i 3 2 THE DOMESDAY INQUEST 



at Hallow; 1 and the Worcester Register of 1212 speaks of 

 two freemen there who " equitant in turnum suum." 2 The 

 radmans of Westminster Abbey in Worcestershire mowed 

 for one day in the year, and did all service that was required 

 of them ; 3 and of two radknights in Hampshire it was stated 

 that they could not go where they pleased. 4 



Turning now to the three other classes of humbler folk 

 the villans, the bordars, and the slaves we cannot find in 

 Domesday Book much information about their services. On 

 the large manor of Leominster there were, T. R. K, 238 

 villans who ploughed 140 acres of land, sowed them with 

 wheat of their own providing, and paid 11 ^s. ^d. as custom ; 

 but in 1086 their number was reduced to 223, who ploughed 

 and sowed only 125 acres, and made payments amounting 

 to 12 45. 8%d. 5 At Marcle, in 1086, there were thirty-six 

 villans who ploughed 1 5 1 acres, and sowed with their own seed 

 80 acres of wheat and 71 acres of oats. 6 At the latter date 

 the villans and bordars of Bricklehampton and Defford and 

 the coliberti of Eckington rendered similar services. 7 But 

 it will be noticed that while the radmans merely ploughed, 

 the villans also provided seed for the land they ploughed. 



If little is known about the services of the villans, still 

 less is known of the services of the cottagers. The only state- 

 ment on this point is that at Ewiss twelve bordars 8 worked 

 one day a week on their lord's demesne. 9 



Of the condition of the pre-Conquest slaves, Domesday 

 Book says nothing. 



Summing up, then, we find that the characteristics of the 

 five classes of humbler folk in 1066 may be deduced from 

 the Domesday evidence alone as follows : 



1 D. B., I. 173 b 2. z Worcester Register, 50 a. 8 D. B., I. 174 b 2. 

 4 Id., I. 38 a i. 5 Id., I. i8oa I. 



6 Id., I. 179 b i. ''Id., 1.174 b i. 



8 Bord is Norman-French for "cottage," and the "bordars" were therefore 

 cottagers. 



8 D. B., I. 185 a 2. 



