PRE-CONQUEST DOCUMENTS 109 



two classes, the superior class providing their own outfit, and 

 furnishing provisions and occasional services at specially busy 

 seasons ; and the humbler class, for whom their lord provided 

 an outfit, who worked two or three days a week on the demesne 

 farm, and in addition performed extra work (boon-work) at 

 specially busy seasons, and furnished a few provisions for 

 their lord's use. In the Rectitudines Singularum Person- 

 arum, a document of the former half of the eleventh century, 

 the former of these is called a " geneat," x and the latter a 

 " gebur ; " 2 and in addition to the geneats and geburs, that 

 document speaks of a class of cottagers, who occupied some 

 5 acres of land, and worked one day a week on the demesne 

 farm ; but it must be noticed that both the gebur and the 

 cottager paid " hearthpenny on Holy Thursday, as every 

 freeman should do." 3 When a new gebur was established, 

 it was the custom of his lord to furnish him with his house- 

 hold furniture, a couple of oxen, a cow, and seven sheep, and 

 with 7 acres of land ploughed and sown with corn. And 

 from this Mr. Seebohm has argued that the usual holding of 

 a gebur was a virgate of 30 acres of land. If these 30 acres 

 were distributed in the three fields, the gebur would have 

 10 acres in each field. The reason why 7 sown acres only 

 were provided for him was, that in the typical manor, on 

 which the Rectitudines was based, it was the duty of the 

 gebur to plough 3 acres and sow them with his own seed for 

 his lord's benefit. Of course the details of the gebur's duties 

 varied in different manors, but it is not impossible that this 

 above-mentioned custom was widespread. The distinction 

 between the geneat and the gebur dates back to the eighth 

 century ; for Ine forbad landlords to exact week-work from 

 those tenants who had agreed to pay gafol to furnish 

 provisions for their land. 4 When a gebur died or left his 

 land, his entire outfit, including even his household furniture, 



1 L. 445. z L. 446. 3 L. 445. 



4 G. M., 239. 



