THE HIDE AND THE TEAMLAND 37 



demesne, were equivalent to the work that would have been per- 

 formed by two and a half additional teams kept by the abbot 

 on the demesne. And there are some half-a-dozen custumals 

 in the first volume of the chartulary, which state in terms of 

 teams in demesne, the amount of ploughing work performed 

 by the tenants. And a better interpretation of the third term 

 of the formula would be, " There are C teams in demesne, 

 and the tenants furnish D teams to assist in the cultivation of 

 the demesne." 



But because the tenants co-operated in providing a team 

 of eight oxen for the cultivation of the demesne, we must not 

 therefore think that they used so large a team on their own 

 holdings. The illustrated manuscripts of pre-Conquest times 



frequently show plough-teams of two and four oxen each, but 

 never a team of eight. The Commissioners often record that 

 certain men ploughed with one or two oxen, meaning that 

 they contributed one or two oxen to the manorial team ; 

 nay, more, they record a monster in the shape of a semibos, 

 half an ox, evidently meaning that the tenant of certain land 

 joined with another in providing an ox for the manorial team. 



But it will be noticed that in many places B, the number 

 of teamlands, differs from C + D, the number of teams actually 

 employed. What is the meaning of this difference ? 



Again we must consult the variants ; but before doing so, 

 let us remember that the jurors were asked to give statistics 

 for three periods for the day of King Edward's death, for the 

 date when the estate was given to its present owner, and for 



