

THEIR CONDITION IN 1066 137 



If we may assume that at Horndon a hide represented 

 1 20 acres, Godwin would have 180 acre-strips scattered 

 throughout the fields of Horndon ; some of these he retained 

 in his own possession as a demesne farm, but he let some 

 to four bordars, who, by the terms of their tenure, were 

 obliged to work on his farm, and by whose aid, with the aid 

 of the slave whom he maintained, and possibly with the 

 aid of his own family, his demesne was cultivated. Simi- 

 larly, Uluric would have 290 acre-strips intermixed with those 

 of Godwin ; some of which he retained as his demesne, while 

 the remainder was let to his villans and bordars, who culti- 

 vated his demesne for him ; but Godwin's bordars would not 

 work on Uluric's demesne, nor vice versa. Five out of these 

 six lords were called freemen : according to our interpre- 

 tation of this term they were the King's gafolgelders, and 

 were bound to furnish him with provisions and to render 

 certain works to him. 



Other records may be interpreted in a similar way : The 

 Abbot of St. Edmund's had an estate at Risby, to which 

 reference has already been made. In 1066 seven teams were 

 employed on the estate ; the abbot had demesne land em- 

 ploying two teams, and had let to four villans and two 

 bordars as much land as would furnish one team, and these, 

 with the three slaves belonging to him, cultivated his 

 demesne ; the demesne and the land of the villans and 

 bordars were together assessed at 2 carucates. But inter- 

 mixed with these lands were the lands of seven sokemen, 

 who together employed three teams ; over these sokemen 

 the Saint had sake and soke and commendation, but they 

 could not sell their lands : to our mind they were geneats, 

 to whom the abbot had let a portion of the lands in the vill, 

 on condition of their furnishing him with provisions and of 

 working on his demesne at specially busy times, seedtime 

 and harvest especially. Further, in 1066 there was living 

 at Risby a freeman who could sell his land, which employed 



