80 Domesday and Feudal Statistics 



equipped as a rule 4 (see his Court Rolls for 1258 

 and 1294, in Selden Soc., Vol. II.), notwith- 

 standing aforesaid inquisitions of 1242 estimating 

 Knights' fees by hides (where he contributes as if 

 he had 33^- fees). The uniform manufacture of 

 Hides into fees at a rate of the " normal four " 

 would be apt to break down in practice ; suppose 

 a Baron had a grant of 400 Hides for a service of 

 100 fees ; he might enfeoff 100 knights* on 350 

 Hides at i fee each (as presumably he would have 

 some residence, and tenants in socage and 

 villeinage), and hence (on the 4 Hide plan) the 

 Sheriff would find not unless 87^ fees instead of 

 100 ; the above by way of illustration, as -| of the 

 land of a fief would (I think) be more than was 

 usually sub-infeuded. 



The subject of escuage is I venture to think 

 but partially understood, nor can the writer pre- 

 tend to set it forth in a clear light: the author 

 of " Feudal England " has shown how the 

 Church was set to military service /. Wm. I.j- (see 

 also Archeeologia 1863 and Steven's Royal Trea- 

 sury, ed. 1725), and it is here assumed that the 

 more important lay tenants in that reign also held 

 by the divers duties pertaining to same. As may 

 be seen from table (p. 55), there must have been 

 (on the whole) a considerable balance on the 

 dominicum /. Hen. I., and the following extracts 

 from the remaining Pipe Roll of that reign seem 

 to apply to commutations of military service, none 



* 100 Knts., i.e., a " service " of same, indefinite as to nos. 

 and rank. 



t Bigelow's Plac. Ang. ZN^orm., ed. 1879, an American 

 work had long before borne .witness on this head. \ 



