552 THE CORNWALL DOMESDAY AND GELD INQUEST. 



Cornwall, is hardly a happy (although an accurate) rendering of 

 the latin ; as an example, he there says of Winetone "the land 

 is sixty Carucates," I prefer to translate it — " There is land for 

 sixty ploughteams," and this is clearly shewn in the Exeter 

 Domesday where the entry runs " these can be ploughed by 

 sixty ploughteams." In the time of King Edward there were 

 only fifteen hides of assessment. 



Domesday was a geld book, — a tax book ; and the hides 

 returned were hides on which the tax, to be collected, was 

 assessed.^ 



And on no other principle could an equitable tax be 

 assessed ; the arable land of Cornwall was far inferior to 

 that in the eastern counties of England, a rough rule of one 

 pound value per hide seems shadowed out in them, but in the 

 western Counties poverty is apparent. Whilst in Surrey a 

 teamland was worth 26 shillings, and in Dorset 23 shillings, in 

 Devon it was worth only 8 shillings, and in Cornwall 5 shillings 

 and 6 pence." The County therefore to compensate for the 

 poverty of its soil, was assessed far below the actual area of its 

 arable land, — in other words it was " underhidated." 



Taking the Hide at 120 acres," the virgate or yardland was 

 a fourth, or 3G acres ; and the farthing a fourth of the virgate, or 

 7^ acres. 



Money may be reckoned at thirty times its present value. 



On the following pages I have given a translation of the 

 Geld Roll, and after the entry for each hundred, a tabular 

 statement showing how the hidage is made up. 



8 This question of the hide has been exhaustively treated by Mr. F. W. 

 Maitland in " Doomsday Book and beyond." 



lOMaitland, idem, p. 403. 



11 The Eev. 0. J. Eeichel, F.S.A., writing of Devonshire considered that 

 " The Saxon homestead, here as elsewhere, contained approximately 100 acres of 

 arable land, sometimes more, occasionally less, but in this County (Devonshire) 

 prob.ably less than elsewhere, say 65 acres as a minimum, 115 as a maximum." 



Trans. Devonshire Association, vol. 27, p. 171. 



