each leet would 

 have to find a certain number of pence, and the leet being a small group, the 

 number of pence for which each vill within it was to be held liable would be 

 easily reckoned. Owing to the plan on which Little Domesday is drawn up we 

 cannot see how this assessment was made. We have only the statement that 

 such a vill measures so many furlongs by so many, and pays so many 

 pence of geld towards every pound paid by the hundred, or rather ' out 

 of every pound paid by the hundred.' The measurement is always stated 

 with the assessment, but it does not appear that any proportion exists 

 between them even in the same hundred. If we could reconstruct the 

 leets in the several hundreds, we might chance upon the solution of the 

 puzzle, but such reconstructions are conjectural at best, and owing to the 

 imperfections of the record they are almost impossible, since the geld assessed 

 upon the hundreds can hardly ever be made to add up to even pounds. 

 The occasional coincidences, however, in the sums assessed on separate town- 

 ships do seem to imply some such method of distribution of taxation as has 

 been suggested. Thus the neighbouring vills of East Harling and Quiden- 

 ham are both assessed at is. ^Id., while Garboldisham, with Wykes, seems to 

 be balanced against the two Lophams at a rate of zs. 91^. Riddlesworth, 

 Rushford, and the two lost villages of Snarehill are each taxed at i ijd'., or 

 2J. loj^. in all, just balancing East Harling and Quidenham, and the recurrence 

 of this sum seems to suggest that Guiltcross hundred may have consisted of 

 seven leets. Turning to the north-east corner of the county, in the Domesday 

 hundred of Docking, we find the adjacent vills of Fring and Bircham each 

 rated at 2s. 3d'., as is also Shernborne, while Brancaster is assessed at 2s. ^d. 

 This suggests a hundred of eight leets, of which Docking, with its assessment 

 of 5J-. zVd., would constitute two. In the same way half the hundred of 

 West Flegg can be arranged in four leets, each paying 2j. 6d., and grouped 

 about the towns of Hemsby, Somerton, and Winterton, Ashby and Repps 

 together making up the fourth. South Greenhoe can be conjecturally distri- 

 buted into its fourteen leets, paying sums varying from is. ^d. to is. Sd. 



But when we attempt to discover how the vills in the hundred were set off 

 against each other for purposes of taxation even conjecture fails us. If we com- 

 pare taxation and measurement, we find for instance that Docking measuring 

 I league by half a league pays 5J. zhd., while Brancaster with the same 

 measurements pays 2s. ^d., and Fring measuring half a league by half a league 

 pays 2s. 2d. It is true that we might throw Southmere into Docking, 

 and Titchwell into Brancaster, on the ground that no measurements are given 

 for either of them ; but then we find that the whole taxation of the hundred 

 is 2J. 5^. short of 20 shillings. If we take South Greenhoe, which adds up 

 nearly right, we find Pickenham measuring half a league by 5 furlongs 



' Dom. Bk. f. 119^. Mbid. f. 212^. 



' At the standard rate of two shillings on the hide the Danegeld of a theoretical standard hundred would 

 amount to j^io. 



6 



