viii Introduction. 



In 1288 Pope Nicholas the Fourth granted to King Edward 

 the Third, for six years, one tenth of the revenue of the Church. 

 Between 1288 and 1292, royal commissioners made a valuation 

 of ecclesiastical property, which served as a basis of taxation 

 till Henry the Eighth's time. The inquisitions of these com- 

 missioners, known as Pope Nicholas's Taxation were published in 

 1802 by the Record Commission. 



Nonarum Inquisitiones were taken by royal commissioners in 

 1341. A ninth of the corn, wool, and lambs in every parish 

 had been granted by parliament to the king. The ninths were 

 supposed to be equal to the tenths of Pope Nicholas's taxation ; 

 but when there was no such equality the true value of the 

 ninths was to be collected. The parishioners declared the value 

 of the taxable property, and explained discrepancies between 

 the amounts of the ninths and the tenths. Their testimony inci- 

 dentally throws light on the manorial history of the time. The 

 inquisitions were published by the Record Commission, 1807. 



The Valor Ecclesiasticus, a survey and valuation of the ecclesias- 

 tical property of England and Wales, was drawn up in 1535. It 

 was printed by the Record Commission, 1810-1834. 



No attempt has been made to extract from the Statutes of the 

 Realm (1235-1713) printed by the Record Commission, 1810- 

 1822, from the Rolls of Parliament (1278-1503), printed, 1767, 

 by the English government, or from Rymer's Foedera (1066-1654), 

 newly edited (as far as the year 1383) by the Record Commis- 

 sion, 1816-1869, portions bearing upon manorial history. 



Since the purpose of this pamphlet is to assist primarily those 

 who are studying manorial history from the economic standpoint, 

 such works as the Testa de Nevil, compiled probably temp. Ed. II., 

 from inquisitions taken during earlier reigns, printed by the 

 Record Commission, 1807, and Kirkby's Quest, a survey of knights' 

 fees made temp. Ed. I. (printed for Yorkshire by the Surtees 

 Society, 1867, for Somerset by the Somerset Record Society, 

 1889, and for Dorset in the new edition of Hutchins's Dorset}, do 

 not come within its scope. 



Many documents of the first half of the seventeenth century 

 have been included in the list, since they help to explain earlier 



