THE PROBLEM OF LYXCHETS. /I 



and "stall macres hlinc," "maer" being a boundary; and 

 perhaps also in tlie " nor^lang-a," "west langa," "east langa," 

 and " ni'5'er langa hlinc," and in the frequent " hlincreaw," which 

 is indicative of a hedge. That roads sometimes ran on 1} nchets, 

 as they do now, may be seen in such phrases as "of cS'am hlinc 

 andlang drafce on 'S'one hlinc xt Waddxnce " from the lynchct 

 along the [cattle] drive to the lynchet at Waddcn (Wilts, a.d. 

 934-), and "spa for^ on gate hlinccs heafde " so forward to the 

 road-lynchet's head (Wilts, a.d. 958). 



It may seem odd that lynchets should have been named after 

 animals. There is " rah line " for the roe, " deor hlinc," " cattes 

 hlinc" for the wild-cat, " earnes hlinc" for the eagle, and the 

 frequent " hafoc hlinc " for the hawk. Lynchets were named, 

 too, and perhaps more fitly, from vegetation, as " INIcos hlinc," 

 " grena hlinc," " brom hlinc," " ropan hlinc," " burch link," and 

 " Jiorn hlinc." 



8. On the whole, the impression made upon one's mind 

 after going through these charters — hundreds of them — 

 is that lynchets were not, as a rule, in those days tillage 

 terraces. 



Nevertheless, there is abundant evidence of agriculture. The 

 frequent word " cecer" shows this, and so does the term " furli," 

 the terminal ridge made by the plough. Thus, a boundary 

 runs "to Jicere gedrifonan furh, andlang fyrh 0} hit cym^ on 

 pide geat be eastan pelandes smid^an," to the driven furrow, 

 along the furrow till it comes to the wide road east of Wey- 

 land Smith's (Berks, a.d. 955). A trilingual charter renders 

 "andlang pacre furh" by "per longum furgum " (Wilts, a.d. 

 966). 



Ploughed fields were often called " yr^land " or " wyr'^land," 

 and we read "up andlang yrt^landes on ^a ealden die" (Wilts. 

 a.d. 968). and "andlang waddenc on wyr'^e " (Dorset, a.d. 

 996), and " ]-'a3St for j^once seal stub [willow stump] o^ ^xt 

 yrdland" (Hants, a.d. 826). 



There seems, however, to be only one instance of a cultivatetl 

 lynchct, and that is in a Worcestershire charter, a.d. 972 — 



