155 Domesday and Feudal Statistics 



their interpretation of " La Dite de Hosbanderye "; 

 as himself (p. 75, Six Centuries, etc., Rogers) re- 

 marks, " By this he means, not that a team is en- 

 gaged in ploughing all the year round, but that if 

 it were so engaged, it would cover the space of an 

 acre a day," and further, the same writer assesses 

 the Manor of Cuxham, known to have 3 ploughs 

 at 250 acres or thereabouts (Hist. Agr.), and not 

 at 160-180 multiplied by three; nevertheless, 

 after pointing out the remark cited (p. 75, Six 

 Centuries) I have been informed that certainly 

 Rogers assumes 240 acres ploughing per team, the 

 truth of which must be left to the judgment of 

 any candid reader. 



These custumals (Giastonbury as cited) show 

 Demesne the fallacy of supposing that the ploughmen spent 



ploughmen . ' r u i J i 



had divers every hour or the week days in 44 weeks in con- 

 dunes, tinued aration ; and also the status of the carucarii 

 as being often 3-5 acre men (passim), and once 

 % virgaters (p. 70 Som. Rec. Soc.) ; and the cessa- 

 tion of villein services for 3-4 weeks at Christmas, 

 Easter, and Pentecost, is matter notorious (Ramsey 

 Chart., Boldon Buke, St. Paul's Domesday), and 

 further, the teamsters had to work their own land. 

 Bad weather and frost stopped ploughing (it seems 

 necessary to make this statement explicitly ; see 

 Ramsey Chart.; p. 64 Roxb. Soc.; pp. 12, 65, 160 

 Som. Rec. Soc.), and in the later Giastonbury 

 record both holder and driver are noted to have 

 the private use of the lord's team for one day in 

 the week, by turns each (pp. 70, 94, 217) ; for 

 2 out of every 3 Saturdays (p. 63) ; further, the 

 ploughmen carry hay and prepare the lord's malt 



