THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 



Liber Niger {temp. Henry I.) has some entries on them. At Oundle there 

 were six,^ who were classed with the villeins ; and on three other man- 

 ors " we find four, six, and eight ' bovarii ' connected respectively with 

 two, three, and four ploughs in the lord's demesne, and holding five, 

 nine, and ten acres each on these manors respectively. The abbey's 

 ' bovarii ' are found even on its Lincolnshire estate.^ Here then 

 we have distinct evidence that this class existed in a part of England 

 where Domesday ignores it, and, here again, we draw the inference that 

 the silence of Domesday is no proof of actual non-existence, and that 

 the system of its entries varied according to the district. But we have 

 more than this. The Peterborough evidence distinctly proves that 

 the ' bovarii ' were connected with the ploughteams of the lord, each of 

 them consisting of eight oxen, and that to each such team there belonged 

 two ' bovarii.' Now, when we turn to Worcestershire in Domesday, 

 we are able to trace a similar connection. At Ombersley, for instance, 

 Evesham Abbey had five ploughs in the demesne, and there were ' lo 

 bovarii' ; at Church Lench its ploughs in the demesne were two, and 

 there were four ' bovarii.'* But it is when we turn to the Evesham 

 cartulary (Cott. MS. Vesp. B. XXIV.) that the evidence becomes over- 

 whelming. In a 1 2th century list of its manors (fos. 49^ and 53) we 

 find in every case 2 ' bovarii ' to a plough. In the light of this evidence, 

 it becomes highly probable that Domesday uses the terms ' bovarii ' and 

 ' servi ' alternatively. The Evesham cartulary, for instance, enters under 

 Badby, Northants, 5 ploughs and 10 'bovarii,' where Domesday gives 

 us, in the demesne, ' 4 ploughs and 8 serfs.' Under Badsey, Worcester- 

 shire, the former document records 3 ploughs and 6 ' bovarii,' while 

 Domesday assigns to its demesne 2 ploughs, and adds that there are 4 

 ' serfs.' There are several other instances in Worcestershire of 2 ' bovarii ' 

 to the demesne plough.^ We thus obtain fresh light on a class otherwise 

 obscure and an explanation of its character. While on the subject, I 

 would point out that, in Northamptonshire, there were 8 ' bubulci ' to 

 the 4 demesne ploughs at Pytchley, and at Aldwincle 4 ' bubulci ' to the 

 2 demesne ploughs.® This appears to imply clearly the identity of 

 ' bubulci ' and ' bovarii,' although this ' is contrary to the usual inter- 

 pretation." 



* It should be added that on this manor there were three ploughs in the demesne. 

 ^ Liber Niger, pp. 1 62-3. 



^ Ibid. pp. 164-5. 



* See, for both these instances, Domesday, fo. 175^. 



^ At'Hortune' (fo. 177^1) we read : 'In dominio sunt ii carucae et iiii bovarii.' At 

 Hadsor there were 4 'bovarii' and 2 demesne ploughs, and at ' Tichenapletreu * (in Hamp- 

 ton Lovett) the same; at Hampton, i demesne plough and 2 'bovarii'; at Clent i^ 

 demesne ploughs and 3 ' bovarii ' ; at Queenhill, i demesne plough and 2 ' bovarii '; at Elders- 

 field 3 demesne ploughs and 6 ' bovarii.' 



* Liber Niger, pp. 162, 1 66. 



' Dr. Andrews' Old English Manor, p. 218. Dr. Andrews, who had specially studied 

 the work of the 'ox-herd,' identified him as the ' bubulcus,' and stated (in error) that this 

 servant is not mentioned in the Liber Niger. He considered the duties of the hovarius to be 

 distinct. 



