246 THE DOMESDAY INQUEST 



Somerset, that had rendered a night's farm to the Confessor, 

 were all exempt from geld. And of some of them the Com- 

 missioners report, "It has never gelded, and is not divided 

 into hides," or " It has never gelded, and therefore it is not 

 known how many hides are there." ] 



The older writers on Domesday Book Ellis, Pearson, 

 Eyton, and Stubbs say that all the demesne land of any 

 lord in any manor was quit of geld. This is certainly true 

 of the gelds of 1075 and 1083-4. The geld inquests of 

 1083-4 for the south-western counties show that the tenants 

 alone paid that geld, the "exceeding muckle geld" of 

 72^. a hide. And a comparison of the Burton Chartularies 

 with the Domesday Book shows that the demesne of the 

 abbey paid no geld ; for in a number of cases where the 

 chartulary states that the " land of the tenants defends itself 

 for A hides," the Domesday assessment of the whole property 

 is only A hides. But, to say the least, it is very questionable 

 whether Domesday Book lends any support to the sweeping 

 suggestion that all the demesne land was exempt from geld. 

 In one passage where it is stated that the demesne was quit 

 of geld, that statement is introduced by a " but : " " Queen 

 Edith held Alton (Hants.), T. R. E. ; then there were 10 hides, 

 and the villans paid geld for 5 ; now the Abbot (of Hyde) 

 has 5 hides in demesne, but they do not pay geld." 2 In the 

 hundred of Herstingstone (Hunts.) it is recorded that "the 

 dominical carucates are quit of the King's geld. The villans 

 and the sokemen geld according to the hides written in the 

 writ (breve], except at Broughton, where the Abbot pays geld 

 with the others for one hide." 3 But this would appear to be 

 recorded as an exception. Again, it should be remembered 

 that in many places demesne is contrasted with "inland." 

 At Banbury the Bishop of Lincoln had in his demesne land 

 for ten teams and 3 hides besides inland ; 4 and at Deddington 



1 D. B., I. 64 b 2. 2 Id., I. 43 a I. 



3 Id., I. 203 a 2. 4 Id., I. 155 a I. 



