26 THE DOMESDAY INQUEST 



5. MONEY AND MEASURES 



Although logically a note on the monetary system of the 

 eleventh century should be incorporated in the discussion of 

 the values of the various properties and the rents derived 

 from them, yet, as constant reference will be made to money 

 in the following pages, it will be more useful to consider this 

 question among the preliminary matters that must be discussed 

 before beginning a systematic study of the questions addressed 

 to the Cambridgeshire jurors. 



The Domesday denominations of money are "pound," 

 "mark," "ore" or ounce, "shilling," "penny," "halfpenny" 

 (obohis\ and " farthing ; " but the penny was the only coin 

 then in use, and was broken into two to form halfpennies, 

 as is shown by the examples in the British Museum ; all 

 the other sums were merely expressions of account. Then, 

 as now, twelve pence made one shilling, and twenty shillings 

 made one pound ; and Domesday Book often uses the ex- 

 pression "a pound of pence." The mark of gold appears 

 in the Pipe Rolls of Henry II. as being worth 6, and the 

 mark of silver was equal to 13^. ^d. By weight a mark was 

 equal to 8 ozs., and therefore I oz. of silver was worth 2O</., 

 and 12 ozs. would make I Ib. ; the penny was the twentieth 

 part of an ounce. The render of the city of Gloucester was 

 stated to be 60 of 2od. to the ore or ounce. 1 So that the 

 monetary system of the eleventh century was based on the 

 Troy weight of silver. Occasionally reference is made to other 

 " ores ; " the Cambridgeshire Inquest gives the value of Clinton 

 as being 2 ores, but the Exchequer fixes it at 32^. So that 

 here is an ounce of i6d, and fifteen of these ounces would 

 make I Ib. And the ore of \6d. is also to be found in Derby 2 

 and in the county between the Mersey and the Kibble. 3 



Again, it must be remembered that there were two methods 



1 D. B., I. 162 a I. 2 V. C. H. Derby, i. 320. 



' D. B., I. 269 b 2. 



