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THE
SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
A HISTORY OF
THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH
TILL THE PERIOD OP
THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
BY
JOHN MITCHELL KEMBLE, M.A., F.C.P.S.
MBMBBE or THE ftOTAL ACADBMV^V tCIBItCBB AT MUXICB, AKD Or TBB BOTAL
ACADBMT or tClBJICBt AT BBBLIIt,
rRLLOW or TBB BOTAL SOCIBTT Or BIBTOBT IN BTOCEBOLX, AND Or TBB
BOTAL SOCIBTT Or BIBTOBT IN COrBNBAGBN,
BTC. BTC. BTC.
" Nobilis et »trenuA, iux:«que dotcm naturae sagBciMima ftm% Sazonum, ab antiquis etiam
ampt<»ibitt mrmonta."
VOLUME L
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR
LONGMAN, BROWN, GEEEN, AND LONGMANS,
PATERNOSTER ROW.
1849.
yj '
'52
U
PBIMTBD at KICKAAD AVD JOHN B. TATLOB,
BBD Lion C008T, rLBBT ITBBBT.
TO
THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY,
THIS HISTORY
OF THE PRINCIPLES WHICH HAVE GIVEN HER EMPIRE
ITS PREEMINENCE
AMONG THE NATIONS OF EUROPE,
IS,
WITH HER GRACIOUS PERMISSION,
INSCRIBED BY
THE MOST HUMBLE AND DEVOTED
OF HER SERVANTS.
PREFACE.
The follo¥ring pages contain an account of the
principles upon which the public and political life
of our Anglosaxon forefathers was based, and of
the institutions in which those principles were most
clearly manifested. The subject is a grave and
solemn one : it is the history of the childhood of
our own age, — the explanation of its manhood.
On every side of us thrones totter, and the deep
foundations of society are convulsed. Shot and
shell sweep the streets of capitals which have long
been pointed out as the chosen abodes of order :
cavalry and bayonets cannot control populations
whose loyalty has become a proverb here, whose
peace has been made a reproach to our own mis-
called disquiet. Yet the exalted Lady who wields
the sceptre of these realms, sits safe upon her
throne, and fearless in the holy circle of her do-
mestic happiness, secure in the affections of a peo-
ple whose institutions have given to them all the
blessings of an equal law.
Those institutions they have inherited from a
period so distant as to excite our admiration, and
have preserved amidst all vicissitudes with an en-
vi • PREFACE.
lightened will that must command our gratitude.
And with the blessing of the Almighty, they will
long continue to preserve them ; for our customs
are founded upon right and justice, and are main-
tained in a subjection to His will who hath the
hearts of nations as well as of kings in His rule
and governance.
It cannot be without advantage for us to learn
how a State so favoured as our own has set about
the great work of constitution, and solved the
problem, of uniting the completest obedience to
the law with the greatest amount of individual free-
dom. But in the long and chequered history of
our State, there are many distinguishable periods:
some more and some less well known to us. Among
those with which we are least familiar is the oldest
period. It seems therefore the duty of those whose
studies have given them a mastery over its details,
to place them as clearly as they can before the eyes
of their fellow-citizens.
There have never been wanting men who en-
joyed a distinct insight into the value of our
earliest constitutional history. From the days of
Spelman, and Selden and Twisden, even to our
own, this country has seen an unbroken succession
of laborious thinkers, who, careless of self-sacrifice,
have devoted themselves to record the facts which
were to be recovered from the darkness of the past,
and to connect them with the progress of our poli-
tical and municipal laws. But peculiar advantages
over these men, to whom this country owes a large
debt of gratitude, are now enjoyed by ourselves.
PREFACE. vii
It is only within eight years that the *' Ancient
Laws and Ecclesiastical Institutes " of the Anglo-
saxons have been made fully accessible to us^:
within nine years only, upwards of fourteen hun-
dred documents containing the grants of kings
and bishops, the settlements of private persons, the
conventions of landlords and tenants, the technical
forms of judicial proceedings, have been placed in
our hands^ ; and to this last quarter of a century
has it been given to attain a mastery never before
attained over the language which our Anglosaxon
ancestors spoke. To us therefore it more particu-
larly belongs to perform the duty of illustrating
that period, whose records are furnished to us so
much more abundantly than they were to our pre-
decessors ; and it seemed to me that this duty was
especially imposed upon him whom circumstances
had made most familiar with the charters of the
Anglosaxons.
The history of our earliest institutions has come
down to us in a fragmentary form : in a similar way
' Ancient Laws and Institutes of England; comprising Laws en-
acted under the Anglosaxon Kings from uE'Selbirht to Cnut, with an
English translation of the Saxon : the Laws called Edward the Con-
fessor's ; the Laws of William the Conqueror, and those ascribed to
Henry the First ; also Monumenta Ecclesiastica Anglicana, from the
seventh to the tenth century: and the ancient Latin version of the
Anglosaxon Laws. With a copious Glossary, etc. (By B. Thorpe, Esq.).
Printed by command of his late Majesty, Ring William the Fourth,
under the direction of the Commissioners on the Public Records of the
Kingdom, mdcccxl.
' Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici. Opera J. M. Kemble, M.A.,
vol. i. London, 1839 ; vol. ii. 1840; vol. iii. 1845 ; vol. iv. 1846; vol. v.
1847; vol. vi. 1848. Published by authority of the Historical Society
of England.
1
viii . PREFACE.
has it here been treated, — in chapters, or rather
essays, devoted to each particular principle or group
of facts. But throughout these fragments a system
is distinctly discernible : accordingly the chapters
\\'ill be found also to follow a systematic plan.
It is my intention, at a future period, to lay
befoix^ mv countrymen the continuation of this
History, embracing the laws of descent and pur-
chase, the law of contracts, the forms of judicial
priKVSs, the family relations, and the social con-
dition of the Saxons as to agriculture, commerce,
art, science and literature. I believe these things
to be worthy of investiscation, from their bearins:
upon the times in which we live, much more than
from any antiquarian value they may be supposed
to |>assess. We have a share in the past, and the
past yet works in us ; nor can a patriotic citizen
belter ser>'e his country* than bv devotinsr his ener-
^ies anvl his time to record that which is sreat
and glorious in her historw for the admiration and
^> •
instruction of her neighbours.
J. M. K.
CONTENTS,
VOL. I.
BOOK I.
THE ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE ANGLOSAXON
COMMONWEALTH.
Chapter Page
I. Saxon and Welsh Traditions 1
II. The Mark 35
III. TheGdorSeir 72
lY. Landed Possession. The EiSel^ Hid or Alod . 88
V. Personal Rank. The Freeman. The Noble . 122
VI. The King 137
VII. The Noble by Service 162
VIII. TheUnfree. The Serf 185
IX. The Mutual Guarantee. Msegburh. Tithing.
Hundred 228
X. P8§h«e. Wergyld 267
XI. Folcland. Bocland. Ls^nland 289
XII. Heathendom 327
Appendix.
A. Marks 449
B. The Hid 487
C. Manumission of Serfi^ 496
D. Orcy^s Guild at Abbotsbury 511
E. L^land 517
F. Heathendom 523
THE
SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
BOOK L
THE ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE ANGLO-SAXON
COMMONWEALTH.
CHAPTER I.
SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS.
Eleven centuries ago, an industrious and consci-
entious historian, desiring to give a record of the
establishment of his forefathers in this island, could
find no fuller or better account than this : * ' About
the year of Grace 445-446, the British inhabitants
of England, deserted by the Roman masters who
had enervated while they protected them, and ex-
posed to the ravages of Picts and Scots from the
extreme and barbarous portions of the island, called
in the assistance of heathen Saxons from the conti-
nent of Europe. The strangers faithfully performed
their task, and chastised the Northern invaders;
then, in scorn of the weakness of their employers,
subjected them in turn to the yoke, and after vari-
ous vicissitudes of fortune, established their own
VOL. I. B
U THE «^AXO^> IN I^^GLaM* [book i.
power upon the ruins oi Bomaii and British dri-
lizatioD." The few details which had reached the
historian taught that the stransers were under the
guidance of two brothers, Hen^est and Hors : that
their armament was convej-ed in three ships or
keels : tliat it consisted of Jut^, Saxons and An-
gles : that their successes stimulated similar ad-
venturers among their countrymen: and that in
process of time their continued migrations were so
lari^e and numerous, as to have reduced Anglia,
their original home, to a desert'.
Such was the tale of the victorious Saxons in the
eighth century : at a later period, the vanquished
Britons found a melancholy satisfaction in adding
details which might brand the career of their con-
querors with the stain of disloyalty. According to
these hostile authorities, treachery and fraud pre-
pared and consolidated the Saxon triumph. The
wiles of Hengest's beautiful daughter' subdued the
mind of the British ruler ; a murderous violation
of the rights of hospitality, which cut oflF the chief-
tains of the Britons at the very table of their hosts,
delivered over the defenceless land to the barba-
rous invader^ ; and the miraculous intervention of
> BeiU, Hist. £ccl. i. 14, 15. Gildas, Hist. § 14. Nennius, Hist. § 38.
^ It ia uncertain from the MSS. whether this lady is to be called
Rouwen or Ronwen. The usual Engtish tradition gives her name as
Rowena ; if this be accurate, I presume oiu- pagan forefathers knew
something of a divine personage — Ur6"5wen — possibly a dialectical
form of th*: great and glorious goddess Hre'Se ; for whom refer to Chap-
ter X. of thin B<xjk.
' Th«r <tory of the treacherous murder perpetrated upon the Wekh
ehw^fuin* fli)*r3i not claim an Enghsh origin. It is related of the Old-
taiijfut nj^rm th«^ crmtinrnt, in connexion with the conquest of the
Thunn^na. i^r.t. Widukind.
SAXON AND WELSH TRjiDITIONS.
Germanus, the spells of Merlin and the prowess
of Arthur, or the victorious career of Aurelius Am-
brosius, although they delayed and in part avenged,
yet could not prevent the downfal of their people'.
Meagre indeed are the accounts which thus satis-
fied the most enquiring of our forefathers ; yet such
as they are, they were received as the undoubted
truth, and appealed to in later periods as the earliest
authentic record of our race. The acuter criticism of
an age less prone to believe, raore skilful in the ap-
preciation of evidence, and familiar with (he fleeting
forms of mythical and epical thought, sees in them
only a confused mass of traditions borrowed from
the most heterogeneous sources, compacted rudely
and with httle ingenuity, and in which the smallest
poesihle amount of historical truth is involved in a
great deal of fable. Yet the truth which such tra-
ditions do nevertheless contain, yields to the al-
chemy of our days a golden harvest : if we cannot
undoubtingly accept the details of such legends,
they still point out to us at least the course we
must pursue to discover the elements of fact upon
which the Mythus and Epos rest, and guide ua to
the period and the locality where these took root
and flourished.
From times beyond the records of history, it ia
certain that continual changes were taking place in
the position and condition of the various tribes that
peopled the northern districts of Europe. Into this
great basin the successive waves of Keltic, Teutonic
' Conf. Nenniui. Hist. 37 >eq.4
GOdaa, Hilt. « 25.
Beds. Hint. Ecc. i. 14. 15.
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[a.
and Slavonic migrations were poured, and here,
through hundreds of years, were probably reproduced
convulsions, terminated only by the great outbreak
which the Germans call the wandering of the nations.
For successive generations, the tribes, or even por-
tions of tribes, may have moved from place to
place, as the necessities of their circumstances de-
manded ; names may have appeared, and vanished
altogether from the scene ; wars, seditions, con-
quests, the rise and fall of states, the solemn forma-
tion or dissolution of confederacies, may have filled
the ages which intervened between the first settle-
ment of the Teutons in Germany, and their appear-
ance in history as dangerous to the quiet of Rome.
The heroic lays' may possibly preserve some sha-
dowy traces of these events ; but of all the changes
in detail we know nothing: we argue only that
nations possessing in so preeminent a degree as
the Germans, the principles, the arts and institu-
tions of civilization, must have passed through a
long apprenticeship of action and suffering, and
have learnt in the rough school of practice the
wisdom they embodied in their lives.
Possessing no written annals, and trusting to the
' The AngloHixon Traveller's Song contains a multitude of namet
which cnimot be found elsewhere. PruIus Diaconus, ami Jomande*
have evidently used ancient poema as the founilation of their hiatoriei.
The layi of the vorioui GenuBuic cycles Btill furnish details respecting
Hermanaric, Otachar, Thcodoric, Hiltibraat and other heroes of thii
troubled period. But the reader who would judge of the fragmentuj
and unsatisfactory result of all that the ancient world has recorded of
the new, had hetter conxiilt that most remarkable work of Zcusa, Die
Deutichcn und die Nachbarstamme. Munich, 1837- He will there sm
how the profoundest science halts afler the reality of ancient ages, and
■trivei in vain to reduce their manifold falsehood fo a truth.
I
H...]
SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS.
poet the task of the historian, our forefathers have
left but scanty records of their early condition'.
Nor did the supercilious or unsuspecting ignorance
of Italy care to enquire into the mode of life and
habits of the barbarians, until their strong arms
threatened the civihzation and the very existence
of the enapire itself. Then first, dimly through the
twilight in which the sun of Rome was to set for
ever, loomed the Colossus of the German race,
gigantic, terrible, inexpHcabte ; and the vague at-
tempt to deSne its awful features came too late to
be fully successful. In Tacitus, the city possessed
indeed a thinker worthy of the exalted theme ; but
bis sketch, though vigorous beyond expectation, is
incomplete in many of the most material points :
yet this is the most detailed and fullest account
which we possess, and nearly the only certain
source of information till we arrive at the moment
when the invading tribes in every portion of the
empire entered upon their great task of recon-
structing society from its foundations. Slowly,
from point to point, and from time to time, traces
are recognized of powerful struggles, of national
movements, of destructive revolutions r but the
definite facts which emerge from the darkness of
the first three centuries, are rare and fragmentary.
Let us confine our attention to that portion of
the race which settled on our own shores.
The testimony of contemporaneous history as-
sures us that about the middle of the fifth century.
u Bjiucl illoa
€ THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
m considerable movemeot took place among the
tribes that inhabited the western coasts of Ger-
DEianv and the islands ot* the Baltic sea. Pressed
at hocne bv the incursions ot* restless nei^bonrs,
and the ur^ncv ot increasing population, or yield-
ing to the unirersad spirit ot adventure, Ai^es,
Saxoas and Frisians crossed a little-kiiown and
iian£enxKS ocean to seek new settlemoits in ad-
jacent UjG<d:s^ Familiar as we are with daring deeds
of mahtL^Sfe e=.:eqpcbse« who hare seen our dag doat
orer ererr sea. aixl d'Jtter in ex^^r biecze that
sweeps over the s;3riace ot the earth, we cuidoI
ccfLtemjdiXe witixyat astonishment ax>d adminlioo,
tlie&e bardr sailors swarmii^ om ereiy point, tra-
rernng erery oceas. sweeping e^^enr jes^Bair and
Vay. and lax>ditig cm erenr sbose whidi pramiaeid
phoider or a teanpararr res^ trocD tbedr t&tigDes.
H>e wealth of Gaul had abejidr axtraded fearfol
Ti^tation^^. and the ^kuIs oa Roman cukix-ation had
heen displayed liefore the wondering liordepere of
the Elhe and Eyder. the prize of paso, and incen-
tive X-c future actiriri'. Britain, fertiye and defence-
less, ahonndim: in the accumulations of a lone
career en peace, deserted by its ancient lords^. un-
accustomed to arms - , and accustomed to the ydke.
Tnv^ » sMPTtPT "hott. h\ GUiIk^ uii: Nonnins. «m^ i: K' hot it itadf
imrimTiiitMle Tn* Raman*' Au: itrnnMimcis uttcmni u- (h«aaii. tbt ntt-
tiom tne^ «ohdar«(i thD> lV»hiJ< wit I. tht AI«nMimi V«|»«c. c«ji. 1-1.
Wiim^hori-'i' amcwm: o: «if lirtenroir^ hxmu o: Britur. wfc^ im^mbhr
Bir exusi^fT9Xr*\ Ht iwy> ** Its. nm. r>T«Tm: nnliuir. n: mpr^ fi meiei
lirwrhiLrcK. nulhnL n. urhirws priwnrr veiur: drditns rrhqiiwwnu Bh-
init onm. pfttrocrou- 1uvraU1^ vi^ron^ t'uhintK. omn. cxpmtic aitnmi
emymitfc. rmttinniiuiniir irfntiim. rnhifinon-. tim nhnoxK fun " Gen.
lUe til. , •: L
,..]
SAXON AND WELSH TRvVDITlONS,
at once invited attack aod held out the prospect of
a rich reward : and it is certain that at that period,
there took place some extensive migration of Ger-
mans to the shores of England'. The expeditions
known to tradition as those of Hengest, ^Ih, Cissa,
Cerdic and Port, may therefore have some foun-
dation in fact; and around this meagre nucleus of
truth were grouped the legends which afterwards
served to conceal the poverty and eke out the
scanty stock of early history. But J do not think
it at all probahle that this was the earliest period
at which the Germans formed settlements in Eng-
land.
It is natural to helieve that for many centuries
a considerable and active intercourse had prevailed
between the southern and eastern shores of this
island, and the western districts of Gaul. The first
landing of Julius Caesar was caused or justified by
the assurance that his Gallic enemies recruited their
armies and repaired their losses, by the aid of their
British kinsmen and allies^ ; and the merchants of
the coast, who found a market in Britain, reluc-
tantly furnished him with the information upon
which the plan of his invasion was founded*. When
' Prosper Tyro, a.d, 441, says, "Tlieodoaii xviii. BriUnniBe usque
ad hoc lempuH vorita cladifaua ercDtibusque laCae [7 laccrtitac] in (li-
tionem Sasouum redigiintur." See also Proi'Op. Bel. Got. iv. 20. Tlie
former of these passBges might bo?fever be understood Hithout tbe as-
nunption of an immigration, which the movements of Attila render
probable.
' BeU. GaU. iii. 8. 9; iv. 20.
• Especially the Veneti; tToifioi yip firrav KuXifuiTov ilt t^v ffptr-
Tanrqir irXovr, j(pJintinK r^ iianpUf, Strabo, bk. iv. p. 271. Conf. BeU.
Can. iv. 20.
THE SAXOSS IN ENGLAND.
Lb.
the fortUDe and the arms of Rome had prevailed
over her ill-disciplined antagonists, and both con-
tiaent and island were subject to the same all-em-
bracing rule, it is highly probable that the ancient
bonds were renewed, and that the most familiar
intercourse continued to prevail. In the time of
Slrabo the products of the island, corn, cattle, gold,
silver and iron, skins, slaves, and a large descrip-
tion of dog, were exported by the natives, no doubt
principally to the neighbouring coasts, and their
commerce with these was sufficient to justify the
imposition of an export and import duty'. As early
as the time of Nero, London, though not a colony,
was remarkable as a mercantile station^, and in alt
human probability was the great mart of the Gauls.;
There cannot be the least doubt that an active com-
munication was maintained throughout by the Kel-
tic nations on the different sides of the channel ;
and similarly, as German tribes gradually advanced
along the lines of the Elbe, the Weser, the Maes
and the Rhine, occupying the countries which lie
upon the banks of those rivers, and between them
and the sea, it is reasonable to suppose that some
offsets of their great migrations reached the oppo-
site shores of England^. As early as the second
I
' Book iv. p. 279. • Tacit. Ann. xiv. 33.
' Caesar noticeii the migrations of continental tribes to Britain : he
uyR, " Brilaimiat; {lai^ interior ah us incolitur, quos natoa in innda
ipga memoria proditum dieunt ; maritima pan all iis qui praeilae me
belli inferendi causa ex Belgis traniiierant ; qui omnes fere iis nomini-
bus civitatutn adpetUntur, quibus orti ex eivitatibun eo pcrvenemnt, et
bello inlato ibi remBmenuit, atque agros colere coepeniat." Bell. Ciall.
,, I.]
SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS.
century, Chauci are mentioned among the inhabit-
ants of the south-east of Ireland', and although we
have only the name whereby to identify them with
the great Saxon tribe, yet this deserves considera-
tion when compared with the indisputably Keltic
names of the surrounding races. The Coritavi, who
occupied the present counties of Lincoln, Leicester,
Rutland, Northampton, Nottingham and Derby,
were Germans, according to the Welsh tradition
itself', and the next following name KarvevyXayol,
though not certainly German, bears a strong re-
Bembiance to many German formations^.
Without, however, laying more stress upon these
facts than they will fairly warrant, let us proceed
to other considerations which render it probable
that a large admixture of German tribes was found
' Ptolemy, bk. ii. c. 2, It is true tbat Ptolemy calU them KauKot,
but tbu mode of spelbug U not unexampled, &nd is found in even lo
correct a nrtter as Strabo, Tlie proper form is Kai)(ot. Latin authors
occasionally write Cauci for Chauci, and sometimes even Cauchi : tee
Zeuss, Die Deutachen und die Nachbarstamme, p, 138. It is rigbl to
add tbat Zcuss, whose opinion on such a point is entitled to the highest
eonsideratioD, hesitates to include theac Kavtoi among Germanic tribes
(p. 199). The ttarainoi, placed also by Ptolemy in IrelsDil, can hardly
be Germans.
' Ptolemy, bk. ii. c. 3, /tfff oCt Kopirouol. tr o'l nnktic \iv8oi: jiar/t'
tlra KortuvxXaw)!, iv alt iroAdt ira\^*ac [al. arAtniai.'] OlpoKoinav.
Others have preferred the form KopiTavol, but the authority of the best
manuscripts, not less than the analog of the names Ingaevones, Iscae-
rones, Chamavi, Batavi. confirroa the earlier reading. According to the
Triads, these Coritavi (Corinisidd) had migrated from a Teutonic marsh-
lirnd. Thorpe's LAppeiiberg, i. 15. The word is thus in all probability
r'trived from Flor, tulum, Horibt, laiotia; eijuivalent to the "oquosa
Ffcionum arva." Vit. Sci. Sturm. Perti. ii. 372. " Saxones, gentem
oceani. in UtMnbus et paludihua inviis litam." Oos, lii. 33.
' Chatuarii, HeaSobeardan. HealSorsmes. However Catu is a ge-
nuine British prefix .
10 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAXD. [book 1.
ID Eoglaod loDg prevjoas to the middle of the fifth
century. It appears to me that the presence of
Rotnao emperors recruiting the forces with which
the throne of the world was to be disputed, from
among the hardiest populations of the contioeot,
must not only have led to the settlement of Teu-
tonic families in this island, but also to the main-
teoaoce, od their part, of a steady intercourse with
their kinsmen who remained behind. The military
colony, moreover, which claimed to be settled upon
good arable land, formed the easiest and most ad-
vantageous mode of pensioning the emeriti; and
many a successful Caesar may have felt that his
own safety was better secured by portioning bis Ger-
man veterans in the fruitful valleys of England,
than by settling them as doubtful garrisons in
Lombardy or Campania.
The fertile fields which long before had merited
the praises of the first Roman victor, must have of-
fered attractions enough to induce wandering Sax-
ons and Angles to desert the marshes and islands
of the Elbe, and to call Frisian adventurers over
from the sands and salt-pools of their home. If in
the middle of the fifth century Saxons had esta-
blished regular settlements at Bayeux' ; if even
before this time the country about Grannona bore
the name of Littus Saxonicum', we may easily be-
I
I
' Sutone* Buocauini. Greg. Turon. t. 3/ ; i. 9.
' Orannona in littore Saxonico. Notit. Imp. Opciil. c. 86. Dn
Cheane Hi«t. t. p. .t. The T6tinga«, who h«ve left their naine to Toot-
ing in Surrey, are rcnirdcil alio at T6tiiigali±ni in th« county of Bou-
logne, Leo, Reetitiid. p. 26.
CH. I.) SAXON AND WELSH TiLIDITIONS 11
lieve that at still earlier periods other Saxons had
found over the intervening ocean a way less dan-
gerous and tedious than a march through the ter-
ritories of jealous or hostile neighbours, or even
than a coasting voyage along barbarous shores
defended by a yet more barbarous population. A
north-east wind would, almost without effort of
their own, have carried their ships from Helgoland
and the islands of the Elbe, or from Silt and Rom-
Bey', to the Wash and the coast of Norfolk. There
seems then every probahility that bodies more or
less numerous, of coast-Germans, perhaps actually
of Saxons and Angles, had colonized the eastern
shores of England long before the time generally
assumed for their advent*. The very exigencies of
military service had rendered this island familiar
to the nations of the continent: Batavi, under their
own national chieftains, had earned a share of the
Roman glory, and why not of the Roman land, in
' Ptolemy cbUb the islmiils at the mouth of the Elbe, 2a^vav i^imi
rpiit. ZcuBs considen these to be Fiihr, Silt uticl Nnrdstrand. Die
DeatKhen, p. 150. Lappeiiberg sees in them, North Frieilanil, £jder-
■tedt, Norditrand, Wickinghardc and Bijcinghftrde. Thorpe, Lap. i.
07- It seemR harillj coneelvable that Fmiuis, who ixTcupied the cout
u e«rly u the time of Caesar, should Dot have found their way by ie»
to Britain, especially when pregseil by Roman power: see Tac. Ann.
' Hengeat defeated the Picti and Scots al Stanifonl in LinFolnahire,
not far from the Nenc, the Witham and the Wetland, upon nrhoac hanka
it is Dearly eertain that there were German settlementa. Widukind'a
itoiy of an einbaasy from the Britons to the Saxoiis, to entreat aid, is
thus rendered not altogether improbable : but then it must be under-
itood of Sasons already established in England, and on the very line of
match of the Northern invaders, whom they thus took most cfDietually
in flaok. Compare Geoffry's story of Vortigem givin)c Uengest lands
in Lincolnshire, etc.
19 THE 8AX0NS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Britain * ? The policy of the Emperor Marcus An-
toninus, at the successful close of the Marcomannic
war, had transplanted to Britain multitudes of Grer-
nmns, to serve at once as instruments of Roman
power and as hostages for their countrymen on the
frontier of the empire*. The remnants of this once
powerful confederation cannot but have left long
and lasting traces of their settlement among us ; nor
can it be considereil at all improbable that Carau-
aius, when in the year 287> he raised the standard of
revolt in Britain > calculated upon the assistance of
the Germans in this countrv> as well as that of their
allien and brethren on the continent^. Nineteen
HMX «MC<« (HNT ^«Muu*ia j|:Vxnik tmatmJBWw iUac cobaitibas»
M^^Kir^' uik$uiul\x iM)MLU«siittu popukniuBL K^eebftiiK.'^
'^ IVk i^ML txvju lx\u. iubbook IVe. eap*. uu At a fater pciiod,
lh^>2KM «Slk4 V«j»iU9L «aJl KUTfCttttJbBUw beK : Z^Mima^ tells m >. Hiat.
w%ft,Y^*' ji r^» vif«r^>* >^•^)^Mrr«v^ «VruMiirr«rr<Vk" «iiru mxiT'^ rum
c^wV«^ xuttsr%t*^iH, KhKV(HU» e««nt ^^ms a> &r » 09 make
* C^ummos «ii2^ 4 )ietta(MiUi : but ji cbe ooifu i>ntcur7 cbe mbafaift-
aitcs^ vM' ^ >LcttA(Naa u^mfiur^ wtn^ cvctauu^ reucuoic. .kunniiia Vxfior
ciftkU bill! ;i l^tea^tau : i<« C»iiKKm» LVc. %.n4>. \ai. Cantoua^ ami after
{bin -i^tx'iUA^ :tHiatfiauKa a VHrraiaut amt^: 'j«:n; : '* Otiiiii» tmim dlua» at
auoh>« caut(M% ai^uii; «.vti«» :mo :iiM ttfcentiiioniiti iiMCitni vMcpuca
te.vnruuc. Uia b«rW« .utc itsutacxoiie jarfMnae •nun ^ta
pcvtUMi oniK mfiiaiina. muc v<rv muvt^n* <€ ^.'rttun: M«iaca» tfC 31
M*' mUu^ vaL*«iw ^<«CHU iuivfvm ^*iiiK:rum :ut;rauc ^mvucv :aL-«it9n]it..
CMW«ftwu juuuuia 4«u%kui ^taw iuurtiut^ 'iivnd^ jiHaunu iiM
jic«!rBcou yraw>XHiB. xi ih ^uo^ue tuilitt^ v^^i^dT, .^
btaMMft* iC ;M4iiio Miic iiAi, :B«r»' WMuucii ju jfypHium L«
fMr««iKniac. luMaiuiu -^x ntffg* !na na ila ttuitiniuuw
Ji> >U|wrniRcnii, .'uia iirvpca .'?v:fafiv. ttipuB .•a yo M Ht rr .'•iipcaRsr,
tuca inik >iai«««nB&. * Suhkiiu ?%iK|p. .'osm. .up. 'is 't*.
CH. I.] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS. 13
years later the death of Coastantius delivered the
dignity of Caesar to his soo Constantioe : he was
solemnly elected to that dignity in Britain, and
among his supporters was Crocus, or as some read
Erocus, an Alaraannic king who had accompanied
his father from Germany'. Still later, under Va-
lentinian, we find an auxiliary force of Alamanni
serving with the Roman legions here.
By chronological steps we have now approached
the period at which was compiled the celebrated
document entituled ' Notitia utriusque imperii'*.
Even if we place this at the latest admissible date,
it is still at least half a century earlier than the ear-
liest date assigned to Hengest. Among the im-
portant officers of state mentioned therein as admi-
nistering the affairs of this island, is the Comes Lit-
toris Saxonici per Britannias ; and his government,
which extended from near the present site of Ports-
' Aurel. Vict. cap. 4 1 . Lappenberg, referring to thin fact (Thorpe, i.
A7),»*k». " Ma_v DOt theoame Erocun be a corruption of Ertorus, a La-
tiniiatioii of tbe old-Saxon Ileritogo. dajct" I think not; for on A]b-
tnan would have beco calleil by n bigh anil not low German uame, Ue-
riiohho, not Hcritogo. I thinlc it much more hkely that his name wsi
Chrobbo or Brfica, s rook.
• Pancirolua would date this important record in a.d. 43S, Gibbon,
however, refutes him and pkcCB it betweeD 395 and 40/. Dec. cap.
XTii. I am inclined to tbink even tbiit date inaccurate, and tbat the
Romana did not maintain any such great catablishment iu Britain, hi that
herein described, Bt so late a period. For eveu Ammianua tells us ia
364, " Hoc tempore Picti, Saxonesquc et Scotti et Attacotti Britannos
•reramnia vexavere MintinuU," (Hist. sivi. 4), which ia hardly consis-
tent with a flourishing state of tbe Roman civil and mibtary rule. The
•rtual document we possess may possibly dnte from 390 or -100, but it
refers to the arrangements of an earlier time, and to an organization of
Boman power in more palmy days of tbeir dominion.
14 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
mouth to Wells in Norfolk*, was supported by va-
rious civil and military establishments, dispersed
along the whole sea-board. The term Littus Sax-
onicum has been explained to mean rather the coast
visited by, or exposed to the ravages of, the Sax-
ons, than the coast occupied by them : but against
this loose system of philological and historical in-
terpretation I beg emphatically to protest : it seems
to have arisen merely from the uncritical spirit in
which the Saxon and Welsh traditions have been
adopted as ascertained facts, and from the impos-
sibility of reconciling the account of Beda with the
natural sense of the entry in the Notitia : but there
seems no reason whatever for adopting an excep-
tional rendering in this case, and as the Littus Sax-
onicum on the mainland was that district in which
members of the Saxon confederacy were settled, the
Littus Saxonicum per Britannias unquestionably
obtained its name from a similar circumstance'.
^ The document itself may be consulted in Graevius, vol. vii. The
"littus Saxonicum per Brittannias" extended at least from the Portui
Adumi to Branodunum, that is, from the neighbourhood of Portsmouth
to Branchester on the Wash. In both these places there were civil or
military officers under the orders of the Comes littoris Saxonid.
' Professor Leo, of Halle, has caUed attention to a remarkable re-
semblance between the names of certain places in Kent, and settlements
of the Alamanni upon the Neckar. A few of these, it must be admitted,
are striking, but the majority are only such as might be expected to
anse from similarities of surface and natural features in any two coun-
tries settled by cognate populations, having nearly the same language,
reUgious rites and civil institutions. Even if the fact be admitted in
the fullest extent, it is still unnecessary to adopt Dr. Leo's hypothesis,
that the coincidence is due to a double migration from the shores of
the Elbe. Rectitud. sing, person, pp. 100-104. It has been already
ca. t.] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS, U
Thus far the object of this rapid sketch has been ]
to show the improbability of our earliest records
beiDg anything more than ill- understood and con-
fused traditions, accepted without criticism by our
first annalists, and to refute the opinion long enter-
tained by our chroniclers, that the Germanic set-
tlements in England really date from the middle of
the fifth centurj'. The results at which we have
arrived are far from unimportant ; indeed they seem
to form the only possible basis upon which we can
ground a consistent and intelligible account of the
manner of the settlements themselves. And, be it
remembered, that the evidence brought forward
upon this point are the assertions of indifferent and
impartial witnesses ; statesmen, soldiers, men of
letters and philosophers, who merely recorded
events of which they had full means of becoming
cognizant, with no object in general save that of
stating facts appertaining to the history of their
empire. Moreover, the accounts they give are pro-
bable in themselves and perfectly consistent with
other well-ascertained facts of Roman history. Can
the same praise be awarded to our own meagre
national traditions, or to the fuller, detailed, but pal-
aUted that Couataatius noa accampanictl to Britaiii by an AlBmaimic
king; and 1 caiuiot iloubt tbat iinder Valentin ion, a force of Alamanni
iervod in thi» poiintry. Aminiaiius aays ; " Valentinianus in Mn-
criani locum. Bucinobautibus, quae contra Moguntincum gem est Ala-
manna, regem Fraomarium ordinavit : queni paullo postea, quoniam
tecena excuriuH eundem peoitus vaatavcrst pagiim, in Britsnnos trans-
latum potentate tribimi, Alamannorum praefecerat nuinero, multitudine,
Tiribusqiie ea tetnpcstate florenti." Hiat. xxis. c. 4. The context
renden it impossible tbat this " Dumerua Alamannontin " ahould bava
been aaything but genuine Germani.
hl'^
16 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
pably uDcritical assertions of our conquered neigh-
bours? 1 confess that the more I examine this
question, the more completely 1 am convinced that
the received accounts of our migrations, our subse-
quent fortunes, and ultimate settlement, are devoid
of historical truth in every detail.
It strikes the enquirer at once with suspicion
when he finds the tales supposed peculiar to his
own race and to this island, shared by the Ger-
manic populations of other lands, and with slight
changes of locality, or trifling variations of detail,
recorded as authentic parts of their history. The
readiest belief in fortuitous resemblances and co-
incidences gives way before a number of instances
whose agreement defies all the calculation of
chances. Thus, when we find Hengest and Hors
approaching the coasts of Kent in three keels, and
^lli effecting a landing in Sussex with the same
number, we are reminded of the Gothic tradition
which carries a migration of Ostrogoths, Visigoths
and Gepidae, also in three vessels, to the mouths
of the Vistula, certainly a spot where we do not
readily look for that recurrence to a trinal calcula-
tion, which so peculiarly characterizes the modes of
thought of the Cymri. The murder of the British
chieftains by Hengest is told totidem verbis by
Widukind and others, of the Oldsaxons in Thurin-
gia*. Geoffry of Monmouth relates also how Hen-
* Widukind in Leibnitz, Rer. Bninsw. i. JS, 74 ; Repgow, Sachtenip.
iii. 44, § 2. It 18 amusing enough to see how the number of ships
increases as people began to feel the absurdity of bringing over con-
quering annies in such very small flotillas.
:«. ,.]
SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS.
17
gest obtained from the Britons as much land as
could be enclosed by an ox-hide ; then, cutting the
hide into thongs, enclosed a much larger space
than the grantors intended, on which he erected
Thong castle' — a tale too familiar to need illustra-
tion, and which runs throughout the niytbus of
many nations. Among the Oldsaxons the tradi-
tion is in reahty the same, though recorded with
a slight variety of detail. In their story, a lapfull
of earth is purchased at a dear rate from aThurin-
gian ; the companions of the Saxon jeer him for
his imprudent bargain ; but he sows the purchased
earth over a large space of ground, which he claims
and, by the aid of his comrades, ultimately wrests
from the Thuringians «.
To the traditional bistorj-of the tribes peculiarly
belong the genealogies of their kings, to which it
will be necessary to refer hereafter in a mythological
point of view. For the present it is enough that I
call attention to the extraordinary tale of OfFa,
who occurs at an early stage of the Mercian table,
among the progenitors of the Mercian kings. This
story, as we find it in Matthew Paris's detailed ac-
count *, coincides in the minutest particulars with a
' GiUf. Monum. TI. Brit. tI. 11. Thoug ca:9tle prubalily gave ft ttim
to tLc itory here nhich the OliUnxon legend hod not. T]ie claMical
Ule of Dido aiid BjTsa ia well known to every aelioolboy i tUgnar
Lodbrog oilojited tlie iiiiiie artifice. R^. Lodb. Sagit. cap. 10, 20 :
nay the Uiudoos declare that we ubtaiued poasi'ssion of Calnitta bj
* Widuk. IB loc. eitat., also Grimm's Deutscle Sagen, No. 547, 3<>9.
ud Deutsche Rechtsalt. p. 'JO, where seveml valunhle examplea nrc
cited : it u remarkable how many of these arc Thui-inginn.
' Vit. Offac Priroi, edited hy Watl;,
VOL. I. C
18 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
tale told by Saxo Grammaticus of a Danish prince
bearing the same name^
/ The form itself in which details, which profess
to be authentic, have been preserved, ought to se-
cure us from falling into error. They are romantic,
not historical ; and the romance has salient and
characteristic points, not very reconcilable with the
varietv which marks the authentic records of fact.
For example, the details of a long and doubtful
struggle between the Saxons and the Britons are
obviously based upon no solid foundation ; the dates
and the events are aUke traditional, — the usual and
melancholy consolation of the vanquished. In pro-
portion as we desert the older and apply to later
sources of information, do we meet with success-
ful wars, triumphant British chieftains, vanquished
Saxons, heroes endowed with supernatural powers
and blessed with supernatural luck. Gildas, Nen-
nius and Beda mention but a few contests, and
even these of a doubtful and suspicious character ;
Geoffry of Monmouth and gossipers of his class
on the contrary, are full of wondrous incidents by
flood and field, of details calculated to flatter the
pride or console the sorrow of Keltic auditors : the
successes which those who lived in or near the
times described, either pass over in modest silence
or vaguely insinuate under sweeping generalities,
are impudently related by this fabler and his copy-
ists with every richness of narration. According to
him the invaders are defeated in every part of the
* Saxo Gramm. bk. iv. p. 59 seq.
CH. I.] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS. 19
island, Day even expelled from it ; army after army
is destroyed, chieftain after chieftain slain ; till he
winds up his enormous tissue of fabrications with
the defeat, the capture and execution of a hero
whose very existence becomes problematical when
tested by the severe principles of historical criti-
cism, and who, according to the strict theory of
our times, can hardly be otherwise than enrolled
among the gods, through a godlike or half-godlike
form\
It is no doubt probable that the whole land
was not subdued without some pains in different
quarters ; that here and there a courageous leader
or a favourable position may have enabled the
aborigines to obtain even temporary successes over
the invaders : the new immigrants were not likely
to find land vacant for their occupation among
their kinsmen who had long been settled here,
though well-assured of their co-operation in any
' Woden in the gentile fonn of a horse, Hengest, e^iiK^ admissariuSs
the brother of Hors, and father of a hne in which names of horses form
a distinguishing part of the ro^'al appellatives. It is hardly necessary
to remind the classical reader of Poseidon in his favourite shape,
the shape in which he contended "with Athene and mingled with
Ceres. In these remarks on Geoffry and his sources, I do not mean to
deny the obligation under which the reader of romance has been laid
by him ; only to reject ever}'thing like historical authority. It is from
the eountrymen of Geoffry that we have also gained the marvellous
superstructure of imagination which has supplied the tales of that time,
" when Charlemagne with all his peerage fell by Fontarabia," and which
is recognised by history in the very short entry, " In quo proelio Eggi-
hardus regiae mensae praepositus, Anselmus comes palatii, et Hruod-
landus, Brittanici limitis praefectus, cum aliis compluribus interfi-
ciuntur.'* Einhart. vit. Karol. § 9. Pertz, ii. 448. Let us be grateful
for the Orlando Innamorato and Furioso, but not make history of
them.
C 2
20 TUE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
attempt to wrest new settlements from the British.
But no authentic record remains of the slow and
gradual progress that would have attended the con-
quest of a brave and united people, nor is any such
consistent with the accounts the British authors
have left of the disorganized and disarmed condi-
tion of the population. A skirmish, carried on by
very small numbers on either side, seems generally
to have decided the fate of a campaign. Steadily
from east to west, from south to north, the sharp
axes and lon:x swords of the Teutons hewed their
way : wherever opposition was offered, it ended in
the retreat of the aborisrines to the mountains, —
fortresses whence it was impossible to dislodge
them« and from which thev sometimes descended
to attempt a hopeless effort for the liberty of their
count r\' or revenge ujKm their oppressors. The
ruder or more generous of their number mav have
X. m
jwrv'forred exile aiui ihe chances of emigration to
subjecuon at hon:e^ : but the mass of the people,
acv'ustomevl to Rom;in rule or the oppression of
native priuv\rs^, pa>bably suffered little by a change
oi master?, and aid little to avoid it. At even a
later iN?rioJ au indiiuant bajrd could pour out his
patrioiic rvproach^^s upon the Lc»e^riouis who had
bKCirtrtt juii «>>*c«u:r«MU!iC» -« ju bouL X*ii:£ b«^:a xctliAi tile re. C«iaf.
iiA:ii HM jn rum ^xaxmx:^
CH. I.] SAXON AXD WELSH TRADITIONS. 21
condescended to become Saxons. We learn that at
first the condition of the British under the German
rule was fair and easy, and only rendered harsher
in punishment of their unsuccessful attempts at
rebellion* ; (iMMKfae laws of Ini, a Westsaxon king,
show that in the territories subject to his rule, and
bordering upon the yet British lands, the Welsh-
man occupied the place of a petioecian rather than
a h^lote\f Nothing in fact is more common, or less
true, than the exaggerated account of total exter-
minations and miserable oppressions, in the tradi-
tional literature of conquered nations ; and we may
very safely appeal even to the personal appearance
of the peasantry in many parts of England, as evi-
dence how much Keltic blood was permitted to sub-
sist and even to mingle with that of the ruling Ger-
mans ; while the signatures to very early charters
supply us with names assuredly not Teutonic, and
therefore probably borne by persons of Keltic race,
occupying positions of dignity at the courts of
Anglosaxon kings^.
^ " Quorum illi qui Northwallos, id est Aquilonalcs Britoncs diccban-
tur, parti Westsaxonum regum obvenerant. Illi quondam consuctis
servitiis seduli, diu nil asperum retulere, sed tunc rebellionem medi-
tantes, Kentuuinus rex tarn anxia caede penlomuit, ut nihil ulteriua
ftperarent. Quare et ultima malorum accessit captivis tributaria func-
tio ; ut qui antea nee solam umbram palpabant libertatis, nunc iugum
subiectionis palam ingemiscerent." Malmsb. vit. Aldh. Ang. Sac. ii. 14.
' Leg. Ini, § 32, 33.
' See a tract of the author's in the Proceedings of the Archaeological
Institute, 1845, on Anglosaxon names. From some very interesting
papers read by the Rev. R. Gamett before the Philological Society in
1843, 1844, we learn that a considerable proportion of the words which
denote the daily processes of agriculture, domestic life, and generally
indoor and outdoor serrioe, are borrowed by us from the Keltic.
;^^ THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
l*\vui what has preceded it will be inferred that
X look ui>on the genuine details of the German
Coai)uests in England as irrevocably lost to us.
Si> extraordinary a success as the conquest of this
island by bands of bold adventurers from the con-
tinent, whose cognate tribes had already come into
fatal collision with not only the Gallic provincials,
but even the levies of the city itself*, could hardly
have passed unnoticed by the historians of the em-
pire : we have seen however that only Prosper Tyro
and Procopius notice this great event, and that
too in terms which by no means necessarily imply
Philolof^, Tnuw. i, 17K *^. The amount of Keltic words yet current
in Kii}(liih may of course be accounted for in part, without the b^-po-
thetia of an actual incorjKiration ; but many have unquestionably been
borrowe«l, and si^n'c to show that a strong Keltic element was permitted
to remain aiul iutluoucc the Saxon. That it did so especially in local
namt^ is not of much im{M>itance, as it may be doubted whether con-
quest ever succeedetl in chang:ing: these entirely, in any country.
* I borrow from Ilermann Miiller*s instructive work, Der Lex Salica
und der Lex Anglionim et Werinorum Alter und Heimat, p. 269, the
following chronological notices of the Franks in their relations to the
Roman empire : —
A.D. 250. Franks, the inhabitants of marshes, become known by their
predator)' excursions.
280. Franks, transplanted to Asia, return.
287. Franks occupy Batavia ; are expelled.
291. Franks in the Gallic provinces.
306. Constantine chastises the Franks. They enjoy consideration
in the service of Rome.
340. Wars and treaties with the Franks.
356. Julian treats with the Franks on the lower Rhine.
358. lie treats with Franks in Toxandria.
359. Salic Franks in Batavia.
395. Stihcho treats iitith the Franks.
408. The Vandals invading Gaul are defeated by the Franks.
414. War ^nth the Franks.
416. The Franks possess the Rhine-land.
437. Chlofjo biursta into Gaul and takes Cambray.
CH. I.] SAXON AXD WELSH TRADITIONS. 23
a state of things consistent with the received ac- J
counts. The former only says indefinitely, that
oBout 441, Britain was finally reduced under the
Saxon power ; while Procopius clearly shows how
very imperfect, indeed fabulous, an account he had
received'. Could we trust the accuracy and cri-
tical spirit of this writer, whom no less a man than
Gibbon has condescended to call the gravest histo-
rian of his time, we might indeed imagine that we
had recovered one fact of our earliest history, which
brought with it all the attractions of romance. An
Angle princess had been betrothed to Radiger,
prince of the Vami, a Teutonic tribe whose seats
are subsequently described to have been about the
shores of the Northern Ocean and upon the Rhine,
by which alone they were separated from the
Franks*. Tempted however partly by motives of
policy, partly perhaps by maxims of heathendom,
he deserted his promised bride and offered his hand
to Theodechild, the widow of his father, and sister
of the Austrasian Theodberht^. Like the epic he-
roine Brynhildr, the deserted lady was not disposed
* Procop. Bel. Got, iv. 20.
' Ovappoi fiiw vrF€p "larpov mrofioy idpvrrcu, diriKavtri dc axpi T€ cr
*QK€€Uf6w Tov dpKT^ov KOI TTorafiov 'Prjvop, 6<nr€p alrovs re diopi{€i Koi
♦payyovff xtu rSXXa €$in], A ravrrj ^pwrai' o5ro4 Sn(urr€9, ootn t6 irakatov
dfixpi *P^M>v fKorfp^^v noTOfWV ^lajyro, Idiov fUv ripot ovofutros tKaaroi
fi€T€kayxavov rn"! Koivrjs ^ Frp/ioyol €K<{kovyro 6iravT€S.,.Ovapvoi dt
Kai ^payyoi rovri fiovov rov *P^i«ov to vdop iifr<i(y f;(ov<r4v. Bel. Got.
iv.20.
' Procopius tells us that this was done by the dying father's advice,
and in consonance with the law of the people. 'Padiytp d« 6 vais (vvoi-
Ki{ta$t0 TJ p.ijTpviq. rh Xomop rfj avrov, KoBair^p 6 vdrpios tiplv i<fiiria'i
v6fu>s. Ibid. Conf. Bed. II. £. ii. 5.
24 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
to pass over the affront thus offered to her charms.
With an immense armament she sailed for the
mouth of the Rhine. A victory placed the faithless
bridegroom a prisoner in her power. But desire of
revenge gave place to softer emotions, and the tri-
umphant princess was content to dismiss her rival
and compel her repentant suitor to perform his en-
gagement.
To deny all historical foundation to this tale
would perhaps be carrying scepticism to an un-
reasonable extent. Yet the most superficial exa-
mination proves that in all its details, at least, it is
devoid of accuracy. The period during which the
events described must be placed ^ is between the
years 534 and 547 ; and it is very certain that the
Varni were not settled at that time where Proco-
pius has placed them^: on that locality we can
only look for Saxons. It is hardly necessary to say
that a fleet of four hundred ships, and an army of
one hundred thousand Angles, led by a woman, are
not data upon which we could implicitly rely in
calculating either the political or military power of
any English principality at the commencement of
the sixth century ; or that ships capable of carrying
two hundred and fifty men each, had hardly been
launched at that time from any port in England.
Still 1 am not altogether disposed to deny the pos-
* The years 5.*>l and 547 are the extreme terras of Tbeodberht's
reigrn. See Gib. Dec. bk. 38.
' This fact, which has escaped the accurate, and generally merciless,
criticism of Gibbon, is very clearly proved by Zeuss, Die Deutschen,
etc. pp. 361, 362.
CH. I.] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITION'S. 25
sibility of predatory expeditions from the more set-
tled parts of the Island, adjoining the eastern coasts.
Gregory of Tours tells us that about the same time
as that assigned to this Angle expedition, Theodoric
the Frank, assisted by Sueves, Saxons and even
Bavarians, cruelly devastated the territory of the
Tburingians ; and although it would be far more
natural to seek these Saxons in their old settle-
ments upon the continent, we have the authority
of Ruodolf or Meginhart, that they were in fact in-
habitants of this island'.
But if such difficulties exist in dealing with the
events of periods which are within the ascertained
limits of our chronological system, and which have
received the illustration of contemporary history,
what shall we say of those whereof the time, nay
' The passage it siifEciently important to deserve tmntription nt
len^h. "Saxouiim gens, sicut trulit antiqiiitas, nb Anglis Brilanniac
incolis cgretsa, per Oceanum narif^ns Germaniae litoribus studio et
DCoesutate cfuaereiKbuiiin solium appulsa est, in loco qui rncatuT Ila-
dulohe, eo tempore quo Thiotricus res Francorum coDtnt Irminfriilmn,
gcDcrum suum, duecni Tburingorum, dimicuu, tenvQ eorura ferro vas-
t«Tit et igni. Et cum iam duobus proeliis nucipiti pugna incertsque
victoria miscrnbili suorum caede deccrtassent, Thiotricus spc vincendi
fruslratua, misit Icgatos ad Saxoocs, quonim dux ernt Rwlugoto. Au-
divit enim causam advcntiis corum, promissisquc pro victoria habitandi
icdibua, conduxit coa in adiutoriumi quibussecum quasi iam pro tiber-
tale et patria fortit^r dunicantibus, aupt-'ravit adverssrios, Tostatisqiie
iadjgenis et ad intemitioDem peue dctetis, terram eonim iuxta pollici-
tatioiiem victoribus dclegavil. Qui cam sorte dividcntcs, cum multi ex
cis in bello cccidissent, et pro raritnte corum tola ab cis orcupari non
potuit, partem ilUus, ct earn quam maxime quae respicit orientem, co-
lonia tradebimt, singuli pro sorCe sua, sub tributo cxercendam. Coctera
icro loca ipsi poBsidcrant." TmuaL Sci. Alexand. Pert/, it. Ci~4. This
was writleo about 8fi3. Poaaiblv some ancient and now lost tpic liad
iccmded tbe wars of the Ssjiou UcaSogcat.
26 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
even the locality is uDknown ? What account shall
we render of those occurrences, which exist for us
only in the confused forms given to them by suc-
cessive ages ; some, mischievously determined to
reduce the abnormal to rule, the extraordinary to
order, as measured by their narrow scheme of ana-
logy ? Is it not obvious that to seek for historic
truth in such traditions, is to be guilty of violating
every principle of historic logic ? Such was the
course pursued by our early chroniclers, but it is
not one that we can be justified in repeating. In
their view no doubt, the annals of the several Saxon
kingdoms did supply points of definite information ;
but we are now able to take the measure of their
credulity, and to apply severer canons of criticism
to the facts themselves which thev beUeved and re-
corded. If it was the tendency and duty of their
age to deliver to us the history that they found, it
is the tendency and duty of ours to enquire upon
what foundation that history rests, and what amount
of authority it may justly claim.
The little that Beda could collect at the begin-
ning of the eighth century, formed the basis of all
the subsequent reports. Though not entirely free
firom the prejudices of his time, and yielding ready
faith to tales which his frame of mind disposed him
willingly to credit, he seems to have bestowed some
pains upon the investigation and critical apprecia-
tion of the materials he collected. But the limits
of the object he had proposed to himself, viz. the
ecclesiastical history of the island, not only imposed
upon him the necessity of commencing his detailed
CH. 1.] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS. »
narrative at a comparatively late period ^ but led
him to reject much that may have been well known
to him 9 of our secular history. The deeds of pagan
and barbarous chieftains offered little to attract his
attention or command his sympathies ; indeed were
little likely to be objects of interest to those from
whom his own information was generally derived.
Beda's account, copied and recopied both at home
and abroad, was swelled by a few vague data from
the regnal annals of the kings ; these were probably
increased by a few traditions, ill understood and ill
applied, which belonged exclusively to the epical
or mythological cycles of our own several tribes
and races, and the cognate families of the continent ;
and finally the whole was elaborated into a mass of
inconsistent fables, on the admission of Cymric or
Armorican tales by Norman writers, who for the
most part felt as little interest in the fate of the
Briton as the Saxon, and were as little able to ap-
preciate the genuine history of the one as of the
other race. Thus Wdden, Bseldseg, (xedt, Scyld,
Scedf and Bedwa gradually found their way into
the royal genealogies ; one by one, Brutus, Aurelius
Ambrosius, Uther Pendragon and Arthur, Hen-
gest, Hors and Vortigern, all became numbered
among historical personages ; and from heroes of
respective epic poems sunk down into kings and
* Beda attempts to give some account of the early state of Britain
pieyiouB to the arriyal of Augustine; a few quotations from. Solinus,
GKldas, and a l^cndary life of St. Germanus, comprise however nearly
the whole of his collections. Either he could find no more information,
or he did not think it worthy of helief. He even speaks doubtfully of
the tale of Hengest Hist. £ocl. i. 15.
j» THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
warriorSi who lived and fought and died upon the
soil of England.
We are ignorant what fasti or mode even of
reckoning the revolutions of seasons prevailed in
England » previous to the introduction of Chris-
tianitv. We know not how anv event before the
year 600 was recorded, or to what period the me-
morv of man extended. There may have been rare
annals : there may have been poems : if such there
were they have perished, and have left no trace
behind, unless we are to attribute to them such
scanty notices as the Saxon chronicle adds to Beda's
account. From such sources however little could
have been s:ained of accurate information either as
to the real internal state, the domestic progress,
or development of a people. The dry, bare en-
tries of the chronicles in historical periods may
supply the means of judging what sort of annals
were likelv to exist before the s:eneral introduction
of the Roman alphabet and parchment, while, in
^ probability, runes supplied the place of letters,
and stoae$> or the 6efcA-wood from which th^ name
is derived^ of books. Again » the traditions embo-
died in the epic, are preeminently those of kings
and princes : they are henMcal. devoted to cele-
•
brate the divine or halt'^vine founders of a race^
the tbrtunes of their wurtike descendants, the man-
ners and mode of liie of militarv adventurers, not
the obscure progress, hcuseiiold peace and orderly
habits of the humble huj^bandmon. They are full
of teasts ami ti^hcing^ sliinin^ anii;> and golden
ggblets : the giods mingte amiMig mea almost tkeir
CH. I.] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS. 29
equals, share in the same pursuits, are animated hy
the same passions of love, and jealousy and hatred ;
or, blending the divine with the mortal nature, be-
come the founders of races, kingly because derived
from divinity itself. But one race knows little of
another or its traditions, and cares as little for them.
Alliances or wars alone 'bring them in contact with
one another ; and the terms of intercourse between
the races will for the most part determine the cha-
racter under which foreign heroes shall be admitted
into tiie national epos, or whether they shall be
admitted at all. All history then, which is founded
in any degree upon epical tradition (and national
history is usually more or less so founded) must be
to that extent imperfect, if not inaccurate ; only
when corrected by tiie written references of con-
temporaneous authors, can we assign any certainty
to its records'.
Let us apply these observations to the early
events of Saxon history : of Kent indeed we have
the vague and uncertain notices which I have men-
tioned : even more vague and uncertain are those
of Sussex and Wessex, Of the former, we learu
that in the year477, JEIM with three sons, Cymen,
Wlencing and Cissa, landed in Sussex ; that in the
year 485 they defeated the Welsh, and that in 491
ihey destroyed the population of Anderida*. Not
another word is there about Sussex, before the ar-
' The Homeric pocma and tliose of the Eililn arc obvious example* :
bijt nothing can lie more instructive thiiii the hislory whieh Livy and
9*xo OranimaticnB hare woven out of similnr materiida,
* Sas. Chron. iindti' the resptctive dulcs.
aO THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
rival of Augustine, except a late assertion of the
military pre-eminence of ^Ui among the Saxon
chieftains. The events of Wessex are somewhat
better detailed ; we learn that in 495 two nobles,
Cerdic and Cyneric, came to England, and landed
at Cerdices ora, where on the same day they fought
a battle : that in 501 they were followed by a noble
named Port, who with his two sons Bieda and
Maegia made a forcible landing at Portsmouth:
and that in 508 they gained a great battle over a
British king, whom they slew together ^ith five
thousand of his people. In 5 14 Stufi* and Wihtgar,
their nephews, brought them a reinforcement of
three ships ; in 519 they again defeated the Britons,
and established the kingdom of Wessex. In 527 a
new victory is recorded : in 530, the Isle of Wight
was subdued and given to Wihtgar ; and in 534,
Cerdic died, and was succeeded by Cyneric, who
reigned twenty-six years \ In 544 Wihtgar died.
A victory of Cyneric in 552 and 556, and Ceawlin's
accession to the throne of Wessex are next recorded.
Wars of the Westsaxon kings are noted in 568,
571, 577, 584. From 590 to 595 a king of that
race named Ceol is mentioned: in 591 we learn
the expulsion of Ceawlin from power : in 593 the
deaths of Ceawlin, Cwichelm and Crida are men-
tioned, and in 597, the year of Augustine's arrival,
we learn that Ceolwulf ascended the throne of
Wessex.
Meagre as these details are, they far exceed what
» Cerdic mnd Cyneric landed in 495, after forty yeara Cerdic diea,
and Cyneric reigns twenty-tix more!
ca. 1.]
SAXON AND WELSH TRADITION!^.
is related of Northumberland, Essex, or East-
anglia. Id 547 we are told that Ida began to reign
in the tirst of these kingdoms ; and that he was suc-
ceeded in 560 by ^lli : that after a reign of thirty
years ', he died in 588 and was succeeded by jESeU
ric, who again in 593 was succeeded by M'Selfrv^.
This is all we learn of Northumbria ; of Mercia,
Essex, Eastanglia, and the innumerable kingdoms
that must have been comprised under these general
appellations, we hear not a single word.
If this be all that we can now recover of events,
a great number of which must have fallen within
the lives of those to whom Augustine preached,
what credit shall we give to the inconsistent ac-
counts of earlier actions ? How shall we supply
the almost total want of information respecting the
first settlements ? What explanation have we to
give of the alliance between Jutes, Angles and
Saxons which preceded tlie invasions of England f
What knowledge will these records supply of the
real number and quality of the chieftains, the lan-
guage and blood of the populations who gradually
spread themselves from the Atlantic to the Frith
of Forth ; of the remains of Roman cultivation, or
the amount of British power with which they had
to contend ? of the vicissitudes of good and evil for-
tune which visited the independent principalities,
before they were swallowed up in the kingdoms of
' The chronology is inronsistcDt lliruufcliout, nnd il is inconceivable
tliM it shoulil liBiL- liccn ullienriM'. Bl-iIb liimself uiuigm lUftercnt
(Utci to tlie nrrivnl nf Ihc Saxons, Ihough it ia the tera from whicli he
frequently rerkone.
32 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
the heptarchy, or the extent of the influence which
they retained after that event ? On all these several
points we are left entirely in the dark; and yet
these are facts which it most imports us to know,
if we would comprehend the growth of a society
which endured for at least seven hundred years in
England, and formed the foundation of that in
which we live.
Lappenberg has devoted several pages of his
elaborate history * to an investigation of the Kent-
ish legends, with a view to demonstrate their tra-
ditional, that is unhistorical, character. He has
shown that the best authorities are inconsistent
with one another and with themselves, in assigning
the period of Hengest's arrival in England. Care-
fully comparing the dates of the leading events* as
given from the soundest sources, he has proved be-
yond a doubt, that all these periods are calculated
upon a mythical number 8, whose multiples recur in
every year assigned. Thus the periods of twenty-
four, sixteen, eight and particularly forty years
meet us at every turn ; and a somewhat similar
tendency may, I think, be observed in the earlier
dates of Westsaxon history cited in a preceding
page. It is also very probable that the early ge-
nealogies of the various Anglosaxon kings were
arranged in series of eight names, including always
the great name of Woden ^
The result of all these enquiries is, to guard
' Thorpe's Lappenb. i. 7B seq,
^ Bc6wu\£, ii. Postscript to the Preface, xxvii.
CH. I.] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS. 33
against plausible details which can only mislead
us. If we endeavour to destroy the credit of tradi-
tions which have long existed, it is only to put
something in their place, inconsistent with them,
but of more value :. to reduce them to what they
really are, lest their authority should render the
truth more obscure, and its pursuit more difficult
than is necessary ; but to use them wherever they
seem capable of guiding our researches, and are
not irreconcileable with our other conclusions.
Far less in the fabulous records adopted by hi-
storians, than in the divisions of the land itself,
according to the populations that occupied it, and
the rank of their several members, must the truth
be sought. The names of the tribes and families
have survived in the localities where they settled,
while their peculiar forms of customary law have
become as it were melted together into one gene-
ral system ; and the national legends which each of
them most probably possessed, have either perished
altogether, or are now to be traced only in proper
names which fill up the genealogies of the royal
families ^ To these local names I shall return
' Gedty the q)onyinu8 of a race, Gcatas, is found in the common
genealogy previous to W6den ; his legend is alluded to in the Codex
Exoniensis, pp. 377« 378, together with those of De6dric, W^land and
Eormanrlc. Witta in the Kentish line is found in the Traveller's Song,
1. 43. Offa in the Mercian genealogy occurs in the same poem, 1. 69,
in the fine epos of Beowulf, and in Saxo Grammaticus. Ym the son
of Folcwalda is one of the heroes of Be6wulf. Scyld, Sce&f and Be6wa
are found in the same poem, etc. These facts render it prohahle
*that many other, if not aU the names in the genealogies were equally
derived from the peculiar national or gentile legends, although the
epic poems in which they were celebrated being now lost, we are un-
able to point to them as we have done to others.
VOL. I. D
34 THE SlXOXS IX EXGLA5D. [book I.
hereafter ; thev will furnish a strone confimiation
of what has been advanced in this chapter as to
the probability of an early and wide dispersion
of Teatonic settlers in Britain.
35
CHAPTER 11.
THE MARK.
All that we learn of the original principles of
settlement, prevalent either in England or on the
continent of Europe, among the nations of Ger-
manic blood, rests upon two main foundations;
first, the possession of land ; second, the distinction
of rank ; and the public law of every Teutonic tribe
impUes the dependence of one upon the other
principle, to a greater or less extent. Even as he
who is not free can, at first, hold no land within the
limits of the community, so is he who holds no
land therein, not fully free, whatever his personal
rank or character may be. Thus far the Teutonic
settler differs but little from the ancient Spartiate
or the comrade of Romulus.
The particular considerations which arise from the
contemplation of these principles in their progres-
sive development, will find their place in the seve-
ral chapters of this Book : it deals with land held
in community, and severalty ; with the nature and
accidents of tenure ; with the distinction and privi-
leges of the various classes of citizens, the free, the
noble and the serf ; and with the institutions by
which a mutual guarantee of life, honour and peace-
ful possession was attempted to be secured among
d2
36 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
the Anglosaxons. These are the incunabula^ first
principles and rudiments of the Elnglish law^ ; and
in these it approaches, and assimilates to, the sy-
stem which the German conquerors introduced into
every state which they founded upon the ruins of
the Roman power.
As land may be held by many men in common,
or by several households, under settled conditions,
it is expedient to examine separately the nature
and character of these tenures : and first to enquire
into the forms of possession in common ; for upon
this deiKnds the political being of the state, its
constitutional law, and its relative position towards
other states. Among the Anglosaxons land so held
in common was desisrnated bv the names Mark, and
Gd or Shire.
The smallest and simplest of these common di-
visions is that which we technicaUv call a Mai^ or
March (mearc^ ; a word less tErequent in the Anglo-
saxoQ than the German muniments, onlv because
the S3rslem founded upon what it represents yidded
in En«:Iand earlier than in Germanv to extraneous
influences. This is the first general division, the
next in order to the private estates or iloik of the
Markmen : as its name denotes, it is something
marked out or defined, bavins: settled boondaries ;
somethuLT serving as a sis:n to others, and distiii-
gufi$hed by sxCTS. It is the plot of land oa wliidi
a sreater or ksser number of free men have set-
tied ibr purposes of cultivation, and for the sake
o£ ODLOTjal prcdt and procectioci ; and it comprises m
i ^
CH. II.] THE HARK. 3?
portion both of arable laod and pasture, in propor-
tion to the numbers that enjoy its produce'.
However far we may pursue our researches into
the early records of our forefathers, we cannot dis-
cover a period at which this organization was
unknown. Whatever may have been the original
condition of the German tribes, tradition and his-
tory alike represent them to us as living partly by
agriculture, partly by the pasturing of cattle*. They
had long emerged from the state of wandering
herdsmen, hunters or fishers, when they first at-
tracted the notice, and disputed or repelled the
power, of Rome. The peculiar tendencies of vari-
ous tribes may have introduced peculiar modes of
placing or constructing their habitations ; but of
no German population is it stated, that they dwelt
in tents like the Arab, in waggons like the Scy-
thian, or in earth-dug caverns like the troglodytes
of Wallachia : the same authority that tells of some
who lived alone as the hill-stde or the fresh spring
pleased them', notices the vilhiges, the houses and
even the fortresses, of others.
' " A^ pro numero cultoruta, all uuircraiis pti vices occiipoutur, quu*
mox inter ae secuniluni dignatioDcm portiimtur ; faciliutuiu partienili
camponiin apstia praestant." Tac. Germ. 26.
' " Sols terrae segea imjieratur," tlie; raise com, but not fruits or
vegetable!. Tiic. Germ. 26, " Frumenti niwium liomiiius, aut pecoris,
aut vestia, ut coIodo, iaiuogit ; et servus linctenus porct." ll)iil. 25.
Uotdcum, and frunjeotum. Ibid. 23.
■ " Coluut diacreti ac diTCrsi, ut fons, ut campus, ut nemus placuit.
VictM locaut, non ia nostrum morem, eonacMii ct cobocreutibui aedifi-
eiia; auam quiique domiitn apatio drcuindat." Tac. Oerm. IC. Wlien
Taritui speaks of caverns dug in the earth, it is as granaries (wliich
may to this day be seen in Hungary) or aa placci of refuge from sud- '
3B THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Without commerce, means of extended commu-
nication, or peaceful neighbours, the Germans can-
not have cultivated their fields for the service of
strangers : they must have been consumers, as they
certainly were raisers, of bread-corn ; early docu-
ments of the Anglosaxons prove that considerable
quantities of wheat were devoted to this purpose.
Even the serfs and domestic servants were entitled
to an allowance of bread, in addition to the supply
of flesh ^ ; and the large quantities of ale and beer
which we find enumerated among the dues payable
firom the land, or in gifts to religious establish-
ments, presume a very copious supply of cereales
for the purpose of malting^. But it is also certain
that our forefathers depended very materiaUy for
subsistence upon the herds of oxen, sheep, and
especially swine, which they could feed upon the
unenclosed meadows, or in the wealds of oak and
beech which covered a large proportion of the land.
From the moment, in short, when we first learn
anything of their domestic condition, all the Grer-
man tribes appear to be -settled upon arable land,
surrounded with forest pastures, and having some
kind of property in both.
1 On xii mdntSuin Hu. scc«lt sillan t^um |>e6wmn men vii hand hMfii
*) XX hla£i, butan morgemettum *) nonmettum : in the course of twelve
months thou shalt give thy |>e6w or serf, seven hundred and twenty
loaves, besides morning meals and noon meals. SaL and Sat. p. 192.
We should perh^» read seven hundred and thirty, which would give
daily two loaves, probably of rye or barley. Compare the allowancea
mentioned in the Rectitudines Singularum Personarum. Anc. Lawi.
Thorpe, i. 432 seq.
' So from the earliest times : " Potui humor ex hordeo aut frumento
in quandam similitudinem vini corruptus." Tac. Germ. 23.
CH. II.J THE MARK. 39
Caesar, it is true, denies that agriculture was
much cultivated among the Germans, or that pro-
perty in the arable land was permitted to be perma-
nent^ : and, although it seems impolitic to limit the
efforts of industry, by diminishing its reward, it is
yet conceivable that, under peculiar circumstances,
a warUke confederation might overlook this obvi-
ous truth in their dread of the enervating influences
of property and a settled life. There may have
been difficulty in making a new yearly division of
land, which to our prejudices seems almost impos-
sible ; yet the Arab of Oran claims only the produce
of the seed he has sown^ ; the proprietor in the
Jaghire district of Madras changes his lands from
year to year^ ; the tribes of the Afghans submit to
a new distribution even after a ten years' possession
has endeared the field to the cultivator^ ; Diodorus
tells us that the Vaccaeans changed their lands
yearly and <iivided the produce* ; and Strabo attri-
butes a similar custom to one tribe at least of the
Ulyrian Dalmatians, after a period of seven^.
But so deeply does the possession of land enter
into the principle of all the Teutonic institutions,
that I cannot bring myself to believe in the accu-
1 " Agriculturae non student : maiorque pars rictus eorum in lacte,
caseo, came consistit : neque quisquam agri modum certum aut fines
habet proprios ; sed magistratus ac principcs in annos singulos gentibus
cognationibusque bominum, qui una coierint, quantum, ct quo loco
Tisum est, agri adtribuunt, atque anno post alio transire cogunt. Eius
rei multas adferunt causas; ne, adsidua consuetudine capti, studium
belli gerundi agricultura commutent ; " etc. Bell. Gall. vi. 22.
' The administration of Oran. Times newspaper, Aug. 24th, 1844.
» Fifth Rep., Committee, 1810, p. 723, cited in Mill's Brit. India,i.315.
« Elphinstone's Caubul, ii. 17, IB, 19.
* Diodorus, v. 34. ' Strabo, bk. vii. p. 315.
40 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
racy of Caesar's statement. Like his previous rash
and most unfounded assertion respecting the Ger-
man gods, this may rest only upon the incorrect
information of Gallic provincials : at the utmost it
can be applied only to the Suevi and their warlike
allies!, if it be not even intended to be confined to
the predatory bands of Ariovistus, encamped among
the defeated yet hostile Sequani*. The equally
well-known passage of Tacitus, — " arva per annos
mutant, et superest ager^," — may be most safely
rendered as applying to the common mode of cul-
ture ; " they change the arable from year to year,
and there is land to spare ; " that is, for commons
and pasture : but it does not amount to a proof
that settled property in land was not a part of the
Teutonic scheme ; it implies no more than this,
that within the Mark which was the property of all,
what was this year one man's corn-land, might the
next be another man's fallow ; a process very in-
telligible to those who know anything of the system
of cultivation yet prevalent in parts of Germany,
or have ever had any interest in what we call Lam-
mas Meadows.
Zeuss, whose admirable work^ is indispensable
to the student of Teutonic antiquity, brings toge-
ther various passages to show that at some early
period, the account given by Caesar may have
conveyed a just description of the mode of life in
' Ilanides, Marcomanni, Tribocci, Vangiones, Nemetes and Sedusii.
Bell. GaU. i. 51.
» BeU. Gall. i. 31. » Tac. Germ. 26.
* Die Deutschen und die Nachbarttamme, von Kaspar Zeuss. Miin-
chcn. 1837.
CH- uO TEE MARK. 41
Germany!. He represents its inhabitants to himself
as something between a settled and an unsettled
people. What they may have been in periods pre-
vious to the dawn of authentic history, it is impos-
sible to say ; but all that we really know of them
not only implies a much more advanced state of
civilization, hut the long continuance and tradition
of such a state. We cannot admit the validity of
Zeuss' reasoning, or escape from the conviction
that it mainly results from a desire to establish his
etymology of the names borne by the several con-
federations, and which requires the hypothesis of
wandering and unsettled tribes'.
' He dtes the pasuge from Caerar y\ucb I have quoted, ud dio
Bell. G»I1. IT. 1, which ttill applies only to the Sugti. Hii next evi-
dence IB the astcrtion of Tacitiu just noticed. His third u from Plu-
taKh'a Aemil, Paul. c. 12, of ibe Baatarnae: iMpts oiytupyfif fliirtt,
av ?rXf LVj ovK OTTO Trw^iviaii' Qp H^yrtv, oXX* iv Spyov ical fiiar Ti-)(yrjv fU-
XerSoTtt, ut\ fiaxifSai xai Kpariir rnu- atriTamtfiti/ui'. A peo])]e with-
out agriculture or pommeTce, and who bve only on fightinjf, may be left
undisturbed in the realm of dreams with which philoiophen are con-
versant. ZeuM proceeds to reason upon the analogy of examples de-
rired from notices of Britona, Kelts and Wends, in Strabo, Putybiut
and Dio Casaius. See p. 53, etc.
' Thus, according to his Tiew, ISuevi (Suap, Swxf ) denotes the wan-
derers ; Wandal also the wnnderers. Assuredly if nations at large par-
took of such habits, single tribes could not hare derived a name Stoxa
the custom. IIow much more easy woidd it be, upon similar etymolo-
gical grounds, to prove that the leading Teutonic nations were named
from their weapons 1 Saxons from veox, the long knife ; Angles from
angot, a hook; Franks from/ronco, a jareliu; Langobards and Hea'Eo-
borda from barda, the axe or balberd; uay even the general nunc
iudf, Germans, from gdrman (Old Germ, kirman) the javelin- or goad-
man. Yet who would asscK these to be satisfactory derivations T Zahn,
whose services to Old German literature cannot be overrated, spcaka
wisely when he calls the sitniiarity of proper names, a rock " on which
nneritienl beads are much in the habit of splittiDg." Vorrede lu
Ulpbilas, p. 3,
42 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
The word Mark has a legal as well as a territo*
rial meaning :. it is not only a space of land, such
as has been described, but a member of a state
also ; in which last sense it represents those who
dwell upon the land, in relation to their privileges
and rights, both as respects themselves and others.
But the word, as applied even to the territory, has
a twofold meaning : it is, properly speaking, em-
ployed to denote not only the whole district occu-
pied by one small community^ ; but more especially
those forests and wastes by which the arable is en-
closed, and which separate the possessions of one
tribe from those of another*. The Mark or boun-
dary pasture-land, and the cultivated space which
it surrounds, and which is portioned out to the se-
veral members of the community, are inseparable ;
^ If a man be emancipated, his lord shall still retain the right to his
mund and wergyld, sy ofer mearce tSscr he wille, be he over the mark
wherever he may he, be he out of the district where he may. LI. Wihtr.
§ 8. Thorpe, i. 38.
. ' Grimm is of opinion that the word Marc itself originally denoted
forest, and that the modem sense is a secondary one, derived from the
fact of forests being the signs or marks of commimities. Deut. Granz-
alterthiimer. Berl. 1844. There can be no doubt that forests were so :
in Old Norse the two ideas, and the words by which they are expressed,
flow into one another : Mork (f ) is silva, Mark (n) is limes. In the
£dda and Sogur, MyrkTitSr is the common name for a wood : thus,
■em )>es8i her kom saman, ritSa )>eir k sk6g >an er Myrkvi'Sr heitir,
hann skilr Htinaland ok Rei'Sgota land ; they rode to the forest which
is called Myrkvi'Sr (mearcwidu in Anglosaxon) which separates Huna
land from Reidgota land. Fomm. Sug. i. 496. Though given here as
a proper name, it is unquestionably a general one. Conf. Edda, Vo-
lund. CT. 1.
meyjar flugu sunnan
myrkvi'5 igognum.
and 80 in many passages. The darkness of the forest gives rise also to
the adjective murky.
CH. n.] THE MARK. 43
however difierent the nature of tho property which
can be had m them, they are in fact one whole ;
taken together, they make up the whole territori^
possession of the original cognatio^ kin or tribe.
The ploughed lands and meadows are guarded by
the Mark ; and the cultivator ekes out a subsistence
which could hardly be wrung from the small plot
he calls his own, by the flesh and other produce of
beasts, which his sons, his dependents or his serfs
mast for him in the outlying forests.
Let us first take into consideration the Mark in
its restricted and proper sense of a boundary. Its
most general characteristic is, that it should not be
distributed in arable, but remain in heath, forest,
fen and pasture. In it the Markmen— called in
Germany Markgenossen, and perhaps by the Anglo-
saxons Mearcgeneatas — ^had commonable rights ;
but there could be no private estate in it, no hid or
hlot, no x}^^ or haeredium. Even if under pecu-
liar circumstances, any markman obtained a right
to essart or clear a portion of the forest, the por-
tion so subjected to the immediate law of property
ceased to be mark. It was undoubtedly under
the protection of the gods ; and it is probable that
within its woods were those sacred shades espe-
cially consecrated to the habitation and service of
the deity '.
^ Tncitiu says of the Semnones : " Stato tempore in silyam auguriis
patmm et prisca formidine sacram omnes eiusdem sanguinis populi
legationibus coeunt, caesoqae publice homine celebrant barbari ritus
horrenda primordia. Est et alia luco reverentia. Nemo nisi vinculo
ligatua ingreditur, ut minor et potestatem numinis prae se ferens. Si
forte prolapsus est, attoUi et insurgere baud licitum^ per bumum e¥ol-
44 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
If the nature of an early Teutonic settlement,
which has nothing in common with a city, be duly
considered, there will appear an obvious necessity
for the existence of a mark, and for its being main-
tained inviolate. Every community, not sheltered
by walls, or the still firmer defences of public law,
must have one, to separate it from neighbours and
protect it from rivals : it is like the outer pulp that
surrounds and defends the kernel. No matter how
small or how large the community, — ^it may be
only a village, even a single household, or a whole
state, — it will still have a Mark, a space or boun-
dary by which its own rights of jurisdiction are
limited, and the encroachments of others are kept
off \ The more extensive the community whidi
iW ntgMtqr 0— in» deos^ oetcra snlMecta aiqae paRBtM." Gem. 39.
j^jlpin: *^A|Mid NakaBurakv anliqvae Kfipoub IiKns uumditm-**
lUd. 43w Wtdottt assntni^ the eadstniK oi the Maik mmaag Ae
Gi««ks vitk an the i^ecdikr G<imh cftancteziatici^ we wamyhanow
&om thtWL wm iHifescimcM aai drtlaibatt of its oitare. Pcii i gej i die
tontucKS oif the AthtfiiaBs aai HegsRABS kr a tzaet cihady die col-
tovMiMftol' which br thelttter fcrnedthepretcttor j>itiifcftM» of Ae
e:u%MUumicttbMi hKBthed a^^adut them br ** OiriKpiai ** IViklu ,
w^-h wfttHwifcrfy Wd lo the ^(Iop«ne»ii w«r. and Ae iammhl of
Ajdkens. TV AtibMnkiis.. Tbnm&ies telb ib^ nrifnaed tt>
UiMt «ufc ris 4ju»iMrro«' Ldk u lC3S > whete the Schofiast
<rP9« Vr <J« TT%^,AitiMnrs. Siicnni imi vit i&eiJmi ci/9 piotf/hr <
hi tie yomcTA^ s the e^uict viednicaiMi of & Teocooic Hark. Ci
^«HiMic Morr .shr« pprcina be twe en Lat.t»a sal Me aa e nia . ^bs.. ft. 1.
liKchtflk^eniliic Sc Glt^F^^the«ullfi» jabitt^oceitpvdie
atf»^ zmncesumi* ^ mack ^Coiiex Ennuenack p. II:L L ItT^
aecvnfieN iedmsd as siel ^ xmceiu e<SHj3hce Mr. f^
iatoriL M vibca :.aer<r vvnr mo ntfk£9 j/ jfnjytfrtyf. UxitL p» II3« L 9.
- C«»ar apfieim m» b«re ttmienauiKl d^i&. He mrs : *^ Cr
CUKWB, W
CH. II.] THE MARK. 45
is interested in the Mark, the more solemn and
sacred the formalities by which it is consecrated
and defended ; but even the boundary of the pri-
vate man's estate is under the protection of the
gods and of the law. " Accursed," in all ages
and all legislations, '* is he that removeth his
neighbour's landmark." Even the owner of a pri-
vate estate is not allowed to build or cultivate to
the extremity of his own possession, but must leave
a space for eaves'. Nor is the general rule abro-
gated by changes in the original compass of the
communities ; as smaller districts coalesce and be-
come, as it were, compressed into one body, the
smaller and original Marks may become obliterated
and converted merely into commons, but the public
mark will have been increased upon the new and
extended frontier. Villages tenanted by Heardingas
or Mddingas may cease to be separated, but the
larger divisions which have grown up by their union,
Meanwaras, MfEgsetan or Hwiccas* will still have
a boundary of their own ; these again may be lost
in the extending circuit of Wessex or Mercia ; till
habere. Hoc proprium virCutis cxistimant, eipulsoa agris finitumoi
cedere, neque quctnquHin propc nuderc coniiaterc : aimul hoc »e fore
lutiores Brbitrantur, re{)cntinae incumonis timorc siibUto." This is
true, but ia the csbi: of most aettlements tbc necessity of muntaiuing
exteiuire ]iuture-grounds must bave maile itself fett et a very early
* Efese. Goth. UbUn-a. The name tor this custom vnm Yfcidrype,
Bavetilrip. In a charter of the year 868 it is sftid : " And by the cus-
tom (foleei folcriht) two feet sjiaee only need he left for enve*ilri[> on
this lanii." Cod. Dipt. No. 29fi. In Greece the distaiicus were solemnly
r^pUated by law : see Plut. Solon, cap. 23.
' Tbc people in the bumlreds of East and West Meon ; in Hereford-
shire; Qud in Worcester Bud Gloucester.
A» THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book l^
a yet greater obliteration of the Marks having been
produced through increasing population/ internal
conquest, or the ravages of foreign invaders, the
great kingdom of England at length iEirises, having
wood and desolate moorland and mountain as its
mark against Scots, Cumbrians and Britons, and
the eternal sea itself as a bulwark against Prankish
and Frisian pirates^ .
But although the Mark is waste, it is yet the
property of the community : it belongs to the free-
men as a whole, not as a partible possession : it
may as little be profaned by the stranger, as the
arable land itself which it defends*. It is under the
safeguard of the public law, long after it has ceased
^ To a very late period, the most powerful of our nobles were the
Lords Marchers or Lords of the Marches of Wales and Scotland.
Harald was lord of the Marches against the Welsh. And so the here-
ditary Markgraves or Counts of the Mark, Marchiones, have become
kings in Germany and Italy. Our only Markgraviats by land could
be against the Welsh on the west, the Picts and Scots on the north.
There were undoubtedly others among the Saxons while their king^
doms remained unsettled : but not when once the whole realm became
united under JS^lstin. The consohdation of the English power has
put down all but transmarine invaders ; hence the sea is bc^come our
Mark, and the commanders of our ships, the Margraves. But, as
Blackstone rather beautifully says, " water is a wandering and uncer-
tain thing," and our Blargraves therefore establish no territorial autho-
rity. The reader is referred to Donniges, Deutsches Staatsrecht, p. 297,
$eq., for a very good account of the Marches of the German Empire.
' If a stranger come through the wood, he shall blow his horn and
shout : this will be evidence that bis intentions are just and peacefiiL
But if he attempt to slink through in secret, he may be slain, and shall
lie unavenged. Ini. § 20,21. Thorpe, i. 114, 116. If the death-blow
under such circumstances be pubhcly avouched, his kindred or lord
shall not even be allowed to prove that he was not a thief: othennise,
if the manslaughter be concealed. This raises a presumption in law
against the slayer, and the dead man's kindred shall be admitted to
their oath that he was guiltless.
OB. n.] THE MARK. 4?
to be under the immediate protection of the gods:
it is unsafe,, full of danger ; death lurks in its shades
and awaits the incautious or hostile visitant :
•al wnt tSct meardoiid all the markland was
moi^re bewundeny with death surrounded,
fe6ndes facne : the snares •£ the foe^:
punishments of the most frightful character are de-
nounced against him who violates it^ ; and though,
in historical times, these can be only looked upon
as comminatory and symbolical, it is very possible
that they may be the records of savage sacrifices
believed due, and even offered, to the gods of the
violated sanctuary. I can well believe that we too
had once our Diana Taurica. The Marks are called
accursed ; that is accursed to man, accursed to him
that does not respect their sanctity : but they are
sacred, for on their maintenance depend the safety
of the community, and the service of the deities
whom that community honours^. And even when
the gods have abdicated their ancient power, even
to the very last, the terrors of superstition come in
aid of the enactments of law : the deep forests and
* Cod. Vercd. And. 1. 38.
* Grimm has given examples of these, but they are too horrible for
quotation. They may be read in his Deutsche Rechtsalterthiimer,
pp. 518, 519, 520.
' I am inclined to think that the cwealmstow or place of execution
was properly in the mark ; as it is indeed probable that all capital
pimishments among the Germans were originally in the natture of sacri-
fices to the gods. When Juliana is about to be put to death, she is
taken to the border, londmearce ne£h, nigh to the landmark. Cod.
Exon. p. 280. Prometheus hung in the Sfiporo^ iprifxia : though per-
haps there is another and deeper feeling here, — that the friend of man
thoold suffer in the desert
" where no man comet,
Nor hath come, since the making of the world I *'
48 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book t.
marshes are the abodes of monsters and dragons ;
wood-spirits bewilder and decoy the wanderer to
destruction : the Nicors house by the side of lakes
and marshes ^ : Grendel, the man-eater, is a ''mighty
stepper over the mark'": the chosen home of the
firedrake is a fen'.
The natural tendency, however, of this state of
isolation is to give way ; population is an ever-ac-
tive element of social well-beine : and when once
the suriisice of a country has become thickly stud-
ded with communities settled between the Marks,
and daily finding the several clearings grow less
and less sufficient for their support^, the next step
is the destruction of the Marks themselves, and the
uui^>n of the settlers in larger bodies, and under
altewd circttmstanoesw Take two villages, placed
OQ such clearing in the kxom of the forest, tadk
having an ill-dedned boondarv in the wood diat
separates th<m. each extending its drcmt wood-
w;ird 3^ poputatioc incf^jbses and presses upon the
Lii:d. and ea^4i attec&{.^tic;^ to drive its Mark farther
into the waste, a^s the arable fradoallv encroacfaes
Ufoc thi;s- 1>JL the irsc mtfecing ot the herdanen,
ocxie of tbuKe ccorses jpp^nir^ uoixvoidiible : the com-
masicKS tuust eacer Lato ;i te^ral ixnioa ; one most
V A Jiiim> iti«pMi* zone iis jis
CR. II.] THE MARK. 49
attack and subjugate the other ; or the two must
coalesce into one on friendly and equal terms*.
The last-named result is not improbable, if the gods
of the one tribe are common to the other : then
perhaps the temples only may shift their places a
little. But in any case the intervening forest will
cease to be Mark, because it will now lie in the
centre, and not on the borders of the new commu-
nity. It will be converted into common pasture,
to be enjoyed by all on fixed conditions ; or it may
even be gradually rooted out, ploughed, planted
and rendered subject to the ordinary accidents of
arable land : it will become folclandy public land,
applicable to the general uses of the enlarged state,
nay even divisible into private estates, upon the
established principles of public law. And this pro-
cess will be repeated and continue until the family
becomes a tribe, and the tribe a kingdom ; when
the intervening boundary lands, cleared, drained
and divided, will have been clothed with golden
harvests, or portioned out in meadows and com-
mon pastures, appurtenant to villages ; and the
only marks remaining will be the barren mountain
and moor of the frontiers, the deep unforded rivers,
and the great ocean that .washes the shores of the
continent.
^ History supplies numerous illastrations of this process. Rome grew
out of the union of the Rhamnes and Luceres with the Sabines : and
generaDy speaking in Greece, the origin of the irJXtr lies in what may
be called the compression of the K^fuu. The ayopa is on the space of
neutral ground where all may meet on equal terms, as the Russians
and Chinese trade at Kiachta : but then when the irokig has grown up,
the ayopii is in its centre, not in its suburbs.
VOL. 1. E
so THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
Christianity, which destroys or diminishes the
holiness of the forests, necessarily confines the gua-
rantee of the Mark to the public law of the state.
Hence when these districts become included within
the limits of Christian communities, there is no
difficulty in the process which has been described :
the state deals with them as with any other part of
its territory, by its own sovereign power, according
to the prevalent ideas of agricultural or political
oeconomy ; and the once inviolate land may at once
be converted to public uses, widely different from
its original destination, if the public advantage re*
quire it. No longer necessary as a boundary, from
the moment when the smaller community has be-
come swallowed up and confounded in the larger,
it may remain in commons, be taken possession of
by the state as folcland, or become the source of
even private estates, and to all these purposes we
find it gradually applied. In process of time it
seems even to have become partible and appurte-
nant to private estates in a certain proportion to
the arable * : towards the close of the tenth century
I find the grant of a mill and millstead, "and there-
to as much of the roarkland as belongeth to three
hydes"^
The general advantage which requires the main-
tenance of the Mark as public property, does not
however preclude the possibility of using it for
' Most likely as commons are dLstributed now, under enclosure->bills |
allotments being made in fee, as compensation for commonable rights.
' And se mylenbam *l se myln t$srt6, *l $aea meardandea sw4 myod
swa to Irim hidon geb^TatS. an. 982. Cod. Dipl. No. 633.
OB. II.] THE MARK. 51
public purposesi as long as the great condition of
indivisibility is observed. Although it may not be
cleared and ploughed, it may be depastured, and
all the herds of the Markmen may be fed and
masted upon its wilds and within its shades. While
it still comprises only a belt of forest, lying between
small settlements, those who live contiguous to it,
are most exposed to the sudden incursions of an
enemy, and perhaps specially entrusted with the
measures for public defence, may have peculiar
privileges, extending in certain cases even to the
right of clearing or essarting portions of it. In
the case of the wide tracts which separate king-
doms, we knovr that a comprehensive military or-
ganization prevailed, with castles, garrisons and
governors or Margraves, as in Austria, Branden-
burg and Baden, Spoleto and Ancona, Northum-*
berland and the Marches of Wales. But where
clearings have been made in the forest, the holders
are bound to see that they are maintained, and that
the fresh arable land be not encroached upon ; if
forest-trees spring there by neglect of the occu-
pant, the essart again becomes forest, and, as such,
subject to all the common rights of the Markmen,
whether in pasture, chase or estovers*.
The sanctity of the Mark is the condition and
guarantee of its indivisibility, without which it can-
not long be proof against the avarice or ambition
^ E^overia, In this case, small wood necessary for household pur-
poaes, as Housebote, Hedgebote and Ploughbote, the materials for re-
pairing house, hedge and plough. But timber trees are not included.
See Stat. West. 2. cap. 25 ; and 20 Car. II. c. 3.
E 2
52 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of individuals : and its indivisibility is, in torn, the
condition of the service which it is to render as a
bulwark, and of its utility as a pasture. I therefore
hold it certain that some solemn religious ceremo-
nies at first accompanied and consecrated its limi-
tation ^ What these may have consisted in, among
the heathen Anglosaxons, we cannot now discover,
but many circumstances render it probable that
Woden, who in this function also resembles *Ep^$c,
was the tutelary god* : though not absolutely to the
exclusion of other deities, Tiw and Frea appearing
to have some claim to a similar distinction*. But
however its limit was orisrinallv drawn or driven, it
was, as its name denotes, distinguished by marks
or signs. Trees of peculiar size and beauty, and
carved with the figures of birds and beasts, perhaps
even with runic characters, served the purpose of
limitation and definition** : striking natural features,
' ** Sihvn aufmis ptttnim ft pcisrt fonaiiasMc fmnoJ* Tac Genn.
39. See Ma«er. Oaiabnickbclie Gesdiiclite. L 57> seq*
* *Ef]yur^. in this one sense Meieurius* is identkml with Woden. Both
inrented letten: both mre the mkndeiiiig |^; bodi are OdyneiiB.
The name of Woden is presermi in mnnj bonndarr plarfi^ or chaina
of hillsy in erenr part of England. See ^lapu xiL of this Book. The
Wdnae vCod. Dipt No. 495\ the Woostoe ^ibid. Xoa. 2S7, 65/), I
hare no hesitation in translating: by Wodm*s oak* Wodcn'a poaL
Sevldes tieow ibid. No. 4C^ mar also ider to Wodm in the tern of
SerM. as Unices h>ni ibid. No. :^ may lecocd the aame god in hia
fonn of Elnicor. or Hnic.
* Tfowes hJiii. Tiw's thorn. Cod. Dipl. No. 174. Tives mm, Tlw*a
lake. Ibid. No. :%J. Fnsxdx^^» tieow ibid. No. 1221), the tree of
Frigedcs;. a name 1 hold «r<|uiTmknt to Fiea or Fricge.
* The boundaries of the Anglosaxon eharters snpply a pcofbaion of
cridenee on this subject. The trees most 6eq[uentiT ^mcd are the
oak. ash, bee<^. thorn, elder, lime and birch. The heathen hniial-
place or mound is singuhtfly Itrequent. Cod. DipL Noa. d47, 33S, 476.
CH. u.] THE MARK. 53
a hill, a brook, a morass, a rock, or the artificial
mound of an ancient warrior, warned the intruder
to abstain from dangerous ground, or taught the
herdsman how far he might advance with impu-
nity. In water or in marshy land, poles were set
up, which it was as impious to remove, as it would
have been to cut or burn down a mark-tree in the
forest.
In the. second and more important sense of the
word, the Mark is a community of families or
households, settled on such plots of land and forest
as have been described. This is the original basis
upon which all Teutonic society rests, and must be
assumed to have been at first amply competent to
Tbe charter No. 126 has these words : " Deinde vero ad alios monticu-
los, postea Tcro ad viam quae dicitur Fif ic, recto itinere ad easdem fif
4c, ac proinde autem ad >reom gemseran." Here the houndaries of
three several districts lay close to a place called Five Oaks, That the
trees were sometimes marked is clear from the entries in the hounda-
ries : thus, in the year 931, t6 "Sfere gemearcodon sc set Alerhuman,
the marked oak. Cod. Dipl. No. 1102. "Sa gemearcodan sefse, the
marked eaives or edge of the wood. Ibid. Also, on iSs, gemearcodan
Hndan. Diid. No. 1317* Cyrstelmoel iuc, or Christ cross oak. Ibid.
No. 118. At Addlestone, near Chertsey, is an ancient and most vene-
rable oak, called the Crouch (crux, crois), that is Cross oak, which
tradition declares to have been a boundary of Windsor forest. The
same thing is found in Circassia. See Bell, ii. 58. The mearcbedm,
without further definition is common : so the mearctredw. Cod. Dipl.
No. 436. The mearcbr6c. Ibid. No. 1102. Artificial or natural stone
posts are implied by the constantly recurring haran stanas, grsegan
st&nas, hoary or grey atones. Among Christians, crosses and obelisks
have replaced these old heathen symbols, without altering the nature
of the sanction, and the weichbild, or mark that defines the limits of a
jnrisdiction, can, in my opinion, mean only the sacred sign. On this
point see Haltaus. Gloss, in voce, whose derivation from wic, oppidum,
is unsatisfactory. See too Eichhom, Deutsche Staats- und Rechtsge-
sdnchte, ii. 76. § 224 a. note c : with whose decision Grimm and I
54 THE SAXONS IX ENGLAND. [book t.
all the demands of society in a simple and early
stage of development : for example, to have been
an union for the purpose of administering justice,
or supplying a mutual guarantee of peace, security
and freedom for the inhabitants of the district. In
this organization, the use of the land, the woods
and the waters was made dependent upon the ge-
neral will of the settlers, and could only be enjoyed
under general regulations made by all for the be-
nefit of all. The Mark was a voluntary association
of free men, who laid down for themselves, and
strictly maintained, a system of cultivation by
which the produce of the land on which they set-
tled might be fairly and equally secured for their
service and support ; and from participation in
which they jealously excluded all who were not
bom, or adopted, into the association. Circum-
stances dependent upon the peculiar local confor-
mation of the district, or even on the relations of
the original parties to the contract, may have caused
a great variety in the customs of different Marks ;
and these appear occasionally anomalous, when we
meet with them still subsisting in a different order
of social existence ^ ; but with the custom of one
Mark, another had nothing to do, and the Mark-
men, within their own limit, were independenti
sufficient to their own support and defence, and
seised of full power and authority to regulate their
own affairs, as seemed most conducive to their own
' For example in Manors, where the territorial juriadictioii of a lord
has usurped the [)lace of the old ^larkmoot, but not availed entirely to
destroy the old Mark-rights in the various commons.
OH. II.] TH£ MARK. 55
advantage. The Court of the Markinen, as it may
be justly called, must have had supreme jurisdic-
tion> at first y over all the causes which could in any
way affect the interests of the whole body or the
individuals composing it : and suit and service to
such court was not less the duty, than the high
privilege, of the free settlers. On the continent of
Grermany the divisions of the Marks and the extent
of their jurisdiction can be ascertained with consi-
derable precision ; from these it may be inferred
that in very many cases the later courts of the
great landowners had been in fact at first Mark-
courts, in which, even long after the downfall of
the primaeval freedom, the Lord himself had been
only the first Markman, the patron or defender of
the simple freemen, either by inheritance or their
election ^ In this country, the want of materials
precludes the attainment of similar certainty, but
there can be no reason to doubt that the same pro-
cess took place, and that originally Markcourts
existed among ourselves with the same objects and
powers. In a charter of the year 971, Cod. Dipl.
No. 568, we find the word Mearcmdt, which can
there mean only the place where such a court, mot
' Numerous instances may be found in Grimm's valuable work, Die
Deutschen Weisthiimer, 3 vols. 8vo. These are the presentments or
verdicts of such courts, from a very early period, and in all parts of
Germany. It is deeply to be lamented that the very early customs
found in the copies of Court Roll in England have not been collected
and published. Such a step could not possibly affect the interests of
Lords of Manors, or their Stewards ; but the collection would furnish
invaluable materials for law and history. We shall have to refer here-
after to the Advoeatus or Vogt, the elected or hereditary patron of
these and similar aggregations.
56 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
or meeting was held : while the mearcbeorhf which
is not at all of rare occurrence, appears to denote
the hill or mound which was the site of the court,
and the place where the free settlers met at stated
periods to do right between man and man^
It is not at all necessary that these communities
should have been very small ; on the contrary, some
of the Marks were probably of considerable extent,
and capable of bringing a respectable force into
the field upon emergency : others, no doubts were
less populous, and extensive : but a hundred heads
of houses, which is not at all an extravagant sup-
position, protected by trackless forests^ in a district
not well known to the invader, constitute a body
very well able to defend its rights and privileges.
Although the Mark seems originally to have been
defined by the nature of the district, the hills,
streams and forests, still its individual, peculiar
and, as it were, private character depended in some
degree also upon long-subsisting relations of the
Markmen, both among themselves, and with regard
to others. I represent them to myself as great fa-
mily unions, comprising households of various de-
grees of wealth, rank and authority : some, in direct
descent from the conmion ancestors, or from the
hero of the particular tribe : others, more distantly
connected, through the natural result of increasing
population, which multipUes indeed the members of
' Memrcbeorh, the Mark-hUi, seems too special a name to express
some hill or other, which happened to lie in the boundair. A Kentish
charter names the gemotbeorh ^Cod. Dipl. No. 364. an. 9>d4), but this is
indefinite, and mi^t apply to the Shiremooi.
CH. II.] THE MARK. 57
the family, but removes them at every step further
from the original stock : some, admitted into com-
munion by marriage, others by adoption ; others
even by emancipation ; but all recognizing a bro-
therhood, a kinsmanship or sibsceaft i ; all standing
together as one unit in respect of other, similar
communities ; all governed by the same judges and
led by«the same captains ; all sharing in the same
religious rites, and all known to themselves and
to their neighbours by one general name.
The original significance of these names is now
perhaps matter of curious, rather than of useful
enquiry. Could we securely determine it, we should,
beyond doubt, obtain an insight into the antiquities
of the Germanic races, far transcending the actual
extent of our historical knowledge ; this it is hope-
less now to expect : ages of continual struggles, of
violent convulsions, of conquests and revolutions,
lie between us and our forefathers : the traces of
their steps have been efiaced by the inexorable
march of a different civilization. This alone is cer-
tain, that the distinction must have lain deeply
rooted in the national religion, and supplied abun-
dant materials for the national epos. Much has
been irrecoverably lost, yet in what remains we
recognize fragments which bear the impress of for-
mer wealth and grandeur. Bedwulf, the Traveller's
Song, and the multifarious poems and traditions
^ Refer to Caesar's expression cognatio, in a note to p. 39. It is
remarkable that early MS. glossaries render the word fratrueles by
gehndan, which can only be translated, '' those settled upon the same
land }" thiu identifying the local with the fiimily relations.
68 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of Scandiaavia, not less than the scattered names
which meet us here and there in early German
history, offer hints which can only serve to excite
regret for the mass which has perished. The king->
doms and empires which have exercised the pro-
foundest influence upon the course of modern civi-
lization, have sprung out of obscure communities
whose very names are only known to us throu^
the traditions of the poet, or the local denomina*
tions which record the sites of their early settle*
ments.
Many hypotheses may be formed to account for
these ancient aggregations, especially on the conti*
nent of Europe. Perhaps not the least plausible
is that of a single family, itself claiming descenti
through some hero, from the gods, and gathering
other scattered families around itself; thus retain-
ing the administration of the family rites of religion,
and giving its own name to all the rest of the
community. Once established, such distinctive ap-
|H?llations must wander with the migrations of the
communities themselves, or such portions of them
as wunt of land and means, and excess of pi^nla-
lioi\ at homo, compelled to seek new settlements,
lu the midst of restless movements, so genenl
and e.\len^\*e as those of our progenitors, it can-
noi sur^^rtM^ us, when we nnd the gentile names
ly iWrmanv. Norway, Sweden and I>mmark, re-
vr.x:;^^^.: x::v>:: v^ur owr. sbc^rv^ Even where a
^fw i^?\^.;;;;:ivrs — <>:^e vmiv — tnearin^ a celebrated
CB. 11.] TUB MARK. 59
around him under an appellation long recognized as
heroic: or a leader, distinguished for his skill, his
valour and success, bis power or superior wealth,
may have found little difficulty in imposing the
name of liis own race upon all who shared in his
adventures. Thus Harlinga and Wa^lsings, names
most intimately connected with the great epos of
the Grermanic and Scandinavian races, are repro-
duced in several localities in England : Billing, the
noble progenitor of the royal race of Saxony, has
more than one enduring record : and similarly, I
believe all the local denominations of tlie early
settlements to have arisen and been perpetuated'.
So much light appears derivahle from a proper in-
vestigation of these names, that I have collected
them in an Appendix (A.) at the end of this vo-
lume, to the contents of which the reader's atten-
tion is invited*.
' TheHiu-Ujig<,iiiAnglouxonHeretingBs(Tr&v.gDng,1.224)i Hu-
t lui^e, (W. GnniDi, Di^ut. Ileldensage, p. 2S0, etc.,) are found at Hu-
I, ling in Norfolk and KunC, and at Harlingtoa (Hcrelingatun) in Bedford-
l' ifaire anil MicliUeiex. 11ieWa:liing«, in Old NorKVoUungHTitho family
' ' of Sigtirdr or Siv^clVied, reappear at WaUinghftm in Norfolk, Woldng-
I ham in Northumberland, and Wooliingbnm in Diirliam. Tba Billing*,
' at Billingc. UiUingLtun, Billinghoe, BilUnghurat, Billiugdeu, BiUington,
and many other plnciw. ^e Appendix A.
I ' Tbeic local denominatiiiDa are for tht; most port irregular compo-
fitiona, of nhicb the former portion is a patronymic in -iug or -ling,
declineil in the genitiie plural. The second portion ii a mere defini-
tian of the locahty, a» 'geat, -hynt, -hum, -vtic, -tun, -stcde, and the
like. In a few com the patronymie standi alone in the nominative
plural, ai Tutingas, Tooting, Surrey; Wocingas, Woking, Surrey t
UeaUingai, Mailing, Kent ; Wetieringai, Wittering, iiuiaex. In a itiU
raialler number, the name of the eponymua replaces tlut of hi* detcend'
■Uta. ■■ Finnet burb, Finibury ; WkIkb ham, Walibam, in Norfolk ;
in which lait name, as well at in WiEbea eafora (Beowulf, 1. 1767), Wfl
6i) THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
In looking over this list we are immediately
struck with a remarkable repetition of various
names, some of which are found at once in several
counties ; and most striking are those which, like the
examples already alluded to, give a habitation upon
our own shores to the races celebrated in the poetical
or historical records of other ages and other lands.
There are indeed hardly any enquiries of deeper
interest, than those whose tendency is to link the
present with the past in the bonds of a mythical
tradition ; or which present results of greater im-
portance to him who has studied the modes of
thought and action of populations at an early stage
hmre a record of the progenitor of the WdsmgSy who b alike nnknowB
to the ScandiiuTiin and the German legends of that noUe raee. Li
dealing, however, with these names, some amount of caution is neeea-
saiy : it is by no means enough that a word should end in -ing, to
conreit it into a genuine patron}-mic. On the contrary it is a power of
that termination to denote the geniUTe or possessire, which is also the
generative, case : and in some local names we do find it so used : thus
.£i$elwulfing lend (Cod. Dipl. No. 179, a. 801) is exactly equivalent to
.£$elwulfes lond, the estate of a duke .£5elwulf, not of a family called
.£5elwulfings. So again, t^ct Folcwining lond (Cod. Dipl. No. 195,
a. 811\ 5apt Wynhearding lond ^Cod. Dipl. No. 195, a. 811), imply the
land of Folcwine, of Wynheard, not of marks or families called Fole-
winings and Wynheardings. Woolbedington, Wool Lavington, Bar-
lavington, are respectively WulflMcding tun, Wulflafing tun, Be^lifii^
tun, the tun or dwelling of Wulflaf, Wulfbaed and BeorUf. Between
such words and genuine patron^-mics the line must carefully be drawn,
a task which requires both skill and experience : the best security is,
where we find the patron\-mic in the genitive plural : but one can very
generally judge whether the name is such as to have arisen in the way
described above, from a genitive singular. Changes for the sake of
euphony must also be guarded against, as sources of error : thus Abing-
don in Berks would impel us strongly to assume a family of Abingas ;
the Saxon name ^bban dun convinces us that it was named from an
£bba (m) or JEbbe \f). Dunnington is not Duninga ton, but Dunnan,
that is Donna's ti&n.
CH, 11.]
THE MARK.
61
of their career. The intimate relations of mytho-
logy, law and social institutions, which later ages
are too apt scornfully to despise, or superstitiously
to imitate, are for them, liviog springs of action :
they are believed in, not played with, as in the
majority of revivals, from the days of Anytus and
Melitus to our own ; and they form the hroad foun-
dation upon which the whole social polity is esta-
blished. The people who believe in heroes, origi-
nally gods and always god-born, preserve a remem-
hrance of their ancient deities In the gentile names
by which themselves are distinguished, long after
the rites they once paid to their divinities have
fallen into disuse ; and it is this record of beings
once hallowed, and a cult once offered, which they
have bequeathed to us in many of the now unin-
telligible names of the Marks. ^Taking these facts
into account, I have no hesitation in affirming
that the names of places found in the Anglosaxon
charters, and yet extant in England, su^iply no
trifling Hnks in the chain of evidence by which we
demonstrate the existence among ourselves of a
heathendom nearly allied to that of Scandinavia.
The Wtclsings, the Volsungar of the Edda, and
Volsungen of the German Heldensage, have al-
ready been noticed in a cursory manner : they are
the family whose hero is Siegfried or Sigurdr', the
centre round which the Nibelungen epos circles.
Another of their princes, Fitela, the Norse SintiOtli,
' In Beowulf (1. IT'lS}, Sicgfricil ia replactil by Rigmund, his fiither.
nere oocum his patronymital Eiipellatioii of WKlsiiig (1, 17-)7), and
Waclses eafonHl. 1787).
as THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [iooK i.
is recorded in the poem of Be6wulf ' , and from him
appear to have been derived the Fitelingas, whose
name survives in Fitting.
The Herelingas or Harlings have also been no*
ticed ; they are connected with the same great
cycle, and are mentioned in the Traveller's Song,
1. 224. As Harlingen in Friesland retains a record
of the same name, it is possible that it may have
wandered to the coast of Norfolk with the Bata-
vian auxiliaries, numerus Batavorum^ who served
under their own chiefs in Britain. The Swsefas,
a border tribe of the Angles^, reappear at Swaff-
ham. The Brentings^ are found again in Brenting-
by. The Scyldings and Scylfings^, perhaps the most
celebrated of the Northern races, give their names
to Sk elding and Sbilvington. The Ardings, whose
memorial is retained in Ardingley, Ardington and
Ardingworth, are the Azdingi*, the royal race of
the Visigoths and Vandals : a name which confirms
the tradition of a settlement of Vandals in England.
With these we probably should not confound the
Heardingas,who have left their name toHardingham
in Norfolk^. The Banings, over whom Becca ruled^,
are recognized in Banningham ; the Haelsings* in
' Lines 1752, 1772. » Trav. S. 1. 12L
• Be6w. 1. 6610. * Ibid. 1. 60, 125, etc.
* See ZeuM, p. 461 and pp. 73, lA ; especially his note upon p. 461,
where he brings forward a good deal of evidence in favour of the form
Geardingas.
' The Rune poem nx% that Ing was first known among the EAit-
danes, and that he was so named by the Heardings. This may refer
to Norfolk: or must we read heardingas« beUatoresl See Anglos.
Runes. Archaeolog. xxviii. 327> seq,
7 Trav. S. 1. 37. • ftid. 1. 44.
CK. II.] THE MARK. 68
Helsington, and in the Swedish Helsingland^ : the
Myrgings^y perhaps in Merring, and Merrington :
the Hundings^, perhaps in Hunningham and Hun-
nington : the Hdcings*, in Hucking : the Seringas*
meet us again in Sharington, Sherington and She-
ringham. The Dyringas^ in Thorington and Thor-
rington, are likely to be offshoots of the great Her-
munduric race, the Thyringi or Thoringi, now Thu-
ringians, always neighbours of the Saxons. The
Bleccingas, a race who probably gave name to
Bleckingen in Sweden, are found in Bletchington»
and Bletchingley. In the Gytingas, known to us
from Guiting, we can yet trace the Alamannic tribe
of the Juthungi, or Jutungi. Perhaps in the Scy-
tingas or Scydingas, we may find another Alaman-
nic tribe, the Scudingi^, and in the Dylingas, an
Alpine or Highdutch name, the Tulingi®. The
Waeringas are probably the Norman Vseringjar,
whom we call Varangians. The Wylfingas^, another
celebrated race, well known in Norse tradition, are
recorded in Bedwulf^^ and the Traveller's Song".
These are unquestionably no trivial coincidences;
they assure us that there lies at the root of our land-
divisions an element of the highest antiquity ; one
too, by which our kinsmanship with the Northi
german races is placed beyond dispute. But their
analogy leads us to a wider induction: when we
• Zenn, p. 544. » Tray. S. 1. 45. » Ibid. 1. 46.
^ Ibid. 1. 57« perhaps the Chauci. ^ Ibid. 1. 150.
• Ibid. 1. 60. 7 ZeuM, p. 584. « Ibid. pp. 226, 227.
• Cod. Dipl. No. 1135. Wylfinga ford. '° Lines 916, 936.
" Line 58. They are the Ylfingar of None tradition. Helg.Hund. 1.5.
64 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
examine the list of names contained in the Appen-
dix, we see at once how very few of these are identi-
fied with the names recorded in Bedwulf and other
poems : all that are so recorded, had probably be-
longed to portions of the epic cycle ; but there is
nothing in the names themselves to distinguish them
from the rest ; nothing at least but the happy acci-
dent of those poems, which were dedicated to their
praise, having survived. In the lapse of years, how
many similar records may have perished ! And may
we not justly conclude that a far greater number
of races might have been identified, had the Ages
spared the songs in which they were sung ?
" Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona
Multi ; sed omnes inlachrymabiles
Urgentur ignotique longa
Nocte, carent quia vate sacro I "
Whatever periods we assume for the division of
the land into Marks, or to what cause soever we
attribute the names adopted by the several commu-
nities, the method and manner of their dispersion
remains a question of some interest. The Appen-
dix shows a most surprising distribution of some
particular names over several counties ^ : but this
seems conceivable only in two ways ; first, that the
inhabitants of a Mark, finding themselves pressed
' ^scings in Essex, Somerset and Sussex : Alings in Kent, Dorset,
Devonshire and Lincoln : Ardings in Sussex, Berks and Northampton-
shire : Arlings in Devonshire, Gloucestershire and Sussex : Banings in
Hertfordshire, Kent, Lincolnshire and Salop: Headings in Norfolk,
Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex and the Isle of Wight : Berings in Kent, De-
vonshire, Herefordshire, Lincolnshire, Salop and Somerset : Billings in
Bedfordshire, Durham, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, North-
amptonshire, Northumberland, Salop, Sussex and the Isle of Wight, etc.
CH. n.] THE MARK. 65
for room at home, migrated to other seats, and
established a new comamnity under the old desig-
nation ; or, secondly, that in the division of the
newly conquered soil, men who had belonged to one
community upon the continent, found themselves
thrown into a state of separation here, either by the
caprice of the lots, supposing their immigration
simultaneous, or by the natural course of events,
supposing one body to have preceded the other.
Perhaps too we must admit the possibility of a
dispersion arising from the dissolution of ancient
confederacies, produced by internal war. On the
whole I am disposed to look upon the second hy-
pothesis as applicable to the majority of cases ;
without presuming altogether to exclude the action
of the first and third causes. It is no doubt diffi-
cult to imagine that a small troop of wandering
strangers should be allowed to traverse a settled
country in search of new habitations. Yet, at first,
there must have been abundance of land, which
conduct and courage might wring from its Keltic
owners. Again, how natural on the other hand ia
it, that in the confusion of conquest, or the dila-
tory course of gradual occupation, men once united
should find their lot cast apart, and themselves
divided into distant commuuities ! Nor in this can
we recognize anything resembling the solemn plant-
ing of a Grecian, far less of a Roman, colony ; or
suppose that any notion of a common origin sur-
vived to nourish feelings of friendship between bo-
dies of men, so established in different lands. Even
had Buch traditions originally prevailed, they must
eC THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book l.
soon have perished, when the Marks coalesced into
the Gd or Shire, and several of the latter became
included in one kingdom. New interests and
duties must then have readily superseded maxims
which belonged to an almost obsolete organiza-
tion.
But in truth, to this question of dispersion and
relationship, considered in its widest generality,
there is no limit either of place or time : it derives,
indeed, some of its charm from the very vagueness
which seems to defy the efforts of the historian :
and even the conviction that a positive and scien-
tific result is unattainable, does not suffice to re-
press the anxiety with which we strive to lift the
veil of our Isis. The question of every settlement,
large or small, ultimately resolves itself into that of
the original migrations of mankind. Unless we
can bring ourselves to adopt the hypothesis of
autochthonous populations, — an hypothesis whose
vagueness is not less than attaches to a system of
gradual, but untraced, advances, — we must fall
back from point to point, until we reach one start-
ing-place and one origin. Every family that squats
upon the waste, assumes the existence of two fami-
lies from which it sprang : every household, com-
prising a man and woman, if it is to be fruitful and
continue, presupposes two such households ; each
of these continues to represent two more, in a geo-
metrical progression, whose enormous sum and final
result are lost in the night of ages. The solitary
who wanders away into the uncultivated waste, and
there by degrees rears a family, a tribe and a state.
CH. n.] THE MA&K« 67
takes with him the traditions, the dispositions, the
knowledge and the ideas, which he had derived
from others, in tarn equally indebted to their pre**
decessors. This state of society, if society it can
be called, is rarely exhibited to our observation.
The backwoodsman in America, or the settler in an
Australian bush, may furnish some means of jud-
ging such a form of civilization ; and the traditions
of Norway and Iceland dimly record a similar pro-
cess: but the solitary labourer, whose constant
warfare with an exulting and exuberant nature does
little more than assure him an independent exist-
ence, has no time to describe the course and the
result of his toils : and the progress of the modern
settler is recorded less by himself, than by a civi-
lized society, whose offset he is ; which watches
his fortunes with interest and judges them with in-
telligence ; which finds in his career the solution of
problems that distract itself, and never forgets that
he yet shares in the cultivation he has left behind
him.
Still the manner in which such solitary house-
holds gradually spread over and occupy a country,
must be nearly the same in all places, where they
exist at all. The family increases in number ; the
arable is extended to provide food; the pasture
is pushed further and further as the cattle multi-
ply, or as the grasslands become less productive.
Along the banks of the river which may have at-
tracted the feelings or the avarice of the wanderer,
which may have guided his steps in the untracked
wilderness, or supplied the road by which he
f2
68 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
journeyed, the footsteps of civilization move up-
ward : till, reaching the rising ground from which
the streams descend on either side, the vanguards
of two parties meet, and the watershed becomes
their boundary, and the place of meeting for religi-
ous or political purposes. Meantime, the ford, the
mill, the bridge have become the nucleus of a vil-
lage, and the blessings of mutual intercourse and
family bonds have converted the squatters' settle-
ment into a centre of wealth and happiness. And
in like manner is it, where a clearing in the forest,
near a spring or welP, — divine, for its uses to man,
— has been made ; and where, by slow degrees, the
separated families discover each other, and find
that it is not good for man to be alone.
This description, however, will not strictly apply
to numerous or extensive cases of settlement, al-
though some analogy may be found, if we substi-
tute a tribe for the family. Continental Germany
has no tradition of such a process ; and we may
not unjustly believe the records of such in Scandi-
navia to have arisen from the wanderings of an-
quiet spirits, impatient of control or rivalry, of cri-
minals shrinking from the consequences of their
guilt, or of descendants dreading the blood-fead
inherited from ruder progenitors. But although
systematic and religious colonization, like that of
Greece, cannot be assumed to have prevailed, we
may safely assert that it was carried on far more
* Water seems tlie indispensable condition of a settlement in any pait
of tbe world : hence, in part, the wonhip paid to it. It is the rtry
kej to the histofT of the East.
CH. It.] THE HARK. 69
regularly, and upon more strict principles than are
compatible with capricious and individual settle-
ment '. Tradition here and there throws light
upon the causes by which bodies of men were im-
pelled to leave their ancient habitations, and seek
new seats in more fruitful or peaceful districts.
The emi^iration represented by Hengest has been
attributed to a famine at home, and even the grave
authority of history has countenanced the belief
that liis keels were driven into exUe : thus far we
may assume his adventure to have been made with
the participation, if not by the authority, of the
parent state.
In general we may admit the division of a con-
quered country, such as Britain was, to have been
conducted upon settled principles, derived from the
actual position of the conquerors. As an army
they had obtained possession, and as an army they
distributed the booty which rewarded their valour.
That they nevertheless continued to occupy the
land as families or cognationes, resulted from the
method of their enrolment in the field itself, where
each kindred was drawn up under an officer of
its own lineage and appointment, and the several
members of the family served together. But such a
' The lolemn Hpportionment of landg and dwellings is nowhere more
obnouB, or describcil in more instructive detail, than in Denmark.
tiorymy and tbo Sivcihsh bordcrlawla may have otTercd more numc-
ron« initancei of gDlit4kry settling. The inanncr of diatributinic the
Tillage land is called Si^lskipt or Sc^iskipti : the provisioni of this law
•re given by Grimm, Rcchtsall, ]i. 53!t. There is an interesting aecouiit
of tbe formalities uie<l upon the 6rst colonization of Icehind, in Guijer,
Hut. of Sweden, i. 169. (German truulatiau of 1826.)
70 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
distribution of the land as should content the various
small communities that made up the whole force,
could only be ensured by the joint authority of the
leaders, the concurrence of the families themselves,
and the possession of a sufficient space for their
extension, undisturbed by the claims of former oc-
cupants, and suited to the wants of its new masters.
What difficulties, what jealousies preceded the ad-
justment of all claims among the conquerors, we
cannot hope to learn, or by what means these were
met and reconciled : but the divisions themselves,
so many of whose names I have collected, prove
that, in some way or other, the problem was suc-
cessfully solved.
On the natural clearings in the forest, or on
spots prepared by man for his own uses ; in valleys,
bounded by gentle acclivities which poured down
fertilizing streams ; or on plains which here and
there rose, clothed with verdure, above surround-
ing marshes ; slowly and step by step, the warlike
colonists adopted the habits and developed the cha-
racter of peaceful agriculturists. The towns which
had been spared in the first rush of war, gradually
became deserted, and slowly crumbled to the soil,
beneath which their ruins are yet found from time
to time, or upon which shapeless masses yet remain,
to mark the sites of a civilization, whose bases were
not laid deep enough for eternity. All over Eng-
land there soon existed a network of communities,
the principle of whose being was separation, as re-
garded each other : the most intimate union, as re-
spected the individual members of each. Agricul-
CH. II.] THE BdARK. 71
tural, not commercial, dispersed, not centralized,
content within their own limits and little given to
wandering, they relinquished in a great degree the
habits and feelings which had united them as mili-
tary adventurers ; and the spirit which had achieved
the conquest of an empire, was now satisfied with
the care of maintaining inviolate a little peaceful
plot, sufficient for the cultivation of a few simple
households.
72
CHAFfER III.
THE GA' OR SCI'R.
Next in order of constitution, if not of time, is the
union of two, three or more Marks in a federal
bond for purposes of a religious, judicial or even
political character. The technical name for such
a union is in Germany, a Gau or Bant' ; in Eng-
land the ancient name Ga has been almost univer-
sally superseded by that of Scir or Shire. For the
most part the natural divisions of the country are
the divisions also of the Ga ; and the size of this
depends upon such accidental limits as well as upon
the character and dispositions of the several collec-
tive bodies which we have called Marks.
The Ga is the second and final form of unsevered
possession ; for every larger aggregate is but the re-
sult of a gradual reduction of such districts, under
a higher political or administrative unity, different
only in degree and not in kind from what prevailed
individually in each. The kingdom is only a larger
Ga than ordinary ; indeed the Ga itself was the
original kingdom.
But the unsevered possession or property which
' Less usual are £iba and Para. The Xorse Uerrad may in some
sense be compared with these divisions.
CU. III.]
THK GA' OB SCl'B.
73
we thus find in the Ga is by no means to be consi-
dered in the same light as that which has been de-
scribed in the Mark. The inhabitants are settled
as Markmen, not as Ga-men : the cuUivated land
which Ues within the hmits of the larger commu-
nity is all distributed into the smaller ones.
As the Mark contained within itself the means of
doing right between man and man, i. e. its Mark-
mot ; as it had its principal officer or judge, and
beyond a doubt its priest and place of religious ob-
servances, so the County, Scir or Ga had all these
on a larger and more imposing scale ; and thus it
was enabled to do right between Mark and Mark,
as well as between man and man, and to decide
tbose diiferences the arrangement of which trans-
cended the powers of the smaller body. If the
elders and leaders of the Mark could settle the
mode of conducting the internal affairs of their dis-
tinct, so the elders and leaders of the Ga (the same
leading markmen in a corporate capacity} could
decide upon the weightier causes that affected the
whole community ; and thus the Scirgemot or
Shiremoot was the completion of a system of which
the Mearcmifit was the foundation. Similarly, as
the several smaller units had arrangements on a cor-
responding scale for divine service, so the greater
and more important religious celebrations in which
all the Marks took part, could only be performed
under the auspices and by the authority of the Ga.
Thus alone could due provision be made for sacri-
fices which would have been too onerous for a small
and poor district, and an equalization of burthens
74 TH£ SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
be effected ; i^vhile the machinery of government
and efficient means of protection were secured.
At these great religious rites, accompanied as they
ever were by the solemn Ding, placitum or court,
thrice in the year the markmen assembled unbid-
den : and here they transacted the ordinary and rou-
tine business required. On emergencies however,
which did not brook delay, the leaders could issue
their peremptory summons to a bidden Ding, and
in this were then decided the measures necessary
for the maintenance and well-being of the commu-
nity, and the mutual guarantee of life and honour.
To the Gd then probably belonged, as an unsevered
possession, the lands necessary for the site and
maintenance of a temple, the supply of beasts for
sacrifice, and the endowment of a priest or priests :
perhaps also for the erection of a stockade or for-
tress, and some shelter for the assembled freemen
in the Ding. Moreover, if land existed which from
any cause had not been included within the limits
of some Mark, we may believe that it became the
public property of the Ga, i. e. of all the Marks in
their corporate capacity : this at least may be in-
ferred from the rights exercised at a comparatively
later period over waste lands, by the constituted
authorities, the Duke, Count or King.
Accident must more or less have determined the
seat of the Gd-jurisdiction : perhaps here and there
some powerful leading Mark, already in the pos-
session of a holy site, may have drawn the neigh-
bouring settlers into its territory : but as the pos-
session and guardianship of the seat of government
«.]
THE GA' OR SCI'R.
could not but lead to the vindication of certain
privileges and material advantages to its holders,
it is not unreasonable to believe that where the
Marks coalesced on equal terms, the temple-lands
would be placed without the pecuUar territorial
possession of each, as they often were in Greece,
upon the ca-^aTia or boundary -land. On the sum-
mit of a range of hills, whose valleys sufficed for
the cultivation of the raarkmen, on the watershed
from which the fertiUzing streams descended, at
the point where the boundaries of two or three com-
munities touched one another, was the proper place
for the common periodical assemblages of the free
men: and such sites, marked even to this day by
a few venerable oaks, may be observed in various
parts of England'.
The description which has been given might seem
at first more properly to relate to an abstract poli-
tical unity than to a real and territorial one : no
doubt the most important quality of the Ga or Scir
was its power of uniting distinct populations for
public purposes : in this respect it resembled the
shire, while t!ie sheriffs court was still of some im-
portance ; or even yet, where the judges coming
on their circuit, under a commission, hold a shire-
moot or court in each shire for gaol -delivery. Yet
the Shire is a territorial division ^ as well as an abs-
tract and merely legal formulary, although all the
' There are instances which show thnt ihe cuatom, nfWrwarils kept
up, of "Tiyiting Trees," was an ancient one. Probnbly atnae great
tnci niATked the ^itc of the several juriddiFtJotis : 1 tioil mentioned the
■^rie, the hnnilreiles trefiw and the meorcbe&m.
* The Gau itself hmd a mark or buundv}-. Deut. Rechtsalt. p. 4U(i.
76 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [Booitl.
land comprised within it is divided into parishes,
hamlets, vills and liberties.
Strictly speaking, the Shire, apart from the units
that make it up, possesses little more land than
that which the town-hall, the gaol, or the hospital
may cover. When for the two latter institu^
tions we substitute the fortress of the king, and
a cathedral, which was the people's and not the
bishop's, we have as nearly as possible the Anglo-
saxon shire-property, and the identity of the two
divisions seems proved. Just as the G& (pagus)
contains the Marks {vicos), and the territory of
them all, taken together, makes up the territory of
the Ga, so does the Shire contain hamlets, parishes
and liberties, and its territorial expanse is distri-
buted into them. As then the word Mark is used
to denote two distinct things, — a territorial division
and a corporate body, — so does the word G6 or
Scir denote both a machinery for government and
a district in which such machinery prevails. The
number of Marks included in a single Gd must have
varied partly with the variations of the land itself,
its valleys, hills and meadows : to this cause may
have been added others arising, to some extent,
from the original military organization and distri-
bution, from the personal character of a leader, or
from the peculiar tenets and customs of a particular
Mark. But proximity, and settlement upon the
same land, with the accompanying participation
in the advantages of wood and water, are ever the
most active means of uniting men in religious and
social communities ; and it is therefore reasonable
CH. III.] THE GA' OR SCI'R. 77
to believe that the influence most felt in the ar-
rangement of the several Gas was in fact a territo-
rial one^ depending upon the natural conformation
of the country.
Some of the modern shire-divisions of England
in all probability have remained unchanged from
the earliest times ; so that here and there a now
existent Shire may be identical in territory with an
ancient Gd. But it may be doubted whether this
observation can be very extensively applied : ob-
scure as is the record of our old divisions, what
little we know, favours the supposition that the ori-
ginal Gds were not only more numerous than our
Shires, but that these were not always identical in
their boundaries with those Gas whose locality can
be determined.
The policy or pedantry of Norman chroniclers
has led them to pass over in silence the names
of the ancient divisions, which nevertheless were
known to them^ Wherever they have occasion to
refer to our Shires, they do so by the names they
still bear ; thus Florence of Worcester and Malms-
bury, name to the south of the Humber, Kent,
Wiltshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Sussex, Southamp-
ton, Surrey, Somerset, Devonshire, Cornwall, Glou-
cester, Worcester, Warwick, Cheshire, Derby, Staf-
ford, Shropshire, Hereford, Oxford, Buckingham,
1 '* £t ne longum fjociam, sigillatim enumeratis proyinciis quas vas-
tayenint, hoc sit ad siimmam complecti, quod, cum numercntiu* in
Anglia triginta duo pagi, illi iam sedecim invaserant, quorum nomina
propter barbariem linguae scribere refiigio." Gul. Meld. Gest. Reg.
lib. n. $ 165.
78 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [boos i.
Hertford, Huntingdon, Bedford, Northampton, Lei«
cester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Cambridge, Norfolk,
Suffolk and Essex, comprising with Middlesex
thirty-two of the shires, out of forty into which
England is now distributed.
Yet even these names and divisions are of great
antiquity : Asser, in his life of iElfred, mentions by
name, Berkshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Somerset,
Sussex, Lincoln, Dorset, Devon, Wiltshire and
Southampton, being a third of the whole number :
unfortunately, from his work being composed in
Latin and his consequent use of pagUy we cannot
tell how many of these divisions were considered
by him as Scir.
The Saxon Chronicles, during the period ante-
rior to the reign of -Alfred, seem to know only
the old general divisions : thus we have Cantwara
land, Kent^ ; Westseaxan, Su^seaxan, Edstseaxan,
Middelseaxan, Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Middlesex :
Eastengle, Eastanglia : Nor^anhymbra land, Sd-
^anhymbra land, Myrcna land, Northumberland,
Southumberland, Mercia : Lindisware and Lindisse,
Lincolnshire : Sii^rige, Surrey ; Wiht, the Isle of
Wight ; Hwiccas, the Hwiccii in Gloucestershire
and Worcestershire*; Merscware, the people of
Romney Marsh: Wilsaetan, Donisaetan and Sumor-
scetan, Wiltshire, Somersetshire and Dorsetshire*.
* The division of Kent into East Ccntiugas and West Ccntingaa is
retained by the charters till late in the eleventh century.
" " CiiTcnceaster adiit, qui Britannice Cairceri nominatur, quae est
m meridiana parte Iluicciorum." Asser, Vit. ^Elfr. an. 8/9.
* Where the countr}' is considered as a territorial division, rather
than with reference to the race that possesses it, instead of sietaii or
OB. III.] THE 6A' OR SCrR. 79
But after the time of .Alfred, the different ma«
nuscripts of the Chronicles usually adopt the word
Scir, in the same places as we do, and with the same
meaning. Thus we find, Bearrucscir, Bedanford-
scir, Buccingahdmscir, Defenascir, De6rabyscir,
Eoforwicscir, Gledwanceasterscir, Grantabrycgscir,
Hamtunscir (Southampton), Hamtunscir (North-
ampton), Heortfordscir, Herefordscir, Huntandun-
scir, Legeceasterscir, Lindicolnascir, Oxnafordscir,
Scrobbesbyrigscir (but also Scrobsetan), Snotinga-
hdmscir, Staeffordscir, Waeringwlcscir or Waering-
scir, Wigraceasterscir, and . Wiltunscir : Middel-
seaxe, Edstseaxe, Su^seaxe, Su^rige and Cent re-
main : Edstengle is not divided into Norfolk and
Suffolk. Thus, out of the thirty-two shires south
of the Humber, which Florence and Malmsbury
mention, the Chronicles note twenty-six, of which
twenty-one are distinguished as shires by the word
scir.
In Beda nothing of the kind is to be found : the
general scope of his Ecclesiastical History rendered
it unnecessary for him to descend to minute details,
and besides the names of races and kingdoms, he
mentions few divisions of the land. Still he notices
the Provincia Huicciorum : the Middelangli or
Angli Mediterranei, a portion of the Mercians : the
Mercii Australes and Aquilonales : the Regio Suder-
geona or Surrey : the Regio Loidis or Elmet near
York : the Provincia Meanwarorum, or Hundreds
I, the settlers y we have ssete, the land settled ; thus Sumorssete. So
Edfltseaxe for Eaatseaxan or Eastseaxna land; Cent for Centingas or
Cantware ; Lindisse for Lindiswaxe.
80 THE 8AX0NS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of East and West Meon in Southampton ; the Regie
Gyrwiorum in which Peterborough lies, and dis-
tinct from this, the Australes Gyrwii or South
Gyrwians.
The Appendix to the Chronicles of Florence of
Worcester supplies us with one or two names of
small districts, not commonly found in other au-
thors. One of these is the Mercian district of the
Westangles or West Hecan, ruled over by Mere-
wald ; in whose country were the Msegsetan, or
people of Hereford, who are sometimes reckoned
to the Hwiccas, or inhabitants of Worcester and
Gloucester \ Another, the Middleangles, had its
bishopric in Leicester : the Southangles, whose bi-
shop sat at Dorchester in Oxfordshire, consequently
comprised the counties down to the Thames. The
Northangles or Mercians proper had their bishop
in Lichfield. Lastly we know that Malmsbury in
Wiltshire was in Provincia Septonia*.
But we are not altogether without the means of
carrying this enquiry further. We have a record
of the divisions which must have preceded the dis-
tribution of this country into shires : they are un-
fortunately not numerous, and the names are gene-
rally very difficult to explain: they have so long
become obsolete, that it is now scarcely possible to
identify them. Nor need this cause surprise, when
we compare the oblivion into which they have fal-
^ " Civitas Wigomia . . . . ct tunc et nunc totius Hwicciae vel Mage-
■etaniae metropolis extitit famosa." App. Flor. Wigorn., Episc Hwic-
ciorum.
' Vit. Aldh. Whart. Ang. Sax. ii. 3.
CB. m.] THB OA' OR SCIIL 81
len with the sturdy resistance offered by the names
of the Marks, and their long continuance through-
out all the changes which have befallen our race.
The Gras, which were only political bodies, became
readily swallowed up and lost in shires and king-
doms : the Marks, which had an individual being,
and as it were personality of their own, passed
easily from one system of aggregations to another,
without losing an3rthing of their peculiar character :
and at a later period it will be seen that this indi-
viduality became perpetuated by the operation of
our ecclesiastical institutions.
A very important document is printed by Sir
Henry Spdman in his Glossary, under the head
Hida. In its present condition it is comparatively
modem, but many of the entries supply us with
information obviously derived from the most re-
mote antiquity, and these it becomes proper to
take into consideration. The document seems to
have been intended as a guide either to the taxation
or the military force of the kingdom, and professes
to give the number of hides of land contained in
the various districts. It runs as follows h
Hydaa.
Hydas,
Myrcna continet
30000
Lindesfarona . ,
, 7000
Wokensetna . .
7000
Su^ Gyrwa . .
600
Westema . . .
7000
Nor^ Gyrwa . ,
600
Pecsetna . . .
1200
East Wixna . ,
300
Elmedsetna . .
600
West Wixna . .
600
* I have not adhered strictly to Spehnan's copy, the details of which
are in aerend cases incorrect, bat have collated others where it seemed
neocasarv.
VOL. I. Q
82
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book t«
Spalda
Wigesta .
Herefinna .
Sweordora
Eysla . .
Hwicca .
Wihtgara .
Noxga ga .
Obtga gd .
Hwynca .
Cilternsetna
Hendrica .
Hydas.
600
900
1200
300
300
300
600
5000
2000
7000
4000
3000
Unecunga .
Arosetna
Fearfinga
Belmiga . .
Wi^eringa .
EastWilla .
West WiUa .
EastEngle .
Edst Seaxoa.
Cantwarena .
Su^ Seaxna .
West Seaxna
Hydas.
. 1200
. 600
. 300
600
. 600
600
600
. 30000
. 7000
. 15000
. 7000
.100000'
The entries respecting Mercia, Eastanglia and
Wessex could hardly belong to any period anterior
to that of -Alfred. For Mercia previous to the
Danish wars must certainly have contained more
than 30,000 hides : while Eastanglia cannot have
reached so large a sum till settled by GuKorm's
Danes : nor is it easy to believe that Wessex, apart
from Kent and Sussex, should have numbered
one hundred thousand in the counties of Surrey,
Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, with parts of Berk-
shire, Somerset and Devon, much before the time
of iE^elstan'. A remarkable variation is found
between the amounts stated in this list and
those given by Beda, as respects some of the en-
tries : thus Mercia, here valued at 30,000 hides, is
reckoned in the Ecclesiastical History at 12,000
1 The total sum thus reckoned is 243,600 hides.
' About the year 647, Wessex numbered only 9000 hide««
CH. lu.] THE GA' OB SCFR. 83
only*: Hwiccas are reckoned at 300: they con-
tained 600 hides; Wight, reckoned at 600, con-
tained 1200. On the other hand Kent and Sussex
are retained at the ancient valuation.
It is nevertheless impossible to doubt that the
greater number of the names recorded in this list
are genuine, and of the highest antiquity. A few
of them can be recognized in the pages of very
early writers: thus Gyrwa, Elmet, Lindisfaran,
Wihtgare, and Hwiccas, are mentioned by Beda in
the eighth century. Some we are still able to iden-
tify with modern districts.
Mercia I imagine to be that portion of Burgred's
kingdom, which upon its division by the victorious
Danes in 874, they committed as a tributary royalty
to Ce61wulf; which subsequently came into the
hands of -Alfred, by the treaty of Wedmor in 878,
and was by him erected into a duchy under his
daughter iE^elflsed, and her husband. Wocensetna
may possibly be the Gd of the Wrocensetan, the
people about the Wrekin or hill-country of Somer-
set, Dorset and Devon. The Pecsetan appear to be
the inhabitants of the Peakland, or Derbyshire : the
Elmedsetan, those of Elmet, the ancient British
Loidis, an independent district in Yorkshire : Lin-
disfaran are the people of Lindisse, a portion of
Ldncolnshire : North and South Gyrwa were pro-
bably in the Mark between Eastanglia and Mercia :
* The twelve thouBand hides counted hy Beda (Hist. Eccl. iii. 24) to
the Soath and North Mercians may however he exclusive of the We8t«
angles and other parts of the great Mercian kingdom.
o2
84 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. Tbook I.
as Peterborough was in North Gyrwa land, this
must have comprised a part of Northamptonshire :
and M^eVSry^ derived her right to Ely from her
first husband, a prince of the South Gyrwians ; this
district is therefore supposed to have extended over
apartofCambridgeshireandtheisleofEly. Spalda
may be the tract stretching to the north-east of
these, upon the river \Velland, in which still lies
Spalding. The Hwiccas occupied Worcestershire
and Gloucestershire ^ and perhaps extended into
Herefordshire, to the west of the Severn. The
Wihtgaras are the inhabitants of the Isle of Wight ;
and the Ciltenisetan were the people who owned
the hill and forest land about the Chiltems, verging
towanis Oxfordshire, and very probably in the
Mark between Mercia and Wessex.
I fear that it will be impossible to identify any
more of these names, and it does not appear pro-
bable that they supply us with anything like a com-
plete catalogue of the English Gas. Setting aside
the tact« that no notice seems to be taken of Nor-
thumberland, save the mention of the little princi-
pality of Elmet, and that the local divisions of
EastangUa, Kent, Esssex, Sussex and Wessex, are
passevi over in the genenl names of the kingdoms,
we kx4L in vain amonc them for names, known to
XJBS trom other sources, and which can haidtv have
» Weswx V« £hr nhuneik lai tiW im jfi C
LI.]
TUE GA OR SCI'B.
been other than those of Gag. Thus we have no
mention of the Tonsetan, whose district lay appa-
rently upon the banks of the Severn ' ; of the Mean-
ware, or land of the Jutes, in Hampshire; of the
Masgsetan, or West Hecan, in Herefordshire ; of the
Merscware in West Kent ; or of the Gedingas, who
occupied a tract in the province of Middlesex*.
Although it is possible that these divisions are in-
cluded in some of the larger units mentioned in our
list, they still furnish an argument that the names
of the Gas were much more numerous than they
would appear from the list itself, and that this
marks only a period of transition.
It is clear that when Malmsbury mentions thirty-
two shires as making up the whole of England, he
intends only England south of the Humber. The
list we have been examining contains thirty-four
entries ; of all the names therein recorded, one
only can be shown to lie to the north of that river :
from this however it is not unreasonable to suppose
that the whole of England is iatended to be com-
prised in the catalogue. Even admitting this, we
cannot but conclude that these divisions were more
numerous than our shires, seeing that large districts,
such as Mereia, Wessex and Eastanglia, are entered
only under one general head respectively.
The origin of the Ga in the federal union of two
or more Marks is natural, and must be referred to
periods far anterior to any historical record : that
of the division into Shires, as well as the period
at which this arose, are less easily determined.
' Cod. Dipl. No. 261. ' Cod. Dipl. No. 101.
86 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
But we have evidence that some division into shires
was known in Wessex as early as the end of the
seventh or beginning of the eighth centory, since
Ini provides for the case where a plaintiff cannot
obtain justice from his shireman or judge ^ ; and
the same prince declares that if an. ealdorman com-
pounds a felony, he shall forfeit his shire* ; while
he further enacts that no man shall secretly with-
draw from his lord into another shire'. As it will
be shown hereafter that a territorial jurisdiction is
inseparably connected with the rank of a duke or
ealdorman, I take the appearance of these officers
in Mercia, during the same early period, to be evi-
dence of the existence of a similar division there.
Its cause appears to me to lie in the consolidation
of the royal power. As long as independent asso-
ciations of freemen were enabled to maintain their
natural hberties, to administer their own affairs un-
disturbed by the power of strangers, and by means
of their own private alliances to defend their terri-
tories and their rights, the old division into Gis
might continue to exist. But the centralization of
power in the hands of the king impUes a more ar-
tificial system. It is more convenient for judicial
and administrative purposes, more profitable, and
more safe for the ruler, to have districts gOTcmed
by his own ofiicers, and in which a territorial unity
shall supersede the old bonds of kinsmanship : cen-
tralization is hardly compatible with family tradi-
tion. The members of the Gii met as associated
• Im. § S. Thoqw, i. !♦>>. - Im, $ 36. Thorpe, I 124.
' Ini. 4 o9. Tbofpe, i. Ii6.
CH. III.] THE GA' OR SCI'R. 87
freemen, under the guidance of their own natural
leaders, and formed a substantive unit or small
state, which might, or might not, stand in relations
of amity to similar states. The Shire was a poli-
tical division, presided over by an appointed officer,
forming part only of a general system, and no longer
endowed with the high political rights of self-govern-
ment, in their fullest extent. I can imagine the Gd,
but certainly not the Shire, declaring war against
a neighbour. As long as the Gd could maintain
itself as a little republic, principality, or even king-
dom, it might subsist unscathed : but as the smaller
kings were rooted out, their lands and people in-
corporated with larger unions, and powerful mon-
archies rose upon their ruins, it is natural that a
system of districts should arise, based entirely upon
a territorial division. Such districts, without pecu-
liar, individual character of their own, or principle
of internal cohesion, must have appeared less dan-
gerous to usurpation than the ancient gentile ag-
gregations.
88
CHAPTER IV.
LANDED POSSESSION. THE EDEL, HID OB ALOD.
Possession of a certain amount of land in the di-
strict was the indispensable condition of enjoying
the privileges and exercising the rights of a free-
man \ There is no trace of such a qualification as
V
' Etvsi till the ktifst pericd. jMnonal [■up e iu wsi not irrt oe cJ m
iKe dbUMtMB of ivrIlss «hboii|!)i land vms. No ■ ■ iint of Biere th^
tich^s pMU nKvr* or |e«x>d»« ronld f^^iY tlK Sasoa InBcfane. See Ike
MduMMx^ Be Vrn^UioEu § U\ Be C Ottgg^oi, § :2. TWoqie, L 189.
l!^l. TW » « AtaiibsM«tU phwspNe ci Ttmtmit htm : ** Ut
hSmuM wne xaoitxh <«ta:iac hontt
jett ag g ma : rercsin x* tiu^ v-cb: Vi» iec ?>•.*« x £r.i
r*/ .-(}in'<«a«f nc imi s^ ^vr ksost's jk.
r*hki: iiB*\»- 'aK>«;^i i '•juari **uK:r'* luuc
yf cuiAic i lufedk ir iaa. wci v*ui a £fau«
CB. IV.]
THE EDEL, Hl'D OR ALOD.
constituted citizenship at Athens or Rome : among
our forefathers, the exclusive idea of the city had
indeed no sway. They formed voluntary associa-
tions upon the land, for mutual benefit ; the quali-
fication by birth, as far as it could be of any im-
portance, was inferred from the fact of admission
among the community ; and gelondan, or those who
occupied the same land, were taken to be connected
in blood'. An inquiry into the pedigree of a man
who presented himself to share in the perils of the
conquest or the settlement, would assuredly have
appeared superfluous ; nor was U more likely to be
made, when secure enjoyment came to reward the
labours of invasion. In fact the Germanic settle-
ments, whether in their origin isolated or collective,
are based throughout upon the idea of common
property in laud. It is not the city, but the coun-
try, that regulates their form of life and social in-
stitutions : as Tacitus knew them, they bore in ge-
neral the character of disliking cities r " It is well
enough known," he says, " that none of the Ger-
man populations dwell in cities ; nay that they
will not even suffer continuous building, and house
joined to house. They live apart, each by himself,
as the woodside, the plain or the fresh spring at-
tracted him"*. Thus the Germanic community is
in some sense adstricta glebae, bound to the soil :
' In MS. {ilouaries we find gelondan reuilered hy fratratles. In ad-
vanced penoda only ran there be a dutinction between the familjr, and
the local, distribution! : Suidas. citing Xanthua, says the Lydinns made
A (olemn supplication to the f^Aa, Ttayytyti ti m! irai^ij/icf. See Nie-
bufar on the Patrician Hoiues, i. 367.
' Mor. Germ. c. 16,
90 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
its members are sharers in the arable, the forest and
the marsh, the waters and the pastures : their bond
of union is a partnership in the advantages to be
derived from possession of the land, an individual
interest in a conmion benefit.
The district occupied by a body of new setders
was divided by lot in various proportions \ Yet it
is certain that not all the land was so distributed ;
a quantity sufficient to supply a proper block of
arable^ to each settler, was set apart for divi*
sion ; while the surplus fitted for cultivation, the
marshes and tbrests less suited to the operations of
the plough, and a great amount of fine grass or
meadow-land, destined for the maintenance of cat*
tie, remained in undivided possession as conmions.
At first too, it is clear from what has been said in
the second chapter, that considerable tracts were
leA purposely out of cultivation to form the marches
or defences of the several communities. But those
alone whose share in the arable demonstrated them
^ Tbe tnces of this mode of dismbabon si« nnmenias. Hcngai
fofftAhr orcvpTm^ tbe Fmiftn tmicorr, b aid to do so, dae, iialiljlBMt
riolenth and witboizt cmrtittf «3rif Iocs. Beov. L ilS7»2251. Hie Lam d
tlie Bozjisndaas calls hervditarr Luid. "" tcm wttu titiik> aDqimfltB,"
in fODtndsdnctiDa to chaneb taken by pozHuue. Lex Bmg. TiL 1.
cape I. ^ Eiehiian. i. oa\ 400. note #1 Godred, bra^ adbdMd the
llaajanen. drrided xheu land amoc^ kis foilovcn Vr kx. ^ Godredos
K^uiesti d3e obcocwm exemtui soo dedit, ut s maJLent V«tw»i— inter
K dirbdere. «et in ea babctarv : ttI fODLtam^clMCantiaB teme acaperc^
et ad pc\^na remieanr/* Chroa. M^n'^a**. Co«- MS. JnL JL VLl. foL
32. Upon the TemoTal of Sc. Cu^fberht's retics to Dttkaai, the fint
care ma to endscate the ibceat that co>vezed dfee knd ; the aesKr to
tnbnte the ckazTBtsr by loc : ""eradieata scaqoe sdra. <C
sDoiboi wcte dtscnbatak'* ete. Suceon. Uoi. DnaeiB. £ccL § 37.
' Wcn^ dmsocLu: ziea;sir:5 of bad bare vcrr freqaaihr ■■t pi^^» to
the picQidi : titisi £Coc. fisriang:. scion^. antnuB»
GB. IV.] THE EDEL, HID OR ALOD. 91
to be members of the little state, could hope to par-
ticipate in the advantages of the commons of pas-
ture : like the old Roman patricians, they derived
from their haeredium benefits totallv incommensu-
rate with its extent. Without such share of the
arable, the man formed no portion of the state ; it
was his franchise, his political qualification, even
as a very few years ago, a freehold of inconsider-
able amount sufficed to enable an Englishman to
vote, or even be voted for, as a member of the
legislature, — to be, as the Greeks would call it, in
the iroXiT€ia, — a privilege which the utmost wealth
in copyhold estates or chattels could not confer.
He that had no land was at first unfree : he could
not represent himself and his interests in the courts
or assembUes of the freemen, but must remain in
the mund or hand of another ^ — a necessary con-
sequence of a state of society in which there is
indeed no property but land, in other words, no
market for its produce.
From the mode of distribution it is probable
that each share was originally called Hlyt (sorSf
jcXiipoc), it derived however another and more com-
mon name from its extent and nature. The ordinary
Anglosaxon words are Higid^ (in its contracted
and almost universal form Hid) and Hiwisc. The
Latin equivalents which we find in the chronicles
and charters are, /ami/m, cassatus, manstiSy mansa,
^ trpooTOTov yeypd<l>$(u, to be enrolled under lome one's patronage :
to be in hia fimnd and borh, Shtt ov ILpiowos Trpoardrov ytypa^ftai,
CEd.Tyr.411.
' Cod. Dipl. No. 240.
:/jr ^ THE &AXOXS IX ESGULSD. [mok l
mamM, wutmewt and tern trSbmimnL The wonb
Hid and Hiwisc are siniilar, if nol identical, in
meaning : they stand in close etymological idation
to Uigan, Hiwan, the family, the man and wife,
and thus perfectly justify the Latin terms fomUm
and coMotus^, bv which ther are translated. The
Hid then, or Hide of land, is the estate of one
household, the amount of land soffirient for the
support of one family'. It is clear howerer that
this could not be an invariable quantity, if the
households were to be subsisted on an equal scale :
it must depend upon the original quality and con-
dition of the soil, as well as upon manifold contin-
gencies of situation — climate, aspect, accessibility
of water and roads, abundance of natural manures,
proximity of marshes and forests, in short an end-
less catalogue of varying details. If therefore the
Hide contained a fixed number of acres all over
England, and all the freemen were to be placed in a
position of equal prosperity, we must assume that
in the less favoured districts one Hide would not
suffice for the establishment of one man, but that
his allotment must have comprised more than that
quantity. The first of these hypotheses may be
very easily disposed of : there is not the slightest
ground for supposing that any attempt was, or
^ Cassatus or Casatus, a married man. Span. Casado. Othello speaks
of his unJfoused free condition, that is, his bachelor state. It ia hy
marriage that a man founds a house or funily.
^ Ilenn' of Uuntinedon thus defines its extent : ** Uida autem An-
glice vocatur terra unius aratri cultura sufSdens per annum." lib. tL
an. lOOS. But this is a variable amount on land of Tahous qoalitiM^
as eveiy ploughman well knows.
CH. IV.]
THE EDEL. HID OR ALOD.
could be, made to regulate the amount ofindividual
possesBion beyond the Umit of each community ; or
that there ever was, or could be, any concert be-
tween different communities for such a purpose.
The second supposition however presents greater
difficulties.
There is no doubt a strong antecedent improba-
bility of the Hide having been alike all over Eng-
land : isolated as were the various conquests which
gradually established the Saxon rule in the several
districts, it can hardly be supposed that any agree-
ment was at first found among bands, engaged in
continual struggles for safety, rather than for ex-
tension of territory. It may indeed be objected
that later, when the work of conquest had been
consolidated, when, under the rule of powerful chief-
tains, the resistance of the Britons had ceased to
appear dangerous, some steps may have been taken
towards a general arrangement ; those historians
who please themselves with the phantom of a Saxon
confederation under one imperial head, — a Bretwal-
daddm — may find therein an easy solution of this,
and many other difficulties' ; but still it seems
little likely that the important step of dividing the
country should have been postponed, or that a suc-
cessful body of invaders should have thought it
necessary to wait for the consent or co-operation of
others, whose ultimate triumph was yet uncertain.
' It does Dot seem very clear n-hy tlic idea of one measura of laud
•bonld suggest itaelf to cither many such cliieftoins or one buch Bret-
mlda, while other arrangements of a much more striking and Deces-
' tuy character reaiaiDcd totally diSereot.
94 THE SAXOXS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Experience of human nature would rather incline
us to believe that, as each band wrong from the
old masters of the soil as much as sufficed for its
own support and safety, it hastened to realize its
position and marked its acquisition by the stamp
and impress of individual possession. It is mcxe-
over probable that, had any solemn and general
agreement been brought about through the in-
duence of any one predominant chief, we should
not have been left without some record of a hct,
so beneficial in itself, and so conclusive as to the
power and wisdom of its author: this we might
not unreasonably expect, even though we admit
that such an event could only have taken place at
the ver\' commencement of our historv, and that
such a division, or, what is more difficult still, le-
division of the soil, is totallv inconsistent with the
state of society in England at any period subse-
quent to A.D. 600: but these are precisdy the
cases where the mythus replaces and is ancillary
to historv.
«
Against all these arguments we have only one
Uict to adduce, but it is no li£:ht one. It is certain
that, in all the c<\$e$ where a calculation can be made
at all, we c!o find a most striking coincidence with
re>pect to the size of the Hide in various parts of
England : that >uch calculation is applicable to very
numerous ii:stances, and apparently satisfies the
condition? of the probien^ in all ; and lastly that
there appear? no reason to suppose that any such
real chr.ngc ha.^. tr.kcn plr-i^c in the value of the Hide,
down to the }>criod of the Norman conquest and the
CH. IV.] THE EDEL, HID OR ALOD. 95
compilation of Domesday, according to the admea*
surement of at least the largest and the most influ-
ential of the English tribes \ The latest of these
measurements are recorded in Domesday ; the ear-
liest by Beda : the same system of calculations, the
same results, apply to every case in which trial has
been made between these remote limits ; and we are
thus enabled to ascend to the seventh century, a
period at which any equality of possessions is en-
tirely out of the question, but at which the old unit
of measurement may still have retained and handed
down its original value : even as, with us, one farm
may comprise a thousand, another, only two or
three hundred acres, yet the extent of the acre re-
main unaltered.
How then are we to account for this surprising
fact, in the face of the arguments thus arrayed
against it? I cannot positively assert, but still
think it highly probable, that there was some such
general measure common to the Germanic tribes
upon the continent, and especially in the north.
Whether originally sacerdotal, or how settled, it is
useless to guess ; but there does seem reason to be-
^ Beda almost invariably gives bis numbers as " iuxta mensuram
Angkmim.'' But in bis works Angli denotes all tbe Teutonic inbabitanta
of Britain. H. E. i. cap. 1. Again, in Bk. i. cap. 15, be identifies them,
** Anglorum sive Saxonum gens." He draws no distinction between
Angle and Saxon tribes, except wbere special reasons lead bim to par«
ticularize tbem. He does note discrepancies between tbem, whicb
would bave appeared far less im|)ortant to a scientific and mathematical
thinker, as be was, than differences in land-divisions. I conclude then
that no limitation can be admitted in bis assertion, and that tbe words
'* iozta mensuram Anglorum " denote, according to tbe admeasurement
eommon to all the Qermanic inhabitants of Britain.
X THE SAXOX^ IS ESGGLASCDL [mok i.
here that a measure not viddr fiffiereot fipom die
refiolt €>f mr own ralcobfiops as to die Hide, ]«e-
raikd in GennaoT ; and benoe to condnde that
it was the usual basis of measoreoient among all
the tribes that issoed from the storefaonse of na-
tions ^
What was the amount then of the Hide among
the Ando&axons? Perhaps the eaaest way of
arriviDs: at a tmstworthT oondosion will be to
commence with the Anglosaxon acre, and other
6ubdi%*ision5 of the Hide and the acre itself.
There is reason to believe that the latter measure
implied ordinarily a quantity of land not very dif-
ferent in amount from our own statute acre*. I
argue this from a passage in the dialogue attributed
to ^Ifric, where the ploughman is made to say :
" ac geiucodan oxan and gefsestnodan sceare and
cultre mid %aere syl aelce daeg ic sceal erian fulne
aecer oSSe mare ;" that is, " having yoked my oxen,
and fastened mv share and coulter, I am bound to
plough every day a full acre or more." Now expe-
' 1 do not know the present arenge amount of a Fnaian or Wett-
phalian Hof, but the peasant-farms a Uttle below Cologne, on the left
bank of the Rhine, average from 30 to 50 acres. See Banfield, Agri-
cult. Rhine, p. 10. The Bararian Hof of two Huben oontaina from
60 to GOjuckert (each juckert equal to 40,000 square Bavarian feet, or
nearly a jugerum). This brings the Hof from about 36 to 40 acres.
See Schmeller, Baierisch. Worterbuch, ii. 142, tfoc. Hueb. Schmd-
ler's remarks on Hof are worth consulting, and especially his opinion
that it may mean a necessary measure or portion. See alio Grimm,
Rechtsalt. p. 535.
2 That it was a fixed and not a variable quantity, both aa to form
and extent, seems to follow fi^m the expressions, three acres wide
(Cod. Dipl. No. 781), iii acera br«de,i. e. *Aree acre* breadth (Leg.
JWelst. iv. 5), ix acra latitudine. Leg. Hen. I. cap. xvi.
en. IV.]
THE EDEL. RID OR ALOD.
'J7
rience proves' that a plough drawn by oxen will
hardly exceed this measure upon average land at
the present day ; au acre and a quarter would he
a very hard day's work for any ploughman under
Buch circumstances. Hence for all practical pur-
poses we may assume our actual acre not to differ
very materially from the Anglosaxon. And now,
how is an acre constituted ?
It has many divisors, all multiplying into the re-
quired sum of 4840 square yards. Thus, it is clear
that a length of 4840 yards, with a breadth of
one yard, is quite as much an acre as a length of
l!20 yards with a breadth of 22, (in other words,
ten chains by one, or 22 X 10 X 22,) the usual
and legal computation : that is to say, twenty-two
strips of land each 220 yards long and one wide,
if placed together in any position will make up an
acre. Placed side by side they will make an ob-
long acre whose length and breadth are as 10: 1.
A space rather more than sixty-nine and less than
seventy yards in each side would be a square acre ;
it is however not probable that the land generally
allowed of square divisions, but rather that the
portions were oblong, a circumstance in favour of
the ploughman, whose labour varies very much with
the length of the furrow.
The present divisors of the acre are 55 and 40 ;
combinations of these numbers make up the parts
not only of the acre or square measure, but also
^ These ralculntioni rest not only upon the authority of Mveral large,
prarticfti fnnncrs. and the opinioui of intelligeut ploughmen who have
becD consulted, hut also upon experiments made under the author's
mn eye, on IhqiI of diFTercnt qualitits.
98 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book 1.
the measure of length. Thus 55 X 40=220, which
taken in yards are one furlong, and which with
one yard's breadth are -^ of an acre. Again, forty
times 5*5 yards with a breadth of 55 yards (or 220
X 55) are 1210 yards square, '25 of an acre : twice
that, or forty times 5*5 with a breadth of eleven
yards are '5 acre : and twice that, or 220x20 (that
is in modern surveying ten chains by one) =4840
yards or the whole acre. The same thing may be
expressed in another way : we may assume a square
of 5*5 yards, which is called a rod, perch or pole:
forty of these make a rood, which is a furlong with
a breadth of 5*5 yards ; and four such roods, or a
furlong with a breadth of twenty-two yards, are an
acre of the oblong form described above, and which
is still the normal or legal acre.
My hypothesis goes on to assume that such, or
nearly such, were the elements of the original cal-
culation : in fact, that they were entirely so, with
the substitution only of 5 for 55 as a factor. It
remains to be asked why these numbers should be
fixed upon? Probably from some notion of the
mystical properties of the numbers themselves.
Forty and eight are of continual recurrence in
Anglosaxon tradition, and may be considered as
their sacerdotal or mythical numbers : forty divided
by eight gives a quotient of five ; and these may
have been the original factors, especially if, as there
is every reason to believe, the first division of lands
(whether here or on the continent matters not)
took place under the authority and with the assist-
ance of the heathen priesthood.
If this were so, the Saxon acre very probably
CB. IV.] THE EDEL, HTD OR ALOD. 99
consisted of 5x5x40x4 = 4000 square yards ^ ;
in which case the rod would be 25 yards square,
and the furlong 200 yards in length. At the same
time as the acres must be considered equal for
all the purposes of useful calculation, 4000 Saxon
square yards = 4840 English, 5 Saxon = 5*5 En-
glish, and 200 Saxon=220 English yards. Further,
the Saxon yard= 1*1 English, or 39*6 inches. This
I imagine to be the metgyrde or measuring-yard of
the Saxon Laws^. If then we take 5 X 5 X 40 yards
we have a block of land, 200 Saxon yards in length,
and five in breadth ; and this I consider to have
been the Saxon square Furlang or small acre, and
to have been exactly equal to our rood, the quaran-
tena of early calculations^. There is no doubt what-
ever of the Saxon furlang having been a square as
well as long measure^; as its name denotes, it is the
* I think, for reasons to be assigned below, that there was a small
■s well as large acre : in which case the small acre was probably made
up of 5x5x40=1000 a.
' The yard of land was a very different thing : this was the fourth
put of the Hide, the Virgata of Domesday.
' This seems clear from a comparison of two passages already quoted
in a note, but which must here be given more at length. The law of
.£5elst^ defines the king's peace as extending from his door to the
distance on every side of three miles, three furlongs, three acres'
breadth, nine feet, nine palms, and nine barleycorns. The law of
Henry gives the measurements thus : " tria miliaria, et tres quarantenae,
et ix (7 iii) acrae latitudine, et ix pedes et ix palmae, et ix grana ordei."
Thus the furlang and quarantena are identified. But it is also clear
that the series is a descending one, and consequently that the furlang
or quarantena is longer than the breadth of an acre. If, as is probable,
It is derived from quaranie, I should suppose three lengths and three
breadths of an acre to have been intended ; in fact that some multiple
of forty was the longer side of the acre.
^ In one case we hear of Ha be^-furlang, the furlong under bean-
cultivation. Cod. Dipl. No. 1246.
h2
100 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
length of a furrow : now 220 (=200 Saxon) yards is
not at all too long a side for a field in our modem
husbandry \ and is still more readily conceivable in
a less artificial system, where there was altogether
less enclosure, and the rotations of crops were
fewer. Five yards, or five and a half, is not too
much space to allow for the turn of the plough ;
and it therefore seems not improbable that such an
oblong block (200 X 5) should have been assumed
as a settled measure or furlong for the ploughman,
two being taken alternately, as is done at this day,
in working, and forming a good half-day's work for
man and beast : the length of the furrow, by which
the labour of the ploughman is greatly reduced,
being taken to compensate for the improved cha«
racter of our implements.
I think it extremely probable that the Saxons
had a large and a small acre, as well as a large and
small hundred, and a large and small yard : and
also that the quarantena or rood was this small
acre. Taking forty quarantenae we have a sum of
ten large acres, and taking three times that num-
ber we have 120 quarantenae, or a large hundred of
small acres = 30 large acres, giving ten to each
course of a threefold system of husbandry. This
on the whole seems a near approximation to the
value of the Hide of land ; and the calculation of
small acres would then help to account for the
' A square of 220 ymrds would fonn a field of ten acres, whkh is not
at all orersized. Since the bappy downfall of the corn-laws, which were
a bonus upon bad husbandi}', hedges are being rooted up in eveiy quar-
ter, and forty or fifh* acres may now be seen in single fields, where they
were not thought of a few years ago.
CH. IV.] THE £D£L, HID OR ALOD. 101
number of 120 which is assigned to the Hide by
some authorities ^
In the appendix to this chapter I have given
various calculations to prove that in Domesday
the value of a Hide is fortv Norman acres. It has
been asserted that 100 Saxon=120 Norman acres,
and if so 40 Norman =33^ Saxon : which does not
differ very widely from the calculation given above.
It must be borne in mind that the Hide com-
prised only arable land : the meadow and pasture
was in the common lands and forests, and was
attached to the Hide as of common right : under
these circumstances if the calculation of thirty,
thirty-two or thirty- three acres be correct, we shall
see that ample provision was made for the family*.
Let us now apply these data to places of which
we know the hidage, and compare this with the
modern contents in statute-acres.
According to Beda* the Isle of Wight contained
1200 hides or families: now the island contains
86,810 acres, which would give 72^ acres per hide.
But only 75,000 acres are under cultivation now,
and this would reduce our quotient to 62*5 acres.
On the hypothesis that in such a spot as the Isle
' See Ellis, Introd. to Domesday.
' The numbers given are assumed, upon the supposition that 3 X 40
were taken : or that 4x8, that is four virgates of eight acres ; or lastly
that thirty-three Saxon = nearly forty Norman were taken. As I am
about to test the actual acreage of England by these numbers, it is as
well to try them all. The practical result cannot vary much, and the
principal object is to show that the Saxon Hide was not very different
from the ordinary German land-divisions.
Ecd. iy. 16.
102 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of Wight (in great portions of which vegetation is
not abundant) our Saxon forefathers had half as
much under cultivation as we now have, we should
obtain a quotient of about thirty-one acres to the
hide, leaving 49,6 10 acres of pasture, waste, etc.: the
ratio between the cultivated and uncultivated land,
being about 37 : 49, is much too near equality for
the general ratio of England, but may be accounted
for by the peculiar circumstances of the island.
Again, Beda estimates Thanet at 600 hides*.
Now Thanet. at this day, contains 23,000 acres of
arable land, and 3,500 of marsh and pastures. The
latter must have been far more extensive in the
time of Beda, for in the first place there must have
been some land on the side of Surrey and Sussex
reserved as Mark, and we know that drainage and
natural causes have reclaimed considerable tracts
in that part of Kent^ ; nor is it reasonable to sup-
pose that our forefathers ploughed up as much
land as we do. Yet even 23,000 acres will give us
only 38-^ acres to the hide ; and I do not think we
shall be venturing too much in placing the 3200,
3800 or 5000 acres by which 23,000 respectively
exceed 19,800, 19,200 and 18,000, to the account
of pastures and commons. Seven or eight thou-
sand acres of common land would bear in fact so
unusually small a proportion to the quantity under
crop, that we should be disposed to suspect the
islanders of having been less wealthy than many
» Hi8t. Ecd. i. 2b,
^ The river Wantsum alone was three stadia wide, about a third of t
mile, and w as passable at two points only. Bed. Ilist. EccL i. 25.
CH. IV.] THE EDEL, HID OR ALOD. 103
of their neighbours, unless we give them credit
for having sacrificed bread crops to the far more
remunerative pasturage of cattle*.
The whole acreage of Kent is 972,240 acres.
What amount of this must be deducted for waste,
rivers, roads and towns I cannot say, but some de-
duction is necessary. Now Kent numbered 15,000
hides : this gives a quotient of 64 to 65 acres per
hide ; and at the least, one half of this may fairly
be taken off for marsh, pasture and the weald of
Andred.
The calculation for Sussex is rendered uncertain
in some measure, through our ignorance of the rela-
tive proportion borne by the weald in the seventh
century or earlier, to its present extent. The whole
county is computed at 907,920 acres, and the weald
at 425,000 acres. We may be assured that every
foot of the weald was forest in the time of Beda :
to this must be added 110,000 acres which are
still waste and totally unfit for the plough : 30,000
acres now computed to be occupied by roads, build-
ings, etc. may be neglected : our amount will there-
fore state itself thus :
Whole acreage 907,920
Weald and waste 535,000
372,920 acres.
* The great fertility of Thanet is noticed by the ancients. Solinus
(cap. jLxu.) calls it *' frumentariis campis fchx et gleba uberi." But com
is of no value without a market ; and unless London or the adjacent
parts of the continent supplied one, I must still imagine that the
islanders did not keep so gfeat an amount in arable. It is true that at
very early periods a good deal of com was habitually exported from
Britain : *' annona a Britannis sueta traosferri." Ammian. Hist, xviii. 2.
104 Tll£ SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book x.
Now Sussex contained 7000 hide8\ and this will
give us a quotient of 53*25 acres per hide. Here
again, if we make allowance for the condition of
Saxon husbandry, we shall hardly err much in as-
suming something near thirty to thirty-three acres
to have been the arable hide in Sussex.
When once we leave the accurate reports of a
historian like Beda for the evidence of later ma-
nuscripts, we must necessarily proceed with great
caution, and in reasonable distrust of our conclu-
sions. This must be borne in mind and fairly ap-
preciated throughout the following calculations.
An authority already mentioned^ computes the
number of hides in EastangUa at 30,000. It is
difficult to determine exactly what counties are
meant by this, as we do not know the date of the
document ; but supposing, what is most probable,
that Norfolk and Suffolk are intended, we should
have a total of 2,241,060 acres in those two great
farming districts^. But even this large amount
will only give us a quotient of 73'7 acres per hide,
and it may fairly be diminished by at least one
half, to account for commons, marshes, forests and
other land not brought under the plough from the
seventh to the tenth centuries.
The same table states Essex at 7000 hides. The
acreage of that county is 979,000 acres*, hence
> Beda, Hist. Eccl. iv. c. 13. « See Chap. III. p. 82.
» Norf. l;292,;300, Suff. 918,760, =2,241.060. Of these I beUeve
only about 2,000,000 are actually under cultivation, which would re-
duce the quotient to sixty-three and two-third acres per hide.
* Of which only 900,000 are computed to be now under cultiTatioii :
this reduces the quotient to 128*5 acres per hide ; and the ratio of col-
"■]
TDE EDEL, III'D OR ALOD.
upon the whole calculation we shall have 139f acres
per hide. But of course here a very great deduc-
tion is to be made for Epping, Hainault and other
forests, and for marshy and undrained land.
1 shall DOW proceed to reverse the order of pro-
ceeding which has hitherto been adopted, and to
show that the hypothesis of the hide having com-
prised from thirty to thirty-three acres is the only
one which will answer the conditions found in va-
rious grants : that in a number of cases from very
different parts of England, a larger number of acres
would either be impossible or most improbable:
that it is entirely impossible for the hide to have
reached 120 or even 100 acres, and that the amount
left after deducting the arable, to form pastures
and meadows, is by no means extravagant. The
examples are taken from different charters printed
in the Codex Diplomaticus .^vi Saxonici, and for
convenience of reference are arranged tabularlv.
The comparison is made with the known acreage,
taken from the Parliamentary return of 1841 1.
The table is constructed upon the following plan.
The first column contains the name of the place ;
the second, the number of liides ; the third, the
actual acreage ; the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and
eighth, the hides calculated at thirty, thirty-two,
tivatcil to UDCultiTatctt land is as 7 : 23, taJcing the hide at 30 acres ;
SDd •■ 77 :-23 Uking the hide at :iS acres.
' Enumeration Abstmct, etc., Ifl'll. I have also used the tables
found in Mr. Porter'o Progrcsi of the Nation ; iu theac however, the
total acreage. rnkuUtcd ap|iarently upoa the si[uarc inilra, differs
aliglitly from the results of the (jovemment inquiry, Mr. Porter's
numbcn always exceeding those of the Blue-book.
TUE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[K
thirty-three, forty and one hundred acres respect-
ii-ely; the niDth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth, the
excess of real over supposed acreage, at the first four
amounts ; the thirteentl), the excess of hidage over
real acreage on the hypothesis of one hundred acres
K»K.
kids.
iMml
"TSI-I'TT
'ST
rz
^
13
1130
300 ' 3»4
390
4S0
UN
.Kent.
15
MA
450 4S0
495
«00
urn
IVnchwDnli....
.B«rk(.
M
taoo
. Ktnl.
3i
linJo
MU 1024
1056
1980
Mirrhui
.Brriit.
M
4M0
1500 1600
1650
MOO
{S^:::::::::
issv
ISOO I«0
1120
1000
m
saso
lU
660
5»
1950
ISflO IfiOO
/AlMrfoni
. lIlDtl.
4V
liM
3fiSH
ISlW 1*W)
1320
1600
JS
^tniilrhurch ....
110
r33«
7(»
3(i3«
3100 i240
2310
280U
&;z=:..
.Dorwt.
-40
1390
IjAI
law i«o
1320
1600
. Surrei-.
3S
Si30
;ci.ph«d_
ICIiPhun
aft
1070
MO 9M
990
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sn
llfciO
■mo !<60
. Huh.
H310
3000 SiOO
3300
4000
Wringion
3W
IMU
600 610
660
SOO
DvTcnr on HuDih. Unc.
50
46*0
1300 160O
■sm
llXMO
6000 B400
6600
8000
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loro
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4H
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.D<^TkI.
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1850 W60
1813
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1A00 1920
I9S0
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30
also
900 MO
990
60
30 ro
IMNI 1920
I9tJ0
300 ' 320
330
450 480
4ft5
600 610
seo
Blnrbmy
. B«rk).
llNI
dtiAO
3U0O 3200
3300
. BerLs.
15
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300 320
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400 1 I00»
r HiDMT. E»l ..
600 SIO
3U
600 640
800 MM
B«li-iwth
. &.mm.
25
1470
7M BOO
1000 SSM
1950
600 . 640
BanoD
.Berks.
40
a5«>
1200 ■ 1280
OH. IT.]
THE EDEL, HID OR ALOD.
per bide ; the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and
seveDteenth, the ratios of hidage at thirty, thirty-
two, thirty-three and forty, to the excess, from
which we deduce the proportion hetween the arable,
and the meadow, pasture and waste. In a few in-
Itsw
MN.
ST
^.
n-t-uN.
ItaLMM.
IUI.MM.
Bu. u n.
7»
670
-50
36:79
38:77
39:75
48:67
MS
300
-80
1
9
16
99
10
10
4:6
70S
SOO
-300
3
6
S
8
30
47
1:1
1810
leoo
-900
9
19
19
98
06
181
3,4
864
640
-1380
1
1
8
7
11
9
9:1
3S9D
9940
-60
75
179
80
167
165
839
100:147
1000
780
-1680
15
14
65
53
«7
60
90:9
9350
-50
94
SS
130
267
134
363
39:47
aso
960
-340
S
6
16
17
1
90:13
ISOO
050
-9050
30
29
33
27
33
36
40:19
-70
-350
-9760
34
1
138
5
139
5
n*a
2060
-340
30
41
84
119
86
117
80
103
S700
9930
-3670
330
403
353
381
363
370
440
993
USD
1030
-3170
310,173
324
159
331
162
380
103
70
-910
-3610
190:19
128
11
132
7
800
-80
-9480
16:4
16
3
5
lOM
970
-950
32:43
618
563
598
947
128:97
80
-130
-1980
90:17
96
11
99
8
930
720
-1080
45:51
1
1
33
31
15
9
SOW
BMO
-660
150
317
160
807
166
309
900
987
870
730
-470
30
31
64
89
66
87
80
73
807D
9690
-740
36
69
80
151
55
99
100
1S1
MSO
9030
-9980
300
201
320
181
330
171
400
101
840
880
-1170
30
31
32
99
33
28
120
63
ISM
8380
67
190
804
485
63;
913
38
57
874
590
-130
36
71
192
343
198
337
4S
69
85
-no
-1810
75
U
80
9
165
13
1
M86
3350
-530
144
283
768
1367
793
1843
193:235
815
-170
-3470
165
38
176
97
366
43
1
9060
1660
-1940
90
113
96
107
09
104
130
83
1900
990
-810
30
43
33
41
33
40
40
33
1080
670
-9930
180
127
199
116
198
109
940
67
480
410
-190
30
51
49
39
48
40
41
87S
B70
-830
45
73
48
69
49.87
60
57
IMO
900
-300
6
11
39
53
83
63
8
9
S6M
3950
-2060
60
79
64<75
66
73
80
59
815
710
-190
4B
86
48:83
98
163
60
71
fiio
450
-150
6
11
32:53
33
S9
8
9
— eo
-300
-1400
730
S90
-610
60:79
64 75
m 73
80:59
615
470
-1030
75
78
80
67
55
43
100:47
1390
1150
-SO
4
9
64
131
38
43
80:115
S970
090
-410
[m
930
198
931
139 1 837
160,99
106 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
stances, there is a double return, implying that it is
uncertain to which, of two synonymous districts,
a grant must be referred.
We have thus forty-nine cases in which the
Hide is proved less than 100 acres, a fortiori less
than 120. Any one who carefully considers the
ratios arrived at in the foregoing table, which for
any one of the assumed cases rarely exceed one to
twOy will agree that there is a remarkable coinci-
dence in the results, in at least the rich, fertile and
cultivated counties from which the examples are
derived. In some cases iqdeed the proportion of
arable to waste is so great, that we must suppose
other districts, now under cultivation, to have been
then entirely untouched, in order to conceive suffi-
cient space for marks and pastures. But lest it
should be objected that these examples can teach
us only what was the case in fertile districts, I sub-
join a calculation of the Hidage and Acreage of
all England, including all its barren moors, its fo-
rests, its marshes and its meadows, from the Solent
to the utmost limit of Northumberland.
The total Hidage of England = 243,600
The total Acreage of England = 31,7/0,615 at. a.
Acreage at 30 7,308,000 Excess 24,462,615 Rat. 7 : 24 nearly.
32 7,795,200 ... 23,975,415 ... 1:3
33 8,038,800 ... 23,731,815 ... 8:23
40 9,744,000 ... 22,026,615 ... 3:8
100 24,360,000 ... 7,410,015 ...24:7
120 29,232,000 ... 2,538,615 ... 14 : 1
This calculation leaves no doubt a bare possibility
of the hide's containing 100 or 120 statute-acres:
...
...
CH. IV.] THE EDEL, HID OR ALOD. 109
but those who are inclined to believe that, taking
all England through, the proportion of cultivated to
uncultivated land was as 29 : 3, or even as 24 : 7, it
must be owned, appreciate our ancient husbandry
beyond its merits ^ Cultivation may very proba-
bly have increased with great rapidity up to the
commencement of the ninth century ; and in that
case, waste land would have been brought under
the plough to meet the demands of increasing po-
pulation : but the savage inroads of the Northmen
which filled the next succeeding century must have
had a strong tendency in the opposite direction. I
can hardly believe that a third of all England was
under cultivation at the time of the conquest ; yet
this is the result which we obtain from a calcula-
tion of thirty-two or thirty-three acres to the hide,
while a calculation of forty acres gives us a result
of three-eighths, or very little less than one-half.
The extraordinary character of this result will best
appear from the following considerations.
If we proceed to apply these calculations to the
existing condition of England, we shall be still more
clearly satisfied that from thirty to thirty-three acres
is at any rate a near approximation to the truth.
^ I have taken the acreage as given in the Census of 1841, but there
is another calculation which makes it amount to 32,342,400 ; in which
case the several values must be corrected as follows. The general re-
sult is not in the least altered by this change in the factors.
Acreage at 30 7,308,000 Excess 25,034,400 Rat. 7 : 25
32 7,795,200 ... 24,647,200 ... 7:24
33 8,038,800 ... 24,303,600 ... 1:3
40 9,744,000 ... 22,698,400 ... 9:22
100 24,360,000 ... 7,982,400 ...24:7
120 29,232.000 ... 3,110,400 ...29:3
no THE SAXONS 15 ENOLAlfD. [book I.
The exact data for England are I believe not found,
but in 1827 Mr. Coaling, a civil engineer and sur-
veyor delivered a series of calculations to the Select
Committee of the House of Commons on Emigra-
tion, which calculations have been reproduced by
Mr. Porter in his work on the Progress of the
Nation. From this I copy the following table :
Arable and
gazden.
Meadow,
pasture, mmh.
Waste capable Waste incapable
CTiiiHinafy«
Statute acns.
10^52,800
Statute acre*.
15^79,200
3,454,000 3,256,400
Statate acraa*
38,342,400
Now as the arable and gardens are all that can
possibly be reckoned to the hide, we have these
figures :
Ana>te 10^2.800
Meadow, waste, forest, etc 22,089,600
giving a ratio of 5 : 1 1 nearly between the cultivated
and uncultivated*.
The actual amount in France is difficult to ascer-
tain, but of the 52,732,428 hectares of which its
superficial extent consists, it is probable that about
30,000,000 are under some sort of profitable cul-
ture : giving a ratio of rather less than 15 : 11 be-
tween the cultivated and uncultivated : how much
of this is arable and garden I cannot exactly deter-
mine ; but it is probable that a great deal is reck-
oned to profitable cultivation, which could not have
' This differs from the result obtained at forty acres, only by the
small advanee oi-i^i ot taking Mr. Porter's tabl^, of n^.
CH. nr.] THE EDEL, HID OR ALOD. Ill
been counted in the hide. Osieries, meadows, or-
chards, cultivated or artificial grassland, and brush^
wood, are all sources of profit, and thus are pro-
perly included in a cadastre of property which may
be tithed or taxed as productive : but they are not
strictly what the hide was, and must be deducted
in any calculation such as that which is the object
of this chapter. We are unfortunately also fur-
nished with inconsistent amounts by different au-
thorities, where the difference rests upon what is
reckoned to profitable cultivation, on which subject
there may be a great variety of opinion. Still, for
a time neglecting these considerations, and making
no deduction whatever, it appears that the excess
of culture upon the gross sum is only as 15:11 in
France ^
In the returns from Austria we can follow the
* The hectare is about 2*5 acres. The calculations have been Ta«
riously made. One is as follows :
Total superficies 52,732,428 hect.
Profitably cultured, including gardens, osier- -i
ies, willow plantations, orchards, meadows V 30,000,000 hect.
and cultivated pastures J
Forests and landes 10,000,000
Useless land 7,000,000
• • •
•• •
47,000,000
Another, and I believe sounder, calculation makes the forests and
landes amount to
Forest 8,623,128 hect.
Landes 8,000,000
• * .
•• •
16,623,128
Where, probably, portions of the wood and lande are not reckoned to
the land under profitable cultivation. Still this is a very different thing
from being imder the plough.
112 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [Boost.
same train of reasoning : as the ensuiDg table will
show.
Lower Aaitria,
L'ppcr Auilritj
StJTM I
Cuinthii ,..|
UIjtU
Tjrrol
B«bemU
UonTii &!
Siloia.../
Gilidi I
1,399^IU 60,133
834J56i 37
709,14;! 54.875
477.49S, 16,SU
2t5,73» £6.l3i
377,3(10
3,S8»^79
M13.S55
55,300
4,416
(56^ SMjiai I,773,5M 1. ,
55fi,973 78S;8M IfitSJUX »M*fit
171,2531 SWiM 317,346 1.181,11
432^30, ft48.800 I,94fiJ0O 3,ieO^
!UM68 «I1,&01 3,316,398 7J70,aW
390,15i| 463,09» l,)U,tU9 4,233,747i
H
Total .. J6,079,593i390,1W
S.03I ,83 1 6,34»,l SB: 15,S13.l>l3M4.ei6,
Thus of the whole productive surface of the
Austrian empire, the arable bears only the propor-
tion of 4: 11. But to this must clearly be added
an immense extent of land totally unfitted for the
plough ; by which the ratio of arable to the whole
territorial surface will be materially diminished.
Strange then as the conclusion may appear, we are
compelled to admit that England at the close of the
tenth century had advanced to a high pitch of cul-
tivation : while the impossibihty of reckoning the
hide at much above thirty Saxon acres is demon-
strated. It is clear, however the property of the
land may have been distributed, that the elements
of wealth existed in no common degree'.
' It is wrQ known tliat gnst <]iiandtici of land wac throm out of
cnltiTaboD to pntdiKt rhwes and forests. And the coaxtaat nn of
Uk baroonJ vet must hiTc had the iam« effect- HoceTer tt
may think it. wt can battllj atoid ibe concluiion that, ii
CH. IV.] THE £D£L^ HI'D OR ALOD. 113
The number of forty acres has of course been
taken solely for the purpose of getting a common
measure with the present acre assumed in the parlia-
mentary survey. Whether it corresponded exactly
with thirty, thirty-two or thirty-three Saxon acres,
it is impossible to say, but I have shown that the
difference could not be very great. Something may
be alleged in favour of each of these numbers ; but
on the whole the larger one of thirty-three acres
seems to me the most probable. A valuable entry
of the year 967 may help us to some clearer con-
clusion \ In this document Bishop Oswald states
himself to have made a grant of se6 ]7ridde hind
at Dydingcotan, ^aet is, se ]?ridde secer, — the third
hind at Didcot, that is, the third acre. It is cer-
tain that at some very early period the word hund
denoted ten, whence we explain its occurrence in
such numerals as hundseofontig, huudeahtatig, etc.
The word hynd then, I derive from this hund, and
render by tenth, and the grant seems to have con-
veyed the third tenth, which can only be said of a
quantity containing three times ten units of some
description or other. But this third tenth is fur-
ther described as being every third acre, that is, a
third of the whole land ; and ten units make up
this third : it seems therefore not unreasonable to
suppose that the acre was the unit in question, that
onnelves bad at the beginning of George the Third's reign ; Mr. Por-
ter calculates that from 1760 to 1844, no less than 7,076,610 acres
have been brought into cultivation under Inclosure Bills. Pr. of the
Nation, 154.
> Cod. Dipl. No. 538.
VOL. I. I
114 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
ten such acres constituted the hind, and that the
hind itself was the third part of the hide. When
we consider that thirty acres are exactly three
times an area of 40x 40 square rods, there appears
a probability that the measure was calculated upon
a threefold course of cultivation, similar to that in
ure upon the continent of Europe ; this consisted
of a rotation of winter corn, summer com, and
fallow, and to each a block or telga of ten large or
forty small acres (roods) was allotted. Thirty acres
were thus devoted to cultivation ; but where was
tlie homestall ? Probably not upon the thirty acres
themselves, which we cannot suppose to have been
s:enerallv enclosed and sundered, but to have lain
undivided, as far as external marks were concerned,
in the general arable of the community. The village
containing the homesteads of the markers, probably
lav at a little distance from the fields', and I do
not think we shall be £:ivins: too much when we
allow three acres, over and above the thirtv, for
farm buildings, strawvard and dweUin?. For we
cannot doubt that stall-feeding: was the role with
re^arxl to horned cattle in £:eneral. In the same
dialogue which has been already cited, the plough-
man is nuuie to sav : ' I must till the oxen*s cribs
- *" la t^ CKms«r pa;^ oc inf rstt3T « rs^^scaHy ai «J| the
* • • •
A.Y\U oc :JL< «x\ <9w>e>RjC'T .a tibe Ncrc2^ auMawhr cxlCBflTV.
j..7JOi2': f-Ia^. wia.:i«'ir 3i4\ Sr :t* •-^-^7-'^ dvfn 2s
CR. IT.] THE EDEL, HI'D OR ALOD. 115
■
with hay, and give them water, and bear out their
dung^" Moreover there must be room found for
stacks of hay and wood, for bams and outhouses,
and sleeping-rooms both for the serfs and the mem-
bers of the family ; nor are houses of more than
one story very likely to have been built*. With
this introduction I proceed to another grant of
Oswold^. In the year 996, he gave three hides of
land to Eddric : the property however lay in diffe-
rent places : '' set Ednulfestdne d^erhealf hid, "i set
uferan Strsetforda, on ^sere gesyndredan hide, ^one
6%eme aecer, ^ aet Fachanleage ^one }?riddan aecer
feldlandes .... ^ on edsthealf Afene eahta eeceras
msedwa, ^ forne gean Biccanclife xii seceras msedwa,
*i ^a ]7reo seceras be norWan Afene t6 mylnstealle ;"
i. e. ''at Eanulfestun a hide and a half; at upper
Stratford the second acre (i. e. half a hide), at Fach-
anleah the third acre (i. e. a third of a hide) : on
the east of the river Avon, eight acres of meadow,
and onwards towards Biccancliff, twelve acres ; and
to the northward of the Avon, the three acres for
a millstalL" Our data here are 1^ hide + ^ hide
-f- 1^ hide, or 2^ hide ; but, if the calculations which
precede are correct, 8 + 12 acres or 20 acres = f
hide, and thus make up three hides of thirty acres
each : three acres devoted to mill-buildings are not
reckoned into the sum, and it is therefore possi-
ble that a similar course was pursued with regard
^ Leo, Spfachproben, p. 7* Thorpe, Analect. p. 8.
* In Uungury, where land is abundant, houses, even those of con-
siderable proprietors, are rarely of more than one story.
» Cod. Dipl. No. 629.
i2
Ufi THE $.\XON$ IN ENGLAND. [book i.
to the land occupied, not by the millstall but by
the homestalP.
Having thus stated my own view of the approxi-
mate value of the hide, I feel it right to cite one or
two pasages which seem adverse to it. By a grant
of the year 977, Oswald conveyed to -fi^lwald,
two hides, all but sixty acres ; these sixty acres the
bishop had taken into his own demesne or inland
at Kempsey, as wheat-land'. Now if this be an ac-
curate reading, and not by chance an ill-copied Ix
for ix, it would seem to imply that sixty acres were
less than a hide ; for these acres were clearlv arable.
As:ain, ^Selred sranted land at Stoke to Lfofric
in 982 : the estate conveved was of three hides and
thirty acres, called in one charter yii^era, in another
part of the same grant, <rrmi^. It may be argued
that here the acres were meadow or pasture, not
included in the arable. But there are other calcula-
tions upon the ju^erum**, which render it probable
that less than our statute-acre was intended by the
term. For example, in 839, king -iESelwulf gave
- It u to be remtfkevi that the ei^t and tvelre arm of meadov
are ilisiiasiiisiievl herv ftv»rs the fe^-Uzd or arable : asd in
tkey ousbt hoc to be cakrulated into the hide : bof perhaps it
intended to (hou^ them up : or tVvaU may eren haTe be^im to
follow a »\sse3i is nhieh arable axui 3ie:uiow sbo<iId both he ineluded
in the hiAf, which i* e^uiTalen:, in ocb.T worxl*, to the anenpc to »•
pcice the wajtefuA methixi o( xmenekx^ed pa^mm by a more cnilizvd
arran^caenc o< the L&:id. He s^vaL* L2uk«d. oa BBore than oae oc»*
5:4X1. of zrantizLjr zediMiT-d. and land to gedjiLe, which can banDj meo
aarsaiii: bet •■tfa* tmc*>:-^%rrs.
- t\>L I>4>:. N... ^I::. : ro*i. No. 630.
• .UxocvL-tr :»> PL-y. :he jsatniai wa* a da\ * work lor a yoke of
CTen. :. e. iicar>. ijs in're : bet the Si.\ca jiwraa eaa hnnfiy hsfv hem
«o brse. tor the nfadCft< ciTem in the t.r3Lt.
cu. IV.] THE EDEL, HID OR ALOD. 117
Dudda ten jugera within the walls of Canterbury :
now Canterbury at this day comprises only 3240
acres, and taking the area of almost any provincial
town, it seems hardly probable that ten full acres
within the walls should have been granted to any
person, especially to one who, like Dudda, was of
no very great consideration. A town-lot of two
acres and a half, or ten roods, is conceivable.
The last example to be quoted is from a will of
i£lfgar^ a king's thane, about 958. In this, among
other legacies, he grants to iE^elgar a hide of
120 acres : *' and ic iE^elgar an an hide lond ^es
<Se -fi^ulf hauede be hundtuelti acren, ateo so he
wille." In this instance I am inclined to think that
the special description implies a difference from the
usual computation : if a hide were always 120 acres,
why should JSlfgar think it necessary to particu-
larize this one hide? was there a large hide of
120, as well as a small one of thirty ? In the other
cases — ^looking at the impossibility of assigning
more than forty statute-acres to the Saxon hide,
so plainly demonstrated by the tables — I suppose
the aecras to be small acres or roods.
It is scarcely necessary to say that where the
number of hides mentioned in any place falls very
far short of the actual acreage, no argument can
be derived any way. The utmost it proves is that
only a certain amount, however inconsiderable, was
under the plough. Thus Beda tells us that An-
glesey contained 960, lona or Icolmkill, only five,
1 Cod. Dipl. No. 1222.
118 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
hides \ The acreage of Anglesey gives 150,000
acres under cultivation : this would be 1 56*33 per
hide ; but in this island a very great reduction is
necessary : taking it even as it stands, and calcu*
lating the hide at thirty acres, we should have a
ratio of 24 : 101 ; at forty acres, a ratio of 32 : 93
or Uttle more than 1 : 3.
lona numbers about 1300 acres (nearly two square
miles) : this at live hides would give 260 acres per
hide: at thirty acres, a ratio of 3:23 or nearly
1 : 8 between cultivated and uncultivated land : or
at forty acres, a ratio of 2 : 11. But the monks and
their dependants were the only inhabitants ; and in
the time of Beda, up to which there is no proof of
the land^s having been inhabited at all (in fact it
was selected expressly because a desert), sand, if
not forest, must have occupied a large proportion
of the surface.
Let us now retrace our steps for a few moments.
The hide was calculated upon the arable: it was
the measure of the alod, — the e?el, or inherited,
individual )>os$ession ; it was the cXiipoc, lot, or
share of the tirst settler: it kept a plough at work
during the year : and, according to its etymology
s^ki^iiV and the wont familia by which it was trana-
latevl, it was to suthce for the support of one Hiwisc
or household.
Did it really so sufice. at tirst and afterwards?
Ucqucstionably it dio. We may sately assert this,
without entering into aiv.v s^HscuIatioos as to the
' Use Lm. ;l ^ : JO. 4.
CB. tr.]
THE EDEL. HID OR ALOD.
amount oJ' population in tlie Saxon kingdoms of the
seventh, eighth, ninth, or even eleventh centuries.
We know that in the eighth century, 1 50 hides were
enough for the support and comfort of 600 monks
in Yarrow and Wearmouth'; there is no reason,
from their history, to suppose that they were at all
sparingly provided for. But allowance must be
made also for serfs and dependants, the exercise of
hospitality and chanty, the occasional purchase of
books, vestments and decorations, the collection of
reliques, and the maintenance of the fabric both of
the church and monastery. Grants and presents,
offerings and foundations would do much, but still
fiome portion of these necessary expenses must be
carried to the account of the general fund. At this
rate however, one hide was capable of maintaining
four full-grown men.
Now even at the present day an industrious man
can very well support his family upon, not thirty
or forty, but ten acres of average land*. If we look
at the produce of such a threefold course as has
been mentioned, there can hardly be any doubt
upon the subject ; the cultivator would have every
year twenty Saxon (=2fi| Norman) acres under
some kind of corn, principally barley in all proba-
bility, though much wheat was grown. Assuming
the yield at only two quarters per acre, which is an
' Amm. Abb. Uyrvr. ^ ^U. Thi* at Tony nctual »ertt, ii Un ante*
permaa.
* We ne«l not enter upon the queition whether Buph a plot ol Und
can br tvoU cultivatoil (except ai a garcleni, oT tvhethcr it is ikairmble
ihat iLert ibould be aoch a dnss of cultivatora. All I assert is, that a
IDBD caD mpport hii family upon it.
120 THE SAXOXS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
almost ludicrous understatement of the probable
amount \ we give each householder forty quarters
of cereales, at the very lowest, and deducting his
seed-corn and the public taxes, we still leave him a
very large amount. The average annual consump-
tion of wheat per head in England is now computed
at one quarter : let us add one half to compensate
for the less nutritious qualities of barley, and we
shall vet be under the mark if we allow our house-
holder at the close of the year, a net receipt of thirty
quarters, or food for at least twenty persons. Add
to this the cattle, and especially swine fed in the
forests, — which paid well for their own keep, and
gave a net surplus — and the ceorl or owner of one
hide of land, independently of his political rights,
becomes a person of some consideration from his
property^: in short he is fully able to maintain
himself, his wife and child, the ox that ploughs,
and the slave that tends his land, — owning much
more indeed, than in Hesiod's eyes, would have
sufficed tor these purposes^. It may be admitted
^ Hie feitiHn- of Ei^rUnd wms siwrnTs celebntcd, and under the Ro-
mans it exported rexeale$ larvrely. S*e Gibbon's ealndation of an ex-
port under Julian. IVc. F. cap. lix. Our present aTerage jidd of wheat
exceeds W busheU or 3T3 qrs.
' If he had a market Ifbr his surphis. he might aceumnlate weakh.
Eren if he had not this, he insured a com&xtaUe* tboush rude subsist-
ence. tor his household. The spur to exertion, urging him to acquire
luxuries^ might be wantiiur. and the national adrancement in rrfine-
ment thus retarded : but he had a sulfieiesKn- of the necessaries of hie,
and an mdependent existenee m the Kxiy of the &mxhr and the Mark.
Such a state neeessarihr precedes the more cuhrrated stigf i d soeiecr.
Cited in Arise PbL bk. 1.
TVe knd oi a fuUbom Spartan ma; have beem l OMc ^^t Ins t^a the
CH. IV.] THE EDEL, HID OR ALOD. 121
that the skies of Greece and Italy showered kind-
lier rays upon the Ionian or the Latin than visited
the rough denizen of our Thule ; that less food of
any kind, and especially less meat, was required for
their supports and that they felt no necessity to
withdraw large amounts of harley from the annual
yield, for the purpose of producing fermented li-
quors^; still, as far as the amount of land is con-
cerned, the advantage is incontestahly on the side
of the Anglosaxon ; and in this one element of
wealth, our ceorl was comparatively richer than the
comrade of Romulus or the worshiper of Athene.
SasLon hide : but let those who think these amounts too small, remem-
ber the two jugera (under two acres) which formed the haeredium of a
Roman patrician.
^ Hecataeus says the Arcadians fed upon barley-bread and pork,
^AptcadiKov dc dciirvoy. ...'£jcarator..../ia(ar fjitjaiv emit /cat vcta Kp€a.
Athen. iv. 148. But the Arcadians, both in blood and manners, pro-
bably resembled the Sasons more than any other Greeks did ; and what
Hecataeus says of them would not apply to the inhabitants of Attica.
3 After the Persian wars at least, when the Greeks prided themselves
on drinking wine, not beer :
aXX' eipatvds rot r^a^ y^( olicfiTopas
€Vp^a€T*, ov niwovras ex KpiBS>v yJBv,
^sch. Supp. 929.
132
CHAPTER V.
PERSONAL RANK. THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE.
The second principle laid down in the first chapter
of this book, is that of personal rank, which in the
Teutonic scheme appears inseparably connected
with the possession of land.
The earUest records we can refer to, place before
ns a system founded upon distinctions of birth, as
clearlv as anv that we can derive from the Parlia-
mentary writs or rolls of later ages : in our history
there is not even a fabulous Arcadia, wherein we
mav settle a free democracv : for even where the
records of feet no longer supply a clue through the
labyrinths of our early story, the epic continues the
tradition, and still celebrates the deeds of nobles
and of kin£:s.
Tacitus, from whom we derive our earliest infor-
mation, supplies us with many details, which not
onlv show the existence of a svstem, but tend also
to prove its long prevalence. He tells us not only
of nobles, but also of kings, princes and inherited
authority \ more or less fully developed: and the
' The Chenijci tWlin:; the want of a kin^ sent to Rome for m de-
scendant ot Annimii5. Tac. .Vn. \i. 17- The Ilenili in Ohnrn haTing
siam their ^mz. sent to th«;ir brethren in Thule Scandinaria i for a
descendant ot the blood n:;- ai. During his jonmeT however thcr ac-
ccpceii anocfaer king firom the hands of Justinian. This pcnon and
dior •tHm^i?' with the emperor ther renounred upon die anmJi of the
CH. v.] THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE. 123
unbiassed judgment of the statesman who witnessed
the operation of institutions strange to himself,
warns us against theoretical appeals to the fancied
customs of ages not contemporaneous with our
own. The history of Europe knows nothing of a
period in which there were not freemen, nobles and
serfs ; and the institutions of Europe, in proportion
as we pursue them to their earliest principles, fur-
nish only the stronger confirmation of history. We
may, no doubt, theorize upon this subject, and
suggest elementary forms, as the necessary con-
ditions of a later system : but this process is and
must be merely hypothetical, nor can such forms
be shown to have had at any time a true historical
existence. That every German was, in the begin-
ning, Kaiser and Pope in his own bouse ^ may be
perfectly true in one sense ; just as true is it that
every Englishman's house is his castle : neverthe-
less, the German lived under some government,
civil or religious, or both : and — to the great ad-
vantage of society — the process of law surmounts
without the slightest difficulty the imaginary bat-
tlements of the imaginary fortress.
The whole subject must he considered in one of
two ways : with reference, namely, to a man living
prince from the North. Procop. Bell. Got. ii. 15. ** Regesex nobilitate,
duces ex virtute summit." Tac. Germ. vii. *' Magna patrum merita
principifl dignationem etiam adolescentulis assignant." Ibid. xiii. Al-
though mere boys might be kings, they could hardly be duces, in the
old Teutonic sense.
* Moser, Osnabriickische Geschichte (17B0), 1" Abschn. § 8.
" Solche einzelne wohner waren Priester und Konige in ihren Hausem
und Hofmarken/' etc. See his references to Tac. Germ. x. etc.
124 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
alone with his family, or to the same man and fa-
mily, in a bond of union witli others, that is in the
state.
Could we conceive a permanent condition of
society, such that each particular family lived
apart, without connection or communion with
others, we must admit the inevitable growth of a
patriarchal system, of which the eldest member of
the family would be the head ; a system similar to
that which we do find described as prevailing in
the wandering family of Abraham. But such a
condition could only exist at a period of time, and
in a state of the earth, which admitted of frequent
migration, and while the population bore a small
proportion to the means of support, perhaps even
in countries where water is of greater value than
land. Thus the moment the family of Abraham
became too numerous, and his herdsmen found it
necessary to defend their wells and pastures against
the herdsmen of Lot, a separation took place and
the Schieks parted, according to the provisions of
a solemn compact, that there might not be strife
between them^ But, setting aside the mysterious
purposes for which the race of Abraham were made
wanderers, and which impress an exceptional cha-
racter upon their whole history, it is clear that
even they were surrounded by a society, whose con-
ditions were totally different from any that could
have existed in Germany. They fled from the face
of a depraved cultivation, prevalent in the cities,
^ Genesis xiii. 6, seq.
CH. V.J THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE. 125
and they were sojourners only from place to place,
till the fulness of time, when they were to found
the normal theocracy of the world.
To a certain degree they resembled the squatters
in the backwoods of America ; like them, they esta-
blished a law for themselves, and acted upon it :
— with the nature of that law, divine or human, we
have nothing to do, for the purposes of this in-
quiry : — in this sense, indeed, they could be kings
and priests in their own house ; but so are, or were,
the North American Regulators^ who, in their own
families and among all over whom they could esta-
blish their power, acted as judges, and both pro-
mulgated and executed a law which was necessary
to their very existence in the wilderness.
But I find it impossible to admit that the origin
of our Grermanic nations is to be found in any such
solitary households or families ; were it true, as
Moser appears to argue \ of some parts of West-
phalia, it would not be so of other districts in
southern Germany, as he indeed admits^, and,
particularly, it would not be true of England. In
these two cases there can be no doubt that some
kind of military organization preceded the peace-
ful settlement, and in many respects determined
its mode and character^. But, even if we admit
1 Osnab. Gesch. i. § 2. ^ Ibid. i. § 7.
^ There cannot be any doubt respecting England, where the Germanic
race are not autochthonous. The organization of the Suevi may be
learnt from Caesar (Bell. Gall. iv. 1,2, 3), and Moser ver}' justly observes
that the Swabian law must necessarily have differed from the Saxon.
Osnab. Ges. i. ^ /• So, to a certain degree, must the Anglosaxon from
both.
126 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
to the fullest extent, the doctrine of solitary set-
tlements, we must still contend that these are, in
their very nature, temporary ; that they contain
no possible provision for stability, in short that
thev are excluded bv the verv idea itself of a state ;
yet it is as a member of a state that man exists^
that he is intended to exist ' , and unless as a mem-
ber of a state, he is incapable of existing as a man.
He can as little create a language as create a state:
he is bom to both, for both, and without both he
cannot exist at all.
Each single family then is a state : two, three or
four families are a state, under larger conditions.
How are these last to be settled ?
Where a number of independent households are
thinly dispersed over a portion of the country, their
reciprocal relations and position will probably be
more or less of the foUowins: kind.
Some arrangement will exist for the regulation
of the terms on which the use of the woods, waters
and common uncultivated land may be enjoyed by
all the settlers : it is even possible that they may
have some common reIiii:ious ceremonies as the
basis of this arrangement^. But further than this
there need be no union or mutual dependence;
each solitary homestead is a state by itself, pos«
sessing the ^*i/*' belli ; in no federal relation to,
and consequently in a state of war with, every
' Aristotle's Pulitics, book i. cap. I . Dahlmann, Politik, 4 K 3, 3.
* It is of course extremely diAicult to couceive this apart from the
existence of a common priesthood ; but such a priesthood is already .
the commencement of a regular state.
CB. ▼.] THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE. 197
other household, even though this right of war
should not be in active operation at any given
inoment\
In his own household every man may bear rulei
either following his own arbitrary will, or in accord-
ance with certain general principles, which he pro-
bably recognizes in common with his neighbours.
He may have a family worship of his own, of which
he will be the chief priest ^, and which worship may
or may not be consistent with that of his neighbours.
If he is troublesome to them, they may root him
out, slay or enslave him, do with him what seems
good in their eyes, or whatsoever they have power
to do. If he thrives and accumulates wealth, they
may despoil him, or he oppress them, — all, how-
ever, jure belli, for there can be no jus imperii in
such a case.
This, however, cannot be the normal state of
man. The anxious desire, it might almost be called
instinctive yearning, to form a part of a civilized
society, forbids its continuance, not less than the
obvious advantage of entering into a mutual gua-
rantee of peace and security. The production of
food and other necessaries of life is the first busi-
' In such a case, power or force being the only term of reference,
each household will he determined by that alone in its intercourse with
others. If A wants a slave, he will war upon and take B, if he can :
bat to prevent this, B and C will unite ; so that at last a regulated
union is found best for all parties, in respect to themselves as a com-
munity, and against all other communities.
' Tac. Germ. x. " Si publice consulatur sacerdos, sin privaiim, ipse
paterfamilias preeatus Deos" This seems to indicate at the com-
mencement, an independent priestly power in the paterfamilias. Com-
pare the remarkable history in Judges, cap. xvii. xviii.
128 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
ness of men : the attempt to take forcible posses-
sion of, or to defend, accumulated property, pre-
supposes the accumulation. While the land and
water are more than sufficient for the support of
the population, the institutions proper to peace will
prevail. It is inconceivable, and repugnant to the
very nature of man, that such institutions should
not be established the moment that two or more
separate families become conscious of each other's
existence ' : and in respect to our Grermanic fore-
fathers, we find such in full vigour from their very
first appearance in history.
Some of the institutions essential to the great
aim of establishing civil society at the least possible
sacrifice of individual freedom — such as the Wer-
gildy the Frank pledge^ etc. — will be investigated in
their proper places : they seem to offer a nearly
perfect guarantee for society at an early period.
But for the present we must confine ourselves to
the subject of personal rank : and as the centre and
groundwork of the whole Teutonic scheme is the
individual freeman, it is with him that we must
commence our investigation.
The natural divisions into which all human so-
ciety must be distributed, with respect to the beings
that form it, are the Free and the Unfree^^ those
' The only place where I can admit of such solitary settlements is
Scandinavia, and even there they must have formed the exception, not
the rule. See Chap. II. p. 68.
' " Summa itaque divisio personarum hocc est, quod omnes homines
aut liberi sunt aut ser\'i." Fleta, bk. i. cap. 1. " Est autem libertas,
naturalis facultas ejus, quod cuique facere libet, nisi quod de jure aut
vi prohibetur." Ibid. cap. 2.
CH. v.] THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE. 129
who can protect themselves and those who must
be in the protection of others. Even in the family
this distinction must be found, and the wife and
son are unfree in relation to the husband and
the father ; they are in his mund. From this mund
the son indeed may be emancipated, but not the
wife or daughter: these can only change it; the
wife by the act of God, namely the death of the
husband ; the daughter by marriage. In both cases
the mund passes over into other hands ^
Originally the Freeman is he who possesses at
least as much land as, being tilled, will feed him,
strength and skill to labour, and arms to defend
his possession. Married to one free woman who
shares his toils, soothes his cares, and orders his
household, he becomes the founder of the family
— the first unit in the state : the son who springs
from this marriage, completes the family, and
centres in himself the blood, the civil rights and
the affections of his two progenitors. It is thus,
through the son, that the family becomes the foun-
dation of the state ^.
The union of a greater or less number of free
heads of houses upon a district sufficient for their
support, in a mutual guarantee of equal civil rights,
is the state itself : for man is evidently fdrmed by
God to live in a regulated community, by which
mode of life alone he can develope the highest
> See Fleta, bk. i. cap. 5, 6, 7, 9.
' It is probably in this sense that the Hindu Institutes assert,
'' Then only is a man perfect when he* consists of three persons united,
his wife, himself, and his son." Manu, ch. ix. 45.
VOL. I. K
130 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [sooK h
qualities of the nature which God has implanted in
him ; and the first community is the union of free
men for purposes of friendly intercourse and mutual
aid, each enjoying at the hands of every other the
same rights as he is willing to grant to every other,
each yielding something of his natural freedom in
order that the idea of state, that is of orderly go-
vernment, may be realized. For the state is neces-
sary, not accidental. Man not living in a state,
not having developed and in some degree realized
the idea of state, is insofar not man but beast.
He has no past and no future : he lives for the
day, and does not even accumulate for the days to
come : he lives, thinks, feels and dies like a brute.
For man is free through the existence, not the ab-
sence, of law ; through his voluntary and self-con-
scious relinquishment of the power to do wrong,
and the adoption of means to counteract and dimi-
nish his own tendencv to evil. The amount of
personal liberty to be given up is the only question
of practical importance, but from the idea of Free-
dom itself results the law, that this amount must
be in all cases a minimum.
The ideas of freedom and equality are not, how-
ever, inseparable : a nation of slaves may exist in
sorrowful equality under the capricious wDl of a
native or foreign tyrant : a nation of free men may
cheerfully, wisely and happily obey the judge or the
captain they have elected in the exigencies of peace
and war. Hence the voluntarv union of free men
It
does not exclude the possibility of such union being
either originally based upon terms of inequality, or
CH. ▼.] THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE. 131
becoming sooner or later settled upon such a basis.
But, as the general term is the freedom, I take this as
the unity which involves the difference ; the noble
is one of the freemen, and is made noble by the act
of the free : the free are not made so by the noble.
By these principles the divisions of this chapter
are regulated.
The freeman is emphatically called Man, ceorl,
maSy maritus : waepned man, amiatus : after the pre-
valence of slavery, he is, for distinction, termed
free, frigman, frihals, i. e. free neck : the hand of a
master has not bent his neck ^ ; but his oldest and
purest denomination is ceorl. Till a very late pe-
riod the Anglosaxon law knows no other distinction
than that of ceorl and eorl *. The Old Norse Rigs-
mdl which is devoted to the origin of the races,
considers Karl as the representative of the freeman.
His sons are Hair, Anglos. Haele, vir ; Drengr,
Anglos. Dreng, vir ; ]?egen, Anglos. )?egn, virfortis^
miles, minister ; Holdr, Anglos, hold, pugily fidelis ;
Bui» Anglos, gebur, colonus ; BoDdi, Anglos, bonda,
colomu; SmiSr, Anglos. Smi®, /after; Seggr, Anglos.
Secg, vir. Among the daughters are Sndt, BruSr,
Flio^ and Wif. Many of these terms yet survive,
to represent various classes of freemen in almost
every Germanic country ^.
' The convene is collibertuSy qui coUmm liberavit, culvert, coward,
' Swa eic we getta'8 be eallum h4dum, ge ceorle, ge eorle : " so also
we ordain concerning all degrees of men, churl as well as earl." LI.
^afr. § 4.
' Conf. Grimm, Deut. Rechtsalt. 283. The Latin laws of the Mid-
dle Ages usually adopt the words. Liber, liber homo, ingenuus. In
reference to the noble, he is mediocris, minofledus, Karabttartpos : in
respect of bis wife, he it baro,
k2
132 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
The rights of a freeman are these. He has land
within the limits of the. community, the ^el or
hereditary estate (cAi^poc, haeredium, hyd) by virtue
of which he is a portion of the community, bound
to various duties and graced with his various pri-
vileges. For although his rights are personal, in-
herent in himself, and he may carry them with him
into the wilderness if he please, still, where he shall
be permitted to execute them depends upon his
possession of land in the various localities. In
these he is entitled to vote with his fellows upon
all matters concerning the general interests of the
community ; the election of a judge, general or
king; the maintenance of peace or war with a
neighbouring community ; the abrogation of old, or
the introduction of new laws ; the admission of con-
terminous freemen to a participation of rights and
privileges in the district. He is not only entitled
but bound to share in the celebration of the pubUc
rites of religion, to assist at the public council or
Ding, where he is to pronounce the customary law,
by ancient right, and so assist in judging between
man and man ; lastly to take part, as a soldier, in
such measures of offence and defence as have been
determined upon by the whole community. He is
at liberty to make his own alliances, to unite with
other freemen in the formation of gilds or associa-
tions for religious or political purposes. He can
even attach himself, if he will, to a lord or patron,
and thus withdraw himself from the duties and
the privileges of freedom. He and his family may
depart, whither he will, and no man may follow or
CH. v.] THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE. 133
prevent him : but he must go by open day and pub-
licly, (probably not without befitting ceremonies
and a symbolical renunciation of his old seats,) that
all may have their claims upon him settled before
he departs ^
The freeman must possess, and may bear arms ;
he is bom to them, schildbiirtig ; he wears them on
all occasions, public and private, *' nihil neque pub-
licae neque privatae rei nisi armati agunt* ;" he is
entitled to use them for the defence of his life and
honour ; for he possesses the right of private war-
fare, and either alone, or with the aid of his friends,
may fight, if it seems good to him. This right is
technically named fseh^e, feud, from fa, inimictis ;
and to be exposed to it is f^eh^e beran, to bear the
feud\ If he be strong enough, or ill-disposed
enough, to prefer a violent to a peaceful settlement
of his claims, he may attack, imprison and even
slay his adversary, but then he must bear the feud
of the relations.
Beside the arms he wears, the sign and ornament
of his freedom is the long hair which he suffers
' " Si quia liber homo migrare voluerit aliquo, potestatem habeat
infira dominiuin regni nostri, cum fara sua, migrarc quo voluent." Leg.
Roth. 177. The firee folk on the Leutkirchcr Heide "are free and
shall have no nachjagende Htrr^* (t. e. Lord hunting after them, the
DcmwMa persequens of our early law-books. Liinig. Reichsarch.
p. spec. cont. 4. p. 803. See further Grimm, Deut. Rechtsalt. 286,
etc.
' Tac. Germ. xiii. A century ago gentlemen wore swords in France
and England, and courtiers still wear them. The Hungarian freeman
transacts no public business unarmed.
' Lex. Fres. ii. 2.
134 THE SAXOXS IX ENGLAND. [book i.
to float upon his shoulders or winds about his
head^
His proper measure and value, by which his
social position is - ascertained and defended, is the
wergyld, or price of a man. His life, his limbs,
the injuries which may be done to himself, his de-
pendants and his property, are all duly assessed ;
and though not rated so highly as the noble, yet he
stands above the stranger, the serf or the freedman.
In like manner his land, though not entirely exempt
from charges and payments for public purposes,
is far less burthened than the land of the unfree.
Moreover he possesses rights in the commons,
woods and waters, which the unfree were assuredly
not permitted to exercise.
The great and essential distinction, however,
which he never entirelv loses under anv circum*
stances, is that he aids in sovemins himself, that
is in making, applying and executing the laws by
which the free and the unfree are alike governed ;
that he vields, in short, a voluntarv obedience to
the law« for the sake of hvin? under a law, in an
orderly and peact^ful community.
In the state of thinsr^ which we are now consi-
jakI ut 4uaic;. titaf loa:£ buur mA% 2aT« beva comiiitfti (i> tke noiUe
rrx^f : r ** s-w T» 'i\ Avbore. L) '^wx* hw^rt ittio. if « ^frw ■iiwfcf, tkai
Krntn Mi iiftr. (iu 'imn tfrvm/. L«;x J^^vtb. ^ 731 To cnt « fifc-
Duta'f 2.ur w«» CO disiioaour H.m Lex Slit. ^ Jo, S«« abo Gammt^
IVur. rwviitsalc. yc*. ;:n< \ iTSv Euaunuis ip«BiL> of tbe Fnaia ai
•' pp-iiAj vTuitf ruciancw." Pane^c Coasciac. c. IS.
CH. v.] THE FREEBiAN. THE NOBLE. 136
dering, the noble belongs to the class of freemen ;
out of it he springs, in all its rights and privileges
he shares, to all its duties he is liable, but in a
different degree. He possesses- however certain
advantages which the freeman does not. Like the
latter he is a holder of real estate ; he owns land in
the district, but his lot is probably larger, and is
moreover free from various burthens which press
upon his less fortunate neighbour. He must also
take part in the Ding, placitum or general meeting,
but he and his class have the leading and directing
of the public business, and ultimately the execution
of the general willV The people at large may elect,
but he alone can be elected, to the offices of priest,
judge or king. Upon his life and dignity a higher
price is laid than upon those of the mere freeman.
He is the unity in the mass, the representative of
the general sovereignty, both at home and abroad.
The tendency of his power is continually to in-
crease, while that of the mere freeman is continu-
ally to diminish, falling in the scale in exact pro-
portion as that of the noble class rises.
The distinctive name of the noble is Eorl*-
* " De minoribus rebus principes consultant ; de majoribus onines.
Ita tamen ut ea quoque quorum penes plebem arbitrium est, apud prin-
cipes pertractentur." Tac. Germ. xi. Something similar to this pro-
bably prevailed in the Dorian constitution, and in the old Ionian before
the establishment of the great democracy. The mass of the people
might accept or reject, but hardly, I think, debate the propositions of
Uie nobles. After all the npSfiovKoi seem necessary in all states. See
Anst. Pol. iv. § 15.
^ In the Bigsm^, Jarl is the progenitor of all the noble races, as
Karl is of the free.
136 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
M^le (nobilis) and Rice (patens) , denote his qua-
lities, and he bears other titles according to the
accidents of his social position : thus ealdor, ealdor-
man, princeps ; wita, weota, consUiarius ; optimas ;
senior ; procer^ melior^ etc. In addition to his own
personal privileges, the noble possesses in the full-
est extent every right of the freeman, the highest
order of whose body he forms.
137
CHAPTER VI.
THE KING.
As the noble is to the freeman, so in some respects
is the King to the noble. He is the summit of his
class, and completes the order of the freemen. Even
in the dim twilight of Teutonic history we find
tribes and nations subject to kings ; others again
acknowledged no such office, and Tacitus seems to
regard this state as the more natural to our fore-
fathers. I do not think this clear: on the con-
trary, kingship, in a certain sense, seems to me
rooted in the German mind and institutions, and
universal among some particular tribes and con-
federacies. The free people recognize in the King
as much of the national unity as they consider
necessary to their existence as a substantive body,
and as the representative of the whole nation they
consider him to be a mediator between themselves
and the gods\ The elective principle is the safe-
' There is a tradition among the Swedes that if the gods expressed
their anger with the people by scarcity, or ill success in war, the most
acceptable offering to them was the King. See Yngling, Sag. c. xviii.
(Laing, i. 230); again, c. xlvii. (vol. i. p. 256), where the scene is
laid in Norway : because, says the Yngl. Sag., the Swiar were wont to
attribute to their kings the fruitfulness or dearth of the seasons. Yet
they did not interfere with the succession in the son of the sacrificed
king. See Geijer, Hist. i. 404.
lo8 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
guard of their Ireedom : the mooarchical principle
is the condition of their nationsditv. But this idea
of kingship is not that which we now generally en-
tertain ; it is in some respects more, in others less,
comprehensive.
And here it seems necessary to recur to a defi-
nition of words. With us, a king is the source both
of the military and the judicial powers ; he is chief
judge and general in chief ; among protestants he
is head of the church, and onlv wants the functions
of high priest, because the nature of the church
of Christ admits of no priestly body exclusively
engaged in the sacridces, or in possession of the
exclusive secrets, of the cult ^ But in the eve of the
state, and as the head of a state clergy, he is the
high priest, the authority in which ultimately even
the parochial order centres and finds its comple-
tion. He is an officer of the state ; the highest
indeed and the noblest, but to the state he belongs
as a part of itself : with us a commission of regency,
a stranger or a woman may perform all the func-
tions of royalty : the houses of parliament may
Umit them ; a successful soldier may usurp them.
With the early Germans, the king was something
different from this.
The inhabitants ot the Mark or Ga, however nu-
merous or however lew they may be, must always
have some provision for the exigencies of peace
and war. But peace is the natural or normal state,
that for which war itself exists, and the institu-
* 1 Peter, ii. 5, 9.
CH. vi.] THE KING. 139
tions proper to war are the exception, not the rule.
Hence the priestly and judicial functions are per-
manent, — the military, merely temporary. The for*
mer, whether united in the same person, or divided
between two or more, are the necessary conditions
of the existence of the state as a community ; the
latter are merely requisite from time to time, to
secure the free exertion of the former, to defend
the existence of the community against the attacks
of other communities.
We may admit that the father is the first priest
and judge in his own household ; he has, above all
others, the sacerdotal secrets, and the peculiar rites
of family worship ; these, not less than age, expe-
rience and the dignity of paternity, are the causes
and the justification of his power. The judicial
is a corollary from the sacerdotal authority. But
what applies to the individual household applies to
any aggregate of households : even as the family
worship and the family peace require the exertion
of these powers for their own maintenance and
preservation, so do the public worship and the
public peace require their existence, though in a
yet stronger degree. From among the heads of
families some one or more must be elected to dis-
charge the all-important functions which they im-
ply. If the solemn festivals and public rites of the
god are to be duly celebrated, if the anger of the
thunderer is to be propitiated, and the fruits of the
earth to be blessed, — if the wounded cattle are to be
healed, the fever expelled, or the secret malice of
evil spirits to be defeated, — who but the priest can
140 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
lead the ceremooies and prescribe the ritual f Who
but he can sanctify the transfer of land, the union
of man and wife, the entrance of the newborn child
upon his career of life ; who but himself can con-
duct judicial investigations, where the deities are
the only guardians of truth and avengers c^ perjury,
or where their supernatural power alone can deter-
mine between innocence and guilt i ? Lastly, who
but he can possess authority to punish the freeman
for offences dangerous to the wellbeing of all free-
men ? To what power less than that of GSod will
the freeman condescend to bow^ ?
How then is it to be determined to whom such
power, once admitted to be necessary, shall be at
first entrusted ? The first claim clearlv lies with
those who are believed to be descended from the
gods, or from the local god of each particular dis-
trict^. Thej' are his especial care, his children;
he led them into the land, and gave them the secret
of appeasing or pleasing him : he protects them by
his power, and guides them by his revelations : he
is their family and household god, the progenitor
of their race, one of themselves ; and they are the
' The various forms of the ordeal were undouhtedhr p*g«n» though
retained hy the Christian communities of the Germans.
' Even in war the general had not at first the power of punishing
the freeman. The ver\' urgencies of mihtarv discipline were suhordi-
nated to the divine authorit}* of the priests. "" Ehices exemplo podos
quam imperio, si prompti, si conspicui, si ante aciem agant, admin-
tione praesunt. Ceterum neque animadvertere. neque vincire, ne ver-
berare quidem nisi sacerdotibus permissum ; non quasi in poenam, ncc
ducis jussu, sed velut deo imperante, quem adesse beUantibus credunt."
Tac. Germ. xii.
' '* Diis genitoa sacroaque reges." Tac. Ormt. 12.
CH. VI.] THE KING. 141
best, indeed the only, expounders of his will. A
single family, with which others have by slow de-
grees united themselves, by which others have been
adopted, and which in process of time have thus
become the nucleus of a state, will probably remain
in possession of this sacerdotal power ; the god of
the land does not readily give place to others, and
those with whom his worship identifies him will
continue to be his priests long after others have
joined in their ceremonies. Or it is possible that
a single household wandering from a more civiUzed
community may be admitted among a rude people,
to whom they impart more perfect methods of til-
lage, more efficient medical precepts, more impar-
tial maxims of law, better or more ornamental
modes of architecture, or more accurate computa-
tions of time, than they had previously possessed :
the mysterious courses of the stars, the secrets of
building bridges \ towers and ships, of ploughing
and of sowing, of music and of heaUng, have been
committed to them by their god : for the sake of
the benefits they offer, their god is received into
the community ; and they remain his priests be-
cause they alone are cognizant of, and can conduct,
the rites wherewith he is to be served.
Even in periods so remote as not to be con-
founded with those of national migrations, a small
body of superior personal strength, physical beauty,
mental organization, or greater skill in arms, may
' It is a curious fact that Pontifex, literally the bridge-maker, should
be the generic Latin name for a priest. At Athens there was a gens of
y€<twpaioi : were these ever a sacerdotal tribe ?
142 THE S.iXOXS IN ENGLAND. [book !•
establish a preponderance over a more numerous
but less favoured race : in such a case they will
probably join the whole mass of the people, recei-
ving or taking lands among them, and they will
by right of their superiority constitute a noble,
sacerdotal, royal race, among a race of freemen ^
They may introduce their religion as well as their
form of government, as did the Dorians in the Pelo-
ponesus. Or if, as must frequently be the case,
a compromise take place, they and their god will
reserve the foremost rank, although the conquered
or otherwise subjected people may retain a share
in the state, and vindicate for their ancient deities
a portion of reverence and cult : the gods of nature,
of the earth and agriculture, thus vield for a while
to the supremacy of the gods of mental cultivation
and warlike prowess: Demeter gives way before
Apollo, afterwards however to recover a portion of
her splendour : Odinn obtains the soul of the war-
rior and tliC freeman ; Dorr must content himself
with that of the thrall.
In all the cases described, — to which we mav add
violent conquest by a migratory body, leaving only
garrisons and governors behind it^, — the family or
tribe which are the ruling tribe, are those in whom
the highest rank, dignity, nobility and power are
inherent : but unless some j>eculiar circumstances,
■ 1 * * ■ ■• • •
w.-rc .:<£.j ^7 .li,.-.. ;:_;«-r^»- tJ-f.. r-.? 3.^ .Vnst. Polit. I. Cap. 6.
Bekker We cia} rvcember tht' Iiic^l» in Ptru-
CH. VI.] THE KING. 143
arising within the ruling tribe itself, limit the suc-
cession to the members of one household, as for
example among the Jews, the sanctity of the tribe
will be general and not individual. They will be
alone qualified to hold the high and sacred offices ;
but the will of the whole state \ i. e. popular election,
must determine which particular man shall be in-
vested with their functions. Out of the noble race
the election cannot indeed be made, but the choice
of the individual noble is, at first, free. This is the
simplest mode of stating the problem : history how-
ever is filled with examples of compromise, where
two or more noble tribes divide the supreme au-
thority in even or uneven shares : two kings, for
instance, represent two tribes of Dorians in the
Spartan voXireia^. The seven great and heredi-
tary ministerial houses in the German empire, the
five great Ooloos of the Dooraunee Afghans, with
their hereditary offices, represent similar facts.
Among the old Bavarians, the Agilolfings could
alone hold the ducal dignity, but three or four
other families possessed a peculiar nobility, raising
them nearly as much above the rest of the nobles,
* The whole state may possihly consist only of the predominant
tribe, as Dorians or lonians, or Anglosaxons : the rest of the popula-
tion of the country may he perioecian as were the inhabitants of La-
conia, and the British. The ruling tribe itself may have distinctions
of rank ; as for instance the Ilypomeiones among the Spartans, the
Ceorlas among the Anglosaxons.
* The rule, reges ex nobilitafe, duces ex virtute, dyadov rivos v!r€p6xrj,
applies in strictness to this case. Agis or Agesilaus might be gene-
rals, but Brasidas could not have been a king. Descent from Heracles
was to the Spartiate what descent from Woden was to the Saxon, — the
condition of royalty.
144 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
as the nobles were raised above the rest of the
people. Under these circumstances the attributes
of sovereignty may be continually apportioned : to
one family it may belong to furnish kings or judges ;
to another, generals ; to a third, priests^ ; or this
division may have arisen in course of time, within
a single family. Or again, the general may only
have been chosen, pro re nata^ when the necessity
of the case required it, from among the judges
or priests, or even from among those who were
not capable by birth of the judicial or sacerdotal
power. We are able to refer to an 'instance in
support of this assertion ; Beda^ says of the Old-
saxons, that is, the Saxons of the continent : '' Non
enim habent regem iidem antiqui Saxones, sed
satrapas plurimos, suae genti praepositos, qui, in-
gruente belli articulo, mittunt aequaliter sortes, et
quemcumque sors ostenderit, hunc tempore belli
ducem omnes sequuntur, huic obtemperant ; per-
acto autem bello, rursum aequalis potentiae omnes
fiunt satrapae." And this throws light upon what
Tacitus asserts of the Germanic races generally*:
* In the Dooraunee empire, the Suddozyes had the exclusive right
to royalty. Sooja ul Moolk was the last of the race in Caubiil. The
Essufzyes were hereditarv' viziers : the Banikzyes, the family of Dort
Mahomet Khan, hereditary commanders in chief: the union of the
vizierat with the military command in Dost Mahomet's father, led to
the ultimate ruin of the Suddozye princes. In the Mogul empire, the
great offices of state became hereditary, and the historians of India
could speak of the Vizier of Oude, the Nizam, the Peishwa or theGui-
cowar, long after the throne of Aiu^ngzeb had crumbled to the dust.
^ Hist. Eccl. V. 10. iElfred translates the word satrapae by ealdof'
men,
' Germ. xii.
IB. Ti.] THE KIXG. U:>
" £Iiguntur in ilsdem conciliis et principes, qui iura
per pa^os, vicosque redduiit."
The early separation of the judicial from the
strictly sacerdotal functions, to a certain degree at
least, is easily conceived. It would be mere matter
of convenience, as soon as a population became
numerous and widely dispersed. Yet to a very late
period among the Teutons we find traces of the
higher character. The ordeal or judgement of God,
the casting of lots and divination, are all derived
from and conoected with priesthood. The heathen
place of judgement was sanctified to the gods by
priestly ceremonies; nor can it be supposed that
the popular councils were held without a due in-
auguration by religious rites, or a marked exertion
of authority by the priests. Tacitus speaking of
these parliaments makes the intervention of the
priests the very first step to business : " Ut turbae
placuit, considunt armati. Silentium per sacerdo-
tes, quibus turn et coercendi ius est, imperatur'."
The Witena-gemot of later times was opened by
the celebration of mass*, and even yet Mr. Speaker
goes to prayers. During the flourishing period
of Cbristiauity among the Anglosaxons, synods of
tlie bishops and their clergy were commanded to be
held twice a year, to act as supreme courts of jus-
> "QiudBm die multi tam Dobiles qunm privati pniao mnac od i|i-
(Dm locum pliicitattui couvenenint ; scd ante placituni ut PrL'sbjter
tit ta'iraam cclebmret rognverunt. At illc, qui ipsa node cam uxorc
darmierat, ad sncnmi altnris ofliFiutn nrcedere fonniilabat; itoqiie ut-
giTJt se id factiiruni." etc. about (m. l')45. Sim. Diineim. Hist. Ei'cl.
Dun. CBji. ilv. (lib. iii. can. ^"- l'* ^''''- ''•''■ °* I'-'-'-l
VOL, I. I.
146 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
tice, at least in civil causes ^ The law of the Visi-
goths, while it recognizes a separation of the per-
sons, implies a confusion of the jurisdiction : ** Si
index vel sacerdos reperti fuerint nequiter iudi-
casse^." The people, it is true, found the judge-
ment or verdict, but the judge declared the laW|
pronounced the sentence, and most probably super-
intended the execution : in this he represented at
once the justice of the god, and the collective power
of the state. Thus then we may conclude that at
first in every Mark, and more especially in every
Ga or Scir, when various Marks had coalesced,
there was found at least one man of a privileged
family, who either permanently or for a time con-
ducted the public affairs during peace, and was,
from his functions, not less than his descent, nearly
connected with the religion of the people and the
worship of the gods : whether this man be called
ealdorman, index , rex, satrapa or princepSy seems
of little moment : he is the president of the free-
men in their solemn acts, as long as peace is main-
tained, the original King of the shire or small na-
tion. If he be by birth a priest, and distinguished
by military talents, as well as elected to be a judge,
he unites all the conditions of kingship^: and,
under such circumstances, he will probably not only
extend his power over neighbouring communities,
' If Donnigea is right in his view, the Frankish clei^ were to ex-
ercise a similar jurisdiction in criminal causes of a grave nature.
Dctitschcs Staatsrecht. p. 30.
« Leg. Visig. ii. 1. § 23.
' " Uic etenim et rex illis et pontifex ob suam peritiam habebctur,
et in sua iustitia populos iudicabat." Jomandes.
^ CK.n.] THE KING, H7
but even render it permanent, if not hereditary, in
his own : a similar process may take place, if the
priest or judge be one, the general another, of the
same household. We may conclude that the regal
power grows out of the judicial and sacerdotal, and
that, whether the military skill and authority be
superadded or not, king is only another name for
the judge of a small circuit '. It is only when many
such districts have been combined, when many
such smaller kings have been subdued by one more
wise, more wealthy, powerful or fortunate than
themselves, that the complete idea of the German
kingdom developes itself: that the judicial, mili-
tary, and even, in part, the priestly powers sink
into a subordinate position, and the kingdom repre-
sents the whole state, the freeraeu, the nobles, and
the /o/crtVi/ or public law of both. It is thus that
the king gains the ultimate and appellate juris-
fiiction, the right of punishment, and the general
conservancy of the peace, as well as the power of
calling the freemen to arms (cynioges ban, cyninges
Ijtware). When this process has taken place the
former kings have become subreguli, prindpes,
duces, ealdormen : they retain their nobility, their
original purity of blood, their influence perhaps
over their people ; but they have sunk into subor-
dinate officers of a state, of which a king at once
hereditary and elective is the head^
* " N«c potect aliquii iuilirart in temporalibns, nisi solua rex vel
■uhilelegatui ; ipse nunqtie tx vlrtiite wcromenti ad hot specinlitcr
obligatur, ct idea corouft insig;uitur, uC per mdicla populum regat litii
mlrierttiiii." FltU, Ub. i. cap. 17- i 1.
' " Le titie de roi ^tait primitiveinciit de nolle coni^uence chez les
l2
148 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book f.
We are tolerably familiar with the fact that at
least eight kingdoms existed at once in Saxon Eng-
land ; bat many readers of English history have
yet to learn that royalty was mnch more widely
spread, even at the time when we hear bnt of
eight, seven or six predominant kings : as this is
a point of some interest, a few examples may not
be amiss.
It is probable that from the very earliest times
Kent had at least two kings, whose capitals were
respectively Canterbury and Rochester, the seat of
two bishoprics ^ The distinction of East and West
Kentings is preserved till the very downfall of the
Saxon monarchy : not only do we know that Edd-
ric and H16%bere reigned together ; but also that
Wihtred and his son ^^elberht the Second did
so*, (y swine is mentioned as a king of Kent du-
ring the period when our general authorities tell
us of Ecgberht alone* ; contemporary with him we
have Swsebheard, another king^, and all these ex-
tend into the period usually given to El^dric and
H16«here. The later years of iE«elberht the Se-
cond must have seen his power shared with Ead-
barbares. Ennodins, eveque de Pmris, dit d'une armee du grand Th^
odoric I * II If aruit tant de rois dans cette arm^, que leur nombre itui
au moins egal k celui des soldats qa*on pouvait nouirir avec les aub-
■istances exigees des habitans du district oik elle campait.' " Kidielet,
Hist. France, i. 198, note.
' At a later period we find a duchy of the Meracware, or inhabit-
ants of Romner marsh, and this is certainly in favour of a third Kent*
iah kingdom. Malmsburv speaks of the rcguli whom .£5elberht had
mbdued, and it is probable that these were pettr princes of Kent. De
t. hb. l.§10.
« Cod. Dipl. Nos. 72, 77, 86, 108. » Hnd. Xos. 8, 10, 30.
« niid. Not. 14, 15. Beda, Hist. £cc. v. 8.
, CH.VI.}
THE KING.
119
berht', Eardwulf *, Sigiraed^ and Ecgberlit*, and Si-
gir<ed deliberately calls himself Uing of half Kent.
A very remarkable document of Eiidberht is pre-
served in theTextus Roffensis*; after the king's own
signature, in which he calls himself Rex Cantua-
riorura, his nobles place their names, thus, " Ego
Wilbaldus comites nieos confirmari et suhscribere
feci : " and in the same words Diniheahac, Hosberht,
Nothbalth, Banta, Ruta and Tidbalth sign. Now
the fact of these persons having comites at all is
only conceivable on the supposition that they were
all royal, kings or sub-kings. That they were sub-
ordinate appears from the necessity of the grant's
being confirmed by jESelberht, which took place
in presence of the grantor and grantee, and the
Archbishop, at Canterbury. Among the kings of
this small province are also named jE^elric, Heard-
berht, Eadberht Pren^ and Ealhraund', the last
prince, father of the celebrated Ecgberht of Wes-
Araong the territories which at one time or other
were incorporated with the kingdom of Mercia, one
is celebrated under the name of Hwiccas : it com-
prised the then diocese of Worcester. This small
province not only retained its king till a late pe-
riod', but had frequently several kings at once ; thus
' CoA. Di|>l. No«. 85. lOfi. 107- ' Ibid. No. 96.
' IWd. Nos. 110, 114. ' Ibid. No». 113. 132, 135, 160.
* Ibid. No. 86. * Flor. Wig. nn. 794.
' Flor. Wig. App. Wasex.
* We Itne nght of the Hwiccian kiiif^ nbotit the time of OfTa's death
or an. 796. In H02 we Lcnr iiiilccil of nu valilormim of tixe Uniccaa,
but tbc Latin authorities trnoslatu this by dux.
160 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
^CXsric^ and O'shere"; iE«elwea^d^ iE«elheard*,
^^elric^ and in all probability O'swuda, between
an. 704-709. A few years later, viz. between an.
757 and 785, we find three brothers Ednberht®,
Ealdred^ and Uhtred^ claiming the royal title in
the same district, while Oflfa their relative swayed
the paramount sceptre of Mercia. That other parts
of that great kingdom had always formed separate
states is certain : even in the time of Penda (who
reigned from 626 to 656) we know that the Middle
Angles were ruled by Peada, his son^, while Mere-
wald, another son was king of the West Hecan or
.people of Herefordshire ^^. In the important battle
of Winwidfeld, where the fall of Penda perhaps
secured the triumph of Christianity, we learn that
thirty royal commanders fell on the Mercian side".
Under iE^ilraed, Penda's son and successor, we
find Beorhtwald calling himself a king in Mercia ^^.
During the reign of Centwine in Wessex, we hear
of a king, Baldred, whose kingdom probably com-
» Cod. Dipl. No. 12. » ftid. Nos. 17, 36.
' ftid. No. 56. * ftid. No. 63.
* Ibid. No. 57. « Thid. Nos. 102, 105.
^ n>id. Nos. 125, 131, 146. • Ibid. Nos. 117, 118, 128, 14a
» Beda, Hist. Eccl. iii. 21. ^^ Flor. Wig. Append. Mercim.
'^ Beda, Hist. Eccl. iii. 24. *' Inito ergo certamine, fugati sunt et
caesi pagani, duces regii triginta qui ad auxilium Tenerant, pene onmes
interfecti." The Saxon Chronicle is more detailed; an. 654: " H^
O'swiii c}'ng ofsloh Pendau c}'ng on Winwidfelda and Hittig cynebcama
mid him ; and 'Sser wseron sume cyningas. Dsera sum wks JE«6elhere
Annan bro^or, Eastengla cyninges.'*
" Cod. Dipl. No. 26. Malmsbur}', it is true, says of him, " Non
quidem rex potestate, sed subr^ulus in quadam regni parte.'' Vit.
Aldhelmi. Ang. Sacra, ii. 10. But it was not to be expected tbal
Malmsbury would understand such a royalty as Baldred'a.
CB.VI.] THE KING. 161
prised Sussex and part of Hampshire' ; at the same
period also we find .^E^ilheard calling himself king
of Wessex^ and perhaps also a brother jESilweard^
unless this be an error of transcription. Fri^uwald
in a charter to the Monastery of Chertaey, men-
tions the following suhreguli as concurring in the
grant: O'sric, Wighard and iEBelwald'',
There was a kingdom of Elmet in Yorkshire,
and even till the tenth century one of Baraborough.
The same facts might easily be shown of Eastan-
gUa*, Essex and Nortburaberlaud, were it necessary;
but enough seems to have been said to show how
numerously peopled with kings this island, always
fertilis tyrannorum", must have been in times where-
of history lias no record. As a chronicler of the
twelfth century has very justly said, " Ea tempes-
tate venerunt multi et saepe de Germania, et oc-
cupaverunt Eastangle et Mcrce sed necdum sub
uno rege redacti erant. Plures autem proceres
certatim regiones occupabant, unde innumerabilia
bella fiebant : proceres vero, quia multi erant, no-
mine carent'."
From all that has preceded, it is clear that by
the term King we must understand something very
different among the Anglosaxons from the sense
' Gul. aielilun. Ant. (iluat. mi. 681, pp. 308, 309. Cod. Dipl.
Km. 20, 28,71,73.
» Cod. Dipl- No. 76- ' Ibid. No. 73. " Ibid. No. 98?.
* " If^tui rex uniu ibi erat aliqimndo, multi aliquando reguli."
nemic. Hunt. lib. v. " Rex nutem EadmimdiiB ipsis tcmjioribus reg-
lurit taper omnia rcgiw Esstanglonim." Bim. Diinelm. an. 870.
' (U'oi a Kai nokvaiidpiimoi' rqv i^iroii.. ..^acrcXiit Tf Kai duMlimif
woXXovc ix'f- Diud. Sic. \. H.
' Hemic. Hunt. lib. ii.
152 THE SAXOXS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
which we attach to the word : ODe principal differ-
ence lies indeed in this, that the notion of territo-
rial inflaence is never for a single moment involved
in it. Tlie kings are kings of tribes and peoples,
but never of the land they occupy, — ^kings of the
Westsaxons, the Mercians or the Kentings, but not
of Wessex, Mercia or Kent. So far indeed is this
from being the case, that there is not the slight-
est difficulty in forming the conception of a king,
totally without a kingdom :
** Solo rex Tcrbo, lodii tamen imp e l ito hit*"
is a much more general description than the writer
of the line imagined. The Norse traditions are full
of similar facts^ The king is in truth essentially
one with the people ; from among them he springs,
by them and their power he reigns ; from them he
receives his name ; but his land is like theirs, pri-
vate property ; one estate does not owe allegiance
to another, as in the feudal system : and least of
all is the monstrous fiction admitted even for a
moment, that the king is owner of all the land in a
countr>'.
The Teutonic names for a king are numerous
and various, especially in the language of poetry ;
many of them are immediately derived from the
words which denote the aggregations of the people
themselves: thus from \>e6d, we have the Anglo-
saxon Jxjoden ; from folc, the Old Norse Fylkr ;
but the term which, among all the Teutons, pro-
* Abbo de Bello Paris. Civit. Pert*, ii. 779-
' Lmngebek. ii. 77* Dahlmami, Gesch. d. Daneiit p. 51.
CB.VI.] THE KING. 153
perly denotes this dignity, is derived from the fact
which Tacitus notices, viz. the nobility of the king :
the Anglosaxon cyning is a direct derivative from
the adjective cyne, generosus, and this again from
cyn, genua'.
The main distinction between the king and the
rest of the people lies in the higher value set upon
his life, as compared with theirs: as the wergyld
or life-price of the noble exceeds that of the free-
man or the slave, so does the life-price of the king
exceed that of the noble. Like all the people he
has a money value, hut it is a greater one than is
enjoyed by any other person in the state*. So
again his protection (mund) is valued higher than
that of any other: and the breach of his peace
(cyuinges handsealde ivVS) is more costly to the
wrong-doer. He is naturally the president of the
Witena-gemot and the ecclesiastical synod, and the
supreme conservator of (he public peace.
To the king belonged the right of calling out the
national levies, the posse comitatus, for purposes of
attack or defence ; the privilege of recommending
grave causes at least to the consideration of the
tribunals ; the reception of a certain share of the
fines legally inflicted on evil-doers, and of voluntary
gifts from the free men ; and as a natural and rapid
consequence, the levy of taxes and the appointment
of fiscal officers. Consonant with his dignity were
' The Old High Dutch woril ia Cliunini!; the Oh! Norse Konungr:
the Gothic equifalent has not been found, but certainly wns Kunij^.
' lu Kent. Mercio ami Wcsie:t, the kiDjE'i wergyld ivbc I20|)ouiid«:
half belonged to hia family, hnlf to liis people.
151 THE SAXONS IX ENGLAND. [book i.
the ceremonies of bis recognition by the people, and
the ontward marks of distinction which he bore :
immediately upon his election he was raised upon
a shield and exhibited to the multitude, who greet*
ed him with acclamations^ : even in heathen times
it is probable that some reUgious ceremony accom-
panied the solemn rite of election and installation :
the Christian priesthood soon caused the ceremony
of anointing the new king, pertiaps as head of the
church, to be looked upon as a necessary part of
his inauguration. To him were appropriated the
waggon and oxen^ ; in this he visited the several
portions of his kingdom : traversed the roads, and
proclaimed bis peace upon them ; and I am inclined
to think, solemnly ascertained and defined the na*
tional boundaries^, — a dutv svmboUcal in some
degree, of his guardianship of the private bounda*
ries. Among all the tribes there appear to have
been some outward marks of royalty, occasionally
or constantly borne : the Merwingian kings were
distinguished by their long and flowing hair**, the
Goths by a fillet or cap ; among the Saxons the
* *' Lcratiu in regem : to cyninge ahafen," coiitinaed to be the words
in use, long after the custom of really chairing the king had in all pro-
babilitT ceased to be observed.
' The Merwingian kings continued to use this : perfaapa not the Cft-
rolings. Among the Anglosaxons I find no trace of it.
' This duty of riding through the land, called by Grimm the '' landes
bereisung" ^Deutsche Rechtsalterthiimer. p. 237). is probably alluded
to by Beda in his accoimt of Eadwine. Hist. Eccl. ii. 16.
* Btfuarow yap roir paariXcOo-c rwv ^pcyy^v ov wwtrorw n^ipttrBai, aXX*
oKtiptKOfMai T€ fltruf f « naidmv dc i icai naprf*i>pffVTai aimis axamt €v fuika
iwi ritw &fuav oi nkona^ux .... rovro d< wm€p re yya>pt<r/ia jccu ytpas c^oi-
prnif r^ ^<rik€Uf ycvci (uvio^oi p§fi6fuimu, Agathias. bk. 1.
\ ea.n.J
THE KING.
cynehelm, or cynebeah, a circle of gold, wa» in use,
and worn round the head. In the Ding or [jopular
council he bore a. wand or etaft"; in wartime he was
preceded by a banner or flag. The most precious
however of all the royal rights, and a very jewel
in the crown, was the power to entertain a comita-
tus or collection of household retainers, a subject
to be discussed in a subsequent chapter.
The king, like all other freemen, was a landed
possessor, and depended for nmch of his subsistence
upon the cultivation of his estates'. In various
parts of the country he held lands in absolute pro-
perty, furnislied with dwellings and storehouses, in
which the produce of his farms might be laid up,
and from one to another of which he proceeded,
as political exigencies, caprice, or the consumption
of his hoarded stock rendered expedient. In each
villa or wic was placed a bailitt", villicus, wicgertffa,
whose business it was to watch over the king's in-
terests, to superintend the processes of husbandry,
and govern the labourers employed in production ;
above all to represent the king as regarded the
freemen and tbe officers of the county court.
' " De victu ex regis iiraediis." " Di» is *>oiine seo lihtinge Be ic
wjUe mUod folce i^beorgan Ce hig it 'Hyion midgmirehte WEcnm miles
t6 swjSe. Dtrt ia 'Soaxui iL-roit. Cut ic bcbeode cnllam mioui getifaa
Vast hi on ninBii agcnan rihtl'iM tiliaa 1 me mid 'Sim feonninD. i Svt
Ilia) 1^ nata oe tvorf tu feormfultumc nau bini^c n'Unn biilan he nylf
irille. Auil p( hva icftut Sim n-itc craiige bi-6 he his werea tcyldig wiS
Seme cyolngi:." Caut, ^ Ixx. Thorpe, i. -1 12, 4\3. " I comuund nil
my reeves xiat they justly provide [ror me] out of my own prD|)erty,
•ail munUuu me therewith ; and that do man neeil give me sDythiug
■• fann-kid (feormCultun]) tuileH he himsell' be willing." We here
witness the nUml progress of oppression.
IM THE t^AXONS IN ENGLAND. [sootf
The lot, share, or as we may call it re^cwc of
the king, though thus divided, was extensive, aod
comprised many times the share of the freeman :
we may imagine that it origiDally, and under or-
dinary circumstances would be calculated upon the
same footing as the wergyid ; that if the life of the
king was seventy-two times as valuable as that of
the ceorl, his land would be seventy-two times as
large ; if the one owned thirty, the otber would
enjoy 2160 acres of arable land. But the comi-
tatia offers a disturbing force, which, it will here-
after be seen, renders this sort of calculation nuga-
tory in practice ; and the experience of later periods
clearly proves the king to have been a landowner
in a very disproportionate degree. In addition to
the produce of his own lands, however, the king
was entitled to expect voluntary gifts in kind,
naturalia, from the people, which are not only di-
stinctly stated by Tacitus ' to have been so given,
but are frequently referred to by early continental
historians ^ In process of time, when these volun-
tarj- gifts had been converted into settled payments
or taxes, further voluntary aids were demanded,
upon the visit of a king to a town or country, the
' " Hos eat civitatibui ultra ac viritim coafenv phnFipibui rel ar-
menlorum, vel frugum, quod pro bonore acceptum ctinm necooitstibus
aubrenit ; gaudent proecipue fiuitimanim gentium douis, quae nou mod«
a tinguli*, >ed publice mittuntur : electi eqiii, magna arma, phaleite,
torqueaque j iam et pecuniam accipere docuinius." Mor. Germ. xv.
' " In die autem Martis campa Kfundiim anlnqiiaui consiietudinein
dotu illis rcgibua a {lopulo offcrebantur, et ipse rex wjilebat in lella
n^ia, drcuDUtante excrcitu, ct loaior iloiuiis conm eo." on. 753. AunaL
LBurishamenaea MiDores iPerlz. Monumenta, i. 116). See oilier iib'^
stances in Grimm's Deutsche RechtaalUrtbUmer, p. 24fi, c(c-
CB. VI.] THE KING. nj
marriage of a princess, or of the king himself, and
other puhlic and solemn occasions ; from which in
feudal times arose the custom of demanding aids
from the tenants to knight the lord's son or marry
his daughter.
Another source of the royal revenue was a share
of the booty taken in war, where the king and the
freemen served together. The celebrated story of
Clovis and the Soissous vase', proves that the king
received his portion bv lot, as did the rest of his
army ; but there is no reason to doubt that his
share as much exceeded that of his comrades, as
his wergyld and landed possessions were greater
than theirs.
As conservator of the pubhc peace, the king was
entitled to a portion of the fines inflicted on cri-
minals, and the words in which Tacitus mentions
this fact show that he was in this function the re-
presentative of the whole state* : it is a prerogative
derived from his executive power. And similar to
this is his right to the forfeited lands of felons,
which, if they were to be forfeited, could hardly be
placed in other hands than those of the king, as
representative of the whole state^.
> Gn^. Turon. ii. 27.
' " Scil et levioriLus delictis pro moilo poenarum equorum peconiiO'
qae aumero convicti multautiir, pars mullae rcgi vel civitati, jiara ipsi
qui vindioatiir vd ]iropinqius tius exsolvitur." Mor. Germ. xii.
* " Unam mauaam qiiam fiir qiiidtuu ante [xisscilernt, a rege pum
triginta mancusis auri emit." Coil. Dipl. No. 581), Bishop Deneniilf*
bail leaieil landu to a relative named ^Elfred. for a iixcd rent. " la
cquidem iniipieiis adulterans atuprum, projiriam religiose pactatam
abuminana, xcortum diligeiia, libidinoee commisit. Quo rvatu omiii
lubMantift iweiiliali rede |irivatU8 est, ct pradiituui rus ab uo abs-
158 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
In proportion as this idea gains ground, the in-
fluence of the king in every detail of public life ne-
cessarily increases, and the regaUa or royal rights
become more varied and numerous : he is looked
upon as the protector of the stranger, who has no
other natural guardian, inasmuch as no stranger
can be a member of any of those associations which
are the guarantee of the freeman. He has the sole
right of settling the value and form of the medium
of exchange : through his power of calling out the
armed force, he obtains rights which can only con*
sist with martial law, — even the right of life and
death ^ : the justice of the whole country flows from
him : the establishment of fiscal officers dependent
tractum rex huius patriae suae (litioni andus devenire iniuste optavit.*'
Cod. Dipl. No. 601 . The injustice complained of is in the king's seizing
lands that were really not the ofiender's : hut so strong was the lunges
right, that the church was obliged to buy back its own land for one
hundred and twenty mancusses of gold. That these forfeitures resulted
from a solemn judicial act admits of no doubt. In 1002, a lady who
owned lands was found guilty of fornication, her lands were forfeited,
and made over to the king, in the language of the instrument, " vulgari
traditione." Cod. Dipl. No. 1296. In 938 ^^clstan gave seven hides of
land to the church at Winchester : '* istanim autem vii mansarum quan-
titas iusto valde iudicio totius populi, seniorum et primatum, ablata fiiit
ah eis qui eorum iK)sse$sorcs fuerunt, quia nperto crimine furti usque ad
mortem obnoxii inventi sunt ; ideoque decrctum est ab omni populo ut
hbri illorum, quos ad has terras habebant, aetcmaliter dampnarentur,"
etc. Cod. Dipl. No. 1002. /ESelsige stole iESelwino's swine : his land at
Dumbleton was accordingly forfeited to the king. " i man ger^te
.£«elrede cyninge "bst land ^ sehte." Cod. Dipl. No. 692. The law of
the Ripuarian Franks seems to have been somewhat different : see Tit.
§ Ixxix. de homine penduto et eius hcreditate ; and Eichhom, i. 269.
' I may again refer to the story of the vase at Soissons. Clovis put the
soldier to death on pretext of a breach of discipline ; in reality, because
the man had opposed him with respect to the booty. But, except in the
field, it is not to be imagined that Clovis could have taken his life ; and
certainly not without a legal conviction and condemnation by the people.
CH. VI.] THE EING. 169
upon himself places the private possessions of the
freeman at his disposal. The peculiar conservancy
of the peace, and command over the means of in-
ternal communication enable him to impose tolls
on land- and water-carriage : he is thus also em-
powered to demand the services of the freemen to
receive and conduct travelling strangers, heralds or
ambassadors from one royal vill to another ; to de-
mand the aid of their carts and horses to carry
forage, provisions or building-materials to his royal
residence. Treasure-trove is his, because where
there is no owner, the state claims the accidental
advantage, and the king is the representative of
the state. It is part of his dignity that he may
command the aid of the freemen in hia hunting
and fishing ; and hence that he may compel them
to keep his hawka and hounds, and harbour or
feed his huntsmen. As head of the church he has
an important influence in the election of bishops,
even in the establishment of new sees, or the aboli-
tion of old established ones. His authority it is
that appoints the duke, the gere'fa, perhaps evea
the members of the Witena-gemdt. Above all, he
has the right to divest himself of a portion of these
attributes, and confer them upon those whom he
pleases, in difi'erent districts.
The complete description of the rights of Royalty,
in aU their detail, will find a place in the Second
Book of this work ; they can only be noticed cur-
sorily here, inasmuch as they appertain, in strict-
ness, to aperiod in which the monarchical spirit, and
the institutions proper thereto, had become firmly
1«) THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
settled, and applied to every part of our social
scheme. But whatever extension they may have
attained in process of time, they have their origin
in the rights permitted to the king, even in the re-
motest periods of which we read.
There cannot be the least doubt that many of
them were usurpations, gradual developments of an
old and simple principle ; and it is only in periods
of advanced civilization that we find them alluded
to. Nevertheless we must admit that even at the
earliest recorded time in our history, the kings
were not only wealthy but powerful far beyond any
of their fellow-countrymen. All intercourse with
foreign nations, whether warlike or peaceful, tends
to this result, because treaties and grave affairs of
state can best be negotiated and managed by single
persons : a popular council may be very properly
consulted as to the final acceptance or rejection of
terms ; but the settlement of them can obviously
not be beneficially conducted by so unwieldy a
multitude. Moreover contracting parties on either
side will prefer having to do with as small a num-
ber of negotiators as possible, if it be only for the
greater dispatch of business. Accordingly Tacitus
shows us, on more than one occasion, the Senate
in communication with the princes, not the popu-
lations of Germany ^ : and this must naturally be
the case where the aristocracy, to whose body the
> " Angandcstrii, principLs Cattorum, lectas in Senatu litems." Annal.
ii. 8S. ** Maroboduum. . . . per dona et Icgationes pctivisse foedna.'*
Annal. ii. 45. ** Misitque legates ad Tiberium oraturos auxilia."
n>id.
CH. VI.] THE KING. 161
king belongs, have the right of taking the initiative
in public business ^
But although we find a great difierence in the
social position, wealth and power of the king, and
those of the noble and freeman, we are not to ima-
gine that he could at any time exercise his royal
prerogatives entirely at his royal pleasure' : held in
check by the universal love of Uberty, by the rights
of his fellow nobles, and the defensive alliances of
the freemen^ he enjoyed indeed a rank, a splendour
and an influence which placed him at the head of
his people, — a limited monarchy, but happier than
a capricious autocracy : and the historian who had
groaned over the vices and tyranny of Tiberius,
Nero and Domitian, could give the noble boon of
his testimony to the eternal memory of the bar-
harous Axminius.
' " De minoribus rebus principes consultant ; de maioribus omnes :
ita tamen, ut ea quoque, quorum penes plebem arbitrium est, apud
principes pertractentur Mox rex vel princeps, prout aetas cuique,
prout nobilitas, prout decus bellorum, prout facundia est, audiuntur,
auctoritate suadendi magis quam iubendi potestate." Mor. Germ. xi.
' '* Nee regibus infinita, nee libera potestas." Mor. Germ. vii. *' Auc-
tore Verrito et Malorige, qui nationem eam regebant, in quantum Ger-
man! regnantur." Tac. Annal. xiii. 54.
' ** Ceterum Arminius, abscedentibus Romanis et pulso Maroboduo,
regnum adfectans, libertatem popularium adversam habuit, petitusque
armis, cum varia fortuna certaret, dolo propinquorum cecidit." Tac.
Annal. ii. 88.
VOL. I. M
162
CHAPTER VII.
THE NOBLE BY SERVICE.
I HAVE called the right to entertain a ComUatuaf
or body of household retainers, a very jewel in the
crown : it was so because it formed, in process oi
time, the foundation of all the extended powers
which became the attributes of royalty, and finally
succeeded in establishing, upon the downfall of the
old dynasts or nobles by birth, a new order of nobles
bv service, whose root was in the crown itself. A
close investigation of its gradual rise, progress and
ultimate development, will show that the natural
basis of the Comitatus is in the superior wealth and
large possessions of the prince.
In all ages of the world, and under all condi-
tions of society, one profound problem has pre-
sented itself for solution ; viz. how to reconcile the
established divisions of property with the necessities
of increasing population. Experience teaches ns
that under almost any circumstances of social being,
a body of men possessed of sufficient food and
clothing have been found to increase and multiply
with a rapidity far too great to be balanced by the
number of natural or violent deaths : and it follows
therefore that in every nation which has established
CH. Til.] THB NOBLE BY SERVICE. 163
a settled number of households upon several estates,
each capable of supporting but one household in
comfort, the means of providing for a surplus po-
pulation must very soon become an object of gene-
ral difficulty. If the paternal estate be reserved for
the support of one son, if the paternal weapons
descend to him, to be used in the feuds of his house
or the service of the state, what is to become of the
other sons who are excluded from the benefits of
the succession ? In a few instances we may ima-
gine natural affection to have induced a painful, and
ultimately unsuccessful, struggle to keep the family
together : here and there cases may have occurred
in which a community was fortunate enough from
its position, to possess the means of creating new
estates to suit the new demand : and conquest, or
the forcible partition of a neighbouring territory,
may have supplied a provision for the new gene-
ration. Tacitus indeed tells us^ that '^ numerum
liberorum finire aut quemqu^m ex agnatis necare,
flagitium habetur : " yet tradition contradicts this,
and speaks of the exposure of children immediately
after birth, leaving it to the will of the father to
save the life of the child or not^. And similarly
the tales of the North record the solemn and vo-
luntary expatriation of a certain proportion of the
people, designated by lot, at certain intervals of
time'. However, in the natural course of things,
* Mor. Germ. xix. ' Grimm, Rechtsalt. p. 455.
' '* Cumque, ut dixi, give parum compluta humo, seu nimium torrida,
torpentibos satis, ac parce fhictificantibus campis, inediae languor de-
fectam eacia regionem attereret, nullumque, parum suppetentibua ali-
M 2
l^ THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
he who cannot find subsistence at home most seek
it abroad ; if the family estate will not supply him
mth support, he must strive to obtain it from the
bounty or necessities of others : for emigration has
its own heavy charges, and for this he would re-
quire assistance ; and in a period such as we are de-
scribing, trade and manufacture ofier no resources
to the surplus population. But all the single hides
or estates are here considered as included in the
same category, and it is only on the large posses-
sions of the noble that the poor freeman can hope
to live, without utterly forfeiting everything that
makes life valuable. Some sort of service he must
yield, and among all that he can ofier, military
service, the most honourable and attractive to
himself, is sure to be the most acceptable to the
lord whose protection he requires.
The temptation to engage in distant or dangerous
warlike adventures may not appear very great to
the agricultural settler, whose continuous labour
will only wring a mere sufficiency from the soil he
owns. It is with resjret and reluctance that such
a man will desert the land he has prepared or
the crops he has raised, even when the necessity
mentis, trahendae famis 8U|)ere8set auxilium, Aggone atque Ebbone
auctoribus, plebiscito provisum est, ut senibus et parvulis caesis, om-
nique demum imbeili aetate regno egesta, robustis duntaxat patria
donaretur ; nee nisi aut armis, aut agris colendis babiles domestic! larii
patemorumque penatiiim habitacula retinerent." By the advice how-
ever of Gambara, they cast lots, and a portion of the people emigrate.
'* Igitur omnium fortunis in sortem couicctis, qui designabantur, ex-
torres adiudicati sunt." Saxo Gram. p. 159. Under similar circum-
stances, according to Geofin- of Monmouth, Hengest came to Britain.
CH. vu.] THE NOBLE BY SERA1CE. 165
of self-defence calls the community to arms : far
otherwise however is it with him who has no means
of living by the land, or whom his means place
above the necessity of careful, unremitting toil. The
prince, enriched by the contributions of his fel-
low-countrymen, and the presents of neighbouring
states or djmasts, as well as master of more land than
he requires for his own subsistence, has leisure for
ambition, and power to reward its instruments. On
the land which he does not require for his own
cultivation, he can permit the residence of freemen
or even serfs, on such conditions as may seem ex-
pedient to himself or endurable to them. He may
surround himself with armed and noble retainers,
attracted by his liberality or his civil and military
reputation ^ whom he feeds at his own table and
houses under his own roof ; who may perform even
servile duties in his household, and on whose aid
he may calculate for purposes of aggression or de*
fence. Nor does it seem probable that a community
would at once discover the infinite danger to them-
selves that lurks in such an institution : far more
frequently must it have seemed matter of congra-
tulation to the cultivator, that its existence spared
him the necessity of leaving the plough and harrow
to resist sudden incursions, or enforce measures of
internal police ; or that the strong castle with its
* " Ermt autem res Oswini et aspectu venustus, et statura sublimis,
et affatu iucundus, et moribus civilis, et manu omnibus, id est nobi-
libus simul atque ignobilibaa, largus : unde contigit ut ob regiam eius et
animi, et vultos, et mentorum dignitatem, ab omnibus diligeretur, et
nndique ad eius ministerium de cunctis prope provinciis viri etiam
nobiliasiiiii ooncurrerent." Bed. H. £. iii. 14.
166 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
band of ever-watchful defenders, existed as a gar-
rison near the disputable boundary of the Mark.
The Germania of Tacitus supplies us with a de-
tailed account of the institution of the Comitatus,
which receives strong confirmation on every point
from what we gather from other authentic sources.
In his own words : —
" Illustrious birth or the great services of their
fathers give the rank of princes even to young
men : thev are associated with the rest who have
already made proof of their greater powers. Nor is
there any shame in appearing among the comites^
Moreover, the Comitatus itself has its grades, ac-
cording to the judgement of him they follow ; and
great is the emulation among the comites, as to
who shall hold the highest place in the estimation
of the prince, and among the princes, as to who
shall have the most numerous and the bravest
comites. This is dignity, this is power, to be ever
surrounded with a troop of chosen youths, a glory
in time of peace, and a support in war. Nor is it
only in their own tribe, but in the neighbouring
states as well, a name and glory, to be distinguished
for the number and valour of the comitatus ; for
they are courted with embassies, and adorned with
presents, and keep oflf wars by their very reputa-
tion. When it comes to fighting, it is dishonour-
able for the prince to be excelled in valour, for the
comitatus not to equal the valour of the prince;
but infamous, and a reproach throughout life, to
* This very assertion proves that the position of the comes was, m
itself, inferior to that of the fireemmn.
CH. vu.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE. 167
return from battle the survivor of the prince. To
defend and protect him, to reckon to his glory even
one's own brave deeds, this is the first and holiest
duty. The princes fight for victory, the comites
for the prince. If the state in which they spring is
torpid with long peace and ease, the most of these
young nobles voluntarily seek such nations as may
be engaged in war, partly because inaction does
not please this race, partly because distinction is
more easy of attainment under difficulties. Nor
can you keep together a great comitatus, save by
violence and war : since it is from the liberality of
the prince that they exact that war-horse, that
bloody and victorious lance. For feasts and meals,
ample though rude, take the place of pay. Wars
and plunder supply the means of munificence ; nor
will you so readily persuade them to plough the
land or wait with patience for the year, as to chal-
lenge enemies and earn wounds; seeing that it
seems dull and lazy to acquire with sweat what
you may win with blood *."
It would be difficult in a few lines to give any-
thing like so clear and admirable an account of the
peculiarities of the Comitatus, as Tacitus has left
us in this vigorous sketch ; and little remains but to
show how his view is confirmed by other sources
of information, and to draw the conclusions which
naturally result from these premises.
To the influence and operation of these associa-
tions are justly attributed not only the conquests of
the various tribes, but the most important modifi-
' Mor. Genn.'Xiii. xiv.
168 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
cations in the law of the people. As the proper
name for the freeman is ceorl, and for the bom-noble
eorl, so is the true word for the comes, or comrade,
gesi¥. This is in close etymological connection with
s]%, a journey, and literally denotes one who ac-
companies another. The functions and social po-
sition of the gesi¥ led however to another appella-
tion : in this peculiar relation to the prince, he is
]>egn, a thane, strictly and originally a servant or
minister, and only noble when the service of royalty
had shed a light upon dependence and imperfect
freedom. Beowulf describes himself as the relative
and thane of Hygelac : but his royal blood and tried
valour make him also the head of a comitatus, and
he visits Heort with a selected band of his own
comrades, swaese gesi^as : they, like himself, be-
long however to his lord, and are described as Hy-
gelac's beodgeneatas, heor^geneatas (tischgenossen,
heerdgenossen) , sharers in the monarch's table and
hearth. A portion of the booty taken in war na-
turally became the property of the gesi^as ; this
almost follows from the words of Tacitus; and
Saxo Grammaticus, who in this undoubtedly ex-
presses a genuine fact, although after a peculiar
fashion of his own, says of one of his heroes',
** Proceres non solum domesticis stipendiis cole-
bat, sed etiam spoliis ex hoste quaesitis : affirmare
solitus, pecuniain ad milites, gloriam ad ducem re-
dundare debere." And again*, ** Horum omnium
clientelam rex liberali familiaritate coluerat. Nam
primis apud eum honoribus, habitum, cultos auro
> Hist. Dan. p. 6. > Ibid. p. 144.
CH. VII.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE. 169
gladios, opimaque bellorum praemia perceperunt/'
Thus also Hialto sings S
" Dulce est nos domino percepta rependere dona,
Aoceptare enaes, fkmaeque impendere femim.
Enses tbeutonici, galeae, armillaeque nitentes,
Loricae talo imminae, quas contulit olim
Rolvo suis, memores acuant in praelia mentes.
Res petit, et par est, quaecumque per otia summa
Nacti pace sumus, belli ditione mereri.'
>»
The same amusing author tells us- bow on some
occasion, in consequence of there being no queen in
a court, the comites were ill supplied with clothes,
a difficulty which they could only provide against
by inducing their king to marry : ** Igitur contu-
bemales Frothonis circa indumentorum usum fe-
minea admodum ope defecti, quum non haberent
unde nova assuere, aut lacera reficere possent,
regiem celebrandi coniugii monitis adhortantur."
There seems no reason to doubt the fact thus re-
corded, however we may judge respecting its oc-
currence in the time of Frotho. Similarly when
Siegfried set out upon his fatal marriage expedition
into Burgundy, he and his twelve comrades were
clothed by the care of the royal Siglint^. From this
relation between the prince and the comites, are
derived the names appropriated to the former in
the epopoea, of hlaford, lord, literally bread-giver :
sinces brytta, bedga brytta, distributor of treasj/ire,
rings ; sincgifa, treasure-giver, and the like. It is
clear also that a right to any share in the booty
could not be claimed by the gesi¥, as it undoubt-
1 Sax« Oram. Hist. Dan. p. 33, ^ Hist. Dan. p. 68.
' Nibeliioge N^. 66. p. 10 Lachman.
170 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
ediy could by the free soldier in the Hereban, but
depended entirely upon the will of the chief, and
his notions of policy : a right could not have been
described as the result of his liberality. In the hi-
storical time of Charlemagne vie have evidence of
this > : ' ' Quo accepto .... idem vir prudentissimus
idque largissimus et Dei dispensator magnam inde
partem Romam ad limina Apostolorum misit per
Angilbertum dilectum abbatem suum ; porro reli-
quam partem obtimatibus, clericis sive laicis, cae-
terisque fidelibus suis largitus est:" or, as it is
still more clearly expressed in the annals of Egin-
hart^, '' reliquum vero inter optimates et aulicos,
caeterosque in palatio suo militantes, liberali manu
distribuit." And similarly we are told of ^%el-
stan : '* Praeda quae in castro reperta fuerat, et ea
quidem amplissima, magnifice et viritim divisa.
Hoc enim vir ille animo imperaverat suo, ut nihil
opum ad crumenas corraderet ; sed omnia conqui-
sita, vel monasteriis, vel fidelibus suis, munificus ex-
penderet^" The share of the freeman who served
under his ger^fa, and not under a lord, was his own
by lot, and neither by largitio nor liberalitas^ — a
most important distinction, seeing that where ail
was left to the arbitrary disposition of the chief,
the subservience of the follower would very natu-
rally become the measure of his liberality.
The relation of the Comites was one of fealty :
it was undertaken in the most solemn manner,
* Annal. Laurisb. an. 796. Pertz, Mon. Germ. i. 182.
' An. 796. Pertz, i. 183.
' Gul. Meldun. Gest. Reg. i. 213, § 134.
OB. Tix.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE. 171
and with appropriate, symbolic ceremonies, out of
which, in later times, sprung homage and the
other incidents of feudality. All history proves
that it was of the most intimate nature ; that even
life itself was to be sacrificed without hesitation if
the safety of the prince demanded it : the gesiVas
of Be6wulf expose themselves with him to the at-
tack of the fiendish Grendel ^ ; Wiglaf risks his own
life to assist his lord and relative in his fatal con-
test with the firedrake^ ; and the solemn denuncia-
tion which he pronounces against the remaining
comites who neglected this duty, recalls the words
of Tacitus, and the infamy that attached to the sur-
vivors of their chief' :
Hd tceal sincjiego How shall the service of treasure
and swyrdgyfii, and the gift of swords,
eall ^Selwyn, all joy of a paternal inheritance,
e6wmm cynne all support
tnfen iUicgean : ful your kin :
londrihtes mot of the rights of citizenship must
"Ssere msgburge every one
moima iSghwilc of your family
Sdd hweor£ui, go about deprived,
si95an sfSelingas when once the nobles
feorran gefncgean far and wide shall hear
ildan e6wemc. of your Bight,
ddmledsan dsd. your dishonourable deed.
De4t$ bi'S sella Death is better
eorla gehwylcum for every warrior
iknme edwitiif. than a life of shame.
But we are not compelled to draw upon the stores
of poetry and imaginative tradition alone : the sober
records of our earlier annalists supply ample evi-
dence in corroboration of the philosophical historian.
1 Be6wulf, 1. 1582 seq. ' Ibid. 1. 5262 seq,, 5384 seq,
• ftid. L 6763.
172
THE 5>AX0NS IK ENGLAXD.
[book 1.
When Cwichelm of Wessex sent an assassin to cut
off Eaduuini of Northumberland, that prince was
saved by the devotion of his thane Lilia» who threw
himself between, and received the blow that was
destined for his master ; in the words of Beda^ :
'' Quod cum videret Lilla minister regis amicissi-
mus, non habens scutum ad manum quo regem a
nece defenderet, mox interposuit corpus suum ante
ictum pungentis ; sed tanta vi hostis ferrum infixit,
ut per corpus militis occisi etiam regem vulneraret/'
Again we learn that in the year 786, Cyneheard,
an aetheiing of Wessex, who had pretensions to the
crown, surprised the king Cynewulf at the house
of a paramour at Merton, and there slew him. He
proffered wealth and honours to the comites of the
king, which they refused, and with small numbers
manfully held out till every one had fallen. On the
following morning a superior force of the king's
thanes came up : to them again the aetheiing offered
land and gold, but in vain : he was slain on the
spot with all his own comites, who refused to desert
him in his extremity. This is the account given
of these facts in the words of the Saxon Chronicle
itself*:
And tSa gebemd he him heorm agen*
ne dom fcos mod londes, gif hie
him 9tn rices litSon. and him cr^
de, ^iwi heora msgms him mid
wvron. {^ Se him from noldon.
And 5a cwiedon hie, i^xt him ns-
nig xwg leofra mere iSonne heora
hlafbrd, and hie n«fre his hanan
And then he offered them their
own desire of money and land, if
thev would grant him the king*
dom, and he told them that their
own relatires were with him, who
would not desert him. Then aid
thev. that no relative was dearer
to them than their lord, and that
> Hist. £cc. ii. 9.
Chron. Sax. an. 765.
CH. VII.] THE NOfiLE BY SERVICE. 173
ibigiaii noldon. And tSa budon hie they never would follow his mur-
heoramjEginmtethiehimgesunde derer. And then they offered
from e6don. And hie cwsdon, their relatives that they should
fet tet ilea heora geferum gebo- leave him, with safety for them-
den wm iSe mr mid "fHai cyninge selves : but they said, that the
wi^ron ; t$set hie hie "Saes ne on- same offer had been made to their
mnnden, i$on mi iSe edwre geferan own comrades who at first were
t$e mid 5im cyninge ofslsegene with the king : that they paid no
WKron. more attention to it, than your
comrades who were slaughtered
with the king.
^thelweard, Florence of Worcester, and Henry of
Huntingdon all follow the chronicle, which in some
details they apparently translate. Malmsbury seems
to adopt the same account, but adds a few words
which have especial reference to this portion of the
argument^: ** quorum (i. e. coraitum) qui maximus
aevo et prudentia Osricus, caeteros cohortatus ne
necem domini sui in insignem et perpetuam suam
ignominiam inultam dimitterent, districtis gladiis
coniuratos irruit.'*
It is obvious that from this intimate relation be-
tween the prince and the gesiW must arise certain
reciprocal rights and duties, sanctioned by cus-
tom, which would gradually form themselves into a
code of positive law, and ultimately affect the state
and condition of the freemen. In the earliest de-
velopment of the Comitatus, it is clear that the
idea of freedom is entirely lost : it is replaced by
the much more questionable motive of honour, or
to speak more strictly, of rank and station. The
comes may indeed have become the possessor of
land, even of very large tracts*, by gift from his
' Gest. Reg. i. § 42. » Beowulf, I. 6984 seq.
174 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
prince ; but he could not be the possessor of a free
Hide, and consequently bound to service in the
general fyrd, or to suit in the folcmdt : he might
have wealth, and rank and honour, be powerful
and splendid, dignified and influential, but he could
not be free : and if even the freeman so far forgot
the inherent dignity of his station as to carry him-
self (for his &6q\ I think he could not carry) into the
service of a prince, — an individual man, although
a prince, and not as yet the state, or the represen-
tative of the state, — can it be doubted that the re-
munerative service of the chief would outweigh the
barren possession of the farmer, or that the festive
board and adventurous life of the castle would soon
supply excuses for neglecting the humbler duties
of the popular court and judicature ? Even if the
markmen razed him from their roll, and committed
his ^^el to a worthier holder, what should he care,
whom the liberality of his conquering leader could
endow with fifty times its worth ; and whose total
divorce from the vulgar community would probably
be looked upon with no disfavour by him who had
already marked that community for his prey ? Nor
could those whom the gesi^ in turn settled upon
lands which were not within the general mark-juris-
diction, be free markmen, but must have stood to-
wards him in somewhat the same relation as he
stood to his own chief. Upon the plan of the larger
household, the smaller would also be formed: the
same or similar conditions of tenure would prevail ;
and the services of his dependants he was no doubt
bound to hold at the disposal of his own lord, and
OB. TU.] THE NOBLE BT SERVICE. 176
to maintain for his advantage. We have thus, even
in the earliest times, the nucleus of a standing
army, the means and instruments of aggrandize-
ment both for the King and the praetorian cohorts
themselves ; practised and delighting in battle, ever
ready to join in expeditions which promised adven-
ture, honour or plunder, feasted in time of peace,
enriched in time of war ; holding the bond that
united them to their chief as more sacred and strin-
gent than even that of blood \ and consequently
ready for his sake to turn their arms against the
free settlers in the district, whenever his caprice, his
passion or his ambition called upon their services.
In proportion as his power and dignity increased
by their efforts and assistance, so their power and
dignity increased : his rank and splendour were re-
flected upon all that surrounded him, till at length
it became not only more honourable to be the un-
free chattel of a prince, than the poor, free culti-
vator of the soil, but even security for possession
and property could only be attained within the
compass of their body. As early as the period
when the Prankish Law was compiled, we find the
great advantage enjoyed by the Comes over the
Free Salian or Ripuarian, in the large proportion
borne by his wergyld, in comparison with that of
the latter^.
The advantage derived by the community from
^ JSUred excepts the lord, while he defines the cases in which a man
may give armed assistance to his relative. The rijslit of private feud
is not to extend to that sacred obligation of fealty. LI. ^If. § 42.
' U. Sdic Tit. Ivii. cap. U 2. U. Bip. liii. c^p. 1, 2.
176 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
the presence and protection of an armed force such
as the gesi^as constituted, must have gradually
produced a disposition to secure their favour even
at the expense of the free nobles and settlers : and
a Mark that wished to entrust its security and its
interests to a powerful soldier, would probably soon
acquiesce in his assuming a direction and leader-
ship in their affairs, hardly more consistent with
their original liberty, than the influence which a
modern nobleman may establish by watching^ as
it is called, over the interests of the Registration.
Even the old nobles by blood, who gradually beheld
themselves forced down into a station of compara-
tive poverty and obscurity, must have early hastened
to give in their adhesion to a new order of things
which held out peculiar prospects of advantage to
themselves ; and thus, the communities, deserted by
their natural leaders, soon sunk into a verv sub-
ordinate situation, became portions of larger uni-
ties under the protection, and ultimately the rule,
of successful adventurers, and consented without a
struggle to receive their comites into those offices
of power and distinction which were once conferred
by popular election.
As the gesi^as were not free, and could not take
a part in the deliberations of the freemen at the
folcmot, or in the judicial proceedings, except in-
asfar as they were represented by their chief,
means for doing justice between themselves became
necessary : these were provided by the establish-
ment of a system of law, administered in the lord's
court, by his officers, and to which all his depen-
CH.vii.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE. 177
dants were required to do suit and service as amply
as they would, if free, have been bound to do in
the folcmdt. But the law, administered in such a
court, and in those formed upon its model in the
lands of the comites themselves, — a privilege very
generally granted by the king, at least in later pe-
riods ^ — was necessarily very different from that
which could prevail in the court of the freemen :
it is only in a lord's court that we can conceive
punishments to have arisen which affected life and
honour, and fealty with all its consequences to have
attained a settled and stringent form, totally un-
known to the popular judicature. Forfeiture, or
rather excommunication, and pecuniary mulcts,
which partook more of the nature of damages than
of fine, were all that the freeman would subject
himself to under ordinary circumstances. Expul-
sion, degradation, death itself might be the portion
of him whose whole life was the property of a lord.
* Eadweard of Wesaex in 904 transferred his royal rights in Taunton
to the see of Winchester. He says : " Concessi ut episcopii homines,
tarn nobiles qoam ignobiles (i. e. XII hynde and II hynde) in praefato
rare degentes, hoc idem ius in omni haberent dignitate (had) quo regis
homines perfruuntur, regalibus fiscis commorantes : et omnium saecu«
larium renun iudicia ad usus praesulum ezerceantur eodem modo quo
r^alium negotiorum discutiuntur iudicia. Praedictae etiam villae
merdmonium quod Anglice i$8es tunes cyping appellatur, censusque
omnis civilis, sanctae dei aecclesiae in Wintonia civitate sine rctracta-
tionis obstacolo cum omnibus commodis aetemahter deserviat." Cod.
Dipl. No. 1064. He had previously granted an immunity ^m regal
and comitial interference ; the result of which was to place all judicial
and fiscal functions in the hands of the bishop's reeve instead of the
sheriff, or the king's burgreeve. The document furnishes an admirable
example of an Immunity, or, as it is technically called in the Anglo-
saxon law, a grant of Sacu and S6cn,
VOL. I. N
178 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
to be by him disposed of at his pleasure. Hence
the forfeiture of lands for adultery and fornication,
and hence even Alfred affixes the penalty of death
to the crime of hlafordsyrwe, or conspiracy against
a lord', while manslaughter could still be com-
pounded for by customary payments. One or two
special cases may be quoted to show how the rela-
tion of the gesi% to his chief modified the general
law of the state.
The horse and arms which, in the strict theory
of the comitatus, had been the gift, or rather
the loan of the chief, were to be returned at the
death of the vassal, in order, according to the same
theory, that they might furnish some other adven-
turer with the instruments of service*. These, tech-
nically called Heregeatwe, armatura bellica^ have
continued even to our own day under the name of
Heriot, and strictly speaking consist of horses and
weapons. In later imitation of this, the unfree set-
tlers on a lord's land, who were not called upon
by their tenure to perform military service, w^ere
bound on demise to pay the best chattel (melius
cataUum, best head, in German beste haupt, heriot-
custom, as opposed to heriot-service) to the lord,
probably on the theoretical hypothesis that he, at
^ Ll. M\(r, Introduction, and § 4.
^ ITiis is necessan' in a country where the materials of which wei-
pons arc fabricated are not abundant, which Tacitus notices as the case
in Germany, " nc fcrrura quidem superest, sicut ex genere telomm
colhgitui*.". Germ. vi. Adventurers, ever on the move, are prone to
rcaUze their gains in the most ])ortable shape. Rings, gems and anus
are the natural form, and a Teutonic king's treasury must have been
filled with them, in preference to all other valuables.
CH. VII.] THE NOBLE BT SERVICE. 179
the commencement of the tenancy, had supplied the
necessary implements of agriculture. And this dif-
fers entirely from a Relief \ because Heriot is the
act of the leaving, Relief the act of the incoming
tenant or heir^; and because in its very nature
and amount Heriot is of a somewhat indefinite
character, which Relief is not.
In the strict theory of the comitatus, the gesi%
could possess no property of his own ; all that he
acquired was his lord's, and even the Uberalities
of the lord himself were only beneficia or loans,
not absolute gifts^ : he had the usufruct only during
life, the dominium utile : the dominium directum was
in the lord, and at the death of the tenant it is
obvious that the estate vested in the lord alone :
the gesi¥ could have no ius testamentiy as indeed
he had no family : the lord stood to him in place
^ Relief, relemum, firom relevare, to lift or take up again. It is a
sum psid by the heir to the lord, on taking or lifting up again the in*
heritance of an estate which has, as it were, fallen to the ground by the
death of the ancestor.
' Fleta, lib. iii. cap. 18.
' Montesquieu has seen this very clearly, when he considers even the
horse vnAframea of Tacitus in the light of beneficia. From a charter of
iESelflsd, an. 915-922, it would seem that in Mercia a thane required
the consent of the lord, before he could purchase an estate of bookland :
" Ego i&Selflsed .... dedi licentiam Eadrico meo ministro comparandi
terram decern manentium set Fembeorgen, sibi suixque haeredibus per-
petoaHter possidendam." Cod. Dipl. No. 343. About the close of the
ninth century, Wulfhere, a duke, having left the country, and so de-
serted the duties of his position, was adjudged to lose even his private
lands of inheritance : " Quando ille utrumquc et suum dominum regem
iSlfiredum et patriam, ultra iusiurandum quam regi et suis omnibus op-
timatibus iuraverat, sine liccntia dereliquit. Tunc etiam, cum omnium
indicio sapientium Oeuisorum et Mercensium, potestatem et haeredita-
tem derefiquit agrorum." Cod. Dipl. No. 1078. The importance of this
passage Menu to me to rest upon the words *' sine licentia."
n2
180 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
of father, brother and son. Hereditary succession,
which must at first have been a very rare exception,
could only have arisen at all either from the volun-
tary or the compelled grant of the lord : it could
only become general when the old distinction be-
tween the free markman and the gesVS had become
obliterated, and the system of the Comitatus had
practically and politically swallowed up every other.
Yet even under these circumstances it would appear
that a perfectly defined result was not attained;
and hence, although the document entituled " Rec-
titudines siugularum personarum" numbers the
ius testamenti among the rights of the J?egen*, yet
even to the close of the Anglosaxon monarchy, we
find dukes, praefects, kings' thanes and other great
nobles humbly demanding permission from the king
to make wills, entreating him not to disturb their
testamentary dispositions, and even bribing his
acquiescence by including him among the lega-
tees. In this as in all human affairs, a compromise
was gradually found necessary between opposing
powers, and the king as well as the comites, neither
of whom could dispense with the assistance of the
other, found it advisable to make mutual conces-
sions. I doubt whether at even an earlier period
than the eleventh century, the whole body of thanes
would have permitted the king to disregard the
testament of one of theih body, unless upon defi-
nite legal grounds, as for example grave suspicion
1 <(
pcgcnes lagu is 'Saet he sy his hocrihtes wyi^ ; taini lex est nfc
sit dignus rectitudine testamenti sui." Thorpe, i. 432. And with this
iElfred's law of entails is consistent. LI. JEAi. § 41. Thorpe, i. S8.
CH. VII.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE. 181
of treason : but still they might consent to the no-
minal application and sanction of the ancient
principle, by allowing the insertion of a general
petition, that the will might stand, in the body of
the instrument ^
The circumstances thus brought under review
show clearly that the condition of the gesiS was
unfree in itself; that even the free by birth who
entered into it, relinquished that most sacred in-
heritance, and reduced themselves to the rank of
thanes, ministers or servants. Certain rights and
privileges grew up, no doubt, by custom, and the
counts were probably not very long subject to the
mere arbitrary will of the chief : they had the pro-
tection of others in a similar state of dependency
to their own, and chances, such as they were,
' Toward the end of the tenth century, Beorhtric, a wealthy nohle in
Kenty devised land hy will to various relatives. He left the king, a
eollar worth eighty mancuses of gold, and a sword of equal value ; his
heriot, comprising four horses, two of which were saddled ; two swords
with their belts ; two hawks, and all his hounds. He further gave to
ike queen, a ring worth thirty mancuses of gold, and a mare, that she
mil^t be his advocate (forespnece) that the will might stand, " "Sst sc
cwide stondan mihte." Cod. Dipl. No. 492. Between 944 and 946,
.£tSelgyfu devised lands and chattels to St. Albans, " cum consensu do-
mini mei regis." The king and queen had a very fair share of this
tpoSL Cod. Dipl. No. 410. Between 965 and 9/5, i£lfhe£h, an ealdor-
man, or noble of the highest rank, and cousin of Eadgar's queen
iElfSryt, left lands, a good share of which went to the king and queen :
the will was made, " be his cynehlafordes ge)>afunge," by his royal
lord's permission, and winds up with this clause : " And the witnesses
to this permission which the king granted (obsei've, not to the \y\\\
itself, but to the king's permission to leave the property as he did,) are
.£lfSryi$ the queen and others." Cod. Dipl. No. 593. JS^elflsed a royal
ladjy left lands, some of which went to the king : she says, " And ic
bidde minan leofan hltford for Godcs lufun, 'Sect min cwide standan
mote," — and I beg my dear Lord, for God's love, that this my will may
182 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of subservience to the king's wishes: a bond of
affection and interdependence surpassing that of
blood, and replacing the mutual free guarantee of
life and security, was formed between them ; and
they shared alike in the joys and sorrows, the
successes and reverses of peace and war : but with
it all, and whatever their rank, they were in fact
menials, housed within the walls, fed at the table,
clothed at the expense of their chief ; dependent
upon his bounty, his gratitude or forbearance, for
their subsistence and position in life ; bound to
sacrifice that life itself in his service, and, strictly
considered, incapable of contracting marriage or
sharing in the inestimable sanctities of a home.
They were his cupbearers, stewards, chamberlains
and grooms ; even as kings and electors were to
stand. Cod. Dipl. No. 685. In the time of iE^elred, Wulfwaru, a lady,
commences her will in these words : ** Ic Wulfw'aru bidde mine le6£ui
hlaford JB'Selred k\7iing, him to eelmyssan, ^set ic m6te be6n mines
cwides wyrSe ; " i . e. that I may be worthy of my right of devising
by will ; that I may enjoy my right of making a will. Cod. Dipl.
No. 694. iElfgyfu the queen in 1012 commences her will in similtr
terms : " Dis is iElfgyfe geguming t6 hire cynehldforde. Dset is t$«C
heo hine bitt for Godes lufun and for cynescipe "Sset he6 m6te be6n
hyre cwides wyrSe." Cod. Dipl. No. 721. ^Selst&n, king JEMred*t
son, made also a will, from which I take the following passage : ** Now
I thank my father, with all humility, in the name of Almighty Ood,
for the answer which he sent me on the Friday after Midsummer day,
by iElfgar ^Effa's son ; that was, that he told me, upon my father's
word, that I might, by God's leave and his, grant my realty and chattels,
as I thought best, whether for spiritual or temporal ends. And the wit-
nesses to this answer are Eadmund," etc. Cod. Dipl. No. 722. Lastly,
iElfhelm concludes his will with these words : " Now I entreat thee,
my dear lord, that my will may stand, and that thou permit not that
any man should set it aside. God is my witness that I was ever obe-
dient to thy father, to the utmost of my power, and full faithful to
him both in mind and main, and have ever been faithful to thee, in full
faith and full love, as God is my witness." Cod. Dipl. No. 967.
OH. vii.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE. 183
the emperor, whom they had raised out of their
own body. The real nature of their service appears
even through the haze of splendour and dignity
which gradually surround the intimate servants
of royalty ; and as the chief might select his co-
mites and instruments from what class he chose,
it was the fate of these voluntary thanes, not un-
frequently to be numbered in the same category
with the unfree by birth, and thus, in their own
persons, to witness the destruction of that essential
principle of all Teutonic law, the distinction be-
tween the freeman and the serf'.
Great indeed ought to be the advantages which
could compensate for sacrifices like these, and great
in their eyes, beyond a doubt, they were. In re-
turn for freedom, the gesi% obtained a certain main-
tenance, the chance of princely favour, a military
and active life of adventure, with all its advantages
of pillage, festivals and triumphs, poets and min-
strels, courtly halls and adventitious splendour;
the usufruct at least, and afterwards the possession,
of lands and horses, arms and jewels. As the royal
power steadily advanced by his assistance, and the
old, national nobility of birth, as well as the old,
landed freeman sunk into a lower rank, the gesi^
found himself rising in power and consideration pro-
portioned to that of his chief : the offices which had
^ ** Liberti non multum supra sen^os sunt, raro aliquod momentum
in domo, nunquam in civitate ; cxceptis duntaxat lis gentibus, quae
regnantur : ibi enim et super ingenuos et super nobiles ascendunt :
apnd caeteros impares libertini libertatis argumentum sunt." Tac.
Germ. xxv.
184 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
passed from the election of the freemen to the gift
of the crown*, were now conferred upon him, and
the ealdorman, duke, ger^fa, judge, and even the
bishop, were at length selected from the ranks of
the comitatus. Finally, the nobles by birth them-
selves became absorbed in the ever-widening whirl-
pool ; day by day the freemen, deprived of their old
national defences, wringing with difficulty a preca-
rious subsistence from incessant labour, sullenly
yielded to a yoke which they could not shake off,
and commended themselves (such was the phrase)
to the protection of a lord ; till a complete change
having thus been operated in the opinions of men,
and consequently in every relation of society, a
new order of things was consummated, in which
the honours and security of service became more
anxiously desired than a needy and unsafe freedom ;
and the alods being finally surrendered, to be taken
back as beneficial under mediate lords, the founda-
tions of the royal, feudal system were, securely laid
on every side.
* By this step, the crown became the real leader of the hercban, or
posse comitatus, as well as of the gesit^as and their power : and thus
also, the head of the jui'idical ]K)wer in the counties, as well as the lords*
courts. Moreover it extended the powers and provisions of martial
law to the offences of the freemen.
185
CHAPTER VIII.
THE UNFREE. THE SERF.
Wb have considered the case of the wife, the son
and the daughter ^ as far as can be done until we
come to deal with the family relations ; and we
have examined the position of one peculiar class
of the unfree, namely the comites or gesi^as of the
kingly leaders. Another, but less favoured, class
remain to be noticed, those namely whom the La-
tin authors designate by the terms Libertus and
Servus, and whoj among all the nations of Germa-
nic origin, are found under the corresponding de-
nominations of Lazzi or Di6, Laet or De6w, Lysingr
or Jjrcel. These have no honourable, no profitable
service to compensate for the loss of independence,
but form the large body of hired cultivators, the
artizans and handicrafts in various branches of
industry, the praedial, even the domestic or menial
servants of the free landowner.
The grounds as well as the degrees of slavery
(by which term I mean dependence, the being in
the mund of another, and represented by him in
the folcmot) are various ; one, viz. poverty arising
» Page 129.
186 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
from over-population, has been noticed in the last
chapter; but I agree with Eichhorn* and Grimm*,
in attributing the principal and original cause of
slavery in all its branches to war and subsequent
conquest. Another and important cause is for-
feiture of liberty for crime ; and the amount of de-
pendence, the gentler or harsher condition of the
serf, depend to a great extent upon the original
ground of servitude. If the victor has a right to
the life of the vanquished, which by the law of
nature is unquestionably the case, he possesses d
fortiori a perfect claim to the person, the property
and the services of his prisoner, if his self-interest
or the dictates of humanity induce him to waive
that right ^. These remarks apply no doubt, in
their full force, only to our pagan forefathers ; but
even Christianity itself did not at once succeed in
rooting out habits which its divine precepts of jus-
tice and mercy emphatically condemn. Beda, in
his desire to prove the eflScacy of the mass for the
dead"*, tells an interesting story of a young noble
' Deut. Staatsges. i. 72, § 15.
^ Deutsche Reehtsalterthiimer, p. 320, with the numerous examples
there given. So Fleta. "Fiunt autem homines servi de iure gentium
captivitate : bclla enim orta sunt, et captivitates sequutae. Fiunt etiam
de iure civili, per confessionem in curia fisci factam." Lib. i. c. 3. § 3.
^ A whole army may be devoted as victims by the conquerors. " Sed
bellum Hermundiu-is prospcrum, Cattis exitiosius fiiit, quia victores
diversam aciem Marti ac Mcrcurio sacravere, quo voto equi, viri, cuncta
victa occidioni dantur." Tac. Annal. xiii. 57. " Lucis propinquis bar-
barae arae, apud quas tribunos ac primorum ordinum ecuturiones mac-
taverant .... cladis suj)crstites, pugnam aut vincula elapsi, referebant
.... quot patibiUa captivis, quae scrobes," etc. Tac. Annal. i. 61.
< Hist. Eccles. iv. 22.
CR. viii.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 187
who was left severely wounded on the field, after a
battle between Ecgfri^ of Northumberland and
M^elved of Mercia, in the year 679. Fearful of
the consequences should his rank be discovered, he
disguised himself in the habit of a peasant, and as-
sumed that character, at the castle of the earl into
whose hands he fell r declaring that he was a poor,
and married man', who had been compelled to at-
tend the army with supplies of provisions. But his
language and manners betrayed him, and at length,
under a solemn promise of immunity, he revealed
his name and station. The reply of the earl is cha-
racteristic ; he said : ** I knew well enough from
thy answers that thou wert no rustic ; and now in-
deed thou art worthy of death, seeing that all my
brothers and relations were slain in that battle:
yet I will not kill thee, lest I should break the
faith that I have pledged." Accordingly when his
wounds were healed, his captor sold him to a Frisian
in London, who, finding that he could not be bound,
finally released him on his parole and permitted
him to ransom himself. Whatever the motive, it
is thus clear that the victor possessed the right of
life and death over his captive, even when taken in
cold blood ; and the traditions, as well as the histo-
rical records of the northern nations are filled with
instances of its exercise.
^ This is confirmatory of the statement in the last chapter, that,
strictly speaking, the Comes could not marry. One cannot see why the
assertion should have been made on any other grounds : his great
anxiety was to prove himself not a comes or minister, and as one argu«
ment, he states himself to be " uxoreo nexu constrictus."
188 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
It does not however by any means follow that
the total defeat of a hostile tribe resulted in the im-
mediate and direct enslaving of all the survivors :
as in the example just cited, the blood-feud no
doubt frequently led to the murder of the captive
chiefs and nobles, even if less justifiable motives
did not counsel the same miserable means of re-
moving dangerous competitors^; but the heavy
doom of death must have been one of the melan-
choly privileges of the noble class : and even though
many of the common freemen may have been sold
or retained as slaves at the caprice ]of the captors,
still we cannot suppose this to have been the lot of
any but those who had actually taken part in com-
bat ; no natural or national law could extend these
harsh provisions to the freemen who remained quiet
at home. Nevertheless even these were liable to
be indirectly affected by the hostile triumph, inas-
much as the conquerors appear invariably to have
taken a portion, more or less great, of the territory
occupied by the conquered* : and wherever this is
' After a battle between Ragnacbari and Chlodowicb, in whicb tbe
former was taken prisoner, thei victor thus addi'essed him: ''Cui
dixit ChlodovcuSj Cur humiliasti genteni nostram, ut te vinciri per-
mitteres? Nonne melius tibi fuerit raori? £t elevata bipenne, in
caput eius deiixit, et mortuus est. Conversusque ad fratrem cius, ait :
Si tu solatium fratri tuo praebuisscs, ille ligatus non fuisset ! Similiter
et ipsum in capite pcrcussum interfecit, ct mortuus est." Gest. R^.
Franc. (Script. Rcr. Gall, et Francic. ii. 555.) It was the interest of
Chlodowich to put these princes to death, but there must still have
been some right acknowledged in him to do so. lie seems however to
rest it upon the ilisgrace which they had brought upon the mscgburh,
gens or family, by suffering themselves to be captured and bound.
' " Quod Ariovistus in eorum finibus consedisset, tertiamque
CH. VIII.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 189
the case to the extent of depriving the cultivator of
means sufficient for his support, he has no resource
but to place himself in dependence upon some
wealthier man, and lose, together with his lot op>
K\npoc, the right to form an integral part of the
state : the degree of his dependence, and the con-
sequent comparative suffering to himself, may vary
with a multitude of circumstances ; but the one fact
still remains, viz. that he is in the mund or hand
of another, represented in the state by that other,
and consequently, in the most emphatic sense of
the word, unfree.
It is now generally admitted that this must have
been the case with the whole population in some
districts, who thus became dependent upon a few
intrusive lords : but still these populations cannot
be said to have stood in that peculiar relation to
the conquerors, which the word servus strictly im-
plies towards an owner. The utmost extent of their
subjection probably reached no further than the
payment of tribute, the exclusion from military
duty and the standing under a protectorate*. In-
glorious and easy, when once the dues of the lord
were paid, they may even have rejoiced at being
spared the danger of warfare and the laborious suit
partem agri Sequani qui esset optimus totius Galliae, occupavisset ; ct
nunc de altera parte tertia Sequanos decedere iuberct." Cces. Bell. Gall,
i. 32. The same proportion of a third, sometimes however in produce,
not land, occurs in other cases : Eichhom, Deut. Staatsges. i. 161 seq.
4 23, with the accompanying quotations.
* This is the condition of the Perioecians in Laconia, with the ex-
ception that these were called upon for military service. The Helotae
or Penettae were more nearly praedial serfs.
190 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of the folcmdt, and forgotten that self-government
is the inherent right and dignity of man, in the
convenience of having others to defend and rule
them. Moreover the territorial subjection was not
necessarily a juridical one : indeed some of the Teu-
tonic conquerors recognized as positive law, the
right of even the dependent Romans and Provin-
cials to be judged and taxed according to the rules
and maxims of Roman, not Salic or Langobardic,
jurisprudence : and this, when carried out in the
fullest detail with respect to the various tribes at
any time united under one supreme head, consti-
tutes what is now called the system of Personal
Eighty whereby each man enjoyed the law and forms
of law to which he was born, without the least
reference to the peculiar district in which he might
happen to live ; in other words, that he carried his
own law about, whithersoever he went, as a quality
attached to his own person, and not in the slightest
degree connected with or dependent upon any par-
ticular locality. In this way Alamanni, Baiowari,
Saxons, Frisians, Langobards, Romans, Gallic pro-
vincials and Slavonic populations, were all united
under the empire of the Salic and Ripuarian Franks^
The peculiar circumstances under which the con-
quest took place must, of course, have defined the
relations under which the subject stood to the ruling
state. It is conceivable that the conquerors might
not want land, but be contented with glory and
* This led by degrees to the vast power and influence of all the
clergy, who were originally Roman, and who, whatever their natioD
might be, lived under the Roman law, ''per clericalem honorem."
CH. viii.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 191
pillage; or they might not be able to seize and
retain the conquered territory : or again they may
have required new settlements for themselves and
their allies, to obtain which they waged a war of
extermination. Thus the Suevi, although unable
to expel the Ubii altogether from their territory,
yet succeeded in rendering them tributary^ ; while
in Thuringia, the Franks and their Saxon allies
seized all the laud, slaying, expelling or completely
reducing the indigenous inhabitants to slavery.
Another and curious instance may be cited from a
comparatively late period, when the little island of
Man was invaded, conquered and colonized by the
Norwegian Godred. ** Godredus sequenti die opti-
onem exercitui suo dedit, ut si mallent, Manniam
inter se dividere et in ea habitare, vel cunctam
substantiam terrae accipere et ad propria remeare.
Hiis autem magis placuit totam insulam vastare,
et de bonis illius ditari, et sic ad propria reverti.
Grodredus autem paucis qui secum remanserunt
de insulanis, australem partem insulae, et reliquiis
Mannensium aquilonarem tali pacto concessit, ut
nemo eorum aliquando auderet iure haereditario
sibi aliquam partem terrae usurpare. Unde accidit
ut usque in hodiernum diem tota insula solius regis
sit, et omnes redditus eius ad ipsum pertineant'."
The not being able to dispose of property heredi-
tarily is the true badge and proof of slavery.
' Caesar, Bell. GaU. iv. 3. The Franks imposed a tribute of hides
upon the Frisians : we hear also of tribute paid them by the Thurin*
gians, Saxons and Slavic races.
^ Chron. Manniae. MS. Cott. Jul. A. VII. fol. 32.
192 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Tacitus draws the great distiDctioD between the
different degrees of servitude among the Grermans.
He tells us that the unsuccessful gambler who bad
staked and lost his liberty and the free disposal of
his own body upon one fatal cast of the dice, would
voluntarily submit to be bound and sold^ but that
it was not usual for them to reduce their other serfs
to the condition of menials ; they only demanded
from them a certain amount of produce (or, un-
questionably, of labour in the field or pasture), and
then left them the enjoyment of their own dwell-
ings and property*. The general duties of the
house, beyond such supplies, which were provided
for among the Romans by the ministeria per familiam
descriptay were left among the Germans to the wife
and children of the householder^. It will be de-
sirable to follow a somewhat similar distinction in
' " Sen'os conditionis huius per commercia traduut, ut se quoque
pudore victoriae exsolvant." Germ. xxiv. The last member of the
sentence is a bit of imaginative morality which we shall acquit the
Germans of altogether. The ver>' word caeteris in the next sentence
shows cleai'ly enough that if they did sell some slaves conditionis kuius,
they kept others for menial functions.
' " Caeteris serais, non in nostrum morem descriptis per familiam
ministeriis, utuntur. Suam quisque sedem, suos penates regit. Fra-
menti modum dominus, aut pecoris, aut vestis, ut colono, iniungit ; et
servus hactenus paret." Germ. xxv. This amounts to no more than
the description of a certain class of oiu* own copyholders, of the Sla-
vonic holder in Bohemia or Grahcia, and the peasant on a noble session
in Hungar}'.
' This is the obvious meaning of the passage, which has however
been disputed, in defiance of sense and Latin : see Walther's edition,
vol. iv. 68. The general rule in the text is true, but where there
were slaves they were used in the house, under the superintendence of
the family. This of course applies more strongly to later historiciil
periods, when the slaves (domestics) had become much more nume-
rous, and the ladies much less domestic.
CH. VIII.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 193
treating of the different kinds of slaves ; and having
shown that one class of the unfree are those who
have been partially dispossessed by conquest, but
retain their personal freedom in some degree, to
proceed to those who are personally unfree, the
mere chattels of a lord who can dispose of them at
his pleasure, even to the extent of sale, mutilation
and death. The class we have hitherto been ob-
serving is that intended by the term Laet in Anglo-
saxon, litus, Lito, Lazzo, etc. in German monu-
ments \ and ^he Laeti of the Romans, applied by
them to the auxiliary Germans settled on 'imperial
land, and bound to pay tribute and perform military
service. They formed, as Grimm has well observed,
a sort of middle class among the unfree ; compri-
sing the great majority of those who, without being
absolutely their own masters, were yet placed some-
what above the lowest and most abject condition
of man, which we call slavery. This condition
among our forefathers was termed j^edwet ; the ser^
vus was )7e6w, the ancilla J?e6wen ; or, as the origi-
nal serfs of the English were the vanquished Bri-
tons, Wealh and Wyln.
Without confining ourselves to the definition in
the law of Henry the First, we may distribute the
different kinds of slaves into classes, according to
the different grounds of slavery*. Thus they are
> Deut. Rechtsalt. p. 305.
^ " Seiri alii natura, alii facto> et alii empcione, et alii redempcione,
alii mia vel alterius dacione servi, et si quae sunt aliae 8]>ecics huius-
modi; qoas tamen onmes volumus sub unoservitutismembroconstitui,
quern casum ponimus appellari, ut ita dictum sit, servi alii casu, alii
genitura." LI. Hen. I. hxvi. § 3.
VOL. I. O
194 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
serfs casu or naiura, and the serfs casu comprise
serfs by the fortune of war, by marriage, by settle-
ment, by voluntary surrender, by crime, by superior
legal power, and by illegal power or injustice. The
remaining class are serfs natura, or by birth.
The serfs by fortune of war were those who were
not left under the public law to enjoy a portion of
their ancient freedom and possessions, but were
actually reduced to a state of praedial or menial
servitude by their captors, and either reserved for
household drudgery or sold, at their ^irbitrary will.
The Cassandra and Andromache of Grecian story
stand here side by side with our own Grerman Gu-
drun. This part of the subject has received suffi-
cient illustration from the tale of the thane Imma,
already quoted from Beda.
The serf by marriage was the free man or free
woman who contracted that bond with a slave : in
this case the free party sank to the condition of the
unfree, among some at least of the German races.
The Salic law is explicit upon this point both with
respect to man and woman': among the Ripuarian
Franks it was enacted thus* : *• If a free Ripuarian
woman hath followed a Ripuarian serf, let the king
or the count otler unto her a sword and a spindle:
if she accept the sword, let her therewith slay the
serf; if the spindle, let her abide with him in ser-
** Si quis mscnuus anciliAQi alienjLm sibi in coniugiam socuiTerit,
i(tse cum en iu ^'nitutem incUniv.ir/* Lex Sal. xiv. II. ** Si iagcnaft
tVmiua uiiqueiuounque ile illis i. e. raptoribus uon ingenuisr suaTolmi-
tato MN:u;a tuorit, iiigeuiiiiatcui >4iam penUu.** L^x Sal. xiv. 7-
• U\ Rip. Iviii. IS.
CB. VIII.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 195
▼itude." In this case the Burgundian law' com-
manded both parties to be slain ; but if the rela-
tives of the woman would not put her to death, she
became a serf of the king« Saxo Grammaticus cites
a similar law for Denmark^. There is no evidence
of the Anglosaxon practice in this respect, but it
appears unlikely that the case should be of com-
mon occurrence. Probably purchase and emanci-
pation always preceded such marriages, and the
law of Henry the First makes no mention of this
among the grounds of slavery^.
The serf by settlement is he who has taken up
his abode in a district exclusively inhabited by the
unfree ; and to this refers the German expression
•* Die luft macht eigen," i. e. the air makes the serf.
There is no distinct Anglosaxon provision on the
subject, but perhaps we may include in this class
some at least of those who taking refuge on a lord's
land, and among his sdcmen, without any absolute
and formal surrender of their freedom, did actu-
ally become his serfs and liable to the services due
to him from all their neighbours'*. The generality
* Lex Bnrg. xxxv. 2, 3. ' Hist. Dan. lib. v. p. 85.
' The following proverbs are founded upon tbis legal custom : —
** Trittst du meine benne, so wirst du mein babn."
"Die unfreie band ziebt die freie nacb sich."
" En formariage le pire emportc Te bon."
^ Sucb may also bave been malefactors, wbo sougbt an asylum in
church or other privileged lands, and wbo sometimes formed a very
considerable number of dependants or retainers: thus, "Contraxit
universam iuventutem Uoulandiae [Hulland in Lincolnsbire] strenu-
isaimus comes Alganis, — uo^ cum cohorte Croylandiae mouastcrii,
videlicet CC bellatoribus robustissimis, co quod maxima pars illorum
de fiigitivis fuerat." Hist. Ingulf, p. 865.
02
196 THE S-\XOXS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
however of such cases fall under the next following
head, viz. —
The serfs by surrender, the sua dalione senms of
Henry's law^ the servus dedititius^ and giaf)>r8el of
the Norse law. Among these Grimm numbers the
serfs whose voluntary submission so much surprised
the Roman philosopher. Even the law of the Ger-
mans, so generally favourable to liberty, contem-
plates and provides for the case of such a voluntary
servitude ^ This might arise in various ways. For
example, a time of severe scarcity, such as are only
too often recorded in our ancient annals, unques-
tionably drove even the free to the cruel alternative
of either starvation or servitude : ^' Subdebant se
pauperes servitio, ut quantulumcunque de alimento
porrigerent," says Gregory of Tours*; Gildas tells
us a similar tale of the Britons^ ; and even as late
as the Norman conquest we find G^atflsed, a lady,
directing by her will the manumission of all those
who had bent their heads in the evil days for food*.
* '' Si liber homo spontauca voluntate vel forte necessitate coactns,
nobili, sou libero, sen etiam lito, in personam et in servitium liti se
siibdiderit." Lex Frcs. xi. 1. " Ut nullum liberum liceat insenrire. . . .
quamvis pau))er sit, tamen libertatem suam non perdat nee hereditatem
suam, nisi ex spontanea voluntate se alicui tradcre voluerit, hoc potes-
tatem liabeat faciendi." Lex Bajuv. vi. 3. The Anglosaxon law gave
this power ot* voluntar)* suiTender to a l>oy of thirteen. See Tbeod.
Poenit. xxix. Thorjie, ii. V.K
* Gregor. Turon. vii. 45.
^ "Intcrea fames dira nc famosissima vagis ac nutabundis haeret^
quae midtos eonim cruentis compellit praedonibus sine dilatione victas
dare manus, ut pauxillum ad refocillandam animam cibi oapcrent.*'
Hist. Brit. cap. x\'ii.
* " Ealle «a men te hconon heora heifod for hyra mete on tSun
yflum dagum." C<h\. Dip. No. 925. The instance is, I believe, a aoli-
tani- one in our records, but the cases must have been numerous.
CH. VI u.] THE UXFREE. THE SERF. IJ*7
Another was no doubt, debt, incurred either through
poverty or crime ; and when the days of fierce and
cruel warfare had passed away, this must have been
the most fertile source of servitude. I have not
found among the Anglosaxon remains any exam-
ple of slavery voluntarily incurred by the insolvent
debtor, but the whole course of analogy is in favour
of its existence, and Marculf supplies us with the
formulary by which, among the Franks, the debtor
surrendered his freedom to the creditor. It may be
presumed that this servitude had a term, and that
a certain period of servile labour was considered
equivalent to the debt. The case of crime was un-
doubtedly a very common one, especially as those
whose necessities were the most likely to bring
them in collision with the law were those also who
were least able to fulfil its requirements, by pay-
ment of the fines attached to their offences. The
criminal whose own means were insufficient, and
whose relatives or lord would not assist him to make
up the legal fine he had incurred, was either com-
pelled to surrender himself to the plaintiff*, or to
some third party who paid the sum for him, by
agreement with the aggrieved party. This was
technically called J^ingian^ and such a serf was
* ^' And eiic heo hafat^ gefreod '5a men Sa heo Hngede act Cwacs-
patrike ; " And she hath also freed the men whom she interceded for
with Cospatrick. Cod. Dip. No. 925. Marculf gives the Prankish
fonnukry, as follows ; it is the case of one who has been redeemed
from capita] punishment : " £t ego de rebus mcis, imde vestra beuc>
fida rependere debuissem, non habeo ; idco pro hoc statum ingenuitatis
mcae vobis visas sum obnoxiasse> ita ut ab hac die de vestro scrvitio
penitus non discedam." Form. Mai'culf. ii. 28.
198 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
called a wite)?e6w, convict, or criminal slave. These
are the servi redemptione of Henry the First.
Serfs by force or power are not those comprised
in the first class of these divisions, or serfs by the
fortune of war : these of course have lost their free-
dom through superior force. But the class under
consideration are such as have been reduced to ser-
vitude by the legal act of those who had a right to
dispose of them ; as, for instance, a son or daughter
by the act of the father ^ It is painful to record
a fact so abhorrent to our Christian feelings, but
there cannot be the least doubt that this right was
both admitted and acted upon. The father, upon
whose will it literally depended whether his child
should live or not, had a right at a subsequent pe-
riod to decide whether the lot of that child should
be freedom or bondage^. Illegitimate children, the
offspring of illicit intercourse with his wyln or
J?e6wen, may have formed the majority of those thus
disposed of by a father : but in times of scarcity,
it is to be feared that even the issue of legitimate
^ The wife, by the act of the husband, I think very doubtful, in point
of right. In point of fact this case may have occurred much more fre-
quently than our records vouch.
^ The illegitimate offspring of his own wife, a husband was not
likely to spare. An old German tale records this fsct. Her lord re-
turning from a long absence and finding a child which could not be
his own in the house, was told by the faithless mother, that when
walking in the fields a flake of snow had faUen into her bosom and
impregnated her. Afterwards the husband took the child to Italy
and sold him there, excusing himself to the mother by the aaaeitioii
that the heat of the sun had melted the snow-child.
" De nive conceptum quem mater adultera finxit ;
Ilunc dominus vendens liquefactum sole retulit."
I..]
THE LNFREE. THE SERF.
marriage was not always spared'. The Frisians,
when oppressed by the amount of Roman tribute,
sold their wives and children : " Ac prime boves
ipsos, mox agros, postretno corpora coniugura aut
liberorum servitio tradebant^:" this is however an
exceptional case, and the sale of wives and children
appears only to have been resorted to as a last re-
source. But the very restriction to the exercise of
this right, within particular limits of time — which we
may believe the merciful intervention of the church
to have brought about — Bpeaks only too plainly for
its existence in England. Even as late as the end
of the seventh century, and after Christianity had
been established for nearly one hnndred years in
this country, we find the following very distinct
and clear recognitions of the right, in books of
discipline compiled by two several archbishops for
the guidance of their respective clergy. In the
Poenitential of Theodor, archbishop of Canterbury,
occurs this passage : " Pater tilium suum septem
annornm, necessitate compulsus, potestatem habet
tradere in servitium ; deinde, sine voluntate HUi,
licentiam tradendi non habet ^." In the somewhat
' lingBrd (A. S. Cburdi, i. 45) Mcu»e» the pagan Saxoni of Klling
their children into foreign Blavery. I am not sure that this ii not &■-
serted too itrongly by thii Mtiniahle author, who Biipears unjustly lo
dcpreciatt: the Khxoos, in onler to enhance the merit of theii con-
vertor*. t ubuit the pri)l)aliility of the fact, only because the right ii
a (Urect corolkry from the paternal power, ftnil becauic ArcbbUhopi
Theodor and Ei^berht [tbe Sriit a Roman missionary) rect^niie it;
but 1 csnuut auppoK itn excrcisu to bnve lieen common.
' T»c. Annal. iv. 72.
' Theodori, Arch. Cant, Liber Poenitentialis, xxviii. Thorpe, A. S.
Lam, ii, 19.
2<K) THE SAXONS L\ ENGLAND. [book i.
later Confessionale of Ecgberht, archbishop of York,
"we find : '' Pater potest filium suum, magna neces-
sitate compulsus, in servitutem tradere, usque ad
septimum annum ; deinde, sine voluntate fiUi, eum
tradere non potest *." It is however very remark-
able that in the Poenitential of the same Ecgberht
the sale of a child or near relative is put down as
an offence punishable by excommunication ^. These
are the servi alterius datione of Henry the First.
The next head includes the serfs by reason of
crime. The distinction between these and the class
of criminals who became slaves through compact
or redemption, is that in their case servitude was
the direct punishment of their offence, and not
merely an indirect and mediate consequence. It
seems to me at least that this sense strictly lies at
the foundation of two laws of Eadweard, j£lfred's
son ; of these the former says*, " If any one through
conviction of theft forfeit his freedom, and deliver
himself up, and his kindred forsake him, and he
' Coufcj&ionale Eogberhti. Arcb. Ebor. xxvii. Thorpe, ii. 153.
' The only way of gettiiig rid of tbb itawofcc eoDtndietioii is, eitlier
to assume the passage to be a later intopolatioii, wbieh there is no
grv>uml for. save the coutradictiou itself; or to take the passage in con-
uection with Theodor. Poen. xlii. § 3, 4, 5, which refer to sale of a
Christian among Jews or Heathens, and gcneraUr to firandnlrirt or il-
legal sale. But then, one cannot understand why the words " infimtem
»uum im>|^um. rel proximum sunm cognatum ^ should hare been in-
troiUieetl by Ecgberht, though omitted by Theodor. Perhaps we may
ixToncile the pifcjsages, by assuming Lcgberbt to refer to an illegal sale,
\i7. when tho child nss abore seven vear» old. but still in the
V4tcg\uy »s thi^'se lor wh*we safety Theodor provides by die
clesuLstic&l i>eualt>-. The child or very near rebtaon were p te cisel y
tlKxse who were mo(SS Uable to be m " alteram regiocem sedncti, fnrativ**
etc.
CH. vui.] THE UNFREK. THE 8EKF. 201
know not who shall make hot for him ; let him then
be worthy of the J^edwwork which thereunto apper-
taineth ; and let the wer abate from the kindred."
Again, '^ If a freeman work upon a festival day,
let him lose his freedom, or pay the wite or lah-
slite'." This alternative is an alleviation of the
strict law : but as forfeiture undoubtedly followed
ujK>n theft and other offences, the thief could not
expect to make hot for himself, and was always
exposed to the danger of incurring slavery, should
another make it for him. It is however possible
that his relations may have interfered to save him,
without the reducing him to a servus dedititius ; or
even if he were so reduced, he became the serf of
him that engaged (}7ingode) for him ; whereas, if
not rescued at all, he must have been a fiscal serf,
in the hands of the crown or the ger^fa, its officer.
There exists therefore a perceptible difference be*
tween the witej^edw whom the law made so, (even
though it permitted a merciful alternative,) and
the wite]7e6w whose punishment would have been a
mulct which exceeded his means. The law of other
German tribes numbers slavery among its punish-
ments without any reservation at all : thus among
the Visigoths, he that assisted in the escape of a
serf, and neither restored him nor his worth to the
owner, was to become a slave in his place*. By
the Bavarian law, he that could not pay a wergyld
due from him, was to be enslaved together with his
wife and children^. Grimm'* cites the following case :
' Eacl. and Gu«. § 7. ' LI. Visig. ix. § 1, 2.
' LI. BajuT. i. § 11. « D. Rechtsalt. p. 329.
202 THE SiVXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
*^ Richilda, quae libertatem suam fomicando pol-
luit, amisit .... filiae illorum liberae permaneant,
. • / . nisi forte adulterio vel fornicatione polluan-
tur." It is true that the Anglosaxon laws do not
give us any enactment of a corresponding nature :
nevertheless I entertain no doubt that fornication
was a ground of slavery in the case both of man
and woman. Toward the end of the ninth century,
Denewulf, bishop of Winchester, leased the lands
of Alresford to a relative of his own, on condition
of a yearly rent : ' ' Is equidem insipiens, adulterans,
stuprum, propriam religiose pactatam abominans,
scortum diligens, libidinose commisit. Quo reatu,
omni substantia peculiali recte privatus est, et prae-
fatum rus ab eo abstractum rex huius patriae suae
ditioni avidus devenire iniuste optavit\" However
unjust the canons of Winchester might think it, it
is clear that the Witena-gemot did not ; for the bi-
shop was obliged to pay 120 mancusses in gold to
the king, to have back his own land. Again in the
year 1002, we hear of a lady forfeiting her lands to
the king, by reason of fornication *. The conse-
quences of this destitution can hardly have been
other than servitude : and it mav be at once admitted
that where there were no lands to forfeit, servitude
was the recognized punishment of the offence.
Theodor^ when apportioning the penance due to it,
says, '' Si intra viginti annos puella et adolescens
peccaverint, i annum, et in secundo iii quadragesi-
mas ac legitimas ferias. Si propter hoc peccatum
> Cod. Dip. No. 601. ' nMd. No. 1296.
' Lib. Poenit. xtL ^ 3. Thorpe, ii. 9.
CH. vin.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 203
servitio bumano addicti sunt, iii quadragesimas."
Again, ^'Maritus si ipse seipsum in furtoaut forni-
catione senrom facit, vel quocunque peccatoS" etc.
The last division of the servi casu comprises
those who have been reduced to slavery by violence
or fraud, in short illegally. Illegitimate children,
poor relations, unfriended strangers, young persons
without power of self-defence, may thus have been
seduced or forced into a servile condition of life,
escape from which was always difficult, inasmuch
as there is necessarily a prima facie case against
the.serf, and he can have no standing in the court
composed only of the free. To this head seem re-
ferable the passages I have already alluded to in
Theodor's Poenitential*, and which I will now cite
at length : ^^ Si quis Christianus alterum Christia-
num suaserit, ac in alteram regionem seduxerit,
ibique eum vendiderit pro proprio servo, ille non
est dignus inter Christianos requiem habere, donee
redimat eum et reducat ad proprium locum." And
again : ** Si quis Christianus alterum Christianum
vagantem reppererit, eumque furatus fuerit ac ven-
diderit, non debet habere inter Christianos requiem,
donee redimat eum, et pro illo furto septem anuos
poeniteat^."
The other great division includes all the servi
natura^ nativiy or serfs by reason of unfree birth ;
and as these are necessarily the children either of
parents who are both unfree, or (under particular
circumstances) of one unfree parent, it follows that
' Thorpe, ii. 9, note 4. ' Supra, p. 200, note 2.
' Lib. Poenitent. Theod. xlii. § 4. 6. See also xziii. § IS.
2in THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book l.
their hereditary condition may arise from any one
of the conditions heretofore under examination.
Ail the legitimate children of two serfs are them-
selves irrevocably serfs ^ : but some distinctions
arise where the parents are of unequal condition,
as where the mother is free, the father unfree, and
vice versa. In this respect the law was very dif-
ferent among the different tribes : the Swedish law
declared in favour of liberty*, the German generally
the other way^. The Sachsenspiegel decides that
the children follow the father's right^, and similarly
the law of Henry the First* has, ** Si quis de s^rvo
patre natus sit et matre libera, pro servo reddatur
occisus ;" and again, '' Si pater sit liber et mater
ancilla, pro libero reddatur occisus ;" on the gene-
ral principle that '' semper a patre non a matre ge-
neracionis ordo texitur," which Fortescue confirms,
saying<>\ '* Lex Angliae nunquam matris, sed semper
patris conditionem imitari partum iudicat, ut ex
libera etiam ex nativa non nisi liberum liber ge-
nei*et, et non nisi servuui in matrimonio procreare
potest servus." Fleta's argument rests upon the
same doctrine'. Glanville however appears to adopt
the contrary view*, which agrees with the maxim
' Tlieod. Poen. .w i. § 33. Eogb. Poeu. 3txv.
* IVut. Rechtsalt. p. CiiM. ' Ibid. p. 324.
' 5Whs. iii. 73. * LI. Hen. I. horii. § 1, 2.
* Commeuil. cmp. xlii. ' Lib. i. cap. 3. § 2.
** Sunt autem luktivi a prima nativitate $ua ; quemadznoduin si quis
fiierit prvxreasus ex uativo et nativa, ille quidcm natiTus naadlvr.
itieM fs: fi ex patre iibero et metre matira. Sed si ex matn liben cC
jmtre nativo. idem est iliceudum quantum ad status inte^tatem.** Lib.
V. i-ajK ti. But the (mssace in italic is wanting in so
and may pgssibly bare been tbe gk)^ «r adibuon of a
CH. viii.J THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 205
of the civil law, ** Partus sequitur ventrem." To
the English principle I am bound to give my ad-
hesion, inasmuch as the natural and the original
social law can recognize none but the father, either
in the generation, or in the subsequent rule, of the
family : whatever alleviation the practices of chi-
valry, the worship of the Virgin mother, and the
Christian doctrine of the equality of man and wo-
man before Grod, may have introduced, the original
feeling is on the father's side, and the foundations
of our law are based upon the all-sufficiency of
his right. A woman is in the mund or keeping of
a man ; society exists' for men only, that is, for
women merely as far as they are represented by a
man.
That this original right was interfered with by
the law of property is not denied. But here dif-
ferent cases are to be considered. First, whether
the serf or nativa is the property of the party who
unites with him or her. Secondly whether the free
party unite with some other owner's serf or neif ;
next, whether the issue are born in wedlock or not ;
and lastly how far the public law and right is in-
volved in the question of freedom and servitude.
The last consideration in fact involves the first,
because, under the first, except in the case of hardly
intelligible neglect, marriage could never take place
between two unequal parties at all : emancipation
must have preceded the ceremony ; while the civil
law would of course rule that the ceremony itself,
taking place by consent, was an act of emancipa-
tion not to be gainsaid. It is therefore with regard
206 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
to third parties only that a question can arisen
There is no proof that such a question ever did arise
among the Anglosaxons, or that it was thought
needful to provide for it by law: and the earlier
evidences with which this book has especially to do
are either entirely silent, or so general in their ex-
pressions that we cannot decide from them upon a
particular case. In fact the whole argument is re-
duced to the second head, viz. where one parent is
the property of a third party, and where the child
is born in lawful wedlock ; for a child not so bom
is not subject to any law which binds the parents, is
nullius JiliuSf and can as little be injured as advan-
taged by the law.
In the strict Anglosaxon law there is no definite
decision on these points : the codes of other Ger-
man races, at the oldest period, are equally silent.
In later times indeed we have determinations ; but
these, as we have observed, are contradictory.
Perhaps we may take the doctrine of the Sachsen-
spiegel, coinciding as it does with the opinion of
many, probably a majority, of our own law-sages,
as the original one, especially as it is the only one
in accordance with other details of family life, and
with the supreme law of nature itself which leaves
' Of course ^ except mider circumstances which the Chrisdan clergy,
anil pmbably even the heathen priesthooil., — and if neither of these,
vet the universal human feehuj* — wouKl condemn^ the issue of such
marria^^ couhl not have been treatetl as uufree, during the life of the
father. Rut a question luiglit arisk.' after death, and on subsequent in-
hcnt;uuv by third parties. And cases mij;ht occur where the public
n;:ht n-ndereii it netvssar%- to take care that the unfree shoidd not en-
joy the atlvantages of freedom.
OH. Till.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 207
to the father the decision as to the life or death of
the child, as to its liberty or slavery. In this sense
then I agree with Sir John Fortescue and Sir Ed-
ward Coke^ It is to be remembered that we are
dealing now with the condition of the offspring,
not of the parent : the uncertainty that prevails
with respect to the latter, in the Angiosaxon law,
and the contradictory enactments of other German
codes have been already noticed.
But all that has been said applies solely to the
case of children born in lawful wedlock ; and
almost all the apparent contradictions which have
been noticed in our own law, arise from a want
of clear distinction on this point. The child of a
free father and unfree mother, if the parents were
not married, remained to the lord of the neif, ac-
cording to our expressive proverb, '' Mine is the
calf that is bom of my cow^" In Fleta's words^
the distinction is drawn most clearly, and they may
therefore stand here in place of my own : ** Servi
autem aut nascuntur aut fiunt ; nascuntur quidem
ex nativo et nativa solutis vel copulatis, et eius erit
servus in cuius potestate nasci contigerit"^ ; duin
tamen de soluta nativa, domini loci, quia sequitur
conditionem matris, a quocunque fuerit genitus,
libero vel nativo*. Si autem copulati fuerint et
' Co. Litt. § 187, 18B.
^ Take an instance, though with a wider application, from Shak-
speare^ Kmg John, act i. so. 2.
* Lib. i. cap. 3. § 2.
* That is, if the serfs of two different lords, then the child to follow
the mother.
* In the event of there being no marriage. The case of a marriage
is very different, and provided for in the next sentence.
208 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
genitus fuerit partus a libero, licet a nativa, partus
erit liber ; et si de servo et libera in matrimonio,
servus erit." Thus, here again the offspring (oU
lows the father, as soon as there is a marriage to
determine that there is an offspring at all, in law ;
but if there be no marriage, the chattel thrown into
the world, like any other waif or stray belongs
domino loci ; it has a value, can be worked or sold ;
it is treasure- trove of a sort, and as it belongs to
nobody else, falls to the lord, as a compensation
probably for the loss of his neif 's services during
pregnancy and the nonage of the child \
Whatever the origin of serfage may have been,
it can hardly be questioned that the lot of the serf
was a hard one; and this perhaps not so much
from the amount of labour required of him, as
from the total irresponsibility of the master, in the
eye of the law, as to all dealings between himself
and his Jjcow. The Christian clergy indeed did all
they could to mitigate its hardships, but when has
even Christianity itself been triumphant over the
selfishness and the passions of the mass of men ?
The early pagan Germans, though in general they
treated their serfs well, yet sometimes slew them,
under the influence of unbridled passion: ** Verbe-
rare servum ac vinculis et opere coercere rarum.
Occidere solent, non disciplina et severitate, sed
' Mr. Allen in his valuable notes upon the law of Henry the First
(published by Thorpe in his Anglosaxon Laws, i. 609-631) has some
remarks upon the whole subject, as considered by our Norman jurists.
His conclusions coincide generally with mine, and he says (p. 628),
*' The Mirror makes the marriage of the parents an essential condition
to the lil>erty of the offspring," etc.
CH. VIII.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 209
impetu et ira, ut inimicum, nisi quod impune est^"
The church affixed a special penance to the man-
slaughter of a woman by her mistress, impetu et
ira^ — ^an event which probably was not unusual,
considering the power of a lord over his J?e6wen
or female slave, — and generally, a penance for the
slaughter of a serf by his lord without judicial au-
thority '.
In contemplation of law, in fact, the slave is the
absolute property of his lord, a chattel to be dis*
posed of at the lord's pleasure, and having a value
only for the benefit of the lord, or of some public
authority in his place. The serf cannot represent
himself or others : his interests must be guarded by
others, for he himself has no standing in any pub-
lic court. He is not in any fri^borh, or association
for mutual guarantee, for he has nothing of his
own to defend, and no power to defend what another
has. If he be slain by a stranger, his lord claims
the damages, and not his children : if the lord him-
self slay him, it is but the loss of so much value,
— a horse, an ox, gone — more or less. Out of his
' Tac. Germ. xxv.
* " Si faemina, furore zeli aecensa, flagellia verberaverit ancillam
suam, ita ut infira diem tertium animam cruciatu effundat, et quod in-
certum sit, voluntate an casu Occident ; si voluntate, vii annos ; si casu,
per quinquemiii tempora^ ac legitima poenitentia, a communione pla-
cuit abstinere." Poen. Theod. xxi. § 13. " Si quis servum proprium,
sine conscientia iudicis, occiderit, excommunicatione vel poenitentia
bieimii reatum sanguinis emundabit." Ibid. § 12. Even as late as the
seventeenth centiuy in France, it appears that it was usual to flog the
valets, pages and maids, in noble houses. Tallemant des R^ux men-
tions a riot which arose in Paris from a woman's being whipped to
death by her mistress, in August 1651. Sec his IIistoriette.s^ viii. 80;
X. 255, etc.
VOL. I. P
210 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
death no feud can arise, for the relatives who al«
lowed him to fall into, or remain in slavery, have
renounced the family bond, and forfeited both the
wergyld and the mund. If he be guilty of wrong,
he cannot make compensation in money or in chat-
tels ; for he can have no property of his own save
his skin : thus his skin must pay for him^ and the
lash be his bitter portion. He cannot defend him-
self by his own oath or the oaths of friends and
compurgators, but, if accused, must submit to the
severe, uncertain and perilous test of the ordeal.
And if, when thus hunted down, he be found guilty,
severe and ignominious punishment, — amounting
in a case of theft, to death by flogging for men, by
burning, for women, — is reserved for him^ Na-
turally and originally there can be no limitation io
the amount or the character of labour imposed upon
him, and no stipulation for reciprocal advantage
in the form of protection, food or shelter. Among
the Saxons the wite]7edw at least appears to have
been bound to the soil, adscriptus glebae^^ conveyed
with it under the comprehensive phrase ** mid mete
and mid mannum :*' though in some few cases we
can trace a power, vested perhaps only in certaia
public authorities, of transferring the slave from
one estate to another^. Last, but most fearful of all,
* The corapcnsation for a flogging was called hidgcld.
2 LI. iESelst. iii. § 6. Thorpe, i. 219.
' Cod. Dipl. Nos. 311, 10/9.
* Ibid. No. 311. The serfs mentioned in tliis document were at first
attached to the royal vill of Bcusington ; but were now transferred to
the land of the church at Radnor, with their offspring, and their po-
sterity for ever.
CH. viii.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 211
the taint of blood descended to his offspring, and
the innocent progeny, to the remotest generations,
were born to the same miserable fate as bowed down
the guilty or unfortunate parent.
But yet there was a gleam of hope : one solitary
ray that made even the surrounding darkness to-
lerable, an(f may have cheered the broken-hearted
serf through years of unrequited toil and suffering.
The law that reduced him to slavery made it also
possible that he should be restored to freedom. It
did not shut from him this blessing, however dis-
tant it might seem. Tacitus knew of liberti among
the Germans, men who had been slaves, had been
manumitted, and were free^ Thus in yet pagan
times, general kindliness of disposition, habits of do-
mestic intercourse, perhaps the suggestions of self-
interest, may have tended to raise the condition of
the serf even to the restoration of freedom : but it
was the especial honour and glory of Christianity,
that while it broke the spiritual bonds of sin, it ever
actively laboured to relieve the heavy burthen of
social servitude. We are distinctly told that Bishop
Wilfrid, on receiving the grant of Selsey from
Caedwealha of Wessex, immediately manumitted
two hundred and fifty unfortunates, whom he found
there attached to the soil, — that those, whom by
baptism he had rescued from servitude to devils,
might by the grant of liberty be rescued from servi-
tude to man*. In this spirit of charity, the clergy
obtained respite from labour for the ]?e6w on the
^ Tac. Genu. xxv. » Bed. H. E. iv. 13.
p2
212 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book t.
Sabbath, on certain high festivals and on the days
which preceded or followed them'; the lord who
compelled his j>e6vf to labour between the sunset
on Saturday and the sunset on Sunday, forfeited
him altogether^ ; probably at first to the king or
the ger^fa ; but in the time of Cnut the serf thus
forfeited was to become folkfree^. To their merd-
fiil intervention it must also be ascribed that the
will of a Saxon proprietor, laic as well as clerical,
so constantly directs the manumission of a num-
ber of serfs, for the soul's heal of the testator^;
JElfred even goes so far as to give free power to
the serf of bequeathing to whomsoever he pleases,
whatever may have been given him for God's sake,
or he may have earned in his own moments of lei-*
sure^; and this provision, which probably implies a
prohibition to the lord of removing his labourer
arbitrarily from a plot of ground well cultivated by
his own efforts, tends to secure to the unfortunate
serf some interest in the produce of his industry :
the Hungarian will recognize in it the spirit of
Maria Theresia's Urbarium. It is moreover obvious
from many surviving documents, that, in the later
periods, the serf could purchase his own release^,
' Ll.Wihtr. § 9, 10. Ini, § 3. Edw. Gu«. § 7. ^J«elr. viii. § 2.
= LI. Ini, § 3. » Cnut, LI. Sec. § 45.
* Cod. Dipl. Nos. 716, 721, 722, 782, 788, 919, 925, 931, 946, 947.
957, 959, 981.
^ LI. i£lf. § 43. ^Selred (viii. § 2) permits tbe serf to labour on
his own account, three days before Michaelmas. Theodor (Poen. xix.
§ 30) and Ecgberht (Poen. Addit. § 35) forbid the lord to rob his serf
of what he may have acquired by his own industry. It was nevertheless
held by some that the serf could not purchase his own freedom.
^ This is true only of the Saxon, not of the Norman period. Glan-
I. VIll,]
THE CNFKEli. Till: SKIU'.
at least with the lord's consent', or be bought by
another for the purpose of manumission', or even
he borrowed on pledge for a term of years*, during
which his labour might be actively employed in
laying up the means of future freedom. It cannot
indeed be denied tbat the slave might be sold like
any other chattel, and that even as late as jE^el-
red and Cnut, the law ventured to proliibit no more
than the selling him into heathendom, or without
some fault on bis part* : nor can we believe that
acts of the grossest oppression and tyranny were
unfrequent. But from what has been already cited,
it must he evident that there was a constantly
growing tendency in favour of freedom, that the
clergy suggested every motive, and the law made
every possible effort, at least to diminish the more
grievous circumstances of servitude. It is more-
over to be borne in mind that a very large propor-
tion of the fieowas at any given time, were in reality
criminal serfs, convicts expiating their offences by
their sufferings. Taking all the circumstances into
consideration, I am disposed to think that the mere
material condition of the unfree population was not
necessarily or generally one of great hardship. It
vilk eipreiifly deiiiea that the aert' could redeem himself. " lUuiI ta-
men noUniliim eat, quod hod potest iiliquiii, in villenagio positus, liber-
Ulem suun propriis deDiuiis suis quaerere. Posset enim tunc n donjioo
■uo Rccuudum im ct cnnsuetudinem regni &d viUena^iim reTorari i quia
oiania catalia cuimtibel naliiH inlelligantvr tsie in polrstair domini
md, [perl quod propriii ilenuiiB suit vcrsui dominum suuni a ville-
iMgio te redimere non potent." Olanv. lib. v. cap. 5.
■ Cod. Di[d. Nos. 933, 934, 93S. 93fi, 981 (the 3Ut parapuph).
> Ibid. No. 981 (the 28th psragraph). • Ibid. No, 975.
* LI. JiSclr. V. § 1' ; vi. ^ !>. Cirnt, LI, Sec. i, 3.
214 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [booe i.
seems doubtful whether the labour of the serf was
practically more severe, or the remuneration much
less than that of an agricultural labourer in this
country at this day : his lord was bound to feed him'
for his own sake, and if, when old and worn out, be
wished to rid himself of a useless burthen, he could
by an act of emancipation hand over his broken*
down labourer to the care of a Church which, with
all its faults, never totally lost sight of the divine
precepts of charity ^ We are not altogether with-
out the means of judging as to the condition of the
serf, and the provision made for him ; although the
instances which we may cite are not all either of one
period, or one country, or indeed derived firom
compilations having the authority of law, they show
sufficiently what opinion was entertained on this
subject by some among the ruling class. In the
prose version of Salomon and Saturn*, it is said
that every serf ought to receive yearly seven hun-
dred and thirty loaves, that is, two loaves a day,
beside morning meals and noon meals ; this can-
not be said to be a very niggardly portion. Again,
the valuable document entituled, ''Rectitudines
singularum personarum^," gives details respecting
* The RomADS used to slay their infirm and useless serfs, or expose
them in an island of the Tiber. Claudius made seTeral reguktioni
in their favour. " Cum quidam aegra et affecta mancipia in trignWi
Aesculapii taedio medendi exponerent, omnes qui exponerentuTy liberos
esse sanxit, nee redire in ditionem domini, si couTaluissent ; quod si
quis necare mallet quem quam exponere, caedis crimine teneri.'* Suet,
in Claud. 25.
' See supra, p. 38, note 1.
' Thorpe, A. S. Laws, i. 432, and a later edition hy Dr. H. Leo of
Halle, 1S42.
'■]
THE UNFREE. THE SERF.
the allowaoces made to the serfs in various prxdiaL
or domestic capacities, which would induce a belief
not only that they were tolerably provided for, but
even enabled by the exertion of skill and industry
to lay up funds of their own towards the purchase
of their freedom, the redemption of their children,
or the alleviation of their own poverty. From the
same authority and others, we may conclude that
on an estate in general, serfs discharged tiie func-
tions of ploughman, shepherd, goatherd, swineherd,
oxherd and cowherd, bam-man, sower, hayward,
woodward, dajrymaid, and beadle or messenger ;
while the geneat, cotsetia, gebur, beocere and ga-
folswan were probably poor freemen from whom a
certain portion of labour could be demanded in
consideration of their holdings', or a certain rent
(gafol) reserved out of the produce of the hives,
flocks or herds committed to their care : and these
formed the class of the Ltut and Esne, poor mer-
cenaries, serving for hire or for their land, but not
yet reduced so low in the scale as the J^ow or
wealh. It is not only probable that there would be
distinctions in the condition of various serfs upon
the same estate, but even demonstrable : it can
hardly be doubted that men placed in situations
of some trust, as the ploughman, oxherd or beadle,
were in a somewhat higher class, and of better con-
dition, than the mere hewers of wood and drawers
' Thi* ia the Robot of Slavonic
maj) law i a mere labour-mtt,
accuniuUted t^spital, aud wealth (for
land, and limbg wberewith to till it.
I, the Oprralio of our Nor^
I rouutries nhere thcru U n<
of maiketi) coiuiitt otily ii
216 TU£ SAX0N6 IN ENGLAND/ [booe i.
of water. Now in a charter of the year 902, we
find an interesting statement, which I must take
leave to cite ' : Denewulf bishop of Winchester
and his Chapter had leased land at Eblesbume to
Beomwulf, a relative of the bishop : the Chapter
sent word to Beomwulf that the men, that is the
serfs, were to remain attached to the land — '* Vset
%a men mdston on %am lande wunian " — whether
he, or any other, held it : ^^ %onne wseron Sser )>reo
wite))e6we men bdrbserde, ^ )>reo )>e6wb8erde, Va
me salde bisceop *i %a fiiwan t6 rihtre sehte *i hira
team :" ** Now there were three convicts biirboerde
and three J^edwbserde, whom the bishop and the
brethren gave me, together with their offspring."
The expressions used in this passage seem to show
that some of the wite)>e6we men upon this estate
enjoyed a higher condition than others *, being cul^
tivators or boorSy while the others were more strictly
slaves. The very curious and instructive dialogue
of iElfric numbers among the serfs the yr^ling or
ploughman, whose occupation the author neverthe-
less places at the bead of all the crafts, with perhaps
a partial exception in favour of the smith's ^.
Servitude ceased by voluntary or compulsory
manumission on the part of the lord; the latter
case being that where the services of the slave were
forfeited through the misconduct of the master.
> Cod. Dip. No. 1079.
' The compounds of bdrde cannot denote an^ihing but a permanent
condition or quality ; they are nearly equivalent to the compounds of
cund, excepting that they are necessarily ^persoaa/.
' Thorpe, Analecta.
CH. viii.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 217
And as loss of liberty must be considered in the
main as a consequence of the public law, under-
stood in the general, and expressed in the parti-
cular case, so must it I think be asserted, that at
Jirst emancipation depended in some degree upon
the popular will as well as the mercy or caprice of
private individuals. It is no doubt true, that at
a period when what we now call crimes were ra-
ther considered in the light of civil injuries, for
which satisfaction was due to the parties injured, it
might seem reasonable to leave the latter in pos-
session of the power to assess the minimum, at
least, of his own satisfaction : to allow him to de-
cide how long a period of servitude he would con-
tent himself with, if he chose to renounce the right
he possessed of claiming an endless one ; or lastly,
to reward good and faithful service by cancelling
the consequences of an earlier wrong. But eman-
cipation has two very different effects : it not only
relieves the serf from personal burthens and dis-
abilities, but it restores or introduces a citizen to
political and public rights. In a state of society
where landed possession and the exercise of such
rights are inseparable, a grave difficulty arises, viz.
how can provision be made for the newly emanci-
pated, and now free man ? If the community will
consent, and possess the means, to create a new free
Hide for his occupation, of course the matter can
be managed ; but this consent renders the eman-
cipation in reality the act of the state, not of the
manumittor. Or the lord on restoring freedom to
his serf may endow him with a portion of his own
218 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book l
land, sufficient for easy or even wealthy subsistence ;
but this will not make him fully a free man, give
him his full position in the iroXcrev/ua or polity, and
place him on a level with the free inhabitants of
the Mark.
Till periods very late in comparison with that
which is assumed in the course of this aipiment, a
similar principle prevails in our legislation upon this
subject. Glanville says, '^ It is also to be observed
that a man may enfranchise his serf in respect of
the persons of himself or his heirs, but not in re-
spect of others. For if any one, having once been
a serf, and afterwards having attained to freedom in
this manner, should be produced in court against a
third party to support a cause, or for the purpose
of making any law of the land, he may justly
be removed therefrom, if his birth in villenage
should be objected to and proved against him in
the court, even though the serf so enfranchised
should have come to be promoted unto a knight's
degree^"
Later still, liberty seems considered as a privilege
the value of which mis:ht be diminished bv its ex-
tension ; and Fleta sdves as a reason whv the lord
is bound to pursue his fugitive serf, ^' lest by iie^-
ligeficf of the lords, serts should prevail to assert
their own freedom*."
On consideration therefore of all the facts, we
must conclude that where full and complete manu-
mission was intended, the transaction could oolv be
T. cifk^du * UktcifL7»i7»&
VUI.]
THE UNFREE. THE SERF.
completed in the presence and with the co-opera-
tion of the community, whereby all claims besides
those of the manumitting lord would be formally
estopped for the future. And this would be nearly
equivalent to the admission (rare indeed) of a metic
or other stranger to the full rights of citizenship at
Athens, which could hardly have effect without a
\{ili<j>iana or deliberate vote of the whole people'.
Accordingly even in the laws of William the Con-
queror and Henry the First we find evidence that
the completest publicity was given to formal manu-
missions^; and it is not unreasonable to believe
that this refers back to a time when such publicity
may have consisted in the presentation of the serf
before the assembled folcm6t, and their expressed
or implied assent to the solemn act.
Practically however, it is probable that the dis-
solution of servitude did not absolutely confer all
the privileges of freedom. The numerous acts of
manumission directed by the wills of great land-
' The "Uvea who fought on the Athenian side at Arginusae were
mjuumitted and enrolled among the PlataeaiiB, being tliui admitted into
the woKlrtvita. We learn this from a fragment of IlellaiiicuB, jireserred
in the Scholiast on Ariet. Ran. 7^> '■ the words are, rois miyraviiajd-
aarrac ioiXovt 'EXXowinfr ■j»|crii' i\iv$ipii6riiim, (ai iyypa^irras it
nXaraiiis miiiwokiTfitaSai airoU. Sec also Niebtihi (Hare- and Thirl-
wall), p. 'JCA. The Langobords upon a soinewliat similar uecuion manu-
mitted their serfs. " Igitiir Longohardi, ut bcllatorum possent am-
pliare numerum, phires a se serrili iugo ereptos, a<l Hbertatii statum
perducunt. Utquc rata jKisset haberi liberlas, saueiunt, more sohto, per
Mgittam, iumurmurantes nihitominus ob rei firmitatem, quaedam pa-
trm verba." Paul. Diac. de Gest. i. 13.
' " Si qui vero v.-Ut serrum »uum libenim facere, tradat eum vice-
comiti," etc. LI. Wil. iii. ^ 15. " Qui servum suuin liberat, in aeeclesia,
Tel mercato, vel comitatu, »b1 hundreto," etc. LI. Hen. L 1, § 78.
220 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
owners are totally inconsistent with the notion of
any interference on the part of the assembled peo-
ple, as necessary to their validity : the instances, it
is true, are mostly of modern date, but still we
bear of manumissions by wholesale at very early
periods, where nothing but the lord's own will can
possibly be thought of ^ It seems therefore pro-
bable that a certain amount of dependence was re-
served; that the freedman became relieved from
the harsher provisions of his former condition, but
remained in general under the protection and on
the land of his former lord, perhaps receiving wages
for services still rendered. In the eighth century
Wihtraed of Kent enacted that even iu the case of
solemn manumission at the altar, the inheritance,
the wergyld and the mund of the family should re-
main to the lord, whether the new freedman conti-
nued to reside within the Mark or not^ The mode
of provision for the emancipated serf must, in a
majority of cases, have led to this result. The lord
endowed him out of his own land, either with a
full possession, secured by charter, or a mere tem-
porary, conditional loan, km: the man therefore
remained upon the lord's estate, and in his bark
or surety, though no longer liable to servile disabi-
lities^ '
> For exmmple MUfri'SV ^ Sdsev ; see above, p. 211.
' LI. Wihtr. § 8.
' WuUwmm in her will direcu her legatees to feed twenty freoUmcB
or fireedmen. Cod. Dipl. No. 694. Ketel commands that all the mem
whom he has freed shall have all that is mmder their kmud, — probably
all they had received as stock, or had been able to gpin by their im*
dustn-.' Cod. DipL No. ICMIK
"0
THE IN'FREE. THE SEItF.
The full ceremonies used in the solemn act of
emancipation by the Anglosaxons are not known to
us ; but there is reason to suppose that they resem-
bled those of other Teutonic nations. Generally
these may be divided into civil and ecclesiastical ;
the former receiving their sanction from the autho-
rity of the people or the prince, the tatter from
the church and its peculiar influences. " He who
ivould emancipate his serf shall deliver him to the
Bheriff, by the right hand, in full county, shall pro-
claim him free from all yoke of servitude by ma-
numission, shall show him open roads and doors,
and shall deliver unto him the arms of a free man,
namely the lance and sword : thenceforth the man
is free'." Such is the law of William the Con-
queror, and it is repeated with little variation by
Henry the First , except that there is no limitation
to the sheriff and the county. But this was also
one form of manumission among the Langobards.
The person who was to he made Fulfreal was de-
livered over successively into the hands of four
different persons : the last of these brought him
before witnesses to a spot where four roads met,
and his choice was given him of these roads. He
was then free, and dmund, that is removed from
; under the protection of his former master". But it
' Will. Cooq. iii. ^ 15.
' " Qui winiin suiiin libcrat, in aeccleua, ve\ mercato, vel nomitatu,
' vel hiindreto, coram testibus et pataDi fariat, et libem ei viu et portu
rconstrribat apcrtas, et lauceam et ((latliuin, vet quae liberorum arma
want, in manibus ei ponat." lien. I. Ixiviii. § I. Uencc the manu-
■littetl lerf ii calleil I'rco 1 fKrewyrS, free and farneorlky, that h,
i^Tingthe right to go nhithcr he choom.
' L. Rolharis, Laogob. Rtf. rap. 225.
222 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. • [book i.
appears that the master, even though he gave the
free roads, might reserve the mund of his freedmaDi
by which he retained the right of inheriting from
him, if he died childless ^ ; and this recalls to nl
the provision already cited from the Kentish law*;
The history of Ramsey informs us that iG^elst^,
the son of Manni, adopted this form in a very ex*
tensive emancipation of his serfs^, and we may
therefore suppose it to have been a mode usual
among the Saxons. Among the Franks, the fullest
and completest act of emancipation was that which
took place before the king, or in a popular court ;
the freedman, from the ceremonies adopted on the
occasion, was called Denaridlis^ or Denariatus, '' qui
denarium ante regem iactavit." He became capa-
ble of a wergyld, of contracting marriage with a
free woman, and in general obtained all the. rights
of a free citizen. But he still remained in some
degree under the mund of the king, who received
his wergyld, and had certain rights over his inherit-
ance^. I do not know whether this has any con-
nexion with a law of Henry the First, which pro-
\ides that in any case of manumission, the serf
shall give thirty pence to the lord, as a witness,
namely the price of his skin, for a testimony that
» Ll. Roth. Langob. Reg. cap. 226. « LI. Wiht. § 8.
^ ** Per omnes terras suas, de triginta homiuibus numeratis, tredecim
manumisit, quemadmodum eum sors docuit, ut in quadrivio ptrnti
pergerent quocunque roluissent.*^ Hist. Ram. 29.
** See Eiclihom, i. 3.33. Sueh a ])erson resembles the Langobardic
freedman per impons. Ibid. p. 331. 1 imagine the principle upoQ
which the werg}*ld went to the king, to be this : the freedman either
never had a free m^g^S, or they had forfeited the msegsceaft by suffer*
ing him to be reduced to serfage. Compare Ll. £adw. § 9.
CH. viii.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 223
he is thenceforth himself its master ^ There was a
form of manumission among the Franks by charter^,
which however did not confer all the privileges of
the denarialia. The holder of such a charter was
thence called Chartularius : I will not assert that
such a system prevailed here, although it is possi-^
ble that some of the many charters of emancipation »
printed in the Codex Diplomaticus, may be of tliis
nature. Their general character however is that of
a record of bargain and sale between different par-
ties : it may be indeed presumed that emancipation
would follow, but there is no positive statement
that it did. The following class of cases perhaps
approaches nearest to such a charta ingenuitatis :
''By this book of the Gospels it appeareth that
^Ifwig the Red hath bought himself out, from Ab-
bat iElfsige and all the convent, with one pound.
Whereof is witness all the brotherhood at Bath.
Christ blind him who turneth away this record^!"
But this is only a memorandum in a copy of the
Gospels, no charter of manumission ; and I presume
that the sheriff would have required some much
more definite and legal act, before he looked upon
^Ifwig the Red as a freeman. Probably he was
duly made free at the altar of the abbey church or
at the door^. Of this subsequent process we have
a good example in the book of St. Petroc.
' L. Hen. I. Ixxviii. § 3. That is, that he is no longer liahle to
oorpond punishment like a serf.
' " Qui vero per chartam ingenuitatis dimissi sunt Uheri/' etc. Capit.
Bajuvar. an. 788. cap. 7 (Georgisch. p. 548). Eichhom, i. 332.
» Cod. Dipl. 1350.
* Every lawyer knows the value of the ad ostium aecclesiae, at any
rate in matters of dower. It implies perfect publicity.
224 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book t.
'' This book beareth witneBS that iElfsige bought
a woman called Ongyne^li and her son GyViccael,
of Durcil for half a pound, at the church-door in
Bodmin : and he gave to JSlfsige the portreeve and
Maccos the hundred-man, fourpence as toll. Then
came iElfsige who bought these persons, and took
them, and freed them, ever sacles, on Petroc's altar,
in the witness of these good men ; that is, Isaac the
priest S" etc.
Of all forms of emancipation I imagine this to
have been the most frequent, partly because of its
convenience, partly because the motives for eman-
cipation were generally of a religious cast, and the
sanctions of religion were solemn and awful. At*
most all the records which we possess on this sub*
ject are taken from the margins of Gospels or other
books belonging to religious houses, and the few
references in the laws imply emancipation at the
altar. Among the Franks this form, in which the
freedman was called Tabularius, conveyed only
imperfect freedom : the utmost it could do was to
confer the privileges of a Roman provincial, to
which class the clergy were reckoned : but the tabu*
larius even so was not fully free ; he still remained
in the mund of the church. Wihtraed's law, so often
cited, shows clearly that this was not the case in
England ; nor could it be, seeing that the clergy
among us were national, and the Prankish system
of personal rights did not prevail. I am therefore
disposed to think that gradually emancipation at
the altar was taken to convey all the privileges of
^ Coil. Dipl. 981. § 2f^.
CH. VIII.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 225
manumission, and that it was the mode generally,
though not exclusively, in use. On this point, the
want of documents prevents our attaining certainty.
The method was prohahly this : the man was for-
mally offered up before the high altar, and there de-
clared free in the presence of the officiating clergy
and the congregation. A memorandum was then
made in some religious book belonging to the
church, and the names of the witnesses were re-
corded. Whether a separate certificate was pre-
pared does not appear.
The full extent of the rights obtained by the
freedman, especially in respect of inheritance, is
not to be gathered from any existing Anglosaxon
document. It is probable that these were limited,
as among the Langobards and Franks : his offspring
however were free, and his marriage with a free
woman, equal : his other rights, duties and privi-
leges, in short his general condition, were in all
probability determined by certain arrangements
between himself and his lord previous to the act of
manumission. In such a case neither party would
find much difficulty in settling the terms of a bar-
gain.
NOTE.
Thx following pedigrees illustrate the care with which the relations of
the gebdr, and other dependent cultivators on an estate were recorded.
It is probable, nay even certain, that such records were preserved in all
lordships : they were the original court-rolls, by copy of which the un-
free tenants, perhaps also the poor freemen, held, who were thus the
Bjicient copyholders. The amount of the holdings was undoubtedly
VOL. I. Q
226 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
settloii by the custom of the county or the manor; and it it probable
tliat one measure prevailed for all tenants of similar grades. A record
of descents was necessan* to regulate the claims of a lord to the fiutii-
lies of his cohni, and some extensive system of registration Teiy pto-
bably prevailed : it would be impossible without it to secure the doe
o|>eration of the law of team.
" Dudila was a gebdr at Hs'Kfeld, and he had three daughters, one
was named De6rw}*n, the second I>e6rswy5, the third Golde. And
Wuldaf at llse^feld hath De6rw}-n to wife, JSlfstan at Ta!ccingawyi«
hath De<Srswy 5 to wife, and EaUistiui, Jllfttin's brother, bath Golde to
wife. There was a man named Hwita, the beemaater at Hi^fdd, and
he had a daughter Tate, the mother of Wulfisige, the bowman; and
Widfsige^s sister Lulle hath Hehstan to wife, at Wealden. Wifiis and
Dunne ami Seoloce are inborn to Hs^feld. Duding, the son of WdSm,
is settled at Wealden : and Ceolmund the son of Dunne, alao sits st
Wealden. and Ji^^elheah the son of Seoloce, also sits at Wealden : and
Tate« Cenwold*s sister. M«g has to wife at Welgun ; and Eidhefan, the
•on of llereitn'^s, hath Tate's daughter to wife. Wserlaf, Wcrstin'i
father, was a right serf at H«5fehl« he held the grey swine^"
** ^ A man named Brada was a gebur at H«5feld, and Hwite was
the name of Brada*s wife : she was a gebur*s daughter at HieCfeUL
Ilwiie was Wirrrtan's Warf<^^s and Wvnborh's third mother'. And
Wxrstan sits at Wadtun, and hath Wine's sister to wife, and Wine hath
Wjer^n-y to wife. And Dunne sat at Wiuhun. she was inborn to H«<5-
tVld: and IVorvryu her daughter hath Cynewald to wi£(at Munden: and
l\vniJi> her brv>:h<:r :* w:th Cjiww^ild. .Vud Dudde, Wifus's daughter
*::s AC W:*.r.:-UvU'*;t\ji. CvrLa^rl'j:. Ce'nw aid's titter, wi* agebiir at H«?-
tvld. and MancJL daw^d's wa. s:t» at Wadnm under Eidwmld."
" •{• Huhe. l>^ bL;Ui '« moch^T^m-Jiw. ini* wmoved from HxSfeld
iu:o F;C*.v.i?ii.*5fu : Aiivl .E Vl'wri-s. EaduiT^ and JE^Vl£%'5 were three
s;«vrs; An^l T'tlwme inv*. Duivta. tb&ese wi*re a3 Bcace's chUdrRi: and
VjLlbs;:4n Ti>i2<*s $v.a. and WulI*!k^ Ej«iQxu's son. and CeoDiefaii
-FN.\^ >** ^v'-jL. iTvl Cojl^Tin inc Minw^nie. Tbis kin came from
^Uj»r>>V-v*, . lV«,-o»v.'/. C>"s.'cur*i** 5ca. mc ii» r»v> outers: and Cy-
Uv-rv i: v'.jr frv.j: :< :>.\fc: VwTiOitf. Pi^fse sen x:« ih< vur^^u of Tata,
i: X ••.-^.'Id^.V :>^: il" :L*:s*. ylww irv ji Uirrjjnisiin?- or in Eswx.
I'z .v<> ,v<. -.ixs v>v i;.L :li:f<ji And W^lojifa : then! 3 no Clavmng
vi =Lr*r,v.v*j;r\". :>j.: I 'xjlc* .c v.>i :h<f cci^rr liu^i I *ai aoc awaie
VIC i:."<*wjc*::cu jjc,a«ioi >-• Si r--J."i«ti s^'ji.. 'isiscxit rait J'Xf
CH. VIII.] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 227
In 880 JEMied, duke.of Mercia, gave Tarious estates to the bishopric
of Worcester. He also gave six persons with their offspring, who had
previously been adscripti gUbas at the royal vill of Bensington. " These
are the names of the persons who are written from Bensington to Reada-
nora, to the bishopric of Worcester, with their offspring, and the pro-
geny that may come of them to all eternity : Alhmund, Hdwulf, Tld-
he&h. Lull and £4dwulf ^"
In 902« Beomwulf homed (gehimette), that is attached to his manor
of Eblesbume, a number of persons, of both sexes. Lufe and her
three children, Luha and his six children are named'.
In the time of Eadgdr we have the record of several persons esta-
hJiahing by their oaths that their parents had not been serfs or co^oih of
the king*. An Appendix to this chapter contains numerous examples
of manumissions, of various periods.
Cod. Dipl. No. 31 1 . « Ibid. No. 1079. » Ibid. No. 981 .
Q^
228
CHAPTER IX.
THE MUTUAL GUARANTEE. M^GBURH. TITHING.
HUNDRED.
The organization in Marks and in the G& or Sc(r
was a territorial one, based upon the natural con-
formation of the country, common possession of the
soil and usufruct of its produce. It has been already
said that both of these divisions had their separate
courts of justice or parliaments, their judges and
executive officers. But some further machinery
was required to secure the public peace, to provide
for the exercise of what, in modem society, we call
the police, and to ensure the rights of the indivi-
dual markman, in respect to other markmen, as well
as his conformity to the general law. A corporate
existence was necessary, which should embrace a
more detailed system of relations than was to be
found either in the Mark or in the Shiremoot.
Strictly speaking, the former of these was princi-
pally busied with the questions which arose out
of its own peculiar nature, that is, with offences
against the integrity of the frontier, the forest, the
rights of common in the pastures and meadows,
and other delinquencies of a public character. On
the other hand, the Shiremoot, though it must have
taken cognizance of disputed questions between
several Marks, and may, even from the first, have
CH. IX.] THE TITHING AND HUNDRED. 229
exercised some description of appellate jurisdiction,
must naturally have considered the higher and more
general attributes of legislation and foreign policy,
the national rather than municipal administration,
as belonging to its peculiar and appropriate pro-
vince. Perhaps also the exigencies of military dis-
cipline may gradually have rendered a more com-
plicated method of enrolment necessary, by means
of which companies and regiments might be kept
upon a permanent footing, and called into imme-
diate action when occasion demanded their ser-
vices ; while, at the same time, due provision was
made for the tilling the lands of those whose per-
sonal exertions were required in defence of the
public weal ^
There were two forms in which these various
objects might be attained ; these were, subordinate
oi^anizations of men, not excessive in number, or
too widely dispersed, and founded either upon the
bond of blood and the ties of family, including that
of adoption 9 or merely upon an arbitrary numerical
definition. Each of these plans had advantages as
well as defects : the family bond alone did not se-
cure a sufficient territorial unity, although in prac-
tice it had at first considerable influence upon the
location of individual households ; moreover it gave
rise to an inequality continually on the increase,
and necessarily threatening to the independence of
the free men. On the other hand, any merely arbi-
trary, numerical classification would have excluded
' For the Prankish custom see the Capituhury of the year 807.
Pertx, iii. 149. and Donniges, Deut. Staatsr. pp. 92, 93.
230 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book u
a mo8t important social elementi the responsibility
of man to man in the bond of kindred, the feeliogs
and engagements of family affection, family honour
and family ambition. The problem was finally
solved by a partial union of the two methods : in
all probability, the law of compromise which reigns
throughout all history, gradually brought about a
fusion of two separate principles, widely difiering
in point of antiquity, and thus superinduced the
artificial upon the natural bond, without entirely
destroying the influence of the latter.
For I think it unquestionable that the artificial
bond was really later in point of time : since, in
the first place, indefinite and vague arrangements
usually precede the definite and settled ; and next,
because Tacitus takes no notice whatever of any
but the family bond, which he represents as strin*
gent in the highest degree. We have already seen
y.^ that Caesar declares the divisions of the land to
have taken place according to families or rela*
tionsbips, cognationes^ , from which we may infer
at first a considerable amount of territorial unity.
From his far more observant successor we learn
that the military organization was based upon the
same principle ; that the composition of the troop
or regiment depended upon no accidental arrange-
ment, but was founded upon families or relation-
ships^ \ and that every man was bound to take up
' See above, p. «i9, note 1.
' *'Quodque praecipuum fortitudinis incitamentum est, non cmsos
nee fortuita conglobatio turmam aut cuneum fitcit, ted familitfj ^i pio-
pinquitates." Genn. vii.
THE TITHING AST) HUNDRED-
the enmities as well as the friendships of his father
or kinsman'. But leaving these earlier evidences,
it still seems that the Meegburh or Family-bond is
an institution whose full comprehension is neces-
sarj' to a clear conception of the Anglosaxon public
and private life.
The idea of the family is at once the earliest and
strongest of human ties : in its development it is
also the most emiobling to the individual and salu-
tary to the state ; on it depend the honour and
dignity of woman, the unselfish education of man,
the training of children to obedience and love, of
parents to protection and justice, of all to love of
country and enlightened subordination to the state.
Where it does not exist, man becomes an instru-
ment in the hands of others, or the blind tool of
systems. In its highest form it is the representa-
tive of that great mystery by which all Christians
are one brotherhood, united under one Father and
King. Throughout the latter day of ethnic civili-
zation, when the idea of slate had almost ceased
to have power, and the idea of family did not exist,
there was a complete destruction both of public
and private morality; and the world, grown to be
a sink of filth and vice, was tottering to the fall
which Providence in mercy had decreed for its
purification. The irruption of the German tribes
breathed into the dead bones of heathen cultivation
the breath of a new life ; and the individual dignity
of man as a member of a family, — the deep-seated
232 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
feeling of all those nations, — while it prepared
them to become the founders of Christian states
which should endure, made them the wonder of
the philosophers and theologians of Rome, Ghreece
and Africa, and an example to be held up to the
degenerate races whom they had subdued ^ The
German house was a holy thing ; the bond of mar-
riage a sacred and symbolic engagement*; holy
above man was woman herself. Even in the depths
of their forests the stem warriors had assigned to
her a station which nothing but that deep feeling
could have rendered possible : this was the sacred
sex, believed to be in nearer communion with divi-
nity than men^. In the superstitious tradition of
their mythology, it was the young and beautiful
Shieldmays, the maiden Wselcyrian, who selected
the champions that had deserved to become the
guests of Woden. The matrons presided over the
rites of religion, conducted divinations^ and en-
couraged the warriors on the field of battle* ; Ve-
* What had struck Tacitus with astonishment and admiration in the
first century (Germ, xviii. xis.\ seemed equally remarkable to the
thinkers of the Roman world in the fourth and fifth. Innumerable
passages confirmator}* of the averments in the text might be cited from
Augustine, Orosius, Salvianus, or even Procopius, — testimonies all the
more valuable because supplied by hostile witnesses, by the conquered
of the conqueror, the orthodox of the Arian.
* Tac. Crerm. xix. • IhiA, viii.
* Caes. BeU. Gall. i. 50.
* Tac. Germ. vii. viii. After the defeat of the Cimbri by Marius,
their women applied to the Consul, to have their chastity respected,
and themselves assigned as serfs to the vestal virgins. On receiving a
reftisal they put their children and then themselves to death. The dogs
that had accompanied them, long defended their corpses. See Floms,
iii. 3, and Orosius, v. 16.
CH. IX.] THE TITHING AND HLNDRED- 233
ledas and Aurinias, prophetesses in the bloom of
youtli and beauty, led the raw levies of the North
to triumph over the veteran legions of Rome.
Neither rank nor wealth could atone for violated
chastity'; nor were in general any injuries more
severely punished than those which the main
strength of man enabled him to inflict on woman^
That woman, nevertheless, in the family, held a
subordinate situation to men, lies in the nature of
the family itself, and in the disposition and quali-
ties which have been implanted in woman, to ea<-
able her to fulfil her appointed duties in the scheme
of Providence ; quahties not difterent in degree, but
kind, from those of her helpmate, that they may be
the complement of his, and, united with bis, make
up the full and perfect circle of humanity. As
an individual, woman was considered a being of a
higher nature ; as a member of the state, she was
necessarily represented by him upon whom nature
had imposed the joyful burthen of her support, and
the happy duty of her protection, — a principle too
little considered by those who, with a scarcely par-
donable sciolism, have clamoured for what they call
the rights of woman. Woman among the Teutons
was near akin to divinity, but not one among them
ever raved that thefemme Hire could be woman.
Hence the profound importance attached to cha-
' Tap. Germ. xix.
' For tliis a gcaemi reference to the Barbarian laws nmst auffico.
Alaric even went Ihe length of pulling' to ileath a noble Gotb,
wlio, during tlie rack of the city, had violated the daughter of a Roman
234 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
stity, and the undoubted influence of alliances by
marriage\ through which separate kindreds are
fused into one body, adopting common interests^
pursuing common objects, and recognizing in the
bond which unites its members, obligations which
are still exhibited in oriental countries, which we
trace throughout the middle ages of Europe, but
which are gradually vanishing under the conditions
of our modern, mercantile society.
It lies in the very nature of things that among a
people animated with such principles as have now
been described, and so placed by circumstances on
tracts of land far more than sufficient for their sup*
port, the very earliest organization should be based
upon the family relations. Dwelling near to one an-
other, united by a community of interests and the
endearing ties of mutual relationship, or the scarcely
weaker bond of adoption, — strong as regards other
families in direct proportion to their union among
themselves, — the maeg¥ or family oflfer all the gua-
rantees in their own natural position which the pri<>
mitive state can require. In the popular councils
the largest and most distinguished family has ne«
cessarily the greatest weight; but association of
others, severally less powerful, is always capable of
counteracting danger w^hich might arise in a free
state from the ambition of any of its portions. In
the absence of a central power, — or rather its di-
spersion through all the several members of the com-
^ A beautiful evidence of this lies in the epic nnme for womnn ; in
Anglotaxon poetry she is cmlled freo^webbe, ih§ wMver ^ jmscc.
Beow. 1. 3S80. Trav. S. 1. 11.
CH. IX.] THE TITHING AND HUNDRED. 236
munity, the collection of revenue and the main-
tenance of the peace must be left to the heads of
the several fractions, whether villages (as in the
£^t), or families, which at one time are identical
with villages. The poUce therefore especially be*
longs to the family, and is by it exercised over all
the individuals that compose it; hence also the
grave misconduct of the individual may justly have
the effect of destroying the social position of the
whole mseg%. In Be6wulf, the warriors who de*
serted their prince in his utmost need, are sternly
told by his successor, that not only they, but their
whole msegburh will thenceforth have forfeited the
rights of citizenship,
folcrihtes sceal
t$i6re in8%barge
moniiA i%bwjlc
Idel hweorfiui,
not, each of you individually , but each and every man
of your kin, cognation or msegsceaft, shall be de-
prived of his rights of citizenship : from which we
must infer that the misconduct of one person might
compromise bis relatives, who are held responsible
for his actions ^ And this rule, coupled ¥rith the
fact of all serving together, under one selected from
among themselves, and each under the eye of his
nearest and dearest friends, supplied a military or-
ganization capable of enabling the barbarians to
cope with far more disciplined and scientific mili-
tary systems than their own ; serving to explain
' See the remariuble pawftge cited at p. 188, note I.
236 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
the almost irresistible power with which, like the
Turks of more recent times, the Teutons of old burst
upon the nations exposed to their onsets The wer-
gyld, or price of blood, the earliest institution of
this race, only becomes perfectly intelligible when
considered from this point of view : the gens or fa-
mily at large are injured by the loss of their asso-
ciate, and to them compensation must be made;
so they, in turn, must make compensation for him,
since rights and duties are commensurate. This
principle, however darkly, is still involved in the
theory of our civil actions for seduction.
' Weight and momentum combined are the secret of modem tactici,
and morally speaking (L e. the appearance in sopericw force on certaiii
points), of modem strategics also. CaTahry charging in suocessiTe edie-
lons would always break infimtry but for the check which man and
horse experience in their speed from the file-firing of the squares : tiie
mere weight of the horse faUimg dead into the first rank would break
it if he reached it. If the weight of the adrandng body be greater than
that of the resisting, the latter is destroyed. A successful charge of
cavalry won the battle of Marengo^ an unsuccessful one lost that of
Waterloo. Modem warfare was more changed by the substitution of
iron for wooden ramrods, by which the momentum of musket-balls was
increased, than by almost any other mere change of detail. Steam-
carriages and scythe-chariots, the Macedonian phalanx — nay, eren
squadrons of horse, are only larger bullets, which may be launched
with more or less success ; all these are mechanical discoveries conse-
quent upon the fact that the individuals of which armies are composed
are lower in the scale of moral dignity than of old. Once group men
in masses, and they become subject, more or less, according as disci-
pline has destroyed their individuality, to the mechanical laws which
govern the relations of all masses. No doubt a stone wall will turn
any charge of cavalry ; and so will a regiment of infantry, in exact pro-
portion as yon teach it to stand like a stone wall, that is, as you destroy
the individual action of each soldier. The Romans stood above two
feet apart; our men touch one another at the elbows. Our armies
are fitter perhaps for aggressive movements. The Germans probably
charged tumultuously ; but the scyldburh, or wall of shields, was hardly
less capable of receiving a charge than our own squares.
^0
THE TITHING AND HUNDRED.
237
It lies in the very nature of things that this, al-
beit a natural, cannot be an enduring system. Its
principal condition is neighbourhood, the concen-
tration of the family upon one spot : as population
increases, and with it emigration, the family bond
gradually becomes weaker, and at last perishes as
a positive and substantive institution, surviving
only fragmentarily in the traces which it leaves
upon the later order that replaces it. War, com-
merce, cultivation, — the effect and cause of in-
creasing population, — gradually disperse the mem-
bers of the sibsceaft or cognation, and a time arrives
when neighbours are no longer kinsmen. At this
point the old organization ceases to be effective,
and a new one becomes necessary, unless the an-
cient principle is to be entirely abandoned. But
principles are not easily abandoned in early stages
of society ; a young nation finds it easier to adopt
artificial arrangements founded upon the ancient
form : nor is it necessary that the later should have
totally superseded its predecessor ; it is enough
that when the earlier ceases to fulfil its object, the
latter should be directed to supply its obvious de-
ficiency, and be united with it, as circumstances
best permit.
Throughout the earliest legislation of the Teu-
tonic nations, and especially in our own, we find
arrangements, based up9n two distinct principles,
in active operation. The responsibihty of the fa-
mily lies ever in the background, the ultimate
resort of the state against the individual, of the in-
dividual against the state. But we also find email
238 THB SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
bodies of men existing as corporations, founded
npoQ number and neighbourhood, and thus making
up the public units in the state itself. From the
first, we find the inhabitants of the Mark classed
in tens and hundreds (technically in England, Ti*
things and Hundreds), each probably comprising
respectively a corresponding number of members,
together with the necessary officers, viz. a tithing*
man for each tithing, and a hundred-man for the
hundred, thus making one hundred and eleven men,
or Heads of houses in the territorial hundred ^* Hie
Prankish law names the officers thus alluded to :
in it the tithing-man is Decanus, the hundred-man
Centenarius*. The Anglosaxon law does not indeed
mention its divisions by these names till a compara*
tively late period, when their significations had be-
come in some respects altered ; but it seems probable
that it does imply them under the term Gregyldan,
fellows y brothers of the gyld. In a case of aggravated
crime it is provided that the ofifender's relatives shall
pay a third part of the fine, his gegyldan a third
part, and if he cannot pay the remainder himself, he
is to become an outlaw, i. e. forfeit his land and flee,
perhaps formally abjure the country*. Now it is
' There is some difficultr in deciding whether the hetd of the tithing
wms included in the ten, or heside it. I have proceeded upon the sup-
position that he was not included, consequently that there were really
eleven men in the tithing. The leading authority (Jud. CIt. Lond.
^«elst. V. § a Thorpe, i. 230), is totally and irrecondleably eontift-
dictory on the point.
* The Decani appear to be the same as the Decimates homines of
iE«elred's law. Thorj^e, i. 338.
» LI. ^f. § 27.
CH. IX.] THE TITHING AND lUNDBED. 239
perfectly clear that a law expressed ia such g:eneral
terms as these, cannot be directed to a particular
and exceptional condition ; that it does not apply
to the accidental existence of gegyldan, but on the
contrary assumes every man to have such : we
cannot therefore construe it of voluntary associa-
tions formed for religious, social or funereal ob-
jects ', and for the purposes of this law we must
look upou gegylda as a general name borne by
every individual in respect of some gyld or asso-
ciation of which he was taken to be a member.
The only meanings which the root gt/id enables us
to attach to the word gegylda are these ; either,
on* wAo shares with others in paying ; or, one who
$harea with others in worshiping. If we adopt the
former rendering, we must suppose that certain con-
tributions were made by a number of persons to a
common )iurse, partly for festive purposes, partly
as a mutual guarantee and club-fund for legal costs,
for the expenses of reciprocal aid and defence, per-
haps even for mortuary celebrations and chari-
table distributions. Another, though perhaps a less
probable, suggestion is that such gegjidan may
have been jointly responsible for taxes, or the out-
fit of armed men who attended in the fyrd or mi-
litary expedition, on behalf of them all. But this
we cannot further illustrate, in the absence of all
' Such voliiutary assoriatioQs wore not uuusuaJ. Several lieeiia of
..^reement of iiich clubs are given iu im Appendix to thia Chapter.
Tbere seem to have been umihir clubs ainoDg tie lluDgariaDi : they
were called " Knleniler-Bnidcrscliaften," frotn usually meeting on tlie
Bret lisy of every month. Fesrier, Gesch. tier I'ugern, i. 725.
240 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. . [book i.
record of the financial system of the early Teutonic
monarchs, even those of Charlemagne himself, which
would have been invaluable guides to us through
the intricacies of that dark subject of enquiry. The
second meaning given to gegylda would rest upon
the assumption of some private and as it were hero-
worship, common to the gyld-brothers, — a fact fa-
miliar enough to us in the Athenian ^uXai and
Roman gentes ; but the existence of any such foun-
dation for the gyld among the Anglosaxons is ex-
tremely improbable, when we consider the small
numbers that appear to have constituted the as-
sociation, and that no trace of any such worship
remains in our heathen mythology ^ I therefore
prefer the first rendering of the word, and look upon
gegyldan as representing those who mutuaUy pay
for one another ; that is, under a system of pecu-
niary mulcts, those who are mutually responsible
before the law, — the associates in the tithing and
the hundred.
It is well known that in the later Anglosaxon
law, and even to this day, the tithing and hundred
appear as local and territorial, not as numerical
divisions : we hear of tithings where there are more,
and tithings where there are fewer people ; we are
told of the spoor of cattle being followed into one
hundred, or out of another^. I do not deny that
in process of time these divisions had become ter-
' The later guilds of tndes, dedicated to particular Saints, are quite
a different thing ; in form these bear a most striking resemblance to
the <f>v\cu.
< LI. Eadg. Hand. § 6. Thorpe, i. 260.
CM. IX.] THE TITHING AND HUNDRED. 241
ritorial ; but this does not of necessity invalidate the
doctrine that originally the numbers were calculated
according to the heads of families, or that the ex-
tent of territory, and not the taxable, military or cor-
porate units, formed at first the varying quantity-
Had it been otherwise we should naturtilly have
found a much greater equality in the size of the
territorial hundreds throughout at least each Saxon
kingdom ; nor in all probability would the num-
bers of the hundreds in respective counties differ so
widely, — a difference intelligible only if we assume
population, and not space, to have been the basis of
the original calculation. Moreover to a very late
period, in one part of Englaud. the abstract word
TeoBung was replaced by the more concrete Ten-
mantale (tyn-manna-tael)' to which it is impossible
to give any meaning but the simple one the words
express, viz. the tale or count of ten men. Again,
as late as the tenth century, in a part of England
where men, and not acres, became necessarily the
subjects of calculation, viz. in the city of London",
we find the citizens distributing themselves into
Fri6gylds or associations for the maintenance of the
peace, each consisting of ten men ; while ten such
' LL Ed. Conf. XI.
• I do not for a moment imagine that this waj on entirely new or-
gauixstion. The document which contains the record seems to be the
text of ■ lolenm undertaking, almost a treaty of alliance, between the
City and king jEiSelstan, for the better maintenance of the public peace.
It U perhaps worth attention that the Tya-manna-tie] was a denomimi-
tioii peculiar to another lar^ clty^York : but the same authority from
which we leom this fact, identifies the institution with that in
use throughout the laud. LI. Ed. Conf. xx.
VOL. I. R
242 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
gylds were gathered into a Hundred. The remark*
able document known as " Judicia Civitatis Londi-
nensis " gives the following detailed account of the
whole proceeding :
'' This is the ordinance which the bishops and
the reeves belonging to London have ordained, and
confirmed with pledges, among our friVgylds, as
well eorlish as ceorlish, in addition to the dooms
which were fixed at Greatley, at Exeter, and at
Thundersfield.
'' Resolved : That we count every ten men to-
gether, and the chief one to direct the nine in each
of those duties which we have all ordained, and
afterwards the hyndens of them together, and one
hvnden-man who shall admonish the ten for our
common benefit ; and let these eleven hold the
money of the hynden, and decide what they shall
disburse, when aught is to pay, and what they shaU
receive, should money accrue to us at our common
suit*
'' That we gather to us once in everv month, if
we can and have leisure, the hvnden-men and those
who direct the tithings, as well with butt -filling, or
as else may please us, and know what of our agree-
ment has been executed. And let these twelve men*
have their refection tosrether, and feed themselves
as they themselves think right, and deal the remains
of the meat for love of God'."
* J&5elst, V. 3, § I. Thoriw. i. 23i\
' The MS. reads twelve, 3d:« but it seems almosi certmin that we
ought to underftmnd eleren. that is one man for each tithing and one for
the hundred or h>-nden. * £Selst. r. S. ^ ] . Thoqw, i. 236.
"■]
TBE TITHING AND HUNDRED.
Now as this valuable record mentions also terri-
torial tithings, containing ditFerent amounts of po-
pulation', it seems to me to furnish important con-
firmation of the conclusion that the gegyldan of Ini
and jElfred, the members of the London tithings
or fri^gylds of ten, and the York tenmantale, are
in truth identical. And it is further in favour of
this view that the citizens called the members of
such gildships, gegyldan*: —
"And we have also ordained, respecting every
man who has given his pledge in our gyldships,
that, should he die, each gyld-brother (gegylda)
shall give a gesufel-loaf for his soul, and sing a
fifty (psalms), or cause the same to be sung within
XXX days."
Upon a review of the preceding passages it may
be inferred that the hynden consisted of ten tithings,
and consequently answered to what we more com-
monly call a hundred ; it may perhaps be suggested
that, if any distinction existed between these two
terms, the hynden represented the numerical, the
hundred the territorial division. But their origi-
nal identity may he argued from an important pas-
sage in the law of Ini. He ordains'' : " He that is
' " Sw4 of iarc teoSiing Sir mare (ah Big." Thorpe, i. 332.
' "And ne cwiEdon eat be ielcum 'Bfini Tnanun *e on tinim gegyld-
■c^nim bU wed geiieald htcfti, gif lum foi^ii'S gcbyrige, Vret eIc gegyldft
gesjlle sDue geiufelne ht&f for 'Gtere eawle, and geiinge an fiAig, oVffe
begit« geningen buman ixz nibtsn." £SelM. v. 8. ^ 6. Thorpe, i. 236.
* " Se6e bin werf^hSe betogen, and he onsiicaii wille imt alegei mid
ifie. Sonne uxol be6D on 'Biere hyndenne an cj-ning&e be xxx bida,
ami be geaificund men »wa be ceorlineum, swi hwieBer sw& bit ty."
Ini. 454. Thorpt, i. 136. Upon this paisage the Ute Mr. Price hai! the
fiiUowing note, which it interealing, though I cnniiot agree with hit
R 2
TUE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
charged with mortal feud, and is willing to deny the
slaying on oath ; then shall there be in the hynden
one king's oath of thirty bides, as well for a noble
as a churl, be it whichever it be."
Now hynden can only mean one of two things,
viz. a collection of ten or a collection of a hundred,
according as we render the word hund. Admitting
that at some very early period bund did mean ten,
we yet never find it with any such signification in
any book or MS., or indeed at all except in the nu-
merals bundseofontig, hundeatatig, hundnigontig,
bundtwelftig, where its force is anything but clear,
when we compare those words with fiflig, sixtig,
twentig, etc. On the other hand the adjective
hynde does clearly denote something which has
the quaUty of a hundred ; thus a twyhynde or twelf-
hynde man is he whose life is worth respectively two
or twelve hundred shillings. Again it is clear that
the Judicia Civitatis Londinensis intends by hyodeD
a collection of a hundred, and not of ten, men,
inasmuch as it distiugiiishes this from the titliings.
rondiuioD : " ll tuts been alnAdf c/baaved thu the faylidai
of ten pOToiu. mad. Uke bnidr in the words twyfarude, oxlimdr, t
fayiMle. iqiptan to harr b««D formrd from hond, at wkkli the oti
BeuuB^ ni tm. Hie htuden tfaeictbtT ■rill cont j po uJ to the l
td Ac Ciril Laa {■ quia Turba ietxns dinrntuT.' Lc^. PntX. 4. f
bMtXllic T^mrheaeOte Fiench Coatuina: -C<iMune n .faw Tf
pw dnu to wihu ct ckacDB tfkdki par dn liimiii ' LoMci. I
liL&e. 13." B^theMWTijiiiriii anted wfll cmmK ^p«nJ
te bM «rihe kn&B raly bcBg . <dlnn» of to a
CH. IX.] THE TITHING AND HUNDRED. 245
And further, it must be admitted.upon the internal
evidence of the law itself, that a hundred and not a
tithing is referred to, since so small a court as that
of the ten men could not possibly have had cogni-
zance of such a plea as manslaughter, or been com-
petent to demand a king's oath of thirty hides.
But as such a plea might well be brought before
the hundred-court, it is probable that such was
meant. Lastly it was the custom for the hundred-
court to be holden monthly, and we observe the
same provision with the London hynden ; at which
it is very probable that legal matters were trans-
acted, as well as accounts investigated; for it is
expressly declared that their meeting is to ascer-
tain how the undertakings in the record have been
executed ; that is, how the peace has been kept. I
therefore conclude that the Hynden and the Hun-
dred are in fact and were at first identical ; with
the hypothetical reservation, that at a later period
the one word represented a numerical, the other a
territorial division, when these two had ceased to
coincide : in corroboration of which view it may be
observed that the word Hynden does not occur in
the laws later than the time of jE^elstdn, nor Hun-
dred earlier than that of Eadgar.
It is true that no division founded upon numbers
can long continue to coincide with the first cor-
responding territorial allocation, however closely
they may have been at first adjusted. In spite of
every attempt to regulate it, population varies in-
cessantly ; but the tendency of land-divisions is to
««
THE SAXONS IN ENULAND.
[■■
3
I
remain stationary for ages ' ; a holy horror prevents
the alteration of" that which has been sanctified in
men's minds by long continuance, was perha]
more deeply sanctitied at the first by religious cei
monies. The rights of property universally demai
the jealous guardianship of boundaries. Moreover
the first tithings, or at all events the first hundreds,
must have had elbowroom enough within the Mark
to allow for a considerable elasticity of population
without the necessity of disturbing the ancient
boundary ; and thus we can readily understand two
very distinct things to have grown up together,
out of one origin, namely a constantly increasing
number of gylds, yet a nearly or entirely stationary
tale of territorial tithings and hundreds. I cannot
but think that, under happier circumstances,
view might lead us to conclusions of the utmi
importance with respect to the history of our ra(
that if it were possible for us now to ascertain the
original number of hundreds in any county of which
Beda in the eighth century gives us the population,
and also the population at the period of the origin)
division, we should find the two data in exact
cordance, and thus obtain a clue to the movemi
of the population itself down to Beda's time. Loi
ing to the permanent character of land-divisioni
> It is very remarkable bon many modem ))Brishes may he perambu-
lated with no other direction than the boundaries found in the Code»
Diplomaticus. To this very day the httle hiUi, brooka, even neadon-a
and small farms, bear the nniues they bore befure the time of .£lfired,
and the Mark may he trneed irith certainty upon the local ii
'if tlie labourer on the nio<Ierii eitate.
thi«^
ma4|H
-a«f||
1 the
fhich
tioD,
smda
' -■
ion^^H
s.]
THE TITIIIKG AND HUNDRED.
and assuming that our present Hundreds nearly
represent the original in number and extent, we
might conclude that, if in the year 400 Kent was
first divided, Thanet then contained only one hun-
dred heads of houses, or hydes, upon three thou-
sand acres of cultivated land, while in the time of
Beda, three centuries later, it comprised six hundred
families or liides upon eighteen thousand acres.
It is a common saying that we owe the insti-
tution of shire, tithing and hundred divisions to
j£lfred. Stated in so broad a manner as this, I am
compelled to deny the assertion. No one can con-
template the life and acts of that great prince and
accomplished man without being filled with admi-
ration and respect for his personal energy, hia
moral and enlightened policy, and the sound legis-
lative as well as administrative principles on which
he acted. But we must nevertlieless not in the
nineteenth century allow ourselves to be blinded
by the passions and prejudices which ruled in the
twelfth. The people, oppressed by foreign power,
no doubt, long looked hack with an affectionate
regret to the memory of " England's Darling ; " he
was the hero of a suffering nation ; his activity
and fortune had once cleared the land of Norman
tyranny ; his arm had smitten the forefathers of
those whose iron yoke now weighed on England :
he was the reputed author of those laws, which,
under the amended and extended form enacted by
the Confessor, were now claimed by the English
people from their foreign kings -. he was, in a word,
the representative, and as it were very incarnation.
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND,
[Booaj
of English nationalitj'. We may smile at, but must
yet respect, the feehng which made him also the
representative of every good thing, which connected
every institution or custom that his suffering coun-
trymen regretted, with his time-hallowed name. It
is unnecessary to detail the many ways in which
this traditional character of ^Eifred continually re-
appears ; the object of these remarks is merely to
point out that the attribution to him of the system
of tithingB, hundreds and the like, is one of many
groundless assertions connected with his name.
Not one word in corroboration of it is to be found
in Asser or any otlier contemporaneous authority ;
and there is abundant evidence that the system
existed long before he was born, not only in other
German lands, but even among ourselves. Still I
am unwilling to incur the responsibility of decla-
ring the tradition absolutely without foundation :
on the contrary it seems probable that .<Elfred may
have found it necessary, after the dreadful confu-
sion and devastation of the Danish wars, to make a
new muster or regulation of the tithings, nay even
to cause, in some districts, a new territorial division
to be estabhshed upon the old principle ; and this
18 the more credible, since there is reason to believe
that the same causes had rendered a new definition
of boundaries generally necessary even in the case
of private estates : the strongest argument against
this lies however in the total silence of all contem-
porary writers. A less tenable supposition is, that
.Alfred introduced such divisions for the first time
into the countries which he united with Wessex ; as
L
CH. IS,] THE TITHINQ AND HUNDRED. 249
it is impossible to conceive any Anglosaxon state
to have existed eatirely without them.
The form and nature of the institution, long
known in the English law under the name of Frank-
pledge', may be compendiously described in the
words of the laws called Edward the Confessor's'.
According to that document, —
"Another peace, the greatest of all, there is,
whereby all are maintained in firmer state, to wit
in the establishment of a guarantee, which the En-
' An euly confiiiion gave rise to the reading of Freoborb, libtrum
plrpiam, free pleiige, fnmk-pleilge, for FriSborh, the pledge gr guB^
twitee ot peace, pads plrifium. The liistinttion in easentjal to the coni-
preheonon of this institution.
* Thia a given here onlj as the most detailed account : the principle
VM M old ai the Anglosaxon monarchy itself, or older. Tbe law of
E&dgar thus cipreases it : " Lei every man so onler, that he have ■
surety, and let the surety (borh) bring and huld him to every right;
Biul if any one then offend and escape, let the surety bear nhat he
ought to bear. But if it be a thief, and the surety can get hold of bim
wilhin tnclve months, let him surrender the thief to justice, and let
wfakt he before paid be restored to him." Eiidg. ii, ^ 6. Thorpe, i. 268.
" This then is my will, that every man he in surety, both within the
towns and without the towns." E^dg. ii. supp. ^ 3. Thorpe, i. 274.
" Let every freeman have a true borh, who may present him to every
right, should he be accused." -ESclred, i. § I. Thorpe, i. 2,^.
" If he flee from the ordeal, let the borh pay for him according to
his WW." -ESeb. iu. % 6. Thorpe, i. 296.
" And nc will that every freeman be brought into a hundred and into
ft tithii^, who desires to be entitled to Idd or tofr, in case any one
should slay him aAer he have reached the age of xu years : or let him
BOt otherwise be entitled to any free rights, he he householder, be he
follower. Anil let every one be brought into a hundred and a surety,
and let tbe surety hold and lead him to every plea." Cnut, ii. J 20.
Thorpe, i. 386.
The stranger or fricodless man, who had no borh, i.e. could not
find bail, must he committed, at the first charge ; and instead of clear-
iug liimscif by the oaths of his friends, must nin the risk and cndnre
the pain of the otdeal. Cnul, ii. ^ :15. Thori*, i. 396.
250 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
glish call Fri^borgas, with the exception of the men
of York, who call it Tenmannetale, that is, the
number of ten men. And it consists in this, that
in all the vills throughout the kingdom, aU men
are bound to be in a guarantee by tens, so that if
one of the ten men offend, the other nine may hold
him to right. But if he should flee, and they allege
that they could not have him to right, then should
be given them by the king's justice a space of at
least thirty days and one : and if they could find
him they might bring him to justice. But for him-
self, let him out of his own restore the damage he
had done, or if the offence be so grave let justice
be done upon his body. But if within the aforesaid
term he could not be found, since in every fri%borfa
there was one headman whom they called friVborg-
heved, then this headman should take two of the
best men of his fri^borh, and the headman of each
of the three friSborgs most nearly neighbouring to
his own, and likewise two of the best in each, if he
can have them ; and so with the eleven others he
shall, if he can, clear both himself and his fri^borh
both of the offence and flight of the aforesaid ma*
lefactor. Which if he cannot do, he shall restore
the damage done out of the property of the doer,
so long as this shall last, and out of his own and
that of his friSborh : and they shall make amends
to the justice according as it shall be by law ad-
judged them. And moreover the oath which they
could not complete with the rentie, the nine them-
selves shall make, viz. that they had no part in the
offence. And if at anv time thev can recover hira.
■X.1
TUE TITHING AND HUNDRED,
they shall bring him to the justice, if they can, or
teli the justice where he is'."
Thus the object of the gylds or tithings was,
that each man should be in pledge or surety (bork)
as well to his fellow-man as to the state tor the
maintenance of the public peace : that he should
enjoy protection for life, honour and property him-
self, and be compelled to respect the life, honour
and property of others: that he should have a fixed
and settled dwelling where he could be found when
required, where the public dues could be levied,
and the public services demanded of him ; lastly
that, if guilty of actions that compromised the
public weal or trenched upon the rights and well-
being of others, there might be persons especially
appointed to bring him to justice ; and if injured
by others, supporters to pursue his claim and exact
compensation for his wrong. All these points seem
to have been very well secured by the establish-
ment of the Tithings, to whom the community
looked as responsible for the conduct of every in-
dividual comprised within them ; and coupled with
the family obligations which still remained in force
in particular cases, they amply answered the pur-
pose of a mutual guarantee between all classes of
men. The system possessed the advantage of being
necessarily regulated by neighbourhood, and it was
free from some disadvantages which might have
attended an exclusive reliance upon kinsmauship :
' " De friSborgis. et quoi! soli Eboracensca vwnnt friSborcb Ten-
manoeUle. i. e. Kermo decern homiuum," etc. LI. Edn. Conf. ix.
Thorpe, i 450.
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book l
the fri^borgas not having the bond of blood be-
tween them, which might have induced an improper
partiality in favour of one of their members ; and
as they stood under responsibility for every act of
a gjidsman, being interested in preventing an un-
due interference on the part of his family. We thus
see that the gyldsmeo were not only bound to pre-
sent their fellows before the court of the freemen
when specially summoned thereto, but that they
found their own advantage in exercising a kind of
police-surveillance over them all : if a crime were
committed, the gyld were to hold the criminal to his
answer ; to clear him, if they could conscientiously
do so, by making oath in his favour ; to aid in pay-
ing his fine if found guilty ; and if by flying from
justice he admitted his crime, they were to purge
themselves on oath from all guilty knowledge of the
act, and all participation in his flight ; failing which,
they were themselves to suffer mulct in proportion
to his ofl'ence. On the other hand they were to
receive at least a portion of the compensation for
his death, or of such other sums as passed from
hand to hand during the progress of an Anglosaxon
suit. Being his neighbours, the visnetum, vicinage
or venue, they were his natural compurgators or
witnesses, and consequently, being examined on
oath, in some sense the yuroti or jurors upon whose
verdict his weal or woe depended. And thus the
importance of character, so frequently appealed to
even in our modern jorisprudeoce, was carried to
the highest extent.
We may reasonably conclude that the close i_
ide that the close I^H
X.)
THE TITHING AKD HUNDRED,
tercourse thus created, was improved to private
and social purposes, and that these gylds, like the
much larger associations of the same name in after
times, knew how to combine pleasure with business.
The citizens of London hint at a monthly sympo-
sium or treat, with buU-jiUmg, when the tithing-
men met together to settle the atfairs of their re-
spective hundreds, — a trait not yet extinct in the
civic, or indeed the national, character. There can
also he httle doubt that the gylds even formed
small courts of arbitration, as well as police, for the
settlement of such trifling disputes between mem-
bers of the same gyld, as were not worthy of being
reserved for the interference of a superior tribunal ' ;
and it is also probable that the members consi-
dered themselves bound to aid in the festivities or
do honour to the obsequies of any individual gyld-
brother : the London gyldsmen were to distribute
alms, and cause religious services to be performed
at the decease of a fellow ; and it is obvious that
this shariag in a religious obhgation, the benefits of
which were to extend even into another life, must
' The law of Eadn-eard the CoDfeuor shows this clesrly : " Cum
SQtetn Tiderunt quod sliqui stulti libcnter forisfnriebaBt erga Ticinoa
•uoi, lapieDtiorcg coepcniat consilium inter se, quomoilo cos reprime-
rent, et tic impoguenint iustiriarios super quoaque decern friSborgoa,
qaos decBUOB pouumus dicere, Anglice autem tjeulte-beTed vocati
•imt, hoc est cajiut decern. Isti autem intei vilhu, inter viciuoa tracta-
bant caUHU, et Kciuiilum quod foriafscturae erant, emendstiaDes et
ordinatioiiea faciebant, videhcct de puicuis. de prati^, de meaaibus, de
certatiaaibui inter vicinoi, et de multia huiuimodi quae irequeuter
iiwurgunt." >j xxviti. How clearly has the jurisdiclioa of tbe "ntbing
liere tupeneded that of the ancient Mark '.
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[Bt
have impressed somewhat of a solemn and sacred
character upon the whole institution'.
Much of what has been observed respecting the
tithing, apphes also to the hundred. This, it has
been seen, was originally a collection often tithings,
and was presided over by a hundredes ealdor', or
hundred-man, who exercised a jurisdiction over his
circuit and its inhabitants. From the concurrent
practice of later periods we may conclude that his
court was holden monthly for the hearing of such
civil and lighter criminal causes as could not be
settled in the tithing, or interested more tithings
than one''. It is not probable that the higher
criminal causes could at any period be pursued
in the hundred^, but that they were necessarily
reserved for the consideration of the folcmdt or
' In what msy be colled the Act of Coastitution of Orcy'« OyU il
AbbotBbury, lhi» feftture i» vety prominent. I li«ve therefore appenkd
the instrumeut in an Appendix to thii chsjiter, nllhough as d vuluntatj
gjld it diRera in some reaptet from those hcrctofcn* under considrf-
ation. The trade-guilda of the Middle Agei paid aIbd eipeeial Ukduod
to the religious commuuioa of their members.
' The word Borseholder renders it probable that the capitals, tvn-
iDBtma heufod, yldeita, etc. bore among the Saxons the name of BoigM-
ealdor, princept phgii,
' Thia again we lenm from the law attributed to Eadweard theCoD-
feasor. "Cum autem muares causae insui^hant (that ii g;TeBter tbaa
those which concerned the tithing), referebant eaa ad alios maiores iu>-
ticiarios. qiios sapienten siipradied super eos constitueraut, seiUcet lupn
decern decaiios, quos possumus vocare centenaries, quia super centum
friSborgos iudicabant." § xxix.
' 1 lia<l no instance of a hundredes man having the btut^fann or IM
glaitii : but in the time of HuUgar, he seemi to have had jiower to adni-
nister the single and liireefo Id ordeal ; whether ouly in the ease of icrti
does not appear. Inat. Iliindr. Thorpe, i. 260.
CH. ix] THE TITHING AND HUNDRED. 255
shire-court, which met three times in the year. In
the later legislation, trial of capital offences was re-
served for the scyremot, and the words of Tacitus'
seem to imply that this was the case in his tirae
also: perhaps even such causes as involved the
penalties of outlawry may have been beyond the ju-
risdiction of the hundred, It is however less as a
court of justice than as part of a system for the main-
tenance of peace, that we are to contemplate the
hundred. It may be securely affirmed that where
the tithing alone could not be made responHible, or
more tithings than one were involved in a simitar
difficulty as to crimes committed by their members,
resort was had to the responsibility of the collective
hundred, — a principle which, it is well-known, sub- I
sists even to this day.
At a comparatively late period, we occasionally
find a consolidation of hundreds into one body, for
judicial purposes, presided over by the ealdorman
of the shire, or his gerefa, and forming a subsidiary
court to the shiremoot : and after immunities, or
private jurisdictions, had become rapidly extended,
it is certain that such consolidations were not un-
usual, in the hands of great civil or ecclesiastical
authorities, and that they, by means of their officers
or gerefan, held plea in several hundreds at once;
they thus substituted their own power for that of
the ealdorman or the sheriff", in the last instance,
throughout the district comprehended by their im-
munity ; either replacing the old hundred-men by
' " Licet ujiiid (^Dcilitim accuaare quoque et diiwrimea capitis inten-
Uere.- Germ, %u.
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[8«
k
ger^t'an or bailiffs, or suffering the hundreds to be
still governed and adQiinistered in the way common
to all such divisions, by the elective officer'.
It stands to reason that the system above de-
scribed applied only to the really free. It was the
form of the original compact between the inde-
pendent members of an independent community.
But as by the side of the free landholders, there
dwelt also unfree men of various ranks, so also
there existed modifications of the original compact,
suited to their condition. Those who in a more or
less stringent degree were dependent, could not be
members of the tithing, the hundred or the folcradt.
They stood to right among themselves, in their
lord's court, not in the people's, and in the latter
they could not appear for themselves. The insti-
tution therefore which provided that the lord might
maintain a Comitatus or following, provided also
that its members should all he in his muud (pro-
tection) and borh (surety), and that he should make
answer for them in tlie courts from which they
were themselves excluded*.
' Eadweard the Coofessor granted the hiinilred of Humniere in
Berkshire to Ordrie, abbat of Abingdoa ; " so that no sbt^ritT or moot-
reeve may hold therein any plea or moot, without the Abbat's own
command and permission." Cod. Dip. No. 840. He alao gnuited
the hundred of Godley in Surrey to Wulfwold, Abbat of Chertiey,
and forbade the sheriff to meddle in the same. Cod. Dip. No. &40,
' " .\nd let every lord have his household in his own borh. Then if
any of them should be accused, aod escape, let thclordjisy the man's wn*
to the king. And if any accuse the lord that the escape was by his coun-
sel, let him clear himself with five thnnea, being himself the aixth. If
the purgation fail him, let biro forfeit hia wrr to the king ; and let the
man be au oullaw." MMr. i. 5 1. Thorpe, i. 292. "And let every
A
THE TITHINC AND HUNDREU,
267
It is difficult to decide whether tlie lords or no-
bles were at first comprised within the popular cor-
porations ; it appears most probable that they were
not ; that they were sufficient to tlieir own defence,
and, even from the earliest historical periods, in
possession of that immuniiij which released their
lands from the jurisdiction of the popular tribunals.
In respect therefore to the gylds, they may be sup-
posed to have held an independent, though not
necessarily hostile, position, regulated indeed by the
public law : and if they stood to right with their
men, in the folcmot, it was the collective power
and dignity of the state with which they had to
deal, and not the smaller associations, founded
upon necessities of which they were not conscious.
Their dependents were under their guarantee and
surety, as the members of every man's household,
his wife, children and serfs, were under his: for
them he was responsible to the community at large ;
but he owed no suit or service to others, and if he
persisted in upholding wrong, I fear the only cor-
rective was to be found in the inalienable ius belli,
which resumes its power instantly upon the viola-
lord have his household in his own bori, oad if any one accuse his
man of any thing, let the lord answer for him within the hundruti,
wherein he ii cited, as just taiv in. And if he escape," etc. Cnut, ii.
J 31. Thorpe, i. 394, 396. " Archiepiwopi, cpiacopi, comitcs, barones
et milites suos, et proprios serricntes bum. scilicet doptferoH, pincemas,
camerarioB, cocos, pistores, «ub suo &i'Sborgo habebant, et ipsi suos
nrmigeniB et ahos scrvientes suos sub aiio fril^borga ; quod ai ipsi foris-
facerent, et clamor Ticinorum iojurgeret de oia, ipai haherent eos ad
rectum in curia aiia, >i haberent sacham et socam, lol et theam, et lu-
fangene Ihef." Edw. Conf. xxi. Thorpe, i. 461.
VOL. 1. S
tioD of that tacit uoderstaDding among men, that
the well-being of society depends upon a regulated
mutual forbearance. Those were not ages in which
acts of self-defence or righteous retribution could
be misnamed rerolutions. But all these remarks
are intended to apply only to a state of society in
which the nobles were few and independent, the
people strong and united ; where the people were
in truth the aristocracy ', and the nobles only their
chiefs. The holder of an immunity (having sacu
and socn) in later times, under a consolidated
royalty representing the national will, and in a
state from which Che element of the people had
nearly vanished, through the almost total vanish-
ing of small independent freeholds, was necessarily
placed in a very different position.
It DOW remains only to bestow a few words upon
the manner iu which the original obligations of the
family bond were gradually brought to bear upon
the artificial organization.
Upon a careful consideration of the latter it ap-
pears that its principal object was gained when
either offences were prevented, or the offender pre-
sented to justice : the consequences of crime, in all
but a few excepted cases, fell not upon the gegyldan
' The frwman it a member of an BristocrBcv in respecl of all the
unfrec, whether these be temporarily bo, as his chililren and ^esU. or
penoanently »o, as his serfs. To be in the imkinaiui, whioli others »rf
Dot. to have the fi-anehise «hich others ha*e not, to hare the frtrdunl
of a eity which others liave not, all these uc fonni of ariatodacy,—
the aristocracy of Greece, Rome and Engknil. The Peers in FlIj^wH
arc not themselves exclusively an aristocracy ; thej' are the born Icadtn
of one, whirh consists now of ten-pounil householders, freeiMn <■
tonus, and eoiintv teuunts under the Chuiiilos clause.
CH. IS.] THE TITHING AND Ht'NDRED. 259
(if they could clear themselves of participation) but
upon the miegas or relatives'.
The laws of ^«elberht, WihtrEed and HloShere
know nothing of gegyldan : with them the m.-egas
are still wholly responsible, and even their inter-
vention is noticed in three cases only : jE^elberht
provided that in the event of a manslayer flying
the country, the family should pay half the wergyld
of the slain'. Again he enacts, that if a married
woman die without bearing children, the property
she brought her husband, and that which he settled
upon her after consummation, shall return to her
paternal relatives^. According to the legislation of
Hlo^here, if a man died, leaving a wife and child,
the mother was to have the custody of the child till
his tenth year, but the paternal kinsmen were to
administer his property, under satisfactory pledge
for due discharge of their duty^. The regulations
*■ " Anil if any one charge a |*rsoii in Lnly orders with feud (fibSe)
■nil my that he was a perjwIrBtur or ailviser of humicide, let him clear
himself with his kinsmen, who muat bear the feud with him, or make
FompctlBatiDn for It. And if he have no kin, let bim clear biutBelf with
hia Msodates or fast for the ordeal by bread, and ao fitrc as Gud may
orduD." £Belr. i\. $ 23, 24. Thorpe, i. 344. Cnuf, i. 5 5, Thorpe,
i. 362. The assoeintes or grferan here are probably his fellows in or-
ders. But a monk being released from all family relations could not be
implicated in the reRponaibdities of the ms-gburh (ibid. § 25} ; " for he
foriHikea hit Uw of kin (mE^NIage) when he aubtnits to mmuutic law."
Cout, i. % 5. Thorpe, i. 362.
* ■' Gif bans of lande gevciteiS, Sa mtegsa bealfne leild forgyldcn."
iSelb. % 23. Thorpe, i. 8.
» " Gif heo beam ne gehyrefi, fiederingtnicgas fcoh Sgcu and inor-
gengyfe." JWelb, ^1. Thorpe, i. 24.
■' Gif ceorl Bcwyle be libbendum wife and bearne, riht is *fet hit.
Siet beam, m^der folgige ; and him n
a his faiiteriagmKgLUD wil-
e bet^ean geselle, his feoh t6 heoldeune oWa^t he tynwintre sie.'
HloWi. § 6. Thorpe, 1. 30.
260 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of Ini allow us to enter still further into the nature
of the family engagement. He enacted that if a
stranger came through the wood out of the high-
way, and attempted to slink through in secret,
without shouting or blowing his horn, he should be
taken to be a thief, and might be slain or forced to
pay according to his presumed crime : and if the
slayer were then pursued for his wergyld, he might
make oath that he slew him for a thief, and the lord
and tlie gegyldan of the dead man should not be
allowed to make oath to the contrary : but if the
slayer had at the time concealed the deed, and it
was only afterwards discovered, a presumption of
unfair dealing was raised against him, and the kin-
dred of the dead man were entitled to make oath of
his innocence ^ Again if a stranger were slain, the
king was to have two parts of his wergyld, the son
or relatives of the dead man might claim the third ;
but if there were no relatives, the king claimed
half, the count half ^. Besides a provision for a sur-
' " Gif feorcund man o'5i$e fremde butau wege geond ¥rudu gonge,
and ne hn'me ne bom blawe, for beof he bi^ to pr6fianne, cSiSe to
sleanne oSSe to alysanne. Gif mon ^tcs ofslaegenan weres bidde, be
mot gecy'6'au ^^vt he bine for >e6f of8l6ge, nalles "Saes ofslsegenan g^^il-
dan ne bis blaford. Gif be hit "Sonne dyme'5, and weoi^'5 ymb lang
yppe, "Sonne ryme'S be ^am deadan to i^am iiSe, fet hine mdtan hif
msegas unsc^ldigne ged6n." Ini, § 20, 21 . The collocation of gegyl-
dan and msegas in this law seems to show clearly that Ini looked upon
them as the same thing : hence that in the original institution the gyld
and the family were identical, though afterwards, for convenience' sake
the number and nature of the gjld were otberBise regulated, when the
kinsmen bad become more dispersed.
' " Gif mon aelj^eodigne ofslea, se c}'ning ah twiedne dsl weies, >rid-
dan dffil sunu o2^ maegas. Gif he f$onne mseglelb ne, healf cvninge,
healf se gesi«." Ini, § 23.
CH. IX.] THE TITHING A.VD HUNDRED. 261
viving child, similar to that of HioBhere', the law
of Ini contains no further regulation with regard
to the msegas of the free man. Four several chap-
ters referring to serfs who are guilty of theft, rest
upon the principle that his kin have renounced the
aitegburh by suffering him to remain in serfage,
and together with the obligations of kinsmen have
relinquished their own right of avenging his injuries
or making pursuit for his wrongs*.
The duties of the raregsceatY or kinship are deve-
loped with considerable detail ia the law of Alfred :
the moat general regulation is that which acknow-
ledges the right of a man to have the aid of his kin-
dred in all those excepted cases where the custom
and the law still permitted the waging of fieh^e or
private war-. " After the same fashion, may a man
fight on behalf of his born kinsman, if any wrong-
fully attack him ; except indeed against his lord :
that we permit not^" Other clauses provide that
where a wrongdoer is taken into custody, and agrees
peaceably to abide the decision of the law, his re-
latives shall have due notice*: " If he pledge him-
self to a lawful act, and belie himself therein, let
' Ini, 4 38.
» Ini, 5 24, 2S. 35, 7-1. Thorpe, i. 118, 120, liJ4, UH.
* " £fter Ksre vlcau nisan mut mnn feoblan mlH hia gcborcDum
nuegc, gif bine mon on wob onfeohtaS ; butOD wiS his blofonl : Swt
we ne lyfaS." J.lf. 5 42. Thorpe, i. 'M.
' '■ Gif he Sonne Bsei weddie Be him riht ay to geltcstanne and &M
ilcoge, (die mid eadmedum hit wiepD und hU shta bis frcundum to
g«lieal(laiiiie, and be^ feowertig nibta on earcerne on cjninges tijne;
Iniwi^ Stcr iwa bi«cop bim ecrirc. and his nucgas bine f^en gif be lelf
mete ntcbbc -. gif be roign* uiebbi;, oMSe ■Kone mete unhbe. ffdc cy-
ninges geirfe bine." Mf. § 1. Thorpe, i, UO. Tliere is a siiniUr provi-
«on in iUf. ^ 3. Thor[ic, i. 14. .Elf. H2. Tborpf, i. 90.
262 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
him humbly surrender his arms and his goods to
his friends, to hold for him, and let him remain for
forty days in prison in a king's tun ; let him there
suffer as the bishop may direct him ; and let his
kinsmen feed him, if he have himself no food ; but
if he have no kinsmen, or no food, let the king's
reeve feed him." Again if a man is accidentally
slain while hewing wood with others, his kinsmen
are to have the tree, and remove it from the land
within thirty days, otherwise it shall go to the
owner of the wood^ The most important case of
all, however, is that of a divided responsibility be-
tween the kinsmen and the gegyldan, which iElfted
thus regulates : '' If one that hath no paternal kin-
dred fi^ht and slav a man, if then he have maternal
relatives, let them pay a third part of the trfr, his
gyldbrethren a third (tart, and for a third part l^
him dee. If he have no maternal relatives, let his
g\idbr^thren pay half, and for half let him flee.
And if any one slay such a man, having no rela-
tives, let half be p^d to the king, half to the gyld-
brvthrt'u^'' Ii was also the principle of j£lfred'8
law, nxxvirnized but not introduced bv him, that
no man should have the power of alienating from
his m;vc^<^^an, booklands whose first acquirer had
entaiUxi them ui>on the family, — a principle which
< ^^ iV.: tffOKv&s»^ sacw» mn cciraktr aod man oftfea, and
^^'T ^ ^ ^:&^^^:>r%a;jc^:» '^^<«. C^"^^ ^ ^!<» ««ro Mddan del,
>«..>.»:; ^: N» cf^Viiau f.Y >cr^ikS4x cc^ d( Aml Gif lie medramuegM
»^^^S»*.>f«^*p*rK?V^*^rtLf».^.^ Gsf mem sirs ge-
rfc.-,v «s>* ^>t>:^^ c.: Sf 7&K^» a*c«, ijrtie mon bcmlfiie
K>*:t»r Nfc:s: ix>c? «tt _«i5r ^ i;:. ^s;. TV«pe, i. TS, SO.
«-]
THE TITHING AND HUNDRED.
tends, aa far as human means seem capable nf en-
suring it, to ensure its permanent maintenance'.
Tlie reciprocal rights and duties of the miegbiirh
were similarly understood by Eudweard : he enacted
that if a malefactor were deserted by his relatives,
and they refused to make compensation for him,
he should be reduced to serfage ; but in this case
his wergyld was to abate from the kindred . And
jE^elstan distinctly holds the mjegB responsible
for their kinsman. He says, "If a thief be put
into prison, let him remain there forty days, and
then let him be ransomed for 120 shilhngs, and let
the kindred go surety for him that he shall cease
from theft for the future. And if after that he
steal, let them pay for hira with his wergyld, or
replace him in prison*." But he goes further than
this, and imposes upon them the duty of finding a
lord for him, or exposing him to the penalty of
outlawry : " And we have ordained respecting tliose
lordless men of whom no law can be got, that the
kindred be commanded to domicile him to folk-
right, and find him a lord in the folkmote ; and if
then they will not or cannot produce him at the
term, let hira thenceforth be an outlaw, and let
whoso Cometh at him slay him*;" a provision which
' jEib. 1 41. Thorpe, i, 88.
'Eadw. ii. §9. .eCelst. V. cap. 12, $ 2. Thorpe, i. l&l. 242.
» .fiSdrt. i. 4 1, 6 ; y. Mp. 1, 4 4, csp. 9. Thorpe, i. 198, 202, 229,
238.
• £fiflit. i. % 2. Thorpe, i. 200. Upon the just principle that "He
may die without law who reftiseth to hve by law," " Utlngatiu el wey-
vista capita gerunt lupine [wulvefl-bead] quae ab oionibiis imimiie po-
terunt ainpiitari : merito enini sine lege iwrire dcbciit, qui secundum
legem vivcre recusant." Fltt. lib. i. cap. 27, 4 12, etc.
u
264 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
obviously canDot apply to free landowners, who
would have been included in a tithing, and could
not have been thus compulsorily commended to a
lord. Where a man is slain as a thief, the relatives
are to clear him, if they can\ inasmuch as they
would have a right to pursue the slayer and claim
the compensation for their kinsman's death. Again
it is provided that if a lord has so many dependents
that he cannot personally exercise a due supervision
over them, he shall appoint efficient reeves or bai-
liffs in his several manors, to be answerable to him.
And if need be, the bailiff shall cause twelve rela-
tives of anv man whom he cannot trust, to enter
into sureties for him^
Sadmund permitted the maegS to avoid the con-
sequences of their kinsman's act, by refusing to abet
him in his feud^. I imagine that this law must be
taken in connection with that of Sadweard^, and
that it implies a total desertion of the criminal by
his kindred, with all its consequences, viz. loss of
liberty to him, and of his wergyld to them. The
troubled time of -^^elred, '*the ill-advised," sup-
plies another attempt to secure peace by holding the
relatives strictly and personally responsible : in his
law we find it enacted, *' If breach of the peace be
» ^«elst. i. § 11. Thorpe, i. 204.
' " Ut omnis homo teneat homines suos in fideiuBsione sua oontn
omne furtum. Si tunc sit aliquis qui tot homines habeat quod non suf-
ficiat omnes custodire, praeponat sibi singulis villis praepositum unom,
qui credibilis sit ei, (>t qui concredat hominibus. £t si praepositus ali-
cui eorum hominum concredere non audeat, inveniat xii plegios cogna-
tionis suae qui ei stent in fideiussione." .ESelst. ii. § 7. Thorpe, i. 217.
• Eidm. ii. §1. < Eadw. ii. § !).
CH. IS.] THE TITHING AND HUNDRED. 365
comraitted withiu a town, let the inhabitants of the
town go in person, and take the murderers, aUve or
dead, or their nearest of kin, head for head. If
they will not, let the ealdorraan go ; if he will not,
let the king go; if he will not, let the whole dis-
trict be in a state of war'." Though this perhaps is
less a settled rule of law than the convulsive effort
of an authority striving in vain to maintain itself
amid civil discords and the horrors of foreign in-
vasion, it still consecrates the old principle, and
returns to the true basis on which Anglosaxon
society was founded, namely treaties of peace and
mutual guarantee between the several parlies that
made up the State.
Such were the means by which the interaal peace
of the land was attempted to be secured, and it is
evident that better could hardly have been devised
in a ."^tate of society where population was not very
widely dispersed, and where property hardly ex-
isted, save in land, and almost equally unmanage-
able cattle. The summary jurisdiction of our police
magistrates, our recognizances and bail and bind-
ing over to keep the peace, are developemenls ren-
dered necessary by our altered circumstances ; but
these are nevertheless institutions of the same na-
ture as those on which our forefathers relied. The
establishment of our County-courts, in which jus-
tice goes forth from man to man, and without ori-
ginal writ from the Crown, is another step toward
the ancient principle of our jurisprudence, m the
old Hundred.
> *Belr. ii. % fi. Tlmrpc,
266 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
A farther inquiry now arises, as to the basis upon
which all calculations as to satisfaction between
man and man were founded ; in other words to the
system of Wergylds and its various corollaries:
this will form the subject of a separate chapter.
CHAFfER X.
FJEHDE. WERGYLD.
Tub right of private warfare, technically called fseh'Se
or feud*, waa one which every Teutonic freeman
considered inalienable ; and which, coupled with
the obligations of family, was directly derived from
his original position as a freeman^ : it was the pri-
vilege which he possessed before he consented to
enter into any political bond, the common term
upon which all freemen could meet in an equal
form of polity. It was an immediate corollary from
that primteval law of nature, that each man may
provide for his own defence, and use his own ener-
gies to secure his own well-being, and the quiet
possession of his life, his liberty and the fruits of
his labour. History and tradition both assure us
that it did exist among the tribes of the North ;
and it is reasonable to suppose that it must have
done so, especially in any case where wc can con-
ceive separate families and households to have main-
tained at all an independent position toward one
' FshSe it etymologic&lly deriTctl from fa, a fot '. it is the Btat« or
condition of being fa with ftuy one. " Gif hiT& ofer feet atalige ly he
fs vnJ Sone cyning and eslle his freond." " If after that, any one iteal,
be he foe (at feud) with the king, and all that love him."
' Toiit. Germ. sxli.
268 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
another. Where no imperium yet exists, society it-
self possesses only a ius belli against its own seve-
ral members ; and if neighbours will not be neigh-
bourly, they must be coerced into peace (the great
and first need of all society and the condition of its
existence) by alliance of the many against the few,
of the orderly and peaceful against the violent and
lawless. This right of feud then lies at the root
of all Teutonic legislation ; and in the Anglosaxon
law especially it continues to be recognized long
after an imperial power has been constituted, and
the general conservancy of the peace has been com-
mitted to a central authority. It admits as its most
general term, that each freeman is at liberty to de-
fend himself, his family and his friends ; to avenge
all wrongs done to them, as to himself shall seem
good ; to sink, burn, kill and destroy, as amply as
a royal commission now authorizes the same in a
professional class, the recognized executors of the
national will in that behalf. Now it is obvious
that such a power, exercised in its full extent, must
render the formation of an orderly society difficult,
if not impossible. The first problem then is to de-
vise means by which private vengeance may be
regulated, private wrong atoned, the necessity of
each man's doing himself right avoided, and the
general state of peace and security provided for.
For setting aside the loss to the whole community
which may arise from private feud, the moral sense
of men may be shocked by its results : an indivi-
dual's own estimate of the satisfaction necessary
to atone for the injury done to him, may lead to
CH. n.] FXBDE. WERGYLll, 2G9
the commission of a wrong on his part, greater than
any he hath suffered ; nor can the strict rule of "an
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," be applied,
where the exaction of the penalty depends upon the
measure of force between appellant and defender.
In the feeling then of the omnipotence of the
State, for paramount purposes, over all the several
individuals whose proximity to one another neces-
sarily caused the existence between them of rela-
tions, amicable or hostile, the Teutonic nations set
themselves the task of regulating the Right of Feud.
They could not entirely abrogate it, for it was the
very basis of that freedom which enabled every man
to enter into a contract or engagement as to the
mode of its exercise ; but they defined, and as far
as possible limited, its sphere and the extent of its
action.
The natural right of every man to do himself
justice to the extent of his own estimate', seems
early to have received so much check as could be
given by the establishment of a lex talionis, — life
for life, and limb for limb. The eorl who captured
the thane Imma, in the seventh century, could say
to him, "I might justly put thee to death, be-
cause my kinsmen fell in the battle wherein thou
' Thii is the wild rigbt of everj outlaw, the law of nsture which re-
sumes its force when humaD law lins been reliuquialieil.
" I lost mine eye in laying thv prize aboard.
And therefore, to revenge it, ihnlt tbou (lie! "
llvu. VI. Part 2. act iv. av. 1.
Sueb is the justice of him who has returned to the univerMLl state of
war. Against such a one. Society, if it mean to be society, muit on ita
side declare a wb '
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
wert made prisoner' ;" and this principle was re-
cognized even in the later legislation, after what
we may call a legal corarantation of this right had
heen established : the ordinance respecting oaths
to be administered says, "A twelfhynde man's
oath stands for six ceorla' oaths ; because if a man
should avenge a twelfhynde man, he will be fully
avenged on six ceorls, and his wergyld will be sis
ceorls' wergylds*." The Teutonic nations generally
avoided the inconveniences of such a system by
making the State itself the arbitrator between the
parties ; that is, by establishing a tariff at which in-
juries should be rated, and committing to the State
the duty of compelling the injured person to receive,
and the wrongdoer to pay, the settled amount. It
thus engaged to act as a mediator between the
conflicting interests, with a view to the maintenance
of the general peace : it assured to the sufferer the
legal satisfaction for his loss ; it engaged to bis
adversary that, upon due payment of that legal
satisfaction, he should he placed under the pubUc
guarantee and saved from all the consequences of
feud. For doing this, the State claimed also some
remuneration ; it imposed a tine, called sometimes
fredum, from fri?, peace, or hannum from its pro-
clamation (bannan) ", over and above the compen-
' Bella, Hist. Eccl. iv. 22.
' " Tweltliyiidea nwnnei fiS forstcnt svx ceortn bS ; forfiam gif mm
'Boae twclfhyDdan tnan wrecan soeolde, he bi'N full wreceuon svx c«o^
lum, and liis wergild biS <>-x ceorla wergyld." Oaths, § 12. Thorpe,
i. \m.
' The technical term is, to set up IHr kinp's proleelion, "cyoinfn
munde titan." Kfi<l»-. ami GiiP. ^ Kl Endm. ii. ^ 7. Thorpe,!. 17*,
CK.X.J
PiTHDE, WEROVLD.
271
sation between man and man. And this is obvi-
ously what Tacitus means when he says', "They are
bound to take up both the enmities and the friend-
ships of a father or relative. Nor are their enmi-
ties implacable ; for even homicide is atoned for by
a settled number of flocks or cattle, and the whole
house receives satisfaction, — a useful thing for the
state, for feuds are dangerous in exact proportion
to freedom." And again, "A portion of the fine
goes to the king or state, a part to him whose da-
mages are to be assessed, or to his relatives." Only
where the State would not, or could not, as may
sometimes have happened, undertake this duty, did
the right of private warfare again resume its course,
and the family relations recover their pristine im-
portance. The man who presumes to tight, before
be has in vain appealed to all the recognized au-
thorities for redress, is hable, under Alfred's law,
to severe punishment, except in one important
case, which involved the maintenance of the family
itself, to secure which alone the machinery of the
State exists*. But where the offender refuses to
250. TbU is the engagemeot of the State that tlie Brbitrcment shall
be peaceably niaHc, and it at once abrogate! all right of feud, and fear
of violent revenge.
' " Siueipere tam inimicitias geu {latris seu proplnqui quam amici-
tiai necesse est. Nee implBcabiles ilurant ; luitur eoim etiam homiei-
dium certo anucntonim ac pecorum tmmero, recipitque satisraetionem
universa domus : utiUter in pubbcilm ; quia periculoiiores sunt isimi-
citiae ituta libertatem," Germ. xiii. " Sed et levioribus deUctis [in-
cluding homicide] pro modo poenBTum equorum pecorumqne numero
convict! multantur. Para miiltae regi vel civitatl, pais ipsi qui vindi-
cator, vel propinquis eius exsulvitur." Ibii). vii.
' The Saxon lavr says, in accordance with the univenal laiv of na>
ture and soriety, " A mrin louy figlit, irithout innuring the penalty of
272 THi; SAXONS IN KNGLAND.
avail himsetf of tlie means of peaceful settlemCDt
which society has provided for him, the person in-
jured may make war upon him, and have the assist-
ance of the State in so doing. The most general
expression of this right is found in a proverbial
formula retained in the law of Eadweard the Con-
fessor, and which may be said to comprise all the
law of the subject : it says, " Let amends be made
to the kindred, or let their war be borne ;" whence
the English had the proverb, ' Bicge spere of side
(5^er here,' that is to say, Buy off the spear or bear
it'. The mode however of applying this general
right was not left to individual caprice. The fol-
lowing regulations made by successive kings will
explain very fully the practice and the theory of
Feud or War. .<Elfred ordains, "That the man who
knows his foe to be homesitting fight not, be-
fore he have demanded justice of him. If he have
power enough to beset bis foe, and besiege him in
his house, let him keep him there for seven days, but
not attack him, if he will remain within-doors. If
then, after seven days, he be willing to surrender,
and to give up his weapons, let him be kept safe
for thirty days, and let notice of him be giveo
to his kinsmen and friends. . . . But if the plaintiff
misinic nnr. ftgainBt him nhom he lindB nith his wedded wife, wttbin
closed donn, or under one covering ; or, with his dBiighter lawAdlf
bom, or with his siater ls»fiU1_v bom, or with his mother, who wu
given to lii« father as hi» wedded wife." In these c»«cs there i», »d
can he, no murder hefore the law. It IB needless to show from tilt
history and trsditiuni of every European state, that this is ■ princtiiit
uairersally recognized.
' LI. Elldw. Conf. xii. Tlior|«. i. 44?.
oa.x.]
F^'HDE. WERGYLD.
have not power enough of his own to besiege his
foeman, let him ride to the ealdorman and beg aid
of liim ; and if the ealdorman will not aid him, let
him ride to the king before he fights. In hke man-
ner if a man come accidentally upon his foe, and
without previous knowledge of his homestaying ; if
the foe will surrender his weapons, let him be kept
safely for thirty days, and let notice be given to his
friends. If he will not surrender his weapons, he
may lawfully be attacked. But if he be willing to
surrender and to deliver up his weapons, and after
that, any one attack him, let him pay wer and
wound, as well he may, and fine, and have forfeited
his mjegship'. We also declare that it is lawful
war, for a man to fight for his lord, if any one
attack his lord : and so also may the lord fight for
his man. And in like manner a man may fight
for his born kinsman, if any wrongfully attack
him, except against his own lord : that we allow
not. And it is lawful war if a man find another
with his wedded wife within closed doors, or under
one covering, orwith his daughter born in wedlock,
or his sister born in wedlock, or his mother who
was given to his father as a wedded wife'."
The inconveniences of this slate of society in-
duced Eadmund, about the middle of the tenth cen-
' Probably, *' Let bim forfeit all claim to tbe asaUlnncc of liis kiua-
tnen, citber in repelling feiiil or paying liDe."
' lEIfr. ^ 4-J. I have sliftbtly variud the form of cxprcraion in the
lut Kiiteoces, on aecount of the difficulty of rendering the odjcotive
oncigr. .Elfrcil layi in these rues a nsii may fight orwit/e, literally,
Wfitkout incairing the gatil of making tear, without becoming obuosioiu
1 1« the penalties Mogned to the crime of «»r-raiBing.
I VOL. I. T
274 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
tury, to release the kindred from the consequences
of fseh^e : he thus commences his secular laws :
'' Eddmund the king makes known to all the
people, old and young, that are in his dominioD,
what I have deliberated with the counsel of my
Witan, both ordained and laic. First how I might
best promote Christianity. Then seemed it to us
first most needful that we should most firmly pre-
serve peace and harmony among ourselves, through*
out all my dominion. Both I, and all of us, hold
in horror the unrighteous and manifold fightings
that exist among ourselves : we have therefore de-
creed : If henceforth any one slay another, let hun
bear the feud himself, unless by the assistance of
his friends, and within twelve months, he make
amends with the full wer^ be he bom as he may.
But if his kindred forsake him, and will not pay for
him, it is my will that all the kindred be unfdh [out
of feud] except the actual perpetrator; provided
that they do not give him either food or protection.
But if afterwards any of the kindred harbour him',
he shall be liable in all that he possesses to the
king^ and bear the feud with the kindred, because
they had previously forsaken him. But if any of
the other kindred take vengeance upon any man
save the actual perpetrator, let him be foe to the
king and all his friends, and forfeit all that he
has«."
* A forfeiture of this kind is recorded in the Codex DiplomaticMf
No8. 714, 71i>, 1*^04. A lady had harboured her brother, while an wit-
law for murder. Iler lands were all forfeited and given to the king*
2 Eadm. Sec. L. § 1. Thorpe, i. 246.
B.X.] FvE'HDE- WERGYLD. 275
It is probable that this right thus reserved to the
kindred of deserting their guilty kingman, was not
often exercised, nevertheless the subsequent laws
of iESelred and Cnut* may be considered to have
been understood in connexion with it, and subject
to its Umitations.
The law of Eddweard the elder (about a.d. 900 to
915), regulates the mode of proceeding when both
parties are willing to forgo the feud, upon the esta-
blished principles of compensation. Hesays*: "The
wergyld of a twelfhynde man is twelve hundred
shillings. The wergj'ld of a twyhynde man is two
hundred shillings. If any one be slain, let him be
paid for according to his birth. And it is the lav,
that, after the slayer has given pledge for the wer-
gyld, he should find in addition a loerborh, accord*
ing to the circumstances of the case ; that is, for
tlie wergyld of a twelfhynde man, the werborh
must consist of twelve men, eight by the father's,
four by the mother's side. When that is done,
let the king's protection be set up ; that is, all, of
either kindred, laying their hands together upon one
weapon, shall pledge themselves to the mediator,
that the king's protection shall stand. In twenty-
one days from that day let one hundred and twenty
shiiiingg be paid as healsfang, at a twelfhynde man's
wergyld. The healsfang belongs to the children,
brothers and paternal uncles ; that money belongs
to no kinsman except such as are within the de-
grees of blood. Twenty-one days after the healsfang
' See mbgve, cap. Lx. {>. 264,
* Etid. aB<l Ou-5. ^ 13. Thorpe, i. 17-t.
t2
270 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
is paid, let the manbdt be paid ; twenty-one days
later, the fighUfine ; in twenty-one days from this,
the frumgyld or first instalment of the wergyld ; and
so forth until the whole sum be discharged at such
fixed time as the Witan have agreed. After this
they may depart with love, if they desire to have
full friendship. And with respect to the wergyld
of a ceorl, all that belongs to his condition shaU be
done in like manner as we have said respecting the
twelfhynde man."
The law of Eadmund contains similar provisions^
** The Witan shall appease feud. First, according
to folkright, the slayer shall give pledge to his ad-
vocate, and the advocate to the kindred of the slain,
that the slayer will make compensation to the kin.
Then it is necessary that security b^ given to the
slayer's advocate, that the slayer may draw nigh in
peace, and himself give pledge for the wergyld.
When he has given his wed for this, let him further
find a werborh, or security for the payment of the
wer. When that is done let the king's protection
be set up : within twenty-one days from that, let the
healsfang be paid ; within other twenty-one days,
the manbdt ; and twenty-one days from that, the
first instalment of the wergyld."
The wergyld then, or life-price, was the basis
upon which all peaceful settlement of feud was
established. A sum, paid either in kind or in
money, where money existed, was placed upon the
life of every free man, according to his rank in the
» Eddm. Sec. § 7. Thorpe, i. 260.
«B. K.] FJi'HDE. WERGVLD. 277
state, his birth or his office. A corresponding sum
was settled for every wound that could be inflicted
upon bis person ; for nearly every injury that could
be done to his civil rights, Ins honour or bis do-
mestic peace ; and further fines were appointed ac-
cording to the peculiar, adventitious circumstances
that might appear to aggravate or extenuate the
offence. From the operation of this principle no
one was exempt, and the king as well as the pea-
sant was protected by a wergyld, payable to bis
kinsmen and bis people. The difference of the wer-
gyld is the principal distinction between different
classes ; it defined the value of each man's oath,
his mund or protection, and the amount of bis fines
or his exactions: and, as we have already seen', it
regulated the equivalent for his value. And as it
is obvious that the simple wergyld of the free man
is the original unit in the computation, we have a
strong argument, were any needed, that that class
formed the real basis and original foundation of all
Teutonic society.
Although this principle was common to all the
Germanic tribes, veiy great variety exists in the
amounts severally adopted to represent the value of
different ranks, — a variety easily understood when
we reflect upon the relative condition of those tribes
at the period when this portion of tbeir law was
first settled. A slight account of them will be use-
ful, as an introduction to the consideration of our
Anglosaxon values. It will be seen throughout that
' See obovf, p. 275.
278 THB SAXONS IN £NGLAND. [book l
various circumstances have tended to introduce
changes into the early and simple orders
Salian Franks. — Ingenuus, 200 sol. : litus, 100
sol. : ingenuus in hoste 600 : litus in hoste, 300 sol.:
ingenuus in truste 1800 : litus in truste, 900 sol.
Thus if engaged in actual warfare, the value of
the freeman and the emancipated serf was tripled ;
and if in the trust or immediate service of the king,
their respective values were multiplied nine timet.
It is probable that the Ripuarian Franks adopted
the same numbers.
AngU et Werini. — Ldber 200 sol. : adaling (no-
ble) 600 : libertus (freedman) 80 sol.
Law of the Saxons. — Probably, the freeman 240
shiUings: noble 1440: freedman 120 shillings.
Law of the Bavarians. — ^The duke 960 shillings :
the ducal family of the Agilolfings, 640 : the other
five noble races, 320 shillings : the simple free man
160 shillings.
Law of the Alamanni. — Primus (the first rank of
the nobles) 240 shillings : medianus (the second
rank of nobles) 200 : minofledus (the free man)
160.
Law of the Burguudians. — Noble 300 shilUngs:
lower noble (mediocris) 200 : freeman (minor) 150.
Law of the Frisians. — Noble 80 shillings : free-
man 53^ ; freedman 26f shillings.
Law of the Visigoths. — Freeman (between the
years of twenty and fifty) 300 shillings : freedmaa
150.
* The following numbers are taken from Grimm, Rechtsalt. p. 272.
CH.X.] FiE'HDE. WERGILD. 279
In the North, 100 silfrs was the wergyld of the
freeman, and there is no account of the jarl's. The
Old Swedish laws generally assign 40 marks ; this
is the reckoning of the Upland, Sudermanland,
and Eastgothland laws. The Westgothland law has
39 marks ; the Jutish 54 ; and the Gutalag, three
marks of gold.
The wergyld of the clergy is slightly different :
among the Salic Franks, deacon 300, priest 600,
bishop 900 shillings. A late addition to the Ri-
puarian law computes, — clericus 200, subdeacon
400, deacon 500, priest 600, bishop 900.
This is sufficient to give a general outline of the
i^ystem : it will be observed that these continental
computations give no reckoning for the king. Be-
yond doubt they were for the most part settled after
the royal power had become so fully developed as
to cast aside all traces of its original character and
nature.
The Anglosaxon equivalents for these computa-
tions are by no means clear ; nor, as far as we can
judge, are they altogether consistent. It is probable
that they varied not only in the several Anglosaxon
kingdoms, but were also subject to change at va-
rious periods, as the relative value of life and pro-
duce altered. The Kentish law which names only
the eorl and ceorl, as the two classes of free men,
does not give us the exact amount of their wer-
gylds, but it supplies us with some data by which
perhaps an approximation may be made to it. In
iE^elberht's law (§ 2, 5, 8) the king's mundhyrd
or protection is valued at j&fty shillings, the eorl's
280 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
or noble's at twelve (^ 13, 14, compared with 4 10,
15, 16, 17), and the ceorFs or simple freeman's at
six (§ 15, 25, 88), Thus the three classes stand in
the relation of fifty, twelve and six ; or taking the
ceorl as unity, their respective values are 8J-, 2 and
1 : that is,
Ceorl ; eorl : : 1:2.
Ceorl : king : : 1 : 8^.
Eorl : king : : 1 : 4^.
Now the medume leddgeld of the ceorl is stated to
be one hundred shillings (^ 7), and if Grimm and
Thorpe were right in translating this the half wer-
gyld, we should have the very improbable sums of
200, 400 and 1666^ Kentish shillings. Meduma
however does not signify half but middling^ mode-
rate : the enactment in iE^elberht's law amounts
in fact to this : If a man slay another, he is to
pay his wergyld ; but not so, if the slayer happen
to be the king's armourer or messenger ; in that
case he is to pay only a moderated wergyld of one
hundred shillings. It was an exemption in favour
of two most important officers of the royal house-
hold ; and shows partly the growing encroach*
ment of prerogative, partly the value set upon the
talents of the officers themselves ^ The common
wergyld then was above one hundred, and I think
it can be shown that it was below two hundred,
shillings. The case of a wergyld paid for a king,
* The royal messengers were often of the highest rank. The beroie
character of tlic M'cn|)on- smith or armourer appears throughout the
traditions of the North, and indeed in the epic poetry of all natioof.
CB.K.] ¥£HDit WERGYLD. 281
though rare, is by no means unexampled'. In
the year 687, Miil ^^elweard, a scion of the royal
race of Wessex, invaded Kent, and having incau-
tiously suffered himself to be surprised by the
coutitry.people, was burnt to death in a bouse wliere
he had taken refuge with a fi^w comrades. Seven
years later the men of Kent made compeusation to
Ini for Mul's death. The sum given is very vari-
ously stated. William of Malmsbury says it was
thirty thousand mancuses*; which, calculated at
eight mancuses to the pound, would be three thou-
eatid, seven hundred and fifty pounds, and this
is the sum mentioned by Florence of Worcester*,
.^^elweard, the oldest Latin chronicler, but still
removed four centuries from the time, makes it
amount to thirty thousand solidi or shillings, each
of which is to he calculated at sixteen pence*. Some
manuscripts of the Saxon Chronicle read thirty
thousand pounds*, "f>rittigfusend punda," — others,
' In tlie yeai 671' B battle Man fought bctncco Ecgfri'S of Nortbum-
berland and .SSilrtcil of Mercia. " Auno regis Ecgfriili nono, conaerto
gniTi pTaelio inter ipsum et Aedilrediim ref^m Merciorum, iuxta flu-
viam TreautH, occinis est Aelfuini, frster regis Ecgfridi, iiivenis cirdter
dccetn et octo snnorum, utriquc provinciae multum atuHbilia. Nam et
»ororcm ciui quae tlicebatiir Osfr^'d, rex Aeiblred habebat iixorem.
Cumque materies belli acrioris et ioiniieitiae longioris inter reges, po-
puloaqne feroces vjdcretur cxorta, Tlieodorus, deo dilcctus anliates,
diviuo functus au»ilio, solutifera exliortatione coeptum tanti ptriculi
fdnditiiB exatinguit incendium ; adeo ut pncatia altemtrum regibus ac
populis, niilliai onima hominU pro inJer/ecto regis fralre, sed dcbila
Molummotio multa peeuttiae regi ullori darrlur. Cuius foedera pacis
tuulto exinde tempore inter eosdem reges eoniraque rrgna duraruot.
In praefato autem praebo, quo occisu* est Hex Aelfuiai," etc. Bed.
H. Ecel.ir.2l,22.
« Old. Meld. Getl. ReR. lib. i. > Flor.Wigoro. an. 694.
* ^£«elvr. Cbron. ii. cap. 10. ' Cbron. Saxon, an. 694.
282 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
thirty pounds, " }>rittig punda. " Now however con-
tradictory all these statements may at first sight
appear (and there can be no doubt that some of them
are ridiculously exaggerated), it is not impossible
to reconcile and explain them. Every one of the
authorities I have cited, except Florence, who has
evidently calculated his sum upon what he believed
to be the value of the mancus, reads thirty thousand
of some coin or other. One will have them pounds,
another shillings, another mancuses, etc. Now
they are all wrong in their denomination, and all
equally right in their number ; and for this very
obvious reason, — the originals from which they de-
rived their information did mention the number,
and did not mention the denomination. Each au-
thor put the question to himself, '^ Thirty thousand
what ? " and answered it by supplying the supposed
omission with the coin most familiar to himself.
But there cannot be the least doubt that the Saxon
original read Jjrittig ]7usenda, thirty thousand, and
nothing else ; and this is not only actually the read-
ing of some MSS. of the Chronicle, but most likely
the cause of the error which lies in the other copies,
incautious transcribers having been misled by the
resemblance between the Saxon ]? and p, and mis-
taken the contraction J^rittig ]7unda for J^rittig pun-
da, thirty pounds. It is the custom of the Anglo-
saxon tongue, in describing measures of land or
sums of money, to use the numerals only, leaving
the commonest units to be supplied by the reader.
Thus if land were intended, thirty thousand would
denote that number of hides ^ and where money is
CH. X,] I'/E'HDE. WERGYLD. 283
intended, at least in Kent, thirty thousand scmtsK
This then I believe to have been the sum paid to
Ini, and the regular personal wergyld of a Kentish
king. Let us now apply this sum to elucidate the
value of the other Kentish wergylds, From a com-
parison of the compensation appointed for inju-
ries done to the nails of the fingers and toes, Mr.
Thorpe, the late Mr. Allen, and I concluded that
the value of a Kentish shilling was twenty screts.
But thirty thousand sciets would be fifteen hundred
such shilUngs, and assuming this to be the royal
wergyld, we shall find the eorl's to be 360, the
ceorl's 180 shillings, which amounts are exactly
thirty times the value of the several mundbyrds*.
In the first volume of Mr. Thorpe's Anglosaxon
Laws, at p. 186, there is a document which pro-
fesses to give the values of different classes in
Northumberland. Its date is uncertain, though it
appears to have beeu generally assigned to the com-
mencement of the tenth century. I confess that I
can hardly reconcile myself to so early a date, and
think it altogether a suspicious authority. It tells
us as follows :
" 1. The Northpeople's royal gytd is thirty thou-
sand thrymsas ; fifteen thousand thrymsas are for
the wergyld, and fifteen thousand for the royal dig-
■ Conf. LI. HloSh. 5 10. Ji;-5elr, ^ 7. Alfred's Bcda, iii. 5. So, &ii
fiftig, oitji/ly, meana Rfty psnlas to be sun[r or saiJ. ^Stlst. iv. § 3.
V. B. $ 6. Ha one mistakes the meaning oljivr hundred,Jice thoasand
' 1500 Kentiah shillings, wliicli are equivalent to rather more than
7800 Saxon ibilliDga, were a sufBcient sum, at n period irhen an ewe
with her lamb iru north only one Saxon shilliug. LI, Ini, % &&.
I
284 THE 8AX0NS IN ENGLAND. [boos i.
nity. The wer belongs to the kindred ; the cyruhil
to the people.
'^ 2. An archbishop's and an ae%eling's wergyld
is fifteen thousand thrymsas.
'^3. A bishop's and an ealdorman's, eight thou-
sand thrymsas.
** 4. A hold's and a king's high reeve's, four
thousand thrymsas.
'' 5. A mass thane's and a secular thane's, two
thousand thrymsas.
" 6. A ceorl's wergyld is two hundred and sixty-
six thrymsas, that is two hundred shillings by Mer-
cian law.
** 7. And if a Welshman thrive so well that he
have a hide of land, and can bring forth the king's
tax, then is his wergyld one hundred and twenty
shillings ; and if he thrive not save to half a hide,
then let his wer be eighty shillings.
'* 8. And if he have not any land, but yet is free,
let him be paid for with seventy shillings.
** 9. And if a ceorlish man thrive so well that
he have five hides of land for the king's tHware,
and any one slay him, let him be paid for with two
thousand thrymsas.
'* 10. And though he thrive so that he have a
helm and coat-of-mail, and a sword ornamented
with gold, if he have not that land, he is notwith-
standing a ceorl.
' * 1 1 . And if his son and his son's son so thrive
that they have so much land after him, the off-
spring shall be of gesiScund [noble] race at two
thousand.
ca. X.] FJl'HDE. WEROYLD. 285
" 12. And if Ihey have not that, nor to that
amount can tlirive, let them be paid for as ceorl-
ish,"
Another, and perhaps more trustworthy docu-
ment, printed at p. 190 of the same volume, gives
UB the following values as current in Mercia.
" A ceorrs wergyld is by Mercian law, two hun-
dred tihiliings. A thane's wergyld is six times as
- much, that is, twelve hundred shillhigs. Then is
a king's simple wergyld, six thanes' wer by Mer-
cian law, that is tliirty thousand sceats and that is
altogether one hundred and twenty pounds. So
much is the wergyld in the folkright by Mercian
law. And for the royal dignity such another sum
is due, as compensation for cynegyld. The wer be-
longs to the kindred, the cynebot to the people."
A passage already cited in this chapter gives the
wergylds of the freeman and noble in Wessex as
respectively two hundred and twelve hundred scil-
lingas, whence those classes are called twyhynde
and twelfhynde: these denominations correspond
to the old and usual ceorl and eorl ; and as the
original expression for all classes of society was,
be it churl, be it earl, Cnut could use as perfectly
equivalent, be it twyhynde, he it twelfhynde*. But
in Wessex a third class is mentioned, whose wer-
gyld was half that of the twelfhynde, and three
times that of the ceorl : they are called sixhynde,
raen of six hundred. It is difficult to say whether
' " Swi eac we sctta'5 bt enUimi liii<lum go reorle ge corle." -Elf.
% A. "Cnut eing gr^t . , . .ealle iniiic [■egnaa tnelfliyaJe nnJ twyliynde
irefinillice.*' Coil. Dipt. No. 7^1.
286
THE 8AX0NB IN ENOLAND.
[tOOK I.
they are the original nobles, three times as valuable
as the freeman, and whether the twelfhynde are
an exclusive class of magnates, raised above them
during the progressive development of the royal
power ; or whether on the contrary, the twelf hjrnde
and twyhynde are the original divisions, and the six-
hynde a middle class of ministerials, which sprang
up when ceorls had entered the service of the crown,
and thus became raised above their fellow freemen.
I incline to the latter opinion, partly from the ap-
parent absence of this sixhynde class in Mercia,
partly from the apposition noticed above, and the
omission of the sixhynde altogether from the pas*
sage in Eadweard's law, which regulates the pay-
ments for the other two classes. There is no state-
ment of a royal wergyld in Wessex, but from what
has been said of the composition made for Mul, it
may be inferred that it was thirty thousand sceattas
or 120 pounds, like that of Mercia. The total in-
consistency of these several values will be apparent
if we arrange them tabularly :
Northtimb. Mercia.
Weuex.
Kent.
Kinur
bn-msM.
15000
-f 15000
15000
15000
Soil.
7200
+ 7200
Scil.
72(K)
4-7200
ScU.
1500
Archbishop
/EtJeling
+ 1500
Ui&hop
EaMornion
lloM
Hc&hger^fa
Priest
8000
8000
4(HM)
40<K)
2000
1200
1200
1200
1200
600
600
600
360
360
t^eircn
2000 600
r^a^**
Freeman
266 200 200 180
If these data be accurate, we must conclude that
cH.x.] FiE'HDE. WERGYLD. 287
the ratio of the king and noble to the ceorl in the
different states varied as follows :
North. . king : ceorl : : 113 : 1 nearly.
Merc. . . king : ceorl : : 72 : 1 .
Wessex. king : ceorl : : 72 : 1 .
Kent. . . king : ceorl : : I7f : 1.
North. . noble, 1st class : ceorl : : 56 : 1 nearly.
2nd class : ceorl : : 30^ : 1 nearly.
3rd class : ceorl : : 1 5:^ : 1 nearly.
4th class : ceorl : : 7^ : 1 nearly.
Merc. . . noble : ceorl : : 6 : 1.
Wessex. noble, 1st class : ceorl : : 6 : 1.
2nd class : ceorl : : 3 : 1 .
Kent. . . noble : ceorl : : 2 : 1.
Now this variety, which is totally irrespective of
the real value of the J^ryms and the shilling, seems
to involve this part of the subject in impenetrable
darkness. All that we can permit ourselves to
guess is, that circumstances had in process of time
altered the original relations between the classes,
but in different ratios in the different kingdoms.
This however is not all the difficulty : we have
to contend with the complication arising from the
fact, that the scilling, the currency in which all the
southern calculations are nominally made, really
differed in value in the several states : and thus
when we attempt to compare one freeman with
another, we find their respective prices to be in
Mercia 8S^ sceats, in Kent 3600.
However the details were arranged, the principle
itself is clear enough, and we must now be content
288 THE 8AX0NS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
to remain in ignorance of the means adopted to re-
concile conflicting interests measured by a standard
so imperfect.
But the wergyld or price of the whole man was
not all that the law professed to regulate. When
once the principle had been admitted, that this
might be fixed at a certain sum, it was an easy
corollary not only that the sum in question should
limit the amount of responsibility to the State' but
that a tariff^ for all injuries should be settled. In
the laws of iE^elberht and -ZElfred we find very
detailed assessments of the damage which could be
done to a man by injuries, either of his person, his
property, or his honour : many of these are amu-
sing and strange enough, and highly indicative
of the rude state of society for which they were
adapted. But it seems unnecessary to pursue the
details they deal with : they may serve to turn a
period about Teutonic barbarism, or to point a
moral about human fallibility; but the circum-
stances under which thev were rational and con-
venient arrangements have passed away, and they
are now of little interest as historical records, and
of none with a view to future utility.
* Capital punishments arc necessarily rare in early periods. Tadtiu
limits those of the Germans to cases of high-treason or effeminacy, two
crimes which strike at the root of all society. Ilencc the highest pu-
nishment is payment of the wergyld : a capital thief is wergyld-)>e6f.
If he cannot or \rill not pay, he is outlawed, that is excluded from the
benefits of the mutual guarantee among free men : he may be slain as
a common enemy, iure belli, or reduced to 8laTeiy> which is the more
usual result.
CHAPTER XL
FOLCLAND. BtyCLAND. L.F/NLAND.
It was a wise insight into the accidents of increa-
sing population wlucli limited the amount of the
original ^Bel, or allodial estate. By leaving, as it
were, a large fund to be drawn upon, as occasion
might serve, the principle, that every freeman must
be settled on land, was maintained, without con-
demning society to a stationary condition, as to
numbers. The land thus left, of which the usu-
fruct, under certain conditions, was enjoyed by the
freemen, was called Folcland, terra publica, ager
publicus. It was distinguished from the e?el by
not becoming absolute property in the hands of
individuals, consequently by not being hereditary.
The dominivm utile might be granted ; the domi-
vium directum remained in the state, which was a
perpetual feoflee for certain trusts and uses. And
hence folcland was subject to rents of divers kinds,
and reversion. The folcland could also be applied
to reward great public services, in which case
estates of alod, or dlSel, were carved out of it, and
presented to him whom the community desired to
honour'. The service which Wulf and Eofer did
' The Tifittvt, or cut-oft' portion, entail, whirh service might earn
■mong the Greekt, it of the same charai^r. According lo tradition,
VOL. I. U
290 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
by slaying Ongen^edw was rewarded with a grant
of land and rings*. The clearest view of the nature
and object of folcland is given us by Beda, who
complains that it is diverted from its proper pur-
pose, — which is, to be granted as a support to those
whose arms would defend the country, — under pre-
tence of erecting monasteries, which are a disgrace
to their profession. The following are his extremely
important words :
'' And since there are both very numerous and
very extensive tracts, which, to adopt the com-
mon saying, are of use neither to God nor man, —
seeing indeed that in them there is neither main-
tained a regular life according to Grod's law, nor
are they possessed by the soldiers or comites of
secular persons, who might defend our race from
the barbarians, — if any one, to meet the want of
our time, should establish an episcopal see in
those places, he will be proved not to incur the
rittacus was thus rvwanleti by the (leople of Mitylene, after overcoming
Phnnon. tho Athoiiiaii champion, in single combat : r&r d€ Mirt-Xiy-
niitt^i' i^^>€iW utT^ fAryviXas ^idormv, aKorriaas to dofsv, TtAro /aopov ro
\«7>ti^i- *>^i«kHTo-, 6<r\\y «T«'T\c»' 17 €U}jifi' roi KoXcIrcu t^xP^ '^ IliTTaJuor.
Vlut. Jc Malign, llorvnl. o. xv. Tho reward allotted to Horatias in the
Komau Acvt ousrht now to bo famihar to ererr one :
** ThoY ptvo him of the coni-laiid
That was of ^Hiblio n^t«
As ir.uch as two s:n>ntf oxen
Could i^oujra ^vmi mom till nigfat !**
" Ov'uld None i:u>r«s
G\\A:a ^lr\ htcu ....
«ov."r* i*rh« a: >cu2S
«■. M.] FOLCLAND AND BO'CLAND. 291
gmlt of prevarication, but rather to perform an act
of virtue'."
And again, he continues :
" By which example it behoves also your Holi-
ness, in conjunction with our religious king, to
abrogate the irreligious deeds and writings of our
predecessors, and to provide for the general ad-
vantage of our kingdom, either in reference to
God, or to the world : lest in our days, either
through the cessation of religion, the love and fear
of an inspector at home should be abandoned ; or,
on the other hand, the supply of our secular militia
decreasing, we should not have those who might
defend our boundaries from the incursions of bar-
barians. For, what is disgraceful to say, persons
who have not the least claim to the monastic cha-
racter, as you yourself best know, have got so many
of these spots into their power, under the name of
monasteries, that there is really now no place at
all where the sons of nobles or veteran soldiers can
receive a grant*. And thus, idle and unmarried,
being grown up to manhood, they live on in no pro-
fession of chastity ; and on this account, they either
cross the sea and desert the country which they
ought to serve with their arms ; or, what is even
more criminal and shameless, having no profession
' Dcd> Qpiit. m1 Ecgbirhlum Arcliiepisropuin, ^ II. (0|>crB lliu.
ii. 216.)
* Wc know thRt these granU vere rc^lnted by tlic rank and pon-
dition of the grantee BcHb, speuking of Benedict BUcop, a younf{
Nortliumbruui niiblpman, snys, " Cum csset minister Oswii regis, ei
pOBsesiionent teirae tuo gradiii competentem, iUa donantc perriperet,"
«tc. Vit. 8d. Bened. § 1. (Op. Min. Ii. HO,)
V 2
jS*i TBX stiXOSS K EXGL15D. [book i.
u€ chssszrij. tfijej pre tfaeneelTes up to loxary and
Kc^.Tcanxi- &Zfi arHtain not eren from the Tirgins
ctii&stEcrfcrei to God-.'"
Tbe eTii^ oc a oooise which, by prerenting the
possfbilitT oc ESLrriase. tends \o the general ne^ect
of zioralirr. art as obiions in this state of society,
as in thc-se where tbe indefinite partition of es-
tates reccces ail the membeis of the higher classes
to a stale o£ poTerty. — a fact perfectly familiar id
conctrie^ where the resonrccs of trade are not per-
mitted to minute tbe mischief of subdivision.
The foldand then in Ensland was the national
stock. It is probable that the same thing occurred
in other Teutonic states, and that the folcland there
also formed a reserve from which endowments of
individuals, homebom or foreign, and of religions
houses, were made. Thos, '' Princeps de eius re-
cuperatione simul et postulatione mnltum gavisus,
et suum ad boo cocsensum et parentum adep-
tus e-^t favorem ; deditque illi in eisdem partibus,
multas pcssessiones de publico, quatinus viciniori
potentia soceris acceptior facius, non minori apud
illos, quam in genital! solo praecelleret dignitatel"
We cannot now tell the exact terms upon which
the usufruct of tbe folcland was permitted to indi-
vidual holders. Much of it was probably distri-
buted in severalty, to be enjoyed by tbe grantee
during his life, and then to revert to the donor the
State. As the holders of such lands were most pro-
bably not included in the Marks, bke the owners
' Epist. 4 U. (Op. Min. ii. 217, 218.;
= Vit. S. Idar. Pertz, ii. 571.
CH. sr.l l-OLCI.AN'U AM) HO'CLAND. L»t3
of allodial property, tliey may have tbrmed the pro-
per basis of the original gyldscipas, and have been
more immediately subject to ttie jnrisdtction of the
scirgemot ; for it is impossible to believe that their
condition was one of such perfect freedom as that
of the original allodial owners.
A portion also of the folcland may long have sub-
sisted as common land, subject lo the general rights
of all'. In this respect it must have resembled the
public land of the Romans. Only that, the true
Roman burghers or Patricians, being comparatively
few, while the other claimants were many, and self-
defence therefore commanded the utmost caution
iu admitting thera to isotely, — the struggles be-
tween the Patrician and Plebeian orders necessarily
assumed in Rome a character of exasperation and
hostility which was wanting in England. But it
does not appear that in this country, the tribes of
the Gewissas could have made any claim to the
folcland of the Mercians, or that those of the
Welsh would have found favour with any Saxon
coramunity-
Tn whatever form the usufruct may have been
granted, it was accompanied by various settled
burthens. In the first place were the inevitable
charges from which no land was ever relieved ;
namely military service, alluded to by Beda, and
no doubt in early times performed in person : the
' Thii Kemi the rendiest way of aecoimting for the right of «
enjoyed by the kiiig, eoldonnan and f^er^ta, in nearly everj' part of
£iiglandi which right they could slieuatc tu others. For the king^'i
«oniinon of pasture, etc. tee Cod. Dipt. Noa. B6, 1 19, 276, 2SS, etc.
294 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [booki.
repair of roads, bridges and fortifications. But be-
sides these, there were dues payable to the king,
and the ger^fa ; watch and ward on varioiis occar
sions ; aid in the royal hunting ; convoy of messen-
gers going and coming on the public sendee, from
one royal vill to another ; harbouring of the king,
his messengers and huntsmen ; lastly provision for
his hawks, hounds and horses. In addition to these,
there were heavy payments in kind, which were to
be delivered at the royal vills, to each of which,
various districts were apparently made appurtenant,
for this purpose ; and on which stores, so duly de-
livered, the king and his household in some degree
depended for subsistence. These were comprised
under the name Cyninges-feorm, or Firma regis.
It is from the occasional exemptions granted by
the authority of the king and his witan, that we
learn what burthens the folcland was subject to : it
may therefore be advantageous to cite a few exam-
ples, which will make the details clear.
Between 791 and 796, eighty hides of land at
Westburv and Hanburv were relieved bv Offa from
the dues to kings, dukes and their subordinates;
except these payments, that is to say, the gafol at
Westbury (sixty hides), two tuns full of bright
ale, and a comb full of smooth ale, and a comb full
ol ^^ elsh ale, and seven oxen, and six wethers, and
forty cheeses, and six langSero (?), and thirty am-
bers of rough corn, and four ambers of meal, to the
royal vilP.
> Cod. Dipl. No. 166. Here, by the wmv, the comb is uied u •
liquid measure ; vtry probably of thirty-two'gmUons, the mmouiil of the
L«.]
FOLCLAND ANU BOCLAKD.
In 863, an estate at Marsham was to pay by the
year, twenty staters of cheese, forty larabs, forty
fleeces, and two daya' pastus' or feorm, which last
might be commuted for thirty silver shiUinga (ar-
gentea)'.
In 877, Bishop Tuiiberht, with the consent of his
chapter, appropriated lands at Nurshng to the use
of the refectory. His charter says he grants it,
" liberam ab omnibus terrenis difiicultatibus om-
niuoi gravitudinum, sive a pastii regis, principis,
exactoris ; et ab omni aedificiorum opere, tributo,
a paraveredis, a taxatiocibus quod dicimus wite-
raedene ; omnium rerura saecularium perpetualiter
libera sit, excepta expeditione et pontis aeditica-
tioae^" As he could not do this by bis own au-
thority, he probably only means to record that they
had been so freed by the Witena-geraot.
In 883, twenty years later, a monastery is freed
from all which the monks were still bound to pay
to the king's hand, as cyningfeorm, both in bright
ale, beer, honey, oxen, swine and sheep, in short
from all the gafol, much or little, known or un-
known, that belongs to the lord of the nation"".
The dues from the monastery at Taunton were
as follows : a feorm of one night for the king, and
old (mutcI of ale, (the present barrel is thirty-Bu: gailoni). So to thii
da; tbe hogihead a uxty-fotu galloua or twice thirty-two, the comb;
u the quarter is giity-four gallous, or two combs of <)r}' measure. Even
DOW in some jiarts of Surrey and Sussex, tbe peasants use peck for
two gsUons of liquid menture : I have beard them speak of a peck, and
erea half a buabd, of gin, brandy, beer, etc.
' Tbe pastus regis is the gite da roi well known in French bistoiy-
• Cod. Ihpl. No. 288, see also No. 281.
• Cod. Dipl. No. 1063. * Ibid. No, 313.
am THK 8AXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
eight dogs and one dog-keeper ; and nine nigfaU'
keep for the king's falconers ; and carriage with
waggons and horses for whatever he would have
taken to Curry or Wilton. And if strangers came
from other parts, they were to have guidance to the
nearest royal vill upon their road^
The payments reserved upon twenty hides at
Titchbourn, which Eadweanl in 901-909 granted
to Denewulf of Winchester for three lives, were
probably the old royal gafol : they were now trans-
ferred to the church as doubk^ommons for foun*
der's day. Thev amounted to, twelve sexters of
beer, twelve of sweetened Welsh ale, twenty ambers
of bright ale, two hundred large and one hundred
small loaves, two oxen fresh or salted, six wethers,
four swine, four flitches, and twenty cheeses ; but if
the day of payment should fall in Lent, an equiva-
lent of fish might be paid instead of flesh ^.
** Insuper etiam, banc praedictam terram liberabo
ab omui servitute saecularium rerum, a pastu regis,
episcopi, praefectorum, exactorum, ducum, canum,
vel equorum seu accipitrum ; ab refectione et habitu
iilorum omnium qui dicuntur Fjestingmen,*' etc.*
** Sint liberati a pastu principum, et a difficultate
ilia quod nos Saxonice dicimus Festingmen ; nee
homines illuc mittant qui accipitros vel falcones
portant, aut canes aut caballos ducunt ; sed sint
liberati perpetualiter in aevum^."
** Ab opere regal i et pastu regis et principis, vel
iuniorum eorum ; ab hospitorum refectione vel vena-
* Cod. Dipl. No. 1084, an. 904. - Ibid. No. 1088.
=» Ibid. No. 216, an. 822. ♦ Ibid. No. 257, «n. W4.
;•.]
FOI.Ul,AXD AND KO'CLAND,
237
torutn ; etiam equomiii regis, lalcoiium et ancipi-
trum, et puerorum qui ducunt canes'."
" Ut sit liberatum et absolutum illud nionaste-
riuin ab illis causis quas Cuniteorme et Eatbr voci-
temus ; turn a pasta accipitroruui lueorutn, quam
etiam venatorum omnium, vel a pastu equorum
meorum omnium, sive ministrorum eorum. Quid
plura, ab omni ilia incomnioditate ^iVes et Cum-
feorme, nisi istis causis quas hie norainamus : prae-
cones si trans mare venireiil ad repem venturi,
vel nuucii de geiite Occidentalium Saxonum vel
de gente Northanhymbrorum, si venirent ad horam
tertiam die! vel ad medium dieni, dabitur illis pran-
dium i St venirent super nonani horam, tunc dabi-
tur eis noctis pastum, et iterum de mane pergent
iu viam suam*."
" Et illam terrain iii manentium in Beonetlege,
iu occidentale plaga Saebrine etiam liberabo a
pascua porconim re[g]is, quod nomiaamus Fearn-
leswes."
" Liberabo illud a pastu et ab relectione omuium
ancipitrum et falconum in terra Mercensium, et
omnium venatorum re^is vel principis, nisi ipso-
rum tantuin qui in provincia Hwicciorum sunt ;
etiam similiter et a pastu et relectione illorum
iiomioum quos Saxonice nominamus Wailbfrereld,
*] heora iiesting, "j ealm Angelcynues monna, -^
arl|je6digra nrdefestinge, tam nobilium quam igno-
biiium*."
In 875, Cedlwulf, the intrusive king of Mercia,
C«l. Dipl. No. 258. an. S^IS.
' Ibid. .No. 2(>l,a
n. tyS.
Ibid. No. 1'77, an. 855.
< Ibid. No. 27», »
D. yss.
298 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
freed all the bishopric of Worcester, ' ' tota parochia
Hwicciorum," — in other words all the churches
belonging to it, — from the '' pastus equoram regis/'
and their keepers ^
Many of the instances we meet with, both in
England and upon the Continent, are those of
churches or monasteries : this is natural, inasmuch
as the clergy were most likely to obtain and record
these exemptions. But how, it may be asked, did
it happen that such exemptions were necessary?
It seems to me that, when Christianity was intro-
duced, and folcland was granted for the erection or
the endowment of a church, the burthens were not
always discharged ; and that the piety of later times
was occasionally appealed to, to remedy the care-
lessness or alter the policy of early founders.
Folcland may be considered the original and ge-
neral name of all estates save the hlot, sors or alod
of the first markmen : the whole country was di-
vided into Folclands, containing one or more hides,
subject to folcriht or the public law, — and hence
having no privilege or immunity of any sort ; in
many instances where Beda uses terra unius tribu-
tariiy terra famUiae uniusy and similar expressions,
he can only mean to denote separate and distinct
portions of folcland, and the words of j£lfred's
translation imply the same thing.
The power of disposal over this land lay in the
nation itself, or the state ; that is, in the king and
his witan ; but in what way, or by what ceremonies,
» Cod. Dipl. No, 306, an. S75.
H. XlO
FOLCLAND AND BO'CLAND.
it was conferred, we no longer know. Still there
is great probability that it was done by some of
those well-known symbols, which survived both at
home and abroad in the faniihar forms of livery of
seisin, — by the straw, the rod or yard, the cespes
viridis and the like'. We may however distinctly
assert that it was not given by book or charter, in-
asmuch as this form was reserved to pass estates
under very different circumstances.
The very fact that folcland was not the object of
a charter causes our information respecting it to be
meagre : it is merely incidentally and fortuitously
that it is mentioned in those documents from which
we derive so much valuable insight into the anti-
quities of Saxon England. But even from them we
may infer that it was not hereditary.
Towards the end of the ninth century, jElfred,
who appears to have been ealdorman or duke of
Surrey, devised his lands by will. He left almost
all bis property to his daughter ; and to his son
.iE^elwald (perhaps an illegitimate child,) he gave
only three hides of hereditary land, boclaud, ex-
pressing however his hope that the king would
permit his son to hold the folcland he himself had
held. But as this was uncertain, in order to meet
the case of a disappointment, he directed that if
the king refused this, his daughter should choose
' Perlisps La a ca$c of this sort, even In^lf may be tnistcd ; he tells
aa, mth Bome reference however to the Norman forms of livery, with
which he was far., liar, " Conferebantur ttiani primo multa praedia
nudo Terbo, absque icripto vel cbarta, tantum cum domini gUdio, vel
galea, vel comu, vel cratera ; et plurima teaemeuta cum calcari, cum
■trigili, cum areu, et uomiulla cum tagitu." Ilitt. Croyl. p. 70.
3(M) THE SAXONS IX ENGLAND. [book i.
which she would give her brother, of two hereditary
estates which he had devised to her^
Again, shortly before the Conquest, we find Ab-
bot Wulfwold thus informing Gisa bishop of Wells,
iBgelno^ the abbot, Tofig the sheriff, and all the
thanes in Somerset' :
'' Eadweard the king, my lord, gave me the land
at Corfestige which my father held, and the four
farms at ^scwic, and the fields of meadow-land
thereunto belonging, and in wood and field so much
that I had pasture for my cattle and the cattle of
my men ; and all as free in every respect as the
king's own demesne, to give or sell, during my day
or after my day, to whomsoever it best pleases me."
In both these cases it is clear that the land was
holden as a benefice ; that the tenant had only a
life interest, which Wulfwold however succeeded in
converting into a/ee.
As the State were the grantors, so also there ap-
pears to have been no restriction as to the persons of
the grantees. Of course this does not include serfs,
or others below the degree of freemen ; although an
emancipated serf may sometimes have been pro-
vided with an estate of folcland, by general dona-
tion. But there is no reason to doubt that every
other class might obtain grants of folcland. Those
of a duke and of various bishops have been men-
tioned ; Wulfwold 's father was probably, at least a
thane. But even the king himself could and did
' Coil. Dipl. Xo. 317.
' Members of the scirgemot or county-court : heuce the instrument
i« of a solemn and legal description. Cod. Dipl. No. 821.
CH. XI.] FOLCLaND and nO'CLAND. ;«ii
hold laud of this description. The boundary of an
estate is said to run to the king's folcland ; " ab
occideate Cyninges folcland quod habet Wighelm
et Wultiaf."
At a verj' early period however it became a prac-
tice to carve hereditary estates out of the folcland,
which thus became the private property of the
individual, and could by him be given, sold, or
devised at his pleasure ; by wliicli the reversion to
the state was defeated, and the common stock in-
sofar diminished. It was also usual to release such
land from all the dues which had previously been
rendered from it, aud to make it absolutely free ',
with the exception of the three services which
were inevitably incident to all landed possession,
and which are consequently known by the names
of Communis labor, Generalis incommoditas, Ontts
inevitabile, Tr'inoda necessitas, and similar expres-
sions. These estates were always granted by book
or charter, aud hence bore the name of bwland :
and it is questionable whether the two descriptions
did not, at a very early period, comprise all the
land in England, as the families of the first allodial
possessors died out, and their possessions either
reverted to llic state, or became alienated under
circumstances which included them in the category
of bocland.
We learn that the pretext upon which these con-
' Cod. Dipl. No. 281.
* Henre n free hide, hi<ia libtra, U {iroperiy ralleil
i^eficlea landei." a hide of land thtt jiays no gnfiil oi
Dipl. No. 107«.
302 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [mok I.
versions of folcland into bdcland were made at first,
was the erection and endowment of a religious house
upon the land, by the grantee ; and we also learn
that sometimes the conversion was made, the thane
presented with the estate, but the church or mo-
nastery not constructed. Soon after the introduc-
tion of Christianity into Northumberland, it appears
indeed to have been customary to grant much
greater privileges and immunities to church-lands
than were found advisable at a later period, or than
seem to have been permitted in the provinces south
of the Humber. It stands to reason that there
could be no reversion in lands granted to a corpo*
ration : hence folcland which had been presented to
a church assumed what may be called a hereditary
character \ and could only lapse by total destruc-
tion of the particular body, — a circumstance which
could obviously never be contemplated, but which
did actually occur during the civil wars, internal
dissensions and foreign invasions, which gradually
changed the face of the whole country*. But the
lands which the Northumbrian princes devoted to
pious purposes, were most likely relieved from all
burthens whatsoever : we have conclusive evidence
that even militarv service was excused in that dis-
trict before the time of Beda. In all probability,
' Laud is sometimes called Bisbop-laud, which I imagine to be the
legal desiguation of this particular estate.
' This was the case with Peterborough, Ely and other ancient foun-
dations restored in the time of Eadgar. He himself says of Ely : " Nu
wss se halga stede yfele forlstcn mid lussan I>e6wd6me t^onne ils ge-
licode nu on urum timan, and eac waes gehwyrfed "Sani cynhige t^
handa, ic cwe'Se be me silfum." Cod. Dip. No. 563.
CH.XI.]
FOLCLAND AND BCyCLAND.
it was not suspected how much the defences of
the country might become impaired by grants of
the kind. The passages aU-eady cited from Beda's
epistle to Ecgberht may be adduced in corrobo-
ration of these assertions, but we have more direct
evidence in his history '. Oswiii oa his conver-
sion placed his daughter E:mfl<ed in the convent
presided over by Hild, and with her he gave
twelve estates, " possessiunculae terrarum," most
likely folcland, each estate comprising ten hides;
in which, Beda continues, " Ablato studio militiae
lerrestris, ad exercendain niilitiam coelestem locus
facuitasque suppeteret," — or as the Saxon trans-
lator expresses it, "Those twelve biSclands he freed
from earthly warfare and earthly service, to be em-
ployed in heavenly warfare." It is very clear that
the duties of military service were removed in this
case, and that religious waVfare was to be the des-
tination of those that held the lauds. Similarly
when Benedict Biscop decided upon devoting him-
self to a monastic life, he surrendered his lands to
the king*. These must obviously have been folc-
land, the retaining of which he considered impos-
sible, under the circumstances ; and which, not
being his own, he could not take with him into a
monastery : " despexit militiam cum corruptibili
donativo terrestrem, ut vero regi militaret ; " and
these words of Beda clearly show how we are
to understand what he says of Oswiu's grant to
Whitby.
• Bed. Vit. S«. Bencd. § 1. (Op. Minor, ii. HO.)
S04 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
The gaining of a hereditary character for lands,
and especially the relief from heavy dues, were ad-
vantages which might speedily arouse the avarice
and stimulate the invention even of barbarians.
Accordingly those who could gain access to the ear
of the king and his witau, bought, or begged or ex-
torted grants of privileged land, which they either
converted entirely into private estates, or upon
which they erected monasteries, nominally such :
and over these, which they filled with irregular and
often profligate monks, they assumed the jurilsdie-
tion of abbots ; with such little advantage to the
service of religion, that we have seen Beda describe
them as a public scandal, and recommend even
the desperate remedy of cancelling, by royal and
episcopal authority, the privilegia or charters on
which their immunities reposed.
To the growing prevalence of this fraud we pro-
bably owe it that, at least in Wessex, the custom
arose of confiscating land on which the conditions
of the grant had not been fulfilled. Thus Ini called
in the lands which Cissa had granted to Hean the
abbot and Cille the abbess, his sister, because no
religious buildings had been erected thereon : " Sed
Ini rex eandem terram, postea dum regno potire-
tur, diripiens ac reipublicae restituit, nondum con-
structo monasterio in ea, nee uUo admodum ora-
torio erecto*;" that is, as I understand it, folcland
they had been, and folcland they again became. But
even this did not meet all the exigencies of the case,
» Co<l. Dipl. No. 46.
ca. XI.] FOLCLAND AND BO'CLA.VD, :«5
and it therefore probably became necessary, even
in bocland granted to the ciiurch, to reserve the
miUtary and otber services, which the clerf^y couhl
cause to be performed by their own dependent culti-
vators or tenants, even if they were not compelled
to serve themselves, — a point which is by no means
clear'.
A majority uf the documents contained in the
Codex Diplomaticus JEvi Saxonici are conversions
of folcland into bocland, or confirmations of such
conversions. They almost uoiversally contain a
clause declaring or proclaiming — such is the tech-
nical word for this important public act, by which
prince and king, ealdorman and sheriff, were at
once made strangers to the land — the estate free
from every burthen save the inevitable three ; a
clause giving the fullest hereditary possession, and
the power to dispose of it by will at the testator's
pleasure ; and finally a clause stating that this is
done by the authority of the king, with the advice,
consent and license of his Witan or counsellors.
They remain therefore to the last important public
I acts, and are, I believe universally, to be considered
acts of the assembled Witena-gemot or great coun-
cil of the nation*. And as by their authority folc-
land could be converted into bocland, so it appears
could the reverse take place ; and a change in the
nature of two estates is recorded^, where the king
' " Quam videlicet tcrrftin Alhnmndus ahbns, expeditionem mibUr-
fngieni, mihi TeconLiliationia gratia ilabat." Cod. Dipl. No. ICl.
* See hereafter the t-haiitiT viliicli treats of the Witau and their
powcn. Book ii. ch. 6.
* Cod. Di|>I. No. i^l.
VOL. I. X
306 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
gave five ploughlands of folcland for five of bdcland,
and then made the folcland bdcland, the bocland
folcland.
In this general spoliation it is to be supposed that
the kings would not omit to share : accordingly we
find them causing estates to be booked to them by
their witan ; which estates, when thus become their
private and heritable property, they devise and deal
with at their pleasure : and indeed, as the king's
consent was necessary to all such conversions, be
was much better able to obtain that of his witan in
his own case, than bishops, thanes or others were
in their cases : these generally found themselves
compelled to pay handsomely for the favour they
required. With respect to ecclesiastical lands, we
frequently find a loss of very large estates sub-
mitted to, in order to secure freedom to what re-
mained. There are also a few instances in which
lands having descended, encumbered with pay-
ments, the owners engage some powerful noble or
ecclesiastic to obtain their freedom, — that is, to per-
suade the witan into abolishing the charges. The
gratuity oftfered to the member whose infiuence was
to carry these ancient private acts of parUament, is
often very considerable. Towards the closing pe-
riod of the Anglosaxon poHty, I should imagine
that nearly every acre of land in England had be-
come bocland ; and that as, in consequence of this,
there was no more room for the expansion of a free
population, the condition of the freemen became de-
pressed, while the estates of the lords increased in
number and extent. In this way the ceorlas or free
ca. XI,]
FOLCLAND AND BO'CLAND.
cultivators gradually vanished, yielding to the ever
growing force of the noble class, accepting a de-
pendent position upon their bdcland, and standing
to right in their courts, instead of their own old
county gemotas ; while the lords themselves ran
riot, dealt with their once free neighbours at their
own discretion, and filled the land with civil dis-
sensions which not even the terrors of foreign inva-
aioD could still. Nothing can be more clear than
that the universal breaking up of society in the time
of ^iESelred had its source in the ruin of the old
free organization of the country. The successes of
Swegen andCnut, and even of William the Norman,
had much deeper causes than the mere gain or toss
of one or more battles. A nation never falls till
" the citadel of its moral being " has been betrayed
and become untenable. Northern invasions will
not account for tlie state of brigandage which
.^Selred and iiis VVitan deplore in so many of their
laws. The ruin of the free cultivators and the
overgrowth of the lords are much more hkely
causes. At the sarae time it is even conceivable
that, but for the invasions of the ninth and tenth
centuries, the result which I have described might
have come upon us more suddenly. The sword
and the torch, plague, pestilence and famine are
very effectual checks to the growth of population,
and sufficient for a long time to adjust the balance
between the land and those it has to feed.
An estate of bucland might be subject to condi-
tions. It was perhaps not always easy to obtain
from the Witan all that avarice desired : accordingly
X 2
:«13 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
we sometimes find limitations in grants, to a cer-
tain number of lives with reminders and reversions.
And it was both law and custom not only that the
first acquirer might impose what conditions he
pleased upon the descent of the estate , but that to
all time his expressed will in that respect should
bind those who derived their title from him^ Al-
fred requires his Witan, who are the guarantees
and administrators of his will, to see that he has
not violated the disposition of his ancestors by
leaving lands to women which had been entailed
on the male line, and rice versd^ ; and we have
cases of grants solemnly avoided for like want of
conformity. More questionable in point of prin-
ciple is the right attempted to be set up by some
of these purchasers, to bar escheat and forf(d-
ture of the land upon felony of their heirs or- devi-
sees.
It is to be presumed that a tenant of folcland
was permitted to let the same, — upon condition no
doubt that he conveyed no estate superior to his
own. The holders must have been allowed to place
poor settlers upon their estates, whose rents and
services, in labour and kind, would be important
to their own subsistence. Of course in bdcland no
limitation could be thought of; it was the absolute,
inheritable property of the purchaser, and he could
in general dispose of it as freely as if it were alod
itself. But there seems no reason to doubt that
much the same course was adopted in both descrip-
Ll. JE\(t. § 41. » Cod. Dipl. No. 314.
FOLCLAND AND BO't'LA.NU,
tions ot' estate ; the folclaiul being held beyond ques-
tion for term of life, at every period of which our
history takes cognizance, whatever may have been
the case at tirst. A portion called the inland, or do-
minium, demesne, was reserved for the lord's home-
stead, house and farms, and the dwellings of his serfs,
esnes, Isets, and other unfree and poor dependents.
This was cultivated for him by their industry, and
he repaid their services by protection, food, clo-
thing, and sraall perquisites, all of which now pass
under the general name of wages'. On the upland
and in the forests, sometimes his own, sometimes
subject only to his rights of common, they tended
bis sheep, oxen and steeds ;it the fold, or his swine
in the mast, lying out during the appointed season
of the year*, or within the circuit of his own inclo-
sures they exercised such simple manufactures as
the necessities of the household required. The spin-
ner and weaver, the glove- or shoemaker, the smith
and carpenter, were all parts of the family. The
butter and cheese, bread and bacon, were made at
home ; the beer was brewed and the honey collected
' Wages of course need nut compiisc money, or l>e the result of a
compact betiveen free pai-ties. We \>»y a slave irages, ttioiigh no petin^
fte. It is a ilitfereot question whether it is advisable that lalwurent
•hoold be slaves: the AnglosaxoDs luid their [teeuliar views on that
Miti}ect, nhicb we are not to ilisrusa now.
' "Alio quoque temiiore, in adolescentia sua, duiu aillme esset in
populan vita, qiiando in mootanis iuxta tEuvium, quod dieitur Leder,
cum aliia pasloi'ibus, pccors Jomini lui pasccbat," etc. Anon. Culfberbt,
cap. 8. {Beda, Op. Min. ii. 2I>2.) " Contigit eum remotis iu montibu*
conunissoTum aibi pecorum agerc cuitodiain." BeiU, CnSb. e, 4. Op.
Uin. ii. 55. The llungariaa ijslas on the PiisU is much the same
itiung, M the present ilny.
310 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
by the household. The remainder of the land the
owner leased on various conditions to men who
had no land ; demanding in return for that com*
modity, indispensable in a country which has not
yet learnt to manufacturCi rents paid in kind, in
labour, and even in money. This labour-rent, yet
called robot in Slavonic countries, as well as the
other dues, naturally varied in various districts,
partly with the importance of land^ to the culti-
vator, and the value of its produce to the owner.
And at last political motives may have had some
weight, when the number and condition of a man's
dependents might affect his own influence and po-
sition in the state : but in general we shall be justi-
fied in saying that land was very valuable, and the
conditions on which it was to be obtained harsh and
onerous^. Such land, whether in large or in small
portions, whether leased on long or short terms,
large or small rents, was called by the common
name of Lirn, or loan*. It was considered to be
lent ; and where the laen was on folcland, it is ob-
* The Rectitudines Singularuin Personarum infonn us that they
were very different in different places, which necessarily would be the
ease. We can imagine that a butsecarl or fisherman of Kent was not
MO anxious to have a holding as a peasant in Gloucestershire.
* Even in the eighth eenturj' Ini found it necessarj- to enact, that if
a man took land on condition of gafol or produce-rent, and his lord
endeavoured to raise his rent also to service, he need not abide bv the
bargain, ludess the lord would build him a house : and he was in such
a case, not to lose the crop he had prepared. Ini, § 67- Thorj>e, i. 146.
^ The transitory possessions of this life were often so described, in
reference to the Almighty : •' '6'a lulita ^'e him God ala'ned hflcfS." Cod.
Dipl. No. CM. A Itcn for life, even though guarded by a verj- detailed
boo or charter, is distinctly called beneficium by the grantee, J&5elbald
of Wessex. Cod. Dipl. No. 1058.
OK. XI.]
LJ^/NLAND,
vious that no certain time could be assigned, and
that the after-tenant could have only a tenancy at
will. In any case it was reasonable that miscon-
duct in the holder, which would have entailed upon
him the forfeiture of his own real property, should
not be permitted to interfere with the rights of the
reversioner ; lienland therefore could not be taken
from the owner, for the crime of the tenant. In the
year 900 a certain Helmstan was guilty of theft, and
the eheriti' seized all his chattels to the king : and
OrdUf entered upon the land, " because it was his
Itcn that Helmstan sat on : that he could not for-
feit'." A similar principle prevailed in grants for
lives, especially where ecclesiastical corporations
were tlie grantors and reversioners; and which,
though to a certain extent they conveyed estates
of bicland, gave, strictly speaking, Ifen or bene-
ficiary tenures^. But as the clergy were not always
quite sure of meeting with fair treatment, we find
them not unfrequently introducing into their instru-
ments a provision that no forfeiture shall be valid
against their rights ; this, from the great strictness
with which the provisions of a book or charter were
always construed, and in general from the fear of
violating what had been confirmed by the signature
of the cross and the threat of eternal punishment,
may have had some ettect. In such cases it may
' Cod. Dipi. No. 32a.
* Thus EalhfriS bishop of Wjncheiter (ft?!-?/?) making a grant for
livM to duke CtiEred, properly calls it n lica : " EalftrS -] Ca higan hab-
' b^t! gebened," etc. Cod. Dipl. No. 1062. They reserved ecclesiastical,
' but no tecular duea.
312 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
be presumed that the guilt of the grantee entirely
cancelled the grant ; the remaining lives, if any, lo-
sing the advantage which they derived through the
grantee ; forfeiture really taking effect, bat for the
benefit of the grantor, not the civil power*. The
tenant of Isenland, who by his services acquired
the good will of the lord, might hope to have his
tenure improved, if not into an absolute possession
of bocland, yet into one for his own or more lives.
In a translation of St. Augustine of Hippo's Soli-
loquia, attributed like so many other things to iBl-
fred of Wessex, there occurs this passage^ :
'^ But it pleaseth every man, when he hath built
himself some cottage upon his lord's Isen, with his
assistance, for a while to take up his rest thereon,
and hunt, and fowl and fish, and in divers ways
provide for himself upon the Isen, both by sea and
' Oswald's grants generally contain a special clause to that effect : sec
Cod. Dipl. Noa.494, 495, 506, 507, 509, 511, 529, 531, 538, 640, 552.
' MS. Cott. Vitel. A. xv. fol. 2. " Ac selcne man lyst, si^an he
senig cotlif on his hlafordes keue mid his fultume getimbred hsfS, 'S«t
he hinc mote hwilum Secron gcrestan, 'j huntigan, 'j fuglian ^ fiscan,
*j his on gehwylicwisan to Ssere Iscnan tilian, scg'Ser ge on sie ge on
laude, oM oS t^one fyrst he he bocland *j ece yrfe |>urb his hlafordes
miltsc ge-eaniigc." Whether land so put out was called eaminglaud,
I will not afHrni ; but at the close of a grant for three lives I Und this
memorandum : " Two of the Hves have fallen in ; then Eadwulf took
it, and granted it to whomsoever he would as eamingland." Cod. Dipt
No. 679. Cotlif seems in other passages to denote small estates not
necessarily on lacn. The Saxon Chronicle, an. 963, for example uses
that term of the lands which y£'5elwold gave to Ely, after purchaang
them of the king. This it is clear he could not have done, had they
been on any person's Ijcn. Were they not perhaps settlements of un-
licensed squatters who had built their cottages on the king's waste and
deserted lands — the old Mark — in the isle of Ely and Cambridgeshire?
But again the Chronicle, an. 1001, speaks of the hdm or vill at Walt-
ham, and many other cotli/s.
LI.]
LJi'NLAND.
land, until the time when by Ins lord's coiupaseioa
he can earn a bocland and eternal inheritance."
And instances occur in more tbrmal docuinentci.
In 977, Oswald, Archbishop of York and Bishop
of Worcester, made a i;rant of three hides at Ted-
dington, for three lives, to Eadric his thane, witli re-
version to Worcester: " Now there are three bides
of this land whicli Archbishop Oswald hooketh to
Eadric his thane, both near town and from town,
even as he before held them as Irenland'."
In another grant of the same prelate, between
972-992, made to his client ^Ifsige, of a dwelling
in Worcester city, for three lives, he adds, "Also
we write for book] to him the crolt appurtenant to
that tenement, which lies to the east of Wulfsige's
croft ; that he may hold it in as large measure, for
bocland, as he before held it for lienland'."
In 977, the same convent at Worcester hooked
three hides for three lives to the monk Wynslge,
even as his father had held them^; and in 978-992,
they gave to Goding the priest, also for three lives,
the tenement which he himself bad without the city
gate*. In both these cases la-n appears to have
been converted into estate for successive lives.
Where there was t;en, there could properly be no
book, because the possession of the charter itself
■was privm facie evideuce (indeed nearly conclusive
evidence) in favour of the holder. Hence, where
from any circumstance the books were withheld,
the tenant had only a l<en : this was the case with
' Cod.DipI.No».(H7, (iol. - Ibid. No. G7!>.
* Ibid. No. 616. ' Ibiil. No. 6Ki.
314 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Helmstan's estates mentioned above : he had depo-
sited his charters with Ordlaf as a security on an
occasion when this duke helped him to make oath
to some property. On Helmstan's felony, Ordl^
seized the land to himself, and the document from
which we learn this is obviously his appeal to Al-
fred's son and successor, against an attempt to dis-
turb Helmstdn's original title, under a judgement
given by -Alfred. Nor was it unusual for books to
be thus retained as securities, by which the tenant
having only a laen could be evicted, if not at plea-
sure, at least by legal process ^ And the same re-
marks apply to a very common mode of disposing
of estates, where the clergy were grantees. Either
to avoid litigation with justly exasperated heirs,
or to escape from the commands of various synods,
the clergy used to take deeds of gift from living
tenants, impounding the books of course, and lea-
ving the life-interest only to the owner. Such an
estate in technical Latin was named praestaria ; but
it was obviously a laen, and was generally charged
with recognitory payments*.
It may not be uninteresting, before I close this
chapter, to give some examples of the gafol or rent
paid upon lands whether held for lives, or as, more
strictly, l^enland. They are extremely valuable from
the insight they give into the details of social life,
and the daily habits of our forefathers.
^ See the case of the estate at Cowling, in the trial between Queen
Eadgyfu and Goda. Cod. Dipl. No. 499.
' Examples pf this arc found in Cod. Dipl. Nos. 429, 754, 1351,
1354, § 6.
CH. XI.] L-E-NLAND. 315
Twenty hides of land at Sempringham were
leased by Peterborough to WultVed for two lives,
on condition of his getting its freedom, and that
of Sieaford (both in Lincolnshire) : upon this estate
the following yearly rent was reserved. First, to
the monastery : two tons of bright ale. two oxen,
fit for slaughter, two niHtan or measures of Welsh
ale, and six hundred loaves. Secondly to the ab-
bot's private estate : one horse, thirty shillings of
silver or half a pound, one night's pastiis, fifteen
mittan of bright and five of Welsh ale, fifteen «c«-
ters of mild ale'.
A little earlier, Oswulf, a duke in Kent, devised
lands to Christchurch Canterbury, which he charged
with annual doles to the poor upon his anniver-
sary. Forty hides at Stanhampstead were to find,
one hundred and twenty loaves of wheat, thirty
loaves of fine wheat', one fat ox and four sheep,
two flitches of bacon, five geese, ten hens, and ten
pounds of cheese. If it fell on a fast-day, however
there was to be (instead of the meat) a wey of
cheese, and lish, butter, eggs ad libitum. Moreover,
thirty ambers of good Welsh ale, on the footing of
fifleen mittan, and one mitta of honey {perhaps to
make into a drink) or two of wine. From his laud
' Cod. Dipl. No. 267. an. 852. The laittn and other meamrea are
unknown. Homever the spsler of rarn wns one horae-lowl (Hen. Hunt,
lib. vi. ui. 1(M4)] qvare. What he could cany, or what he could draw?
In the middle of the eleventh century, the water of honey was thirty-
two ounces. C.J. Dip). No. 950.
* They are called eUan. These probably were made of flour passed
oftener through the boulter. The common loaf bad no doubt still much
bran in it, aud answered to our seconds. But it is probable that bread
was generally made otryc.
316 THE S^iXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
at Burnan were to issue one thousand loaves, and
one thousand raised loaves or cakes ; and the monks
themselves were to find one hundred and twenty
more of the latter i.
Werhard gave two juga or geoc of land to Can-
terbury. The rent of one at Lambahdm was forty
pensas (weys) of cheese, or an equivalent in lambs
and wool ; the other, at Northwood, rendered one
hundred and twenty measures, which the English
call ambers, of salt^.
Lufe, in 832, charged the inheritors and assigns
of her land at Mundlingham, with the following
yearly payment to Canterbury, for ever ; that is to
say : Sixty ambers of malt, one hundred and fifty
loaves, fifty white loaves, one hundred and twenty
alms-loaves, one ox, one hog and four wethers,
two weys of bacon and cheese, one mitta of honey,
ten geese and twenty hens^.
In 835, Abba, a reeve in Kent, charged his heirs
with a yearly payment to Folkstone, of fifty ambers
of malt, six ambers of grits (gruta?), three weys
of bacon and cheese, four hundred loaves, one
ox, and six sheep, besides an allowance or stipend
in money to the priests'*. And Heregy^, his wife,
^ Cod. Dipl. No. 226. an. 805-831 . The sufl-loaf which I have trans-
lated raised, is I presume derived from the word sufflare, and was pro-
bably carefully leavened. We unhappily have not the Anglosaxon re-
ceijit for beer; but I presume the text implies that fifteen mittan,
whatever they were, of malt were to go to the amber. Oswulf 's cha-
racter for sjilcndid liberality will induce us to believe that he meant
the monks to have an Audit ale of their own, as well as our worthy
Fellows of Trinit}- College Cambridge.
' Cod. Dipl. No. 220. an. 832.
3 Ibid. No. 231. ^ Ibid. No. 235.
:..]
;jir
further burthened lier land at Challock with pav-
ments to Canterbury, amounting to : thirty ambers
of ale, three hundred loaves, fiftv of them white,
one wey of bacon and cheese, one old ox, four
wethers, and one hog, or six wethers, six geese
and ten hens, one sester of honey, one of butter,
and one of salt ; and if her anniversary should fall
in winter, she added thirty wax-lights'.
In 902, Bishop Denewulf leased tifleen hides of
church-land at Eblesburn to hia relative fJeornwulf
for forty-five shillings :i year, with liberty to Beoni-
wulf's children to continue the lease. One shilling
(sixty of which went to the pound) is so very small
a rent for ten acres, that we must either suppose
the land to have been unusually bad, or Beornwulf's
connection with the bishop much in his favour*.
He was also to aid in cyricbot, and pay the cyric-
sceat. Ahout the same time Denewulf leased forty
hides at Alresford to one jElfred, at the old rent of
three pounds per annum, or four shillings and a half
per hide. He was however also to pay church-shot,
the amount of which is not stated, and to do church-
ahot-work, and find men to the bishop's reaping and
hunting*.
Between 1101-909, king Eadweatd booked twenty
bides of laud to Bishop Denewulf. The payments
reserved have been already mentioned : instead of
going to the king as gafol or rent, they were to
be expended in an anniversary feast on founder's
' Cml. Dipl. No. L>;i5. = llrnl. No. 1079.
' Ibid. No. 11)86. In both cases tlie rent in railed gafol.
318 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
day. I have already stated that this may be the
old charge on folcland : it was a grant from the
monks to the bishop, probably negotiated by Elad-
weard. All parties were satisfied : the monks pro-
bably got from the land as much as they could ex-
pect from any other tenant, or what, if folcland,
they would themselves have had to pay ; the bishop
got the land into his own hands, to dispose of at his
pleasure, and the king was rewarded for interven-
tion with all the benefits to be derived on his anni-
versary from the prayers of the grateful fathers at
Winchester.
At the close of the ninth century, Werfri^ bishop
of Worcester claimed land under the following cir-
cumstances. Milred a previous bishop had granted
an estate in Sopbury, on condition that it was to
be always held by a clergyman, and never by a
layman, and that if no clergyman could be found
in the grantee's family, it should revert to the see.
By degrees the family of the grantee established
themselves in the possession, but without perform-
ing the condition. At length WerfriS impleaded
their chief EadnoS, who admitted the wrong and
promised to find a clergyman. The family however
all refused to enter into holv orders. Eadno^ then
obtained the intercession of iESelred duke of Mer-
cia, the ladv iESelflaed, and iE^elno^ duke of
Somerset ; and by their persuasion, Werfri^ (in de-
fiance of his predecessor's charter) sold the land to
Eadnd^ for forty mancuses, reserving a yearly rent
of fifteen shillings, and a vestment (or perhaps some
CH. au.] L£'NLAND. 319
kind of hanging) to be delivered at the episcopal
manor of Tetbury * .
Ealdwulf bishop of Worcester leased forty acres
of land and a fishery for three lives to Leofena^,
on condition that they delivered yearly fifteen sal-
mon, and those good ones too, during the bishop's
residence in Worcester, on Ashwednesday*.
Eddric gafeled (gafelian), i. e. paid yearly rent or
gafol for two hides with half a pound, or thirty shil-
lings, and a gare^ a word I do not understands
In 835, the Abbess Cyneware gave land to Hun-
berht, a duke, on condition that he paid a gablum^
gafol or rent of three hundred shillings in lead
yearly to Christchurch Canterbury*.
The ceorlas or dependent freemen who were set-
tled upon the land of Hurstbourn in the days of
Alfred, had the following rents to pay ; many of
these are labour rents, many arise out of the land
itself, viz. are part of the produce.
From each hide, at the autumnal equinox, forty
pence. Further they were to pay, six church-mit-
tan of ale, and three sesters or horseloads of white
wheat. Out of their own time they were to plough
three acres, and sow them with their own seed, to
house the produce, to pay three pounds of gafol-
barley, to mow half an acre of gafolmead and stack
the hay, to split four fo^er or load of gafolwood
and stack it, to make sixteen rods of gafolhedg-
» Cod. Dipl. No. 327.
' Ihid, No. 695. I have rendered " forme faestenei dieg" as if it were
Caput jejunU,
» Rid. No. 699. * Ibid. No. 1043.
320 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
ing*. At Easter they were further to pay two ewes
and lambs, two young sheep being held equivalent
to one old one : these they were to wash and shear
out of their own time. Lastly, every week they
were to do any work which might be required of
them, except during the three weeks, at Christmas,
Easter and the Gangdays*.
The following customs and payments are re-
corded in various manors : some of the words I
cannot translate. ** In Dyddanham there are thirty
hides; nine of these are inland (demesne), twenty-
one are let^. In Straet are twelve hides, twenty-
seven yards of gafolland ; and on the Severn there
are thirty cytweras*. In Middleton are five bides,
fourteen yards of gafolland, fourteen cytweras on
the Severn, and two haecweras on the Way. At
Kingston there are five hides, thirteen yards of ga-
folland, and one hide above the ditch which is now
also gafolland, and that without the ham*, is still
in part inland, in part let out on rent to the ship-
wealas*^ : to Kingston belong twenty-one cytweras
on the Severn, and twelve on the Wav. In Bi-
* Gafolbafre, gafolmsed. gaibhvulu, gafoltuning. The Saxons knew
well enough that aU these things were remt : and all land put out upon
rent of anv kind was gafolland. galolciind or Qarelkimd land.
« Coil. bipl. No. 1077.
* Geset laud 1 have rendereil by set out or let : as land is afterwards
said to be set to rent, to gafole gesett.
* The cytweras and h»cweras were weirs or places for taking fish,
but 1 cannot distinguish their nature. The names would induce i*ji to
think the former were shapeii like a modem eel-trap, the latter were
formed with a slat or hatch.
* .Vn enclosure on the water. See Cod. DipL iii. p. xxrii.
^ Welsh navigator».
CH.xr.] L.*:NLA?JD. 331
shopstiin are three hides, and fifteen cytweras on
t!ie Way : in Lancawet are three hides, two hsec-
weras on the Way, and two cytweras.
"Throughout that land each yardland pays twelve
jience, and four alms-pence : at every weir within the
thirty hides, every second fisli belongs to the land-
lord, besides every uncommon fish worth having,
sturgeon or porpoise, herring or sea-fish ; and no
one may sell any fish for money when the lord is
on tiie land, until he have had notice of the same.
In Dyddenham the services are very heavy. The
geneat must work, on the land or oft' the land, as
he is commanded, and ride and carry, lead load
and drive drove, and do many things beside. The
gebur must do his rights ; he must plough half an
acre for weel<-work, and himself pay the seed in
good condition into the lord's barn for ckurch'shoi,
at all events from his own barn : towards werbold',
forty large trees * or one load of rods ; or eight geocu
build^, three ebban close : of field-enclosure fifteen
rods, or let him ditch fifteen ; and let him ditch one
rod of burg-enclosure ; reap an acre and a half, mow
half an acre ; work at other works ever according
to their nature. Liet him pay sixpence after Easter,
half a sester of honey at Lammas, six sesters of
malt at Martinmas, one clew of good net yarn. In
the same land it is customary that he who hath
seven swine shall give three, and so forth always
' Werbold, the coDstruction of ibi: v
' iittn, of large wood in opposition
* Let him build eight yolifs in tl
What these geocu and ebhiin arc, I can
VOL. I.
.'ir i)r pUct; for mtchiiig tiah,
? neir, ami clo^w tincf- rbban.
322 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
the tenth, and nevertheless pay for common of mast-
ing, if mast there be^*'
Unquestionably these are heavy dues, and much
aggravated by the circumstances of the estate or
yardland being but small, the tenant born free, and
some of the services uncertain. I shall conclude this
chapter with a few lines translated from that most
valuable document called " Rectitudines singularum
personarum* ;" as far as the cases of the Geneit,
Cotsetla and Grebdr are concerned*. First of the
Geneat or comrade.
"The Genedt-right is various, according to the
custom of the land. In some places he must pay
landgafol, and a grass-swine yearly ; ride and carry,
lead load ; work and feed his lord* ; reap and mow ;
hew deer-hedge and hold s€dte^ ; build and enclose
the burh [or mansion] ; make new roads to the
farm ; pay church-shot and alms-fee ; hold head-
ward and horse ward ; go on errand, far or near,
whithersoever he is directed." This is compara-
tively free, and it is only to be regretted that we
do not know what amount of land in general could
be obtained at such a rent. We next come to the
Cotsetlan, whom iElfred in a passage already cited
states to be on laenland, and w^ho are obviously poor
freemen, suffered to settle on the lord's estate.
**The Cotsettler's right is according to the cus-
tom. In some places he must work for the lord, every
' Co<l. Dipl. No. 461. « Thorpe, i. 432.
' Tlic ancient Latin version calls them Villanus, Coisetle and Ocbur.
< Feonnian, .^rmore; giye so much ns pastus.
* Help to make park-paling, and perhaps keep wsteh for gune.
I. ll.l LJ:NLAND. 323
Monday throughout the year ; or three days every
week in harvest ; he need pay no landgafol. He
ought to have five acres ; more if it be the custom.
And if it be less, it is all too little, for bis service
is often called upon. He must pay his hearth-penny
on holy Thursday' as it behoves every freeman to
do ; and he must acquit^ his lord's inland, on sum-
mons, at seaward and at the king's deer-hedge^ ;
and at such things as are in his competence : and
let him pay his church-shot at Martinmas.
" The customs of the Gehiir are very various ; in
Eome places they are heavy, but in some moderate.
In some places it is usual that he shall do two days
week-work, whatever work may be commanded him,
every week throughout the year ; and three days
week-work in harvest, and three from Candlemas
to Easter. If he carries'*, he need not work him-
self as long as his horse is out. He must pay at
Michaelmas ten gafol-pence, and at Martinmas
twenty-three sesters of barley, and two hens* ; at
9 Dbt. Observe that Ibe Cotmtia i* diatinrtly uaertnl to
htfrtt.
* " Werip; his hUfuiHes," ete. ; that is, perform fat his lord, the
doty of mnot-^ard, and attending the king's hnnt : from wbtrii it
folloirs that, where there nas ni> speHal exemptiun. these lervieea eouhl
lie deinaniled of the ton! : thnt is in case if folcland. The old Latin
lmi*)«te« Berinti bj aci/iiietarr, whifh 1 have adapted.
* Either in repairing the pHrk-jialmg, or in service (hiring the himt,
' Aferian, anerian./nrir avrragiaia. avfrisl.
* This seems an imincnse Bmonnt of barlev, but the ^axaa clearly
reads ne I hare translated. The old Ijitin version hns, " Dare debet in
festo Saneti Mirbaelis k. den. de gablo, et Ssncti Martini die nxiii et
seMnriiim ordei et ii gallinas." Twenty-three penee at Martinnias is
a considerable sum ; bowerer as a sester of eom must even in ordi-
naiy yean have been worth quite that Bnm, it is more reasonable to
follon the Latin than the Saxon.
y2
ti'Ji THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Buster one young sheep or two pence ; and he shall
He out from Martinmas till Easter at the lord's
fold ^ ; and from the time when the plough is first
put in till Martinmas, he shall plough one acre
every week» and make ready the seed in the lord's
barn : moreover three acres on request, and two of
yrass-ploughing'*. If he require more grass, let him
earn it on such conditions as he may. For his
rent-ploughing [gafidyrV] he shall ploQ^ three
acre$ and sow them from his own ham ; and pay his
^ TW R4i) >»«» i^lWtt ilbnuM £raai ^e
|B«r> ^ mmI ^y' WM> »li tlMit^ Mi tW utkk o£ hone wml
•»yT N(c> xnt ititf tnui ^»«fat^:«f ^' tav* cacov ^ >* pttt*
t* Ht*H 'ycv^f tuv "!*vur >.•• -nrmt&cssGctr * F>i«r 3ie xum tntatL, T^^bik
vo* u n«m)C> :ux^' i^rtr^ tts<t:?iu n nit jr n nu
«v*x>. 'J nil* K luttx'i >«ivuiu «£iur -milt; j r afci* i
«Ni'«i!<'«<»<v» iv ni^« WH^ k i«c^iui %:fu :ti«f %mu Man smn. r ir
^iit,%'* *<;v^ r»*«i tK :vaitn«:««ii-r«xK.«k n Tlr
c\»*» K uvvx ^c tt(««e A*-^ KMT «l »J« & out
heartli-penny ; and two and two shall feed one stag-
hound ; and each gebur shall give six loaves to the
inswiin [that is, the swain or swineherd of the de-
mesne] when he drives Iiis herd to the mast. In
the same land where these conditions prevail, the
gebiir has a right, towards first stocking his land,
to receive two oxen, one cow and six sheep, and
seven acres in his yard otland, ready sown. After
the first year let him do all the customs which be-
long to him ; and he is to be supplied with tools for
his work, and furniture I'or his house. When he
dies, let his lord look after what he leaves.
" This land-law prevails in some lands ; hut, as I
have said, in some places it is heavier, in others
lighter; seeing that the customs of all lauds are
not alike. In some places the gcbiir must pay
honey-gafol, in some meat-gafol, in some ale-
gafol. Let him that holds the shire take heed to
know always what is the old arrangement about
the land, and what the custom of the country I "
I can only add the expression of my o])inion, that
a careful study of the condition of the peasantry in
the eastern parts of Europe will assist in throwing
much lifrht upon these ancient social arrangements
in this country- Hard as in some respects the con-
dition of the dependent freeman appears, it must
be borne in mind that the possession of land was
indispensably necessary to life, unless he was to be-
come an absolute serf In a country that has httle
more manufacture than the simple necessities of
individual households require, no wealth of raw
material, and conseqviently little commerce, — where
326 THE SAXONS IX ENGLAND. [book i.
households rejoice in a sort of self-supporting, self-
sufficient autonomy y and the means of internal com-
munication are imperfect, — laqd and its produce are
the only wealth ; land is the only means whereby
to live. But the Saxon peasant knew his position :
it was a hard one, but he bore it : he worked early
and late, but he worked cheerfully, and amidst all
his toils there is no evidence of his ever having
shot at his landlord from behind a stone wall or a
hedge.
327
CHAPTER XII.
HEATHENDOM.
An account of the Saxons which should entirely ex-
clude the peculiarities of their heathendom, would
be deficient in an important degree. Religion and
law are too nearly allied, particularly in early pe-
riods, for us to neglect either, in the consideration
of national institutions. The immediate dependence
of one upon the other we may not be able to show
in satisfactory detail ; but we may be assured that
the judicial forms are always in near connexion
with the cult, and that this is especially the case at
times when the judicial and priestly functions are
in the hands of the same class.
The Saxons were not without a system of reli-
gion, long before they heard of Christianity, nor
should we be justified in asserting that religion to
have been without moral influence upon the indi-
vidual man in his family and social relations. Who
shall dare to say that the high -thought ed barbarian
did not derive comfort in affliction, or support in
difficulty, from the belief that the gods watched
over him, — that he did not bend in gratitude for the
blessings they conferred, — that he was not guided
and directed in the daily business of life by the con-
328 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
viction of bis responsibility to higher powers than
any which he recognized in the world around him ?
There has been, and yet is, religion without the
pale of Christianity, however dim and meagre and
unsatisfactory that religion may appear to us whom
the mercy of God has blessed with the true light of
the Gospel. Long before their conversion, all the
Germanic nations had established polities and states
upon an enduring basis, — upon principles which
still form the groundwork and stablest foundation of
the greatest empires of the world, — ^upon principles
which, far from being abrogated by Christianity,
harmonize with its purest precepts. They who
think states accidental, and would eliminate Provi-
dence from the world, may attempt to reconcile this
truth with their doctrine of barbarism ; to us be it
permitted to believe that, in the scheme of an all-
wise and all-pervading mercy, one condition here
below may be the fitting preparation for a higher ;
and that even Paganism itself may sometimes be
only as the twilight, through which the first rays of
the morning sun are dimly descried in their pro-
gress to the horizon. Without religion never was
yet state founded, which could endure for ages;
the permanence of our own is the most convincing
proof of the strong foundations on which the mas-
sive fabric, from the first, was reared.
The business of this chapter is with the Heathen-
dom of the Saxons ; not that portion of it which
yet subsists among us in many of our most che-
rished superstitions, some of which long lurked in
the ritual of the unreformed church, and may yet
II.]
HEATHENDOM.
lurk in the habits and belief of many Protestants ;
but that which was the acknowledged creed of the
Saxon, as it was of other Germanic populations;
which once had priests and altars, a ritual and ce-
remonies, temples and sacrifices, and all tlie pomp
and power of a church-estublishment.
The proper subjects of mythological inquiry are
tlie gods and godlike heroes: it is through the lat-
ter — for the most part, forms of the gods them-
selves — that a race connects itself with the foruier.
Among the nations of our race royalty is indeed
iure divino, for tlie ruling families are in direct
genealogical descent from divinity, and the posses-
sion of Woden's blood was the indispensable con-
dition of kingship. In our peculiar system, the
vague records of Tuisco, the earth-born god', and
Man, the origin and founders of the race, have
vanished ; the mystical cosmogony of Scandinavia
has left DO traces among iis^; but we have neverthe-
less a mythological scheme which probably yielded
neither in completeness nor imaginative power to
those of the German or the Norwegian.
In the following pages I propose to take into
consideration, first the Gods and Goddesses, pro-
perly so called : secondly, the Monsters or Titanic
powers of our old creed : thirdly, the intermediate
' " Ctlcbnuit ramiiuibui luitiquis Tuiscoiiem iteiiui tenft eilitum
ct lilium Mauiium, originem geiitia cunititorcaqiie." Germ. ii. So nuag
the earlieit Greeks :
avriBtop hi niXairyoy rv v^utofioIfFU' optrrai
yrua fuXatv' avtrjKtv ipa dvrtTay yivoK htj.
- Tlicre ia no beUer Bccimnt of lliis (lian Gcijcr givus in liis History
i>f Swciltn. vol. i. passim.
a3(» THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
and as it were ministerial beings : and lastly the god*
bom and heroic personages of the epopoea.
The prudence or the contempt of the earUest
Saxon Christians has left but sparing record of
what Augustine and his brother missionaries over*
threw. Incidental notices indeed are all that re-
main in any part of Teutonic Europe ; and on the
continent, as well as in England, it is only by the
collation of minute and isolated facts, — often pre-
served to us in popular superstitions, legends and
even nursery tales, — that we can render probable
the prevalence of a religious beUef identical in its
most characteristic features with that which we
know to have been entertained in Scandinavia. Yet
whatsoever we can thus recover, proves that, in all
main points, the faith of the island Saxons was that
of their continental brethren.
It will readily be supposed that the task of de-
monstrating this is not easy. The early period
at which Christianity triumphed in England, adds
to the difficulties which naturally beset the sub-
ject. Norway, Sweden and Denmark had entered
into public relations with the rest of Europe, long
before the downfall of their ancient creed : here,
the fall of heathendom and the commencement of
history were contemporaneous: we too had no
Iceland * to offer a refuge to those who fled from
the violent course of a conversion, preached sword
' Thus was Iceland colonized, by men who would neither relinquish
their old belief, nor submit to the growing }X)wer of a king. The Old-
saxons had no such place of rcfiige, and the arms of Charlemagne pre-
vailed to destroy their national independence and their religion together.
HEATHENDOM.
in hand, and coupled with the loss of potitical inde-
pendeace ; still the progress of the new faith seems
to have been on the whole easy and continuous
amongst us ; and though apostasy was frequent,
history either had no serious struggle to record, or
has wisely and prudently concealed it.
In dealing with this subject, we can expect but
little aid from the usual sources of information.
The early chroniclers who lived in times when hea-
thendom was even less extinct than it now is, and
before it had learnt to hide itself under borrowed
uames, would have shrunk with horror from the
mention of what, to themj was an execrable im-
piety: many of them could have possessed no
knowledge of details which to us would be invalua-
ble, and no desire to become acquainted with them :
the whole business of their life, on the contrary, was
to destroy the very remembrance that such things
had been, to avoid everything that could recall the
past, or remind their half-converted neophytes of
the creed which they and their forefathers had held.
It is obvious that, under such circumstances, the
greater and more powerful the God, the more dan-
gerous would he continue to he, the more sedu-
lously would all mention of him be avoided by
those who had relinquished his service or overthrown
his altars. But though this may be the case with
the principal deities, there are others whose power,
though unacknowledged, is likely to he more per-
manent. Lung after the formal renunciation of
a public and national paganism, the family and
household gods retain a certain habitual influence.
332 THE SAXONS IK EXGLAKD.
and continue— often under other names, naj per-
haps engrafted on another creed — to iafarm the
daily life of a people who are still nnooabCMiiulj
acted upon by ancient national feelings. A qieil or
a popular superstition may yet recaD some traces of
the old belief, even as the heathen temple, when
purified with holy water and dedicated in another
name, retained the holiness which had at first been
attached to the site of its foundation.
What Pkulus Diaconus, Jonas i^ Bobbio, Jor-
nandes, Adam of Bremen, Alcuin, Widuldnd, and
the monks of St. Gall, assert i^ other Gennan
races, Beda asserts of .the Ang^osaxons also, viz.
that they worshiped idols ^ tcbla, simmlmara ifeo-
rmm ; and this he affirms not only upon the autho-
rity of his general infiNnmants and of unbroken
tradition, but of Gr^ory himself. Upon the same
authority also be tells us that the heathen were
wont to sacrifice many oxen to their gods*. To
' \rhat Taoms says of the Gcrmaiis Germ, ix.) not haTiii^ temples
or inuige^ is to be taken wnh great cantkni. It ts dear from otho'
passages of his own wofk diat some tiibes had sach, erai in his time ;
\Tet if rare then^ ther may easahr hare become imiT«r<«l in the eoime
of two or thiYe oentuiies, parbcnlaziT among tbo^ uibes whom mili-
tary soricr or commerce had gradnafly rendered famitiar with the re-
lurious nt^ of Rome.
* "Hiese £•«* are suted in a kxier fiom Gregoiy to Ifdlitus, in the
following word^ : *' Cum ew» l>eBs omnipoirens vos ad pp^fTr n try«P""«"
\irum fratnem nostnun Augnstinnm epifscopom perdnxcnt, dicite ei quid
diw mcmm de causa .\jQgkinim cc^riians tractavi. Tidelirct, quia fima
idokvnim dcstrui in eadem gente minime debeant ; aed ipsa, quae in eU
Minu idola dcsiTuanrar. aqua benedicta fiau in eisdem fimis aspcrgatur,
«ltana construantiir. rebqniae ponantur. Quia, si £uia eadem bene
c^Hisctructa sunt, nccc^s^e est u: a cuhn daemonum in obaeqnium veri
IVj dcbcant commntan ; ui dnm gens ipsa esdem iana sua non ridet
tW«iToi, de corde ernvrm depouo, cs Ucsn Tenim cognoscens «c
CH. SlI.]
HEATHENDOM. lOOI.S
a33
Beda himself we owe the information that HrelSe
and Eostre, two Saxon goddesses, gave their names
to two of the months ; that at a certain season cat-
tle were vowed, and at another season cakes were
oflered to the gods'. From him also we learn that
upon the death of Sibeorht in Essex, his sons re-
stored the worship of idols in that kingdom* ; that
Eadwini of Northumberland offered thanks to his
deities for the safe delivery of his queen" ; that
Riedwald of Eastangha sacriticed victims to his
gods* ; that, on occasion of a severe pestilence, the
people of Essex apostatized and returned to their
ancient worship*, till reconverted by Gearoman,
under whose teaching they destroyed or deserted
the fanes and altars they had made ; that incan-
tations and spells were used against sickness" ;
that certain runic charms were believed capable of
breaking the bonds of the captive' ; that Eorcen-
berht of Kent was the first who completely put
down heathendom in his kingdom, and destroyed
HiiorajM ad locu, quae rousucvit, fiimiliafiua eoiiciirntt. Et quia bovci
Kolciit in iarrilirio diiemouuni multoa orculcri', ili-bet eia etiam liae de
re oliqun sotemnitaa imniutari ; lit die dedicationis, ve\ nstiditii sancto-
r«m martyrum, r,norum illic reliquiae jHiDuntur, tabernaeiila lil
eaadem aercleiiaa, quae ex fanis commulaUe sunt, de
rociant, et religioMi conviviis solemnitatem celcbrent, nee diaboli> iam
uiiiDBlia immolcnt, leil ad laudein Dl^i iti esu suo animalia occidant, et
donatori oniniutu de aatietatc sua gratias refcrant ; iit duiii els aliqua
esteriiis gavidia reservantur, iid intpriora gniidiii consentiru facilius ya-
leaol." Bed. H. E, i. 30.
' De Natura Rcrum, cap. 15.
» U. E. ii. i).
' " Coe|Tt;mnt faua, quae derelitta erai:
miiluuv; quasi per hnee possciiC a mortuti
II. E. iv. -27.
11. E. 11. 5.
II. E. ii. 15.
adonuv ai-
defeiidi." H. E. iii. 30.
' II. E. iv. 22.
334 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
the idols ^ ; lastly that at the court of Eddwini of
Northumberland there was a chief-priest^, and, as
we may naturally infer from this, an organized
heathen hierarchy.
The poenitentials of the church and the acts of
the witena-gem6ts are full of prohibitions directed
against the open or secret practice of heathendom^ ;
from them we learn that even till the time of Cnut,
well-worship and tree-worship, the sanctification
of places, spells, philtres and witchcraft, were still
common enough to call for legislative interference ;
and the heavy doom of banishment, proclaimed
against their upholders, proves how deeply rooted
such pagan customs were in the minds of the peo-
ple. Still in the Ecclesiastical History of Beda, in
the various works which in later times were founded
upon it and continued it, in the poenitentials and
confessionals of the church, in the acts of the se-
cular assemblies, we look in vain for the sacred
names in which the fanes were consecrated, or for
even the slightest hint of the attributes of the gods
whose idols or images had been set up. Excepting
the cursory mention of the two female divinities al-
ready noticed, and one or two almost equally rapid
allusions in later chronicles, we are left almost en-
tirely without direct information respecting the
tenants of the Saxon Pantheon. There are however
other authorities, founded on traditions more au-
* II. E. iii. 8. Malmsburv says that be destroyed also their chapels,
"ssacelUi deorum." De Gest. hb. i. § 11.
' H. E. ii. 13.
* See these collected in the Appendix at the end of this Tolume.
en. XII,] HEATHENDOM. WODEN- 335
cient than Beda hiraselt', from which we derive more
copious, if not more definite, accounts. First among
these are the genealogies of the Anglosaxon kings :
these contain a multitude of the ancient goda, re-
duced indeed into family relations, and entered in
the grades of a pedigree, but sliil capable of identi-
6cation with the deities of the North and of Ger-
many. In this relation we find Woden, Baeldieg,
Geat, Wig, and Frea. The days of the week, also de-
dicated to gods, supply us further with the names of
Tiw, £)unor, Fricge and Sjetere ; and the names of
places in al! parts of England attest the wide di-
spersion of their worship. These, as well as the
names of plants, are the admitted signs by which
we recognize the appellations of the Teutonic gods.
1. WO'DEN, in Old-norse OpINN, in Old-ger-
man WUOTAN. — The royal family of every An-
glosaxon kingdom, without exception, traces its
descent from Woden through some one or other of
those heroes or demigods who are familiar to us
in the German and Scandinavian traditions'. But
' Ri^er of Wendover appears however to have made n ilistinction.
which I do not remember to have FoudiI in any other author, in the
ewe of £lli of Sussex. He sayii " Wodenus ig:ttur ex antiqaoruin
pmaapia Germanorum origiaein duc«iu, post mnrtein inter deoi tronf
latus tat; quern veterei pro deo colentes, de<UraTemnt el qnartam fr<
riam, tiiiam dc nomine eins Wodenesday. id eat diem Wodeni. nuncu-
panint. Uic liabuit nxorein, nomine Frcam, cui aimiliter veterea
■extsm reriam coniecrantes, Freda;, id est diem Fren, appelUrunt.
Uenuit Butem Wodcnua e\ uxorc Frea ie]«cm tilioa isclyloi, ex qaorum
mccenione scptem regcs traxerunt originem, qui in Britannia polcnicr,
eipuUis Britaunia, poatea regnnTCmnt. Ex Slio Wodeni primogmito,
nomine Wed*, reftcs CBUtuariorum ; ex «etundo, Frebeitealh, r^es
Merdorum; ex tertio, Baldao, regea Wcataaxonum; ex qtmiio, Bel-
im THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
i\w divinity of W(Sden is abundantly clear: he is
both in form utid in fact identical with the Norse
())^inn and the (rerman Wuotan> the supreme god
of all tbo northern races, whose divinity none will
nttt>m|)t to disputed Nor was this his character
unknown to our early chroniclers; Alalmsbury,
upoukin^ of I longest and Hors, says : " They were
tho groat^roat-gnxndsons of that most ancient W6-
i\f>\\, fixnu whom the roval families of almost all
tho U^irl^^rtnis nations derive their lineage ; whom
th«^ uutit>n$ t4^ the Anssrles madlv beliering to be a
^hU h^Yt^ cou:ii^«t.*inited unto him the fourth day of
tht^ wwk* and the sixth unto his wife Frea, by a
?MfciH^K?^ whk^h Ui^t* e^'en unto this day*/' Mai-
th<^w i>t^ NVi^miuster^ and Geoffiry of Moonumth-*
lit^HNit tKW with ciianK'iiffktic rariatioQSw boCli add-
i^s ^|^|vi^r^ntly in the words of Tacitus'. " Co&iniK
Hu-ivtUK' M^^rv^unauK v^uem Wouea lin.^ni luoecra
m^u s.^ tv>jLt ^kxv. jina cttU2:^ himsijit a iesceni-
jtitvc l-K 'uc>a;oa ^i ii5> O'Vti i^, — die rfcsci u'tja-
,.v >«,i/iF\Ut«iv>« SftA.'««M, ^■jc*^ %,*rn; »i4a*iitm Sk^^ouum irrg o rfn. msMfr- Jr
II »^ * •K*.»*,wt«i;«v .t tK. .*lu««»Ar!>« 'Mj ami tsc Tiisrti T 210
.*«,tM% c». *»iMwi. % »rwfc>.v. -x -<rx^^ft\ ulr. ur tituir. ». wui:' Jtearr
CH.XII.] HEATHENDOM. WODEN. 337
tury ; he says of Hengest and Hors : ''Hi nepotes
fuere Uuoddan regis barbarorum, quern post, in-
fanda dignitate, ut deuin honorantes, sacrificium
obtulerunt pagani, victoriae' causa sive virtutis*."
Again, he says : '* Wothen, qui et rex multarum gen-
tium, quern pagani nunc ut deum colunt aliqui."
Thus, according to him, Wdden was worshiped as
the giver of victory, and as the god of warlike va-
lour. And such is the description given by Adam
of Bremen of the same god, at Upsala in Sweden :
" In hoc templo, quod totum ex auro paratum est,
statuas trium deorum veneratur populus, ita ut
potentissimus eorum Thor in medio solum habeat
triclinium, hinc et inde locum possident W6dan
et Fricco. Quorum significationes eiusmodi sunt :
Thor, inquiunt, praesidet in acre, qui tonitrus et
fulmina, ventos imbresque, serena et fruges gu-
bernat. Alter W6dan, id est Fortior^ bella regit,
hominumque ministrat virtutem contra inimicos.
Tertius est Fricco, pacem voluptatemque largiens
mortalibus. Cuius etiam simulachrum fingunt in-
genti Priapo. W6danem vero sculpunt armatum,
sicuti nostri Martem sculpere solent. Thdr auteni
cum sceptro Jovem exprimere videtur." The Ex-
eter book names Wdden in a similar spirit :
Hs^iSnum synne
W<5den worhte weohs,
wuldor alwealda
rdme roderasS
that is, " For the heathen Woden wrought the sin
* .£Selw. Chron. lib. 11. cap. 2. ' Cod. Exon. p. 341.
VOL. I. Z
338 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of idolatry, but the glorious almighty God the
spacious skies:" and an early missionary is de-
scribed to have thus taught his hearers : " W6den
vero quern principalem deum crediderunt et prae-
cipuum Angli, de quo originem duxerant, cui et
quartam feriam consecraverant. hominem fuisse
mortalem asseruit, et regem Saxonum, a quo plures
nationes genus duxerant. Huius, inquit, corpore in
pulverem resoluto, anima in inferno sepulta aeter-
num sustinet ignem\"
To Woden was dedicated the fourth or mid-day
ol* the week, and it still retains his name : this
among other circumstances tends to the identifi-
cation of him with Mercurius^. The Old-norse
Runatale yitir which introduces O^n declaring
himself to be the inventor of runes.^, is confirmed
by the assertion in the dialogue of Salomon and
S;\tunu which to the question '' Who invented let-
ters ? ' answeni. ' 1 leli thee. Mercury the iiant"' —
that is. ^* Wi^xten the i^ovi :'' and this is further evi-
' r^*s yr«.'bttf>iN '.^*i> :hvf vra:>«f t^vtii Srtonf aav G^raum «ttienn*nc wi*
toavlc '• l^rrcaiii. Fv.: :i«> ir^'Lincu': cm >.* ra::j«:ii oa this ^roiuiii liminj*
V.*>. »L:aa> Aors^i^vc a. .a. ;hcv ;jpJ0abr carr'tHi ins na» with dicTn aj
b:>_:'a:ic. ^^ c Vio * z.iAt *!c > out? or the itjtiji nameti in the -.-eie-
brn' *: vr-u .larv ,'i r».'i iru'iiriou. *Aiiicii cii«i stcacKouary Chrrscan:? pn?-
•\ir.*i •••r :.iv; ist- 'i -.ic Slv jii s.vir. t:rt:i, ^V*av the wtif^jr^f'tno Rumttri'i
Idv* ^'vrm. \':i.. 'iwi iivii W j»tea ds ihe otirrespuniimc j?;»i :u
M*.n.Mu-\ •.>^. Ji^, jj.f ^.:, .^N. s<^.' but wy arv not iie^uamnM. wrth :iie
r'tx.> uia .tT^vuii^ > ^icii ma' bai^e 3iitot«* this TXfrfevtiv citmr cu Hie
N:t:uvfv i|»p r«ifiar Or mm -wtftn^ :u bavt «um«; Jonbc jr the le-
ctu-HC) ^£ Mis THiia^ur.uii. Vt at. M\rh. j. iMi iiuuuQ .it l.S*4 . butt
tiiiuk iumv*v\f;»i$»ru\. A: L\ ^veurs- :he invcnoiin Ml cbe HuiEniiiv. jt
CH. xn.]
HEATHENDOM. WCXDEN.
339
dence of resemblance. A metrical homily in vari-
ous collections, bearing the attractive title Defalsis
dits, supplies us with further proof of this identi-
fication, not only with Wdden, but with the Norse
OJ^inn : it says,
Snm man was geMten
Mercurius on life,
se was swiSe fi^nfid
and swicol on ddedum,
and iufode e^ stala
and le&brednysse :
tSone macodon Sa hs^Senan
him t<$ mseran gode,
and set wega geketum
him 1^ offirodoD,
and t6 hedgum beorgom
him brdhton onsaegdnysse.
Dees god wses drwurSa
betwux eallum hseCenum,
and he is 0)?on gehdten
(SSmm naman on Denisc.
A man there was, called
Mercury during life,
who was very fraudulent
and deceitful in deeds,
and eke loved thefts
and deception :
him the heathen made
a powerful god for themselves,
and by the road-sides
made him offerings,
and upon high hiUs
brought him sacrifice.
This god was honourable
among all the heathen,
and he is called Odin
by another name in Danish.
Done feorSan daeg
hi sealdon him t(5 frcSfre
Sam foressedan Mercuric
heora m^ran gode^
The fourth day
they gave for their advantage
to the aforesaid Mercury
their great god.
Rones, the possession of which makes men dear to their companions,
is distinctlv attributed to him in the Edda :
[fter of hugdi Hroptr
af l^im legi
er leki> hafdi
or bavfi Heiddravpnis
ok or homi Hoddropnis. (Brynh-qu. i. 13.)
But this is an additional point of approximation to the deities whom
we consider identical with Hermes, and in some respects with Mercury,
as for instance Thoth.
' MS. Cott. Jul. E. vii. 237, b. etc. See the author's edition of Sa-
lomon and Saturn, p. 120, seq,
z'2
340 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book t.
Thus we have Mercurius, W6den and 0)>inu suf-
ficiently identified. A careful investigation of the
inner spirit of Greek mythology has led some
very competent judges to see a form of Hermes in
Odysseus. This view derives some corroboration
from the Teutonic side of the question, and the re-
lation in which Woden stands to Mercurius. Even
Tacitus had learnt that Ulixes had visited Grermany,
and there founded a town which he called Asci-
burgium ^ ; and without insisting on the probability
that Asciburgium grew out of a German Anseopurc
or a Scandinavian Asgard, it seems not unreason-
able to suppose that some tales of W6den had
reached the ears of the Roman, which seemed to
him to resemble the history of Odysseus and his
wanderings. Such a tale we yet possess in the ad-
ventures of Thorkill on his journey to Utgardaloki,
narrated by Saxo Grammaticus, which bears a re-
markable likeness to some parts of the Odyssee * ;
and when we consider Saxo's very extraordinary
mode of rationalizing ancient mythological tradi-
tions, we shall admit at least the probability of an
earlier version of the tale which would be much
more consonant with the suggestion of Tacitus,
although this earlier form has unfortunately not
' ''Cetenim et Ulixen quidam opinantur lougo illo et fabuloso eirore in
hunc Oceauum delatiim adiisse Germauiae terras, Asciburgiumque, quod
in ripa Rhcni situm hodieque incolitur, ab illo constitatiiin nomina-
tumque. Aram quinetiam Ulixi consecratam adiecto Laertae patris
nomine eodem loeo olim repertam, monimentaque et tumulos quosdam
Gmecis litteris inscriptos in coDfinio Germaniae Raetiaeque adhuc
exstare. Quae neque eoufirmare argumentis, neque refellere in animo
est ; ex ingeuio suo quisque demat vel addat fidem.'* Germ. iii.
' Saxo Gram. Ilist. Dan. lib. \uu
cu. xit.] HEATHENDOM. MO DEN. .i-JI
survived. Wdden is, like Odysseus, preeminently
the wanderer; he is Gangradr, Gangleri, the rest-
less, moving deity. Even the cloak, hood or hat
in which OJiinn is always clad • reminds us hoth of
the petasus of Hermes and the broad hat which
Odysseus generally wears on ancient gems and
pottery. That Wuden was worshiped at wega
geliktum, and that he was the peculiar patron of
houndaries, again recalls to us this function of
Hermes, and the "Ep^uia : when we hear that offer-
ings were brought to him upon the lofty hills, we
are reminded that there was an uKpioc or Mountain
Hermes too, though little known ; and the 'Ep/i^c
Trpofiaync, perhaps as little known as his moun-
tain brother, answers to the warlike, victory- giving
deity of our forefathers in his favourite form.
From the godlike or heroic sous of Woden de-
scend all the races qualified to reign, and some of
those whose names are found in the Anglosaxon
genealogies maybe easily recognised in the mytho-
logical legends of the continent. In some one or
other of his forms he is the eponyvms of tribes and
races ; thus, as Geat or through Geat, he was the
founder of the Gedtas ; through Gewis, of the Ge-
wissas; through Scyld, of the Scyldingas, the Norse
' OHhQ is calleil beklumaCr, Ike man ifiih ike cloak, Fomalil. Sog.
i. 325. " Kom l>ar inaSr gamall, miiik orGapnkr, einiyuD [OHnn woe
one-ryed only] ok augilnpr, ok haK5i halt sidaii." Fornman. Stig. ii.
138. " Su Iwnn nmnn rnikinn meS giSum hctti ak f«tti kondngi
gUDan xt ncSum bans, Kiat bsmn kuniii at oUum luniliim tiflioili at
ieB»." Formnan. S'>g. v. 250. He is callcil Silihottr even in the E<ld«.
Tbrough thie cloak or Hackle, Wodeu beromes Haclebernd or Haeile-
berg. wbo riilcs at the bead of the WiWc Jngti or wild buot.
342 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Skjoldungar; through Brand, of the Brondingas;
perhaps through Bsetwa, of the Batavians ^ It seems
indeed not wholly improbable that every name in
the merely mythical portion of the genealogies re-
presents some particular tribe, under the distinctive
appellation of its tutelar god or hero ; and that we
may thus be led in some degree to a knowledge of
the several populations which coalesced to form the
various kingdoms.
Legends describing the adventures of W6den
either in a godlike or heroic form were probably
not wanting here, or in Germany ; it is <mly in
Scandinavia that a portion of these have been pre-
served, unless the tales of Geat and Sceaf, to be
hereafter noticed, are in reality to be referred to
him« Equally probable is it that he had in this
country temples, images and religious rites, traces
ot^ which we dnd upon the contiQent ^ ; and that
* Tbxf M:s C3$c» Tviia Tijtcwx. bos «» com illifienciia wiudi
^ ::'^ ac<« IWtiOkir >k' ««c. DtfuctiLV db. x> v»^. >. air Bam B«£«& dfer
tf^^^tttusy .*( :^* I>itc;i> :2ii:i$« Vux sij£ iiie» 3iic .ipp««r 3i r«»c ipm
.V^twiftxvu dr«utnbip«ct«A^ tile r^m&ier nay cmualt a tscv n "his maam^%.
* l**Kf .tncH.MU kHTT^ans 'SiLT'ftctfU itumui ^rtfiwat rxt iim. - Deunni
«ti*.vatv* ^'fvumini .•'iiuiir. ,nu .>jrti* iiv«)u> 3uimniia> .nioinie jdios
abir« ^ hiaHrnc.'* Tic wm. vvtia. • '^'•emn^ ari
5*"" ' ^*"W' Ctiuu. v:ii. -r SLii:r Vat JT V'-n 4i«? nd. Ji fi g g»i ip :■
Mivv^r^tMvu imv" :i i\> Hni> -u ','l*iiu. "u m y; mac "at- enscHi n ii» iwa
ait- >Ujc»Jtnr >»&: -"np. w\ '.-«r':tr. L-msrii. SrJrwr«i. . 4t»>.
CM. XII.] nEATllENDOM. WODEN. :M3
trees, animals and places were consecrated to him'.
So numerous indeed are the latter, so common in
every part of England are names of places com-
pounded with his name, that we must admit his
worship to have been current throughout the island :
it seems impossible to doubt that in every quarter
there were localities (usually rising ground) either
dedicated to him, or supposed to be under his espe-
cial protection ; and thus that be was liere, as
in Germany, tbe supreme god whom the Saxons,
Franks and Alamans concurred in worshiping. The
following names of places may all be unhesitatingly
attributed to this cause, and tbey attest the gene-
ral recognition and wide dispersion of Woden's
influence.
Wanborough, i'ormerly Wddnesheorh, in Surrey, lat.
51° 14'N., long. 38' W., placed upon the water-shed
which throws down streams to north and south,
b&bitatorea illiua loci progrederctur, rejierit eoa sacrificiiim profanum
titare vclle, vaique inagoiim, quod viUgo (?iip&m vocant, quod viginti
Ct sex madias amplius miDusvc capiebat, cureviiia plenum in media ha-
bebuit positum. Ad quod vir dci acceaait ct aciacitatur, quid de illo
fieri velteut? Rli aiunt ; deo suo Wodano, qaen Merctuium vocant alii,
■c wUb Ltwe." Ion, Bobbieiudi, Vita Calumbani. Campare alw wbM
Saso GrammBtioua says of tht imiueuw tub of beer which Hundiug
prepared to celcbmte tbe obaequica of Ilndiliug. Iliat. Dao. p. 19. On
fe«t&l occasions it nas unwt to drink to tbe health, hme or minne of the
gods. OHnn ivas geoentlly thus honaiu^d : the custom wu preserved
•moiig Christians, who drank minne to St, John, St. Martin, St. Ger-
trude uid other saints. Grimm, Myth. p. S3 ifij.
' WoUet and rarena appear to have been 0)>inn'a sacred aniiuals ;
the Snson iegeods do not record anything- on this subject; but here
and there we do hear of sacred trees, which may possibly have been
dedicated to this god : tlma the W6n£c [Cod. Oipl. No, 4!)d), tbe
WouMuc (Ibid. Nob. 2B7>G57), "ail queudam fraxinum quum imperiti
•Bcrum vacant." Ibid, No, 1052. Respecting the sacred character of
tfae Mb tee Grimm. Myth, p. 617-
344 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
and roQQing from east to west, divides the county
of Surrey into two nearly equal portions, once per-
haps two petty kingdoms ; the range of hills now
called the Hog's-back. It is a little to the north
of the ridge, nearly on the summit ; the springs of
water are peculiarly pure and never freeze. In all
probability it has been in turn a sacred site for
every religion that has been received in Britain.
Wanborough, formerly Wddnesbeorh in Wiltshire,
lat. 5r 33' N., long. 1° 42' W., about 3J miles
S.E. of Swindon, placed upon the watershed which
throws down the Isis to the north, and Kennet to
the south. Woodnesboraughy formerly Wddnesbeorh^
in Kent, lat. 5^ 16' N., long. V 29' E., throwing
down various small streams to north and south,
into the Stour and the sea. Wonston (probably Wdd-
nes Stan) in Hampshire, lat. 5r IC N., long. V 20'
W., from which small streams descend to north and
south, into the Test and Itchen. Wambrook (pro-
bably Wodnes broc) in Dorsetshire. Wampool (pro-
bably IVodnes pol) in Cumberland. Wansford (pro-
bably Wodnesford) in Northamptonshire. Wansford
in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Wanstead (pro-
bably Wodnes stede) an old Roman station in Es-
sex. WanstroiCy formerly WodnestreoWj in Somerset,
Wanborough or Wamborough, formerly Wddnesbeorh,
two parishes in Hampshire. Wemburyy formerly
Wddnesbeorh, in Devonshire. Wonersh (probably
Wddnes ersc), a parish at the foot of the Hog's-back,
a few miles from Wanborough. Wansdike, formerly
Wodnes die, an ancient dike or fortification, per-
haps the boundary between different kingdoms ; it
Til.]
HEATHENDOM. WODEN.
extended in a direction from east to west through
more than one of our southero counties. Its re-
mains are visible three or four miles W.S.W. of
Malmsbury in Wiltshire, and it crosses the northern
part of Somerset from the neighbourhood of Bath
to Portsheadon the Bristol Channel, where it ends
JQ lat. 51° 29' N., long. 2° 47' W.
In addition to these references, which might be
made far more numerous, if necessary, we have
many instances in the boundaries of charters, of
trees, stones and posts set up in Woden's name,
and apparently with the view of giving a religious
sanction to the divisions of land. In this, as in
other respects, we (ind a resemblance to Hermes.
It is also to be borne in mind that many hills or
other natural objects may in fact have been dedi-
cated to this god, though bearing more general
names, as O'sbeorli, Godeshyl and so forth.
One of the names of Odin in the Otd-norse my-
thology is Osk, which by an etymological law is
equivalent to the German Wunsch, the Anglosaxon
Wise, and the English Wish. Grimm has shown
in the most convincing manner that Wunsch may
be considered as a name of Wuotan in Germany ' ;
and it is probable that Wi'isc or Wise may have had
a similar power here. Among the names in the
mythical genealogies we find Wuscfrea, the lord of
the wish, and I am even inclined to the belief that
Oisc, equivalent to E'sk, the founder of the Kent-
ish line of kings, may be a Jutish name of Woden
in this form, — ^sc, or in an earlier form oski, t.
' Deut. Myth. p. \2(i aeq.
346 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Wunscb, Wysc *. In Devonshire to this day all ma-
gical or supernatural dealings go under the com-
mon name of Wishtness : can this have any refer-
ence to Wdden's name Wysc ? So again a bad or
unfortunate day is a wisht day : perhaps a diaboli-
cal, heathen, accursed day. There are several places
which appear to be compounded with this name ;
among them : Wishanger {Wtschangra or Woden's
meadow), one, about four miles S.W. of Wanbo-
rough in Surrey, and another near Gloucester;
Wisley ( Wiscledh) also in Surrey ; Wisborough (pro-
bably Wiscbeorh) in Sussex ; Wishford (probably
Wiscford) in Wiltshire.
2. pUNOR, in Old-norse J)ORR, in Old-german
DONAR. — ^The recognition of Dunor in England
was probably not very general at first : the settle-
ment of Danes and Norwegians in the ninth and
following centuries may have extended it in the
northern districts. But though his name is not
found in the genealogies of the kings, there was
an antecedent probability that some traces of his
worship would be found among the Saxons. Thu-
nar is one of the gods whom the Saxons of the con-
tinent were called upon to renounce, and a total
abnegation of his authority was not to be looked
for even among a race who considered Wdden as
the supreme god. That the fifth day of the week
was called by his name is well known : Thursday
^ Oisc in the form in which the earUest authorities give this name.
iEsc is certainly later, and may have been adopted only when the ori-
ginal meaning of Oisc had become forgotten.
HEATIIESDOM. DLNOR.
is Dunres dseg, dies Jovis ; aod he is the proper
representative of Jupiter, inasmuch as he must be
considered in the hght of the thundering god, an
elemental deity, powerful over the storms, as well
as the fertilizing rains'. His peculiar weapon, the
mace or hammer, seems to denote the violent,
crushing thunderbolt, and the Norse myth repre-
sents it as contiuunlly used against the giants or
elemental gods of the primal world. In a compo-
sition whose antiquity it is impossible to ascer-
tain, we may still discover an allusion to this
point : in the Christian Ragna Ravk, or Tivilic/ht of
the Gods, it was believed that a personal conflict
would take place between the divinity and a devil,
the emissary and child of Satan : in the course of
this conflict, it is said : " se Dunor hit ^yrsce^ mid
Saere fyrenan rexe," the thunder will thresh it with
the fiery axe*; and I am inclined to see a similar
allusion in the Exeter Book, where the lightning
is called rynegiestes weepn, the weapon of Avkv
D6rr, the car-borne god, Thunder^.
The names of places which retain a record of
Dunor are not very numerous, but some are found :
among them Thundersfield, Bunresfeld, in Surrey*;
Thundernley, Dunresleah, in Essex, near Saffron
Waldea ; Thunderslei), £)unresleiih, also in Essex,
near Raylegh, and others in Hampshire*. Near
' See the quotatioa from Adani of Bremen, p. 33/-
' Salomon ami Saturn, |ip. 143. 1/7-
• Cod. Esou. p. 386. 1. 8.
• Coil. Dipt, Nob. 270, 314, 363, 413.
' Cod. Dipl. Noa. 450, 7l*l, 7S4, 10-22, 1038. Some of these we not
is Euex, but Hampsbiie.
348 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Wanborough in Surrey is Thursley, which may have
been a Dunresleah also : it is unlikely that it was
ever D6resleah, from D6rr (the Norse form of Du-
nor), but it might have been Dyrsleah, the meadow
of the giant or monster. Very near Thursley is a
hill called Thunder hill, probably Dunres hyl. A si-
milar uncertainty hangs over Thurleigh in Bedford-
shire, Thurlow in Essex, Thursby in Camberland,
Thursfield in Staffordshire, and Thursford in Nor-
folk*. The name of Dunor was, to the best of my
knowledge, never borne by any man among the
Anglosaxons, which is in some degree an evidence
of its high divinity. The only apparent exception
to this assertion is found in an early tale which
bears throughout such strong marks of a mythical
character as to render it probable that some legend
of Dunor was current in England ; especially as its
locality is among the Jutish inhabitants of Kent.
According to this account, Ecgbert the son of Eor-
cenberht, the fourth Christian king of Kent, had
excluded his cousins from the throne, and fearing
their popularity determined on removing them by
violence. The thane Thuner divined and executed
the intentions of his master. Under the king's own
throne were the bodies concealed ; but a light from
heaven which played about the spot revealed the
crime : the king paid to their sister the wergjid of
The analogy of Thursclay, which was unquestionably Thundersday,
must be alloived its weight in considering these local names. Even
Dyrs itself, at one period of Anglosaxon development, might represent
Dunor, and the resemblance of names thus lead to a little straining of
the true one.
G». XII.]
BEATHENDOM. OtTKOR.
the slain princes : a hind, let loose, defined the boun-
daries of the grant which was to make compensation
for the murder: forty-eiglit hides of land thus be-
came the property of Domneva, and the repentant
kin{^ erected upon them a monastery. The assassin
Thuner, however, added to his guilt the still higher
atrocity of sneering at the king's repentance and its
fruits : the earth suddenly opened beneath his feet
and swallowed him ; while the church placed the
names of bis victims, ^'Selred and ^^elberht, on
the list of its martyrs. Any comment upon this, as
a iiistorical transaction, would be perfectly super-
fluous, but it may possibly contain some allusion of
a mythological nature ; for it seems that the very
fact of Dunor'.s not being a god generally worshiped
in England, would render him likely to form the
foundation of heroic stories. I will not absolutely
Bay that the dragon-slaughter of Beowulf is a di-
rect reference to the myth of Dunor, though this
is possible. Another hero of Anglosaxon tradition
bears the name of the" Wandering Wolf ;" he slew
five-and-twenty dragons at daybreak, " ou dteg-
rjed ;" and fell dead from their poison, asThdrr does
after slaying ? lidgard's orin, and Beiiwulf after liis
victory over the firedrake. Ttie wolf however is a
sacred beast of Wtiden, and these names of Wan-
dering wolf, Mearcwulf, etc, may have some refer-
ence to him, especially as we learn from Grimm
that in some parts of Denmark the wild huntsman,
■who is unquestionably Woden, bears the name of
the flying Marcolf '. The heathen character of the
' Deut. Myth. p. 630 (eil. !«35).
350 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
whole relation is proved by the fact of the " famous
sailor on the sea/' the ** wandering wolf" being
represented as the friend of Nebrond, probably
Nimrod^
One of the names by which Dunor is known in
Grermany is Hamar^, which was perhaps originally
derived from his weapon. This has become almost
synonymous with devil. Perhaps the same allusion
lurks in one or two names of places in England :
in the immediate neighbourhood of Thursley in
Surrey, and at a short distance from Thunderhill,
are some ponds known by the name of the Hammer-
ponds. It is remarkable that within two or three
miles of Thursley and the Hammer-ponds, three
singular natural mounds which form most conspi-
cuous objects upon a very wild and desert heath,
should bear the name of the Devil's Jumps, while
at a short distance a deep valley is known by that
of the Devil's Punchbowl, probably at some early
period, the Devil's Cup, Dunres-cup or the Hamer-
cup. The word Hamarden occurs in the bounda-
ries of charters^ ; and other places recall the same
name : thus Hameringham in Lincoln, Hamerton in
Huntingdon, Homerton in Middlesex (hardly Ham-
mersmith in Middlesex), Hamerton Green in York-
shire, Hamerton Kirk in Yorkshire, Hammerwick in
Staflfordshire.
3. TIW, the Old-norse TYR, and Old-gerraan
ZIU. — The third day of the week bears among us
' Sal. Sat. p. 156. ^ ^^^^ ]^ij.^i, ^ ^jg
» Cod. Dipl. No8. 999, 1039, 1189.
ca. xii.] HEATHENDOM. TIW. 351
the name of the god Tiw, the Old-norse Tyr. In
like manner we find him also giving liis name to
places. Id the neighbourhood so often referred to
in this chapter, and which seems to have been a
very pantheon of paganism', not far from Thursley
or from Wanborough, we find Tewesley, which I
have no scruple to pronountre the ancient Tiwes-
leah. Tisleah'' seems to denote the same name, and
it is probable that even a race acknowledged this
god as its founder,— the Tiwingas, who gave their
name to Tewing in Herts. Tiwes m^re" seems to
be the mere or lake of Tiw, and in another charter
we have also Teowes ['orn'', which goes far towards
substantiating the German form Ziu.
The Anglosaxon glossaries are perfectly accurate
when they give the rendering Mars for Tiw*, and
Tiwesdaig is rightly dies Marlis. It cannot be
doubted that our forefathers worshiped this god,
as a supreme giver of victory, and especially a god
of battle, in some parts of Scandinavia and Ger-
many ; whether or not in England appears doubtful.
In the mythology of the North he is the bravest of
the gods, the one who did not scruple to place hia
' In B circuit of n few miles (tnktn from Elitesil wilh a rtiliiu per-
hapi of not more I'han foitr) ne have Wanborough, PoUtewl. Tliunlpy,
Ibe fiammer-ponilg, Wavcrtey, Teweiley, Thiinilerhill, Dragonliill,
WoDcrsh, the Devil's Jumps, tbc DpvU'b PunclilioHl, WiBbenger, E^h-
itig, Luaelej' (Loces Icali?), Goil&lming (GoiUielminghdm), aiiul — tu I
belierc, in close connexion with these — Gyldhill, Guililford, Guilildown,
Fretwham (FremeibBtn), Ttlfbrd, TiUiill, Markwick, Ash, and Unitcai].
* Cod. Dipl. No. 739. " IbW. No. 2C2. * IWd. No. 174.
* Mooe'a Epinal GloMes gives Tiig. Mart, No. 520, and Lye does
the lanic nitliout a reference, hut no duubt from some HS. glo*suT>
Tlic form is in the same rcbtion to Tiw as Iligan to Hiwan, or geaegra
risas to geseiieii ; but the luug vowel ia auured by the double i.
362 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
hand in the mouth of the wolf Fenris, when he de-
manded a pledge that the gods would unbind the
chain they had. forged for him, and on their breach
of faith Tyr paid the penalty ^ The Roman his-
torian tells of the Hermunduri having vowed to
sacrifice the beaten Catti to Mercury and Mars, by
which vow the whole of the horses and men be-
longing to the defeated force were devoted to
slaughter. Jornandes says of the Goths, ** Martem
semper asperrima placaverecultura ; nam victimae
ejus mortes fuere captorum, opinantes bellonim
praesulem aptius humani sanguinis effusione pla-
catum*.*' Procopius tells the same tale of his 0ou-
Acrac, that is the Scandinavians : rwv Se lepeiwv a^plai
TO KaWiarov avOpwwoc eariv, ovwep av SopiaXwroy iroc-
riaaiVTO irp^TOv' rovrov yap ry Apec Ovouffiv, eirei Oeov
avTov vo^itovfTi fjieyiffTov elvai^. The Norsc traditions,
although they acknowledge Ofinn as the giver of
victory, are still very explicit as to Tyr : he is par-
ticularly Wigagu^, deus praeliorumy and an especial
granter of success in battle, **rse^r mioc sigri i
orostom'*/' Perhaps the Tencteri may be added to
the number of those who paid an especial honour
to Tyr (in German Ziu), since Tacitus makes them
say, ** communibus deis et praecipuo deorum Marti
grates agimus^," where it is not at all necessary to
suppose Woden meant ; and Grimm has good rea-
* Hence in Norse he is called the one-handed god, as OHnn is the
one-eyed. The Teutonic gods, unlike the Indian, have not a super-
fluity, ])ut on the contrary sometimes a lack, of limhs. It is othc^^vise
with their horses, etc.
2 Hist. Goth. cap. v. » Bell. Goth. ii. 15.
* Grimm, D, Myth. p. 179. ^ Hist. iv. 64.
XII.]
HEATHENDOM. TI'R,
son to number t)ie Suevi among the worshipers of
Ziu'.
The Anglosaxon runic alphabet, which in several
letters recalls the names or attributes of the an-
cient gods, uses Tir for T : the German runes want-
ing a Z=T, apply Ziu : there is however another
rune, similar in shape to the runic T, but having
the power of EA ; this bears the name of Ear, but
sometimes also in MSS. that of Tir ; there are ety-
mological grounds on which the word Tir, glorin,
must be connected with Tiw, and we are hence led
to the supposition that Ear may have been another
name for that god. This gains a great importance
when we bear in mind that in some parts of south
Grermany, the third day of the week is called, not
Zistag, hut Ertag, Eritag, Erichtag, for which we
should indeed have expected Ereslag : and when
we find in Saxon Westphalia an undeniably hea-
then spot called Eresburg, Mons Marlis, now Mers-
berg, i. e. Eresberg, the lull of Er, Ziu or Mars.
Now the Anglosaxon poem on the runic charac-
ters has something to tell us of Ear. It says of him,
Ear bis ^le
eorlagehwyleuni,
Sonne tssBtlice
fliisc onginneS
fard c61iau,
hrdsan ce6saii
bUc t<) gebeddan.
BUSda gedn!osa6.
wyniiB gcwitnS,
wera geswicaii-'.
> Deut. Mj-th. pp. IM). m.
' On the Runes of the Aiiglosaxona, l)\ .
lo^B, vol. xxviii.
VOL. I.
. M. Ktmbk-. Aiflisi
364 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book I.
that is, '' Ear is a terror to every man, when fast
the flesh, the corpse beginneth to become cold and
pale to seek the earth for a consort. Joy faileth,
pleasure departeth, engagements cease/* It is clear
that Ear, spica, arista^ will not explain this, and we
may believe that our forefathers contemplated the
personal intervention of some deity whose contact
was death. This may have been Tiw or Ear, espe-
cially in the battle-field, and here he would be equi-
valent to the ''ApriG (iporoXoiyoQ /ucaci^ovoc of Homer.
More than this we shall hardly succeed in res*
cuing : but there yet remains a name to consider,
which may possibly have tended to banish the more
heathen one of Tiw. Among all the expressions
which the Anglosaxons used to denote a violent
death, none is more frequent than wig fomam, or
wig gescedd, in which there is an obvious person-
ality, Wig {War) ravished away the doomed: here
no doubt tvar was represented as personally inter-
vening, and slaying, as in other similar cases we
find the feminines Hild, Gu^, which are of the same
import, and the masculines Swylt, Dea^, mors. The
abstract sense which also lay in the word wig, and
enabled it to be used without offence to Christian
ears, may have been a reason for its general adop-
tion in cases where at an earlier period Tiw would
have been preferred. Old glossaries give us the
rendering Wig Mars, and Hild, Bellona : it is there-
fore not at all improbable that these words were
purposely selected to express what otherwise must
have been referred to a god of perilous influence :
Wig was a more general, and therefore less dan-
gerous name than Tiw, to recal to the memory of a
CB. XII.]
HEATHENDOM, wrc.
people prone to apostasy. That the latter survived
in the name of a weekday serves only to show that it
was too deeply grounded to be got rid of ; perhaps its
very familiarity in that particular relation rendered
it safe to retain the name of any deity, as was done
by five out of the seven days. But Christianity
was tolerant of heathen names in other than hea-
then functions, and in the genealogy of the kings
of Wessex, Wig is the father of Gewis, the epony-
mus of the race. I have already expressed my be-
lief that this name represented either Woden or
Tiw, and think it very likely Lhat it was the latter,
inasmuch as the paganism of the Gewissas seems to
have been remarkable, beyond that of other Anglo-
saxon tribes : " Sed Britanniain perveniens, ac pri-
mum Gewissorum gentem ingrediens, cum omnes
ibidem pagaoissimos inveniret," etc' " Intrante
autem episcopo in portumoccidentalium Saxonum,
gentem qui antiquitus Gewisse vocabantur, cum
omnes ibidem paganissimos inveniret," etc." The
events described are of the year 634. W^e find that
Tiw enters into the composition of the names of a
few plants^ ; on the other hand it is never found in
the composition of proper names, any more than
Tir ; although now Tirherht or Tirwulf would seem
quite as legitimate compounds as Eadberht, Sige-
berht, Eadwulf, Sigewulf.
FREA', in Old-norse FREYR, in Old-gerraan
FRO, — ^The god whom the Norse mythology cete-
■ ik(U,ni«t.
■ Thiu Olit-n
' JoliuwTyaein. Legcud. Nort, ful. bS.
1. Tvrhjslni. IVsriHr.
•2 A 2
35(1 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
brates under the name of Freyer must have borne
among us the name of Frea. It is probable that he
enjoyed a more extensive worship in all parts of
Europe than we can positively demonstrate. At
present we are only enabled to assert that the prin-
cipal seat of his worship was at Upsala among the
Swedes. In general there is not much trace in the
North of phallic gods ; but an exception must be
made at once in the case of Freyr. One of the
most beautiful poems of the Edda^ tells how Freyr
^ languished for desire of the beautiful Gerdr ; it was
for her love that he lost the sword, the absence of
which brings destruction upon him in the twilight
of the Gods. The strongest evidence of his pecu-
liar character is found in the passage already cited
from Adam of Bremen^, and what he says of the
shape under which Frea was represented at Upsala :
'* Tertius est Fricco, pacem, voluptatemque largiens
mortalibus; cujus etiam simulachrum fingunt in-
genti Priapo.'* The fertilizing rains, the life-bring-
ing sunshine, the blessings of fruitfuiness and peace
were the peculiar gifts of Freyr^ ; and from Adam
of Bremen again we learn that he was the god of
marriage: ** Si nuptiae celebrandae sunt (sacrificia
ofFerunt) Fricconi." In his car he travelled through
the land, accompanied by a choir of young and
> For Skirnis. The legeud of Geat and Mffi61iild however must have
been of this character : and thus W6den mav have been in some sort a
phallic Hermes.
' M. Adami Bremeusis hb. de situ Daniae. Ed. 1629, p. 23. Ihre,
in his Gloss. Sucogoth. mentions forms dug up in the North which
clearly prove the ])revalcnce of phaUic rites.
^ See Grimm, Mythol. p. 193 seq.
CH. xii.l HEATHENDOM. FREA. .557
blooming priestesses \ and wherever he came plenty
and peace abounded. The beast sacred to Freyr
was the boar, and it is not improbable that various
customs and superstitions connected with this ani-
mal may have had originally to do with his wor-
ship. It is not going too far to assert that the
boar's head which yet forms the ornament of our
festive tables, especially at Christmas, may have
been inherited from heathen days, and that the
vows made upon it, in the middle ages, may have
had their sanction in ancient paganism. But it is
as an amulet that we most frequently meet with the
boar in Anglosaxon. Tacitus says of the iBstyi,
that, in imitation of the Suevish custom, '' Matrem
deum venerantur; insigne superstitionis, formas
aprorum gestant. Id pro armis omniumque tutela ;
securum deae cultorem etiam inter hostes prae-
stat*." The relation between Frea and the Mater
dearum is a near one. Now the Anglosaxon poems
consider a boar's form or figure so essential a por-
tion of the helmet, that they use the word eofor,
apcTj for that part of the armour :
bft M inberon he commanded them to brmg in
eofor hetfordsegn, the boar (i. e. helmet) the ornament
of the head,
healk)stedpne helm. the helmet lofty in battle'.
And still more closely, with reference to the virtues
of this sign :
eoforlic scionou the forms of boars they seemed
ofer hleor beran above their cheeks to bear
> Fornman. 8dg. ii. 73 seq.
^ Germ. xlv. • Beow. I. 4299 $eq.
358 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
gehroden golde, mdorned with gjM^
Uh and f jrheard various and hardened in the fire
ferhwearde he<Sld. it held the guard of hfe*.
And again,
ac se hwita hehn hut the white hehnet
hafekn werede, guarded the head.
since geweor5ad, adorned with treasure,
hefcmgen freawrasnum, aet about with lordlj signs,
swi hine fymdagum as it in days of yore
worhte wtepna smii$, the armourer made,
wundrum te6de, wondroushr produced,
besette swlnHcum, set it about with shiqpes of boars,
tet bine svl^San n6 that afterwards nathcr
brottd ne beadomecas brand nor warknife
bitan ne meahton. might penetrate it*.
Grimm citing this passage goes so far as even to
render ** frea wrasnmn** by Frothonis signis, and thns
connects it at once with Frea^ ; and we may admit
at all events the great plausibility of the sugges-
tion. But though distinct proof of Frea's worship
in England cannot be supphed during the Saxon
period, we have very clear evidence of its still sub-
sistins: in the thirteenth centurv. The following
extraordinar\- storv is found in the Chronicle of
Lanercost^, an. 1268. ** Pro fidei di\inae integri-
tate servanda recolat lector quod, cum hoc anno
in Laodonia pestis grassaretur in pecudes armenti.
tjuani vocaut usitate Lungessouth, quidam bestiales,
- Ibid. L JSiJo. ' Mythol- p. 195.
* Eiiited in IS^i^ bv the Rev. J. Stevenson for the umbers of the
BannmtTiie uhI MaitiaBd Chxbc<.
CH. XII.] HEATHENDOM. FRK\'. 359
habitu clau8trale8 non animo, docebant idiotas pa-
triae ignem confrictione de lignis educere et simu-
lachrum Priapi statuere, et per haec bestiis suc-
currere. Quod cum unus laicus Cisterciencis apud
Fentone fecisset ante atrium aulae, ac intinctis
testiculis canis in aquam benedictam super ani-
malia sparsisset ; ac pro invento facinore idola-
triae dominus villae a quodam fideli argueretur,
ille pro sua innocentia obtendebat, quod ipso ne-
sciente et absente fuerant haec omnia perpetrata,
et adiecit, et cum ad usque hunc mensem Junium
aliorum animalia languerent et deficerent, mea
semper sana erant, nunc vero quotidie mihi mori-
untur duo vel tria, ita quod agricultui pauca super-
sunt."
Fourteen years later a similar fact is stated to
have occurred in a neighbouring district, at Inver-
keithing, in the present county of Fife.
'' Insuper hoc tempore apud Inverchethin, in
hebdomada paschae [Mar. 29 — Ap. 5], sacerdos
parochialis, nomine Johannes, Priapi prophana pa-
rans, congregatis ex villa puellulis, cogebat eas,
choreis factis, Libero patri circuire ; ut ille feminas
in exercitu habuit, sic iste, procacitatis causa, mem-
bra humana virtuti seminariae servientia super as-
serem artificiata ante talem choream praeferebat,
et ipse tripudians cum cantantibus motu mimico
omnes inspectantes et verbo impudico ad luxuriam
incitabat. Hi qui honesto matrimonio honorem
deferebant, tam insolente officio, licet reverentur
personam, scandalizabant propter gradus eminen-
tiam. Si quis ei seorsum ex amore cdrreptionis
360 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
sevmonem inferret, fiebat deterior, et conviciis eos
impetebat.*'
It appears that this priest retained his benefice
until his death, which happened in a brawl about
a year later than the events described above ; and
it is very remarkable that the scandal seems to
have been less at the rites themselves than at their
being administered by a person of so high a cleri-
cal dignity. Grimm had identified Freyr or Frowo
with Liber: it will be observed that his train of
reasoning is confirmed by the name Liber Pater,
given in the chronicler's recital. The union of the
Needjire with these Priapic rites renders it proper to
devote a few words to this particular superstition.
The needfire, nydfyr, New-german nothfeuer, was
called from the mode of its production, confricHone
de ligniSf and though probably common, to the Kelts ^
as well as Teutons, was long and w^ell known to all
the Germanic races at a certain period. All the
fires in the village were to be relighted from the
virgin flame produced by the rubbing together of
wood, and in the highlands of Scotland and Ireland
it was usual to drive the cattle through it, by way
of lustration, and as a preservative against disease^
* See Jamiesou*8 Scottish rHctionan , voc. Beitame, and Boacher*8
Glossan* bv Stevenson.
* In the Minror of June 24th, IS2G, there is the account of this ha-
ving been done in Perthshire, on occasion of a cattle epidemic. " A
wealthy old farmer, having lost several of his cattle by some disease
very prevalent at present, and being able to account for it in no way
so rationally as by witchcraft, had recourse to the following remedy,
recommendeil to him by a weird sister in his neighbourhood, as an
effectual protection Ifrom the attacks of the foul fiend. A few slooes
were piled together in the barnyard, and woodcoals having been
CH. XII.] HKATUENDOM. NEEDFIRE. 361
But there was another curious ceremony connected
with the lighting of fires on St. John's Eve, — pro-
bably from the context, on the 23rd of June. A
general reference for this may be made to Grimm's
Mythologie, pp. 570-592, under the several heads
of Nothfeuer, Bealtine and Johannisfeuer ; but the
following passage, which I have not seen cited be-
fore, throws light on Grimm's examples, and adds
some peculiarities of explanation. It is found in an
ancient MS. written in England, and now in the
Harleian collection, No. 2345, fol. 50.
** Eius venerandam nativitatem cum gaudio cele-
brabitis ; dico eius nativitatem cum gaudio ; non
illo cum gaudio, quo stulti, vani et prophani, ama-
tores mundi huius, accensis ignibus, per plateas,
turpibus et ilUcitis ludibus, commessationibus, et
ebrietatibus, cubilibus et impudicitiis intendentes
illam celebrare solent Dicamus de tripudiis
quae in vigilia sancti Johannis fieri solent, quorum
tria genera. In vigilia enim beati Johannis colli-'
gunt pueri in quibusdam regionibus ossa, et quae-
dam alia immunda, et insimul cremant, et exinde
producitur fumus in acre. Faciunt etiam brandas
et circuunt arva cum brandis. Tercium de rota
thereon, the fiiel was ignited by wilUfire, that is fire obtained by fric-
tion ; the neighbours having been called in to witness the solemnity,
the cattle were made to pass through the flames, in the order of their
dignity and age, commencing with the horses and ending with the
swine. The ceremony having been duly and decorously gone through,
a neighbouring fanner observed to the enlightened owner of the herd,
that he, along with his family, ought to have followed the example of
the cattle, and the sacrifice to Baal would have been complete." The
will-fire has been used in Devonshire for the same puq)Ose, within the
memory of man.
362 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
quam faciunt volvi : quod> cum immunda cremant,
hoc habent ex gentilibus. rAntiqoitus enim dra-
cones in hoc tempore excitabantur ad libidinem
propter calorem, et volando per aera frequenter
spermatizabantur aquae, et tunc erat letalis, quia
quicumque inde bibebant^ aut moriebantur, aut
grave morbum paciebantur. Quod attendentes phi-
losophic iusserunt ignem fieri frequenter et spar-
sim circa puteos et fontes^ et iramundum ibi cre-
mari, et quaecumque immundum reddiderunt fu-
mum, nam per talem fumum sciebant fugari dra-
cones .... Rota involvitur ad significandum quod
sol tunc ascendit ad alciora sui circuli et statim
regreditur, inde venit quod volvitur rota."
An ancient marginal note has bonfires, intending
to explain that word by the bones burnt on such
occasions. Grimm seems to refer this to the cult
of Baldr or Baeld?eg, with which he connects the
name Beltane ; but taking all the circumstances
into consideration, I am inclined to attribute it
rather to Frea, if not even to a female form of the
same godhead, Fricge, the Aphrodite of the North.
Fred seems to have been a god of boundaries ; pro-
bably as the giver of fertiUty and increase, he gra-
dually became looked upon as a patron of the fields.
On two occasions his name occurs in such bounda-
ries, and once in a manner which proves some tree
to have been dedicated to him. In a charter of the
year 959 we find these words: ''Sonne andlaog
herpaSes on Frigedaeges treow," — thence along the
road to Friday's (that is Frea's) tree* ; and in a
» Cod. Dipl. No. 1221.
OB. Xlt.] HEATHENDOM. BJiLUBG. 363
Bimilar document of the same century we have a
boundary running " oS ISoiie Frigedfeg." There is
a place yet called Friday tliorpe, in Yorkshire. Here
Friged^g appears to be a formation precisely similar
to Bfeldseg, Swfefdieg, and Wsegdteg, and to mean
only FreA himself.
BALD^G, in Old-norse BALDR, in Old-ger-
man PALTAC. — The appearance of Baeldeeg among
Widen'ssons in the Anglosaxon genealogies, would
naturally lead us to the belief that our forefathers
worshiped that god whom the Edda and other le-
gends of the North term Baldr, the father of Brand,
and the Phoebus Apollo of Scandinavia. Yet be-
yond these genealogies we have very little evidence
of his existence. It is true that the word bealdor
very frequently occurs in Anglosaxon poetry as a
peculiar appellative of kings, — nay even as a name
of God himself, — and that it is, as far as we know,
indeclinable, a sign of its high antiquity. This
word may then probably liave obtained a general
signification which at first did not belong to it,
and been retained to represent a king, when it had
ceased to represent a god. There are a few places
in which the name of Balder can yet be traced :
thus Baldersby in Yorkshire, Balderston in Lanca-
shire, Bealderesleah and Baldheresbeorh in Wilt-
shire' : of these the two first may very likely have
arisen from Danish or Norwegian influence, while
the last is altogether uncertain. Save in the gene-
alogies the name Bieldeeg does not occur at all.
I Cod. Dipl. No. 1059, 92.
364
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book 1.
But there is another name under which the Anglo-
saxons may possibly have known this god, and that ,
is Pol or Pal.
In the year 1842 a very extraordinary and very
interesting discovery was made at Merseberg : upon
the spare leaf of a MS. there were found two me-
trical spells in the Old-german language : these
upon examination were at once recognized not only
to be heathen in their character, but even to con-
tain the names of heathen gods, perfectly free from
the ordinary process of Christianization. The one
with which we are at present concerned is in the
following words :
Phol endi W6dan
vaonm zi holza,
da wart demo Balderes rolon
sin Tuoz birenkit ;
thu biguolen Siuthgunt,
Sunn^ era suister,
thu biguolen Fnid,
Volla era suister,
thu biguolen W6dan,
so he wola conda :
sose b^renki, sose bluotreuki,
sose Udireuki :
ben zi bdna,
bluot zi bluoda,
lid zi geliden,
sose gelimida sin.
Phol and W6dan
went to the wood,
then of Haider's colt
the foot was wrenched ;
then Sinthgunt charmed him,
and her sister Sunna,
then Frua charmed him,
and her sister Folia,
then Woden charmed him,
as he well could do :
both wrench of bone, and
wrench of blood,
and wrench of limb ;
bone to bone,
and blood to blood,
limb to Umb,
as if they were glued together.
The general character of this poem is one well
known to us : there are many Anglosaxon spells of
the same description. What makes this valuable
beyond all that have ever been discovered, is the
cii. xii.j HEATHENDOM. POL. .S65
number of genuine heathen names that survive in
it, which in others of the same kind have been re-
placed by other sanctions ; and which teach us the
true meaning of those which have survived in the
altered form. In a paper read before the Royal
Academv of Sciences in Berlin, Grimm identified
Phol with Baldr', and this view he has further de-
veloped in the new edition of his Mythology ^. It
is confirmatory of this view that we possess the
same spell in England, without the heathendom,
and where the place of the god Baldr is occupied
by that of our Lord himself. The English version
of the spell runs thus :
The lord rade,
and the foal slade ;
He lighted
and he righted ;
set joint to joint
and hone to hone,
binew to sinew.
Heal, in the Holy Ghost's name > !
It will be admitted that this is something more
than a merely curious coincidence, and that it leads
to an induction of no little value. Now it appears
to me that we have reasonable ground to believe
our version quite as ancient and quite as heathen
as the German one which still retains the hea-
then names, and that we have good right to sup-
pose that it once referred to the same god. How
> " Ueher zwei entdeckte Gedichtc aus der Zeit des dcutschen Hei-
denthums. Von Jacob Grimm. Yorgelesen in der Konigl. Akademie der
WisKnschaften, am 3 Febr. 1842, pp. 10, 11.
' Deut. Mythol. p. 205. ' Chalmerii*» Niir9er> Talesi.
366 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
then was this god named in England ? Undoabt*
edly Pol or Pal \ Of such a god we have some
obscure traces in England. We may pass over
the Appolyn and Apollo, whom many of our early
romancers number among the Saxon gods, al-
though the confused remembrance of an ancient
and genuine divinity may have lurked under this
foreign garb> and confine ourselves to the names of
places bearing signs of Pol or Pal. Grimm has
shown that the dikes called Phalgraben in Grermany
are much more likely to have been originally Pfol-
^ Though little fond of modern Anglosaxon verses, of modem Latm
hexameters or modem Greek iambics, I shall give a translation of these
two spells, for the purpose of comparison :
Pol and Woden
to wiida foron
Bealdres folan weafS
fot bewrenced ;
"Sa hine SiSgu'S beg6U
Sunne hire sweoster,
■6'a hinc Fr\'e beg61,
Folle hire sweoster,
^k hine Woden beg61
swa he wel cuSe :
swa sy banwrence, swa sy blodwrence,
swa sy li"6wrence ;
ban to bane,
blod to bl6de,
li« t6 liSe,
swa swa gelimede S3fn.
And thus the Enghsh one :
Dr}hten rad,
fola slad ;
se lihtode
and rihtode ;
sette li^ to hSe
eac 8W& ban to bane,
sinewe to sinewe.
llal wes 'Su, on '^ses Halgan G^tes naman !
CH. xiiO HEATHENDOM. POL. 367
graben, and his conclusion applies equally to Pal-
grave, two parishes in Norfolk and Suffolk : — so
Wodnes Die, and the Devil's Dike between Cam-
bridge and Newmarket. Polebrooke in North-
amptonshire, Polesworth in Warwickshire, Pol-
hampton in Hants \ Polstead in Suffolk, Polstead
close under Wanborough ( Wodnesbeorh) in Surrey,
— which is remarkable for the exquisite beauty of
its springs of water, — Polsden in Hants, Polsdon
in Surrey, seem all of the same class. To these
we must add Polsley and Polthorn, which last
name would seem to connect the god with that par-
ticular tree : last, but not least, we have in Poling,
in Sussex, the record of a race of Polingas, who
may possibly have carried up their genealogy to
Baeldaeg in this form.
The myth of Baldr in the North is one of the
most beautiful and striking in the whole compass
of their mythology : it is to be lamented that no
trace of it remains in our own poems. Still Baldr's
lay may not have been entirely without influence
upon the progress of Christianity among the Saxons,
if, as is probable, it resembled in its main features
the legend of the Scandinavians. For them he was
the god of light and grace, of splendour, manly ex-
cellence and manly beauty. A prophecy that Baldr
would perish afflicted the gods ; Frigga took an
oath from all created nature that no individual
thing would harm the pride of the iEsir, the dar-
^ PoUn^mAtun. Cod. Dipl. Nos. 642, 752, 1136, 1187. PolealdUi in
Wilts. Cod. Dipl. No. 641. Polstede in Suffolk. Cod Dipl. No. 686.
?o\\K>m in Worcester. Cod. Dipl. No. 61. PoUeham, No. 907.
S$S THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
ling of the Asyniar. A sprig of mistletoe, at that
time too young to enter into so solemn an obliga-
tion, was alone, and fatally, excepted. The invul-
nerability of the god induced him to offer himself
as a mark for the practice of his relatives and
friends. Maces, axes and spears fell innocuous
from his sacred frame ; but Loki placed a sprig of
mistletoe in the hand of the blind Haudr^ and
with this, the sole thing that could not be forsworn,
he slew his brother. An effort still remained to be
made. OJ'inn himself descended to the abode of
Hel, in hopes of persuading the goddess of the dead
to relinquish her prey. He was successfiil, and re-
turned with the joyiful intelligence that Baldr would
be restored to the gods, if all created nature would
weep for him. All nature did weep for the loss of
the £X>d of beaut T, save one old crone. When called
upon to do her part in his restoration she answered,
'* What have the gods done for me.that I should weep
for Baldr ? Let Hel keep her dead ! '' It is thought
that it wi\s Loki who had assumed the old woman's
form. Thus BaKir's fate was sealed. The faithful
Xanna- would nor sanive her beautiful lord, and
the sods and goddesses attended round the pile
on which their two cherished companioos were re-
in JLztdrtutjdAiKU H^'uSa wa.i:ii b»>«*ever issj^ olxzLOKt At'^raiv* tiw afe»-
* l:i AntfiosaAOfu No^ : ;3£> jonir^ rxrvb :$;&¥« tn c*uixip«MiciiHL. wbeet
IB jievat:j> w c&tti/ce bwr^jt^ or ccuniij^;. Sue ic » ni b»* ob38arn>ti due
ttov^ fi* ?h«r mum* at a <ttip <w ^^t? Tunc : ma :t js wtjrta an^mrv wfe-
th<f zh%i r^urooie X9«iut:^ Ziza. ^/cvimi^r ji AniHiM&sjjn fjc^. imEir ajc
kav** 'Hfvtt iiitfucvnii ▼Tfii this >.um2i. Jiisa.'mi .ji Frouwa. The tiramgrmc
».]
HEATHENDOM. POL.
duced to dust together. But the slain god could
hope for no resurrection : his throne was placed
in the shadowy realm of Hel, and weeping virgins
spread the eternal pall that was to give dreary
honour to the god of light in the cold kingdom of
darkness and the invisible. The posthumous son,
or more likely rebirth, of the god, avenged his father
upon the wretched instrument of Loki's wiles. Yet
those who had fathomed the deeper mysteries of the
creed knew well enough that Baldr was to rise again
in triumph: after the twilight of the gods and the
destruction of the ancient world, he was to return
in glory and joy, and reign in a world where there
should be neither sin nor sorrow, nor destruction.
Of these details, the Anglosavon mythology
knows nothing, in the forms which have survived;
and perhaps in this peculiar myth wc may recog-
nize something of an astronomical character, which
can certainly not be attributed to other North-
ern legends. However this may be, we must con-
tent ourselves with the traces here given of Pol,
' as one form of Baldr, and with the genealogical
i relation which has been noticed. Meagre as these
facts undoubtedly are, they are amply sufficient to
prove that the most beloved of the Northern gods
was not altogether a stranger to their children in
this island. Perhaps the adoption of another creed
led to the absorption of this divinity into a person
of far higher and other dignity, which, while it
smoothed the way for the reception of Christianity,
put an end for ever to even the record of his suf-
ferings.
370 TH£ SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
GEAT, in Old-norse GAUTR, in Old-German
KO'Z. — A cursory allusion has already been made
to Geat, probably only another form of W6den,
since in the mythology of the North, OJ>inn is
Gautr, but certainly the eponymus of the Gedtas,
that tribe of whom Beowulf was the champion and
afterwards the king. Gedt appears in the West-
saxon genealogy as a progenitor of W6den, but this
collocation is unimportant in mythological inqui-
ries. It is probable that Gapt, whom Jomandes
places at the head of the Gothic genealogy, is only
a misreading of Gravt, which is the equivalent
Gothic form of Geat, and that Sigegedt, Angelgedt,
WalSelgedt, which occur in other Anglosaxon ge-
nealogies, are identical with him^ His love for
M8e%hild, a legend unknown to all the nations of
the North, save our own forefathers, is noticed in
the Exeter Book : it is there said.
We «8et Mse^hilde To M^Shild, we
monge gefrunon the tale have heard,
wurdon grundle&e that endless was
GeAtes frige the love of Geat,
t$aet him se(5 sorglufu so that the pain of love
slaep ealle binom. took all sleep from him'.
It is much to be regretted that this is all we learn
on this subject, whicl) becomes very interesting when
* And see Geijer, Gesch. Schwed. i. 30. Gaut, Gautrek, Algant,
Gauthilld. Yngl. Sag. cap. 38.
' Cod. Exon. p. 378. If Geat really be W6deii, this is another ap-
proximation to Hermes in bis phallic character. Altogether the mytb
of the Upos yafioi, so constant in Greek mj'thology, is scarcely trace-
able in the North. The Woden worship, at least, may have had some-
thing more of the character of the Apollo worship among the Donani.
CH.XU.1 HEATHENDOM. GEAT. 371
we remember how little trace there is of phallic
gods in the Northern mythology. But that Geat
was a god, and not merely a hero, is not left
entirely to inference : it is distinctly asserted by
various and competent authorities : Nennius has
declared him to have been jilius dei, not indeed
the God of Hosts, and God of Gods, but of some
idoP. But Asser, who was no doubt well acquainted
with the traditions of j^lfred's family, says*,
*' Qnem Getam dudum pagani pro deo yenerabantur/'
which is repeated in the same words by Florence of
Worcester* and Simeon of Durham "*, and is con-
tained in a Saxon genealogy preserved in the Tex-
tus Roffensis, " Geata, ^ene ^a hse^enan wurSedon
for God." We can therefore have no scruple about
admitting his divinity ; and a comparison of the
Gothic and Scandinavian traditions proves the be-
lief in it to have been widely held. The name, which
is derived from geotan, to pour, most probably de-
notes only the special form in which Wdden was
worshiped by some particular tribes or families ;
and the occurrence of it in the genealogies, only
the fact that such tribes or families formed part of
the national aggregates, to whose royal line it be-
longs. But nevertheless we must admit the per-
sonality attributed to him by those tribes, and the
probability of his having been, at least for them,
the national divinity. The circumstance of his
' NenniuB, § 31. Huntingdon follows Nennius, Hist. Angl. bk. ii.
' De Reb. Gest. iGlfredi, an. 849.
> Flor. Wig. Cbron. an. 849.
^ De Reb. Gest. Regum, an. 849.
2 B 2
372 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
name having left such deep traces as we perceive
in the quotations given above, proves not only the
especial divinity of the person, but perhaps also the
political power and importance of the worshipers ^
SiETERE. — Among the Gods invariably men-
tioned as having been worshiped by our forefathers
is one who answered to the Latin Satumus, at least
in name. From the seventh week-day we may in-
fer that his Anglosaxon name was Saetere, perhaps
the Placer or Disposer^ ; for Saeteresdseg seems a
more accurate form than Sseternesdaeg which we
sometimes find. There are both names of places
and of plants formed upon the name of this god :
as Satterthwaite in Lancashire, Satterleigh in De-
vonshire and Saiteresbyrig^ in the same county, of
which there appears to be no modern representa-
tive ; while among plants the Gallicrus, or common
crowfoot, is called in Anglosaxon Satorla^e. The
appearance of Saturnus as an interlocutor in such
a dialogue as the Salomon and Saturn ^ is a further
evidence of divinity; so that, taking all circum-
stances into account, it is probable that when Gre-
gory of Tours, GeofFry of Monmouth and others,
number him among the Teutonic gods, they are
not entirely mistaken. Now there has been a tra-
* See the author's edition of Beowulf, vol. ii. Postscript to the Pre-
face. Leo's Beowulf, etc. ; and Ettmuller's Beowulf, etc., with the last
of whom, upon the maturest consideration, I find it impossible to agree.
- Grimm seems rather to imagine insidiator, Mjth. p. 226.
» Cod. Dipl. No. 813.
* An edition of the Anglosaxon dialogues on this subject has been
put forth by the author for the ^Ifiric Society. To this reference may
be made for full details respecting Saturnus.
1. xn.]
UEATUENDOM. !j.ETERE.
dition, ia Germany at least, of a god C'hrodo, or
' Hruodo, whose Latin name was Saturn, and whose
I figure is said to have been that of an old man
standing upon a lish, and holding in one hand a
■ bundle of flowers, while the oilier grasps a wheel.
; Grimm imagines herein some working of Slavonic
' traditions', and following the Slavonic interpreters
j connects this Chrodo with Kirt or Sitivrat, and
j again with some Sanskrit legend of a Satjavrata*. ■
But the reasoning seems inconclusive, and hardly
j sufficient lo justify even the very cautious mode in
which Grimm expresses himself about this Slavo-
i Germanic godhead^. More than this we cannot say
[jof the Anglosaxon Ssetere, whose name does not
j appear in tlie royal genealogies ; nevertheless we
[ pannot doubt the existence of some deity whom our
[forefathers recognized under that name.
It is with no disrespect to the unrivnlled powers of Seott that I
T my protest here against the false coitame of Ivanhoc ; H far more
M» objection no doubt ia the way in which his brilliant contrast,
'■BceBiary to the success of a romance, has misled the historian. Had
^banhoe not appeared, we ihoiild not have had the many errors whish
fiafigore Thier^s Conqu^te dc I'Anglcterrc par les Nonnands. But
jvhen Scott makes Ulrica (Ulrica a Saxon female name !) calliug u[ion
'Zerneboek, as a god of her fore&thers, he makes her talk absolute non-
' »aae. Some Mecklenburg or Pomeranian Soxooi, in the immcdinte
Beighbourbood of Slavonic pojiulations, or mingled with them, may
: possibly have heard of lAnr godCzeniy Bog, {the black god) contrasted
twith Bjala Bog, {Ihe tchite god), but nasuredly no Angloaaxon ever
heard the name of any Mich deity ; nor does the chaunt of the viudictivo
hdy bear one single trace of Snxon charac^r. In every matter uf
detail, the romance is only calculated to mislead ; and this is to be re-
gretted, inasmuch as the beauty of the whole work renders it a certain
nhiclc of error;— has rendered it already o tnorc to one estimable au-
fSaor. M. Thierry has related the effect produced u[M)n his mind by
Ivauhoe. Pec his I)ix Ans d'Etudes Ilistoriques : Preface.
» Dcut. Myth. p. 217. ' See Salomon and Saturn, p. 123.
374 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
From the Gods we pass to the Goddesses : of these
we have indeed but scanty record in England. Of
the great and venerable goddess Fricge, W6den*s
wife, we are only told that she gave her name to
the sixth day of the week ; and we must admit that
this is all we know of her, unless she be implied
under some other name, which is possible.
Beda in acquainting us with the ancient names
of the Anglosaxon months tells us of four which
were called from their especial reference to the
gods : these are Solm6naS or February ; Hre^md-
na^, March ; E<5sterm6na^, April ; and B16tm6na%,
November. Solm6naS he says received its name
from the cakes which were offered to the gods at
that time' ; B16tm6na% from the victims (cattle) that
were vowed for sacrifice; of the others he says*,
** Hr^^mona^ is called from a goddess of theirs,
— Rheda, to whom they sacrificed in that month.
Eostermona^, which is now interpreted by the
' Paschal month,' had its name of old from a god-
dess of theirs named Eostre, to whom in this month
they offered celebrations."
The Scandinavian and German mythology are
alike destitute of these names ; although among
the many goddesses they recognize some two may
perhaps be identical with ours. The name Hr^e
may possibly mean severe, fierce, and denote a war-
like goddess ; but still I am more inclined to con-
nect it with the adjective HroS, glorious, famous,
^ Can this word sol (j>erhaj)s sdl) he a contracted form of sujl ? If
not, I cannot oflfer an explanation of it.
' De Natura Renim, cap. xv.
CB. XII.] HEATHENDOM. GODDESSES. 375
and to see in it the meaning of the great or glori-
ous goddess, that is, in some form or other, Fricge,
Woden's wife : it is however not to be forgotten
that the German Chrodo, in Anglosaxon Hrd? or
even HreKe, is now admitted, and that this god
was in fact Saturn. It is true that we have more
than one fragmentary legend in which the name of
Saturn survives, but in a heroic rather than a god-
like form, and this may have been the cause of its
preservation : tlie Church found Saturn useful, and
kept him ; nor is it at all surprising that a change
of sex should have taken place : the same thing
' happened with the German goddess Nerthus, who
reappears in the Norse god Niordr, and the classical
scholar will at once remember the god Lunus, as
well as the goddess Luna'. Whatever explanation
we may attempt to give of HrelSe, it is clear that
she was a Saxon goddess to whom at stated periods
sacrifice was offered. The same thing maybe said
of Edstre or Eastre, whose name must be etymolo-
gically connected with East, orient, and who there-
fore was in all probability a goddess of brightness
and splendour, perhaps also a Beorhte or Bright
goddess : she may have been a goddess of light, of
the morning beams, of the newly awakening year,
when the sun first begins to recover power after the
■ The name of Nertbui HteotU in aU tbe best MSS. of Tocitua' Ger-
tmnia, uid the change of it into Hertbus, though Fery plausible, was
Miiecettary. One easilv sees the caiue of error : it waa thought that
Herthua, (erro malrr, noa the Gothie Aiithus, in Old-germnn Erdu, in
Anglos)ucon EorHe. But there is no H in these ivords; if Ihi^rc were
we should hasf liail a Tcutoiiic Vesta. The gothleaa'a nsini' «« Nair-
tfaiu. Nerdu, NerSc, and ber correspooding furui iu Ulil-norsc, Niorilr.
3/6 THE SiVXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
gloom and darkness of winter. That she was deeply
impressed upon the mind and feelings of the peo-
ple follows from her name having been retained for
the great festival of the church : it may also be
fairly argued that she was a mild and gentle di-
vinity, whom the clergy did not fear thus to com-
memorate.
Lye*s dictionary cites another goddess, Ricen,
with the translation Diana, which he seems to have
taken from some Cotton MS. It stands too iso-
lated for us to make any successful investigation,
but I may be excused for calling to mind the fact
that Diana is mentioned by the versifying chroni-
clers as among the Saxon gods, and also that
the superstition known in Germany as the " Wild
Hunt,'* and which is properly connected with W6-
den> goes very generally among us by the name of
Ludus Dianae. This, which became the founda-
tion of many a cruel persecution, under the name
of witchcrait, is spread over every part of Gfermany
in one form or another : sometimes it is Herodia-
dis who is compelled for ever to expiate her fatal
diuicing ; at other times we have Minerva or Bertha,
Holda, Habundia, Dame Abonde, Domina, Hera —
the Lady, and so on. It is true that our fragmentary
remains of S;vxon heathendom do not contain anv
immediate allusions to this superstition, bat yet it
cuii scarcely be doubted that it did exist here as it
did iu every part of the continent ^ and one there-
' " l!i cvotraham parttm e^t auctonOLk rxri q. t. c. episcopL ha
rbi ic^nir. lUuii noa esc obmicteniiuin quod qtu!«2ain sceieraci mnfi-
«:r\f:» rvtrv p^^st Stichaii coaTt>rse : demoaam iDiiaifiiiiims et
X.I.3
HEATHENDOM. MONSTERS.
fore would not willingly decide at once against there
having been some deity who might be translated by
Diana in the interpretatio Romana.
FIENDS and MONSTERS.— The community of
belief, between the Germans of this island, of the
continent, and their Scandinavian kinsmen, does
not appear to liave been confined to the beneficent
gods of fertility or warlike prowess. In the noble
poem of Beowulf we are made acquainted with a
monstrous fiend, Grendel, and his mother, super-
natural beings of gigantic birth, stature and dispo-
sition, voracious and cruel, feeding upon men, and
from their nature incapable of being wounded with
mortal weapons. The triumph of the hero over
these unearthly enemies forms the subject of one
half the poem. But Grendel. who, from the cha-
racteristics given above, may at once be numbered
among the rough, violent deities of nature, the
Jotnar' of the North and Titans of classical my-
thology, is not without other records : in two or
three charters we find places bearing his name, and
it is remarkable that they are all connected more
or less with water, while the poem describes his
dwelling as a cavern beneath a lake, peopled with
tibiia leducte : crcilunt ae et profitcntur cum iliana nocturnis Koris dca
pagfmortiui vel cum Herodiade ft innumcra mullituttine mulieruni
cqiiitare nipcr qunsilnm bestias et niiilta tt^rrnmin apatia in tempe«te
DOCtU jilentio pertranrire eius iuasionibus obeiltte veliiti domiae et cer-
tis iioctibiis ad eiua servitium ei*ocari." nieronymi Vicecomitii opua-
culum Lnmiaj-um vel Striaiiiin. Mediol I4!)(). Johnof Soliibuiynoticci
tlat in bis Poljchronicon, and Henry More in bis Mystery of Oodlinesi.
See Salom. Sat. p. 125, sfi/.
■ In Be£wulf he is coDtinually eallcd Eoten.
378 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
Nicors and other supernatural beings of a fiendish
character. The references are Grindles pyt^ Grin-
dles bece*, and Grendles mere^ Grimm, by a com-
parison of philological and other data, identifies
Grendel with the Norse Loki, the evil-bringer, and
in the end destroyer of the gods*. The early con-
verted Anglosaxons who possessed another devil to
oppose to the Almighty in the Ragnaravkr^, could
easily reconcile themselves to the destruction of
Grendel by an earthly hero ; although the ancient
heathendom breaks out in the supernatural powers
attributed to the latter, and which placing him very
near the rank of the gods, induce a belief that Be6-
wulf contains only the shadow of an older myth
which may have been current far beyond the limits
of this island^. It will be sufficient to call atten-
tion to the many German tales in which the devil's
mother figures as a principal actor, nay to our own
familiar expression, the deviVs daniy to show how
essential this characteristic of the fiend was : the
devil of the Church had certainly no mother ; but
the old Teutonic evil spirit had, and Loki and
Grendel are alike in this. Even the religious view,
which naturally shaped itself to other influences,
could not escape the essential heathendom of this
idea : the devil who is so constant an agent in the
Anglosaxon legends, has, if not a mother, at least
a father, no less than Satan himself; but Satan lies
» Cod. Dipl. No. 59. « Ibid. No. 570.
' Ibid. No. 353. * Mytbologie, p. 222.
^ The Devil and the Pater Noster were to contend together at Doom*-
day : each was to assume fifteen different forms. SaL Sat, p. 145.
^ See Beowulf y ii. Postscript, and the Stammtafel der Westachsen.
11.]
HEATHENDOM. MONSTERS,
bound in hell, as LoUi lies bound, and it is only as
his emissary and servant that the devil his son' ap-
pears on earth, to tempt and to destroy. In C»d-
mon, the legend of St. Andrew, Juliana, Gii^Mc,
etc., it IB always the devil's son and satellite who
executes his work on earth, and returns to give an
account of his mission to him that sent liim.
Thus throughout the strange confusion which
besets all Anglosaxon compositions in which the
devil is introduced either as a tempter or a perse-
cutor of the holy and just, we may perceive a ray
of ancient heathendom, gloomy enough, no doubt,
but far less miserable than the vile materialism of
the notions with which it has been mixed up. The
rude Eoten or Titan is not nearly so repugnant to
our Christian ideas as the gross corporeal fiends
who have grown out of him, and who play so conspi-
cuous a part in Anglosaxon hagiology or purgato-
rial legends : nor is it easy to conceive any super-
stition more degrading than that which Eastern or
perhaps even Roman traditions thus engrafted upon
the ancient cieed. With these we are not called
upon to deal in any further detail, for though they
' Id the lefcnd of JulJuio, the subordintite devil speaks of SaUn h
lui fathur and king. Cod. Exon. pp. 261, '27'J. And so tdgo in !)alo-
mon and Satum (p. 141), he a called Satan's thane. Again, in the
Mune coinpoaition, Satan i* called the devil'* fatJier : " The PMet No«-
ter will shoot the devil with boiling shufVs ; and the hghtning nil! hum
and mark him, and the rain will be shed over him, and the thick dark-
nen confmw him, nnA the thunder thrath him with the fierj axe, aod
drive him to the irop ehain wherein his father dwelleth, Satan and Sa*
thiel." p. Il!>. In the legend nf St. Andrew, Satan himself appean,
whidi may be owing to its flreek origin. See VercelU Poema, Andr.
1. 2388 : itiU, in another paasage Satan sends hi* childroi. Ibid. 1. 269S.
380 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
have no claim whatever to be called Christian, they
certainly have nothing to do with Anglosaxon hea-
thendom. The Grendels and Nicors of our fore-
fathers were gods of nature, the spirits of the wood
and wave : they sunk into their degraded and dis-
gusting forms only when the devils of a barbarous
superstition came to be confounded and mixed up
with them. There is still something genuine and
poetical in the account which a monk of St. Gall
gives of the colloquy between the ancient gods
when the missionaries settled on the shores of the
lake of Constance ; when in the dead of night, the
holy anchoret watching at his nets.
Heard how the spirit of the flood
Spake to the spirit of the hill :
**Vblvente deinceps cursu temporis, electus Dei
Gallus retia lymphae laxabat in silentio noctis, sed
inter ea audivit demonera de culmine montis pari
suo clamantem, qui erat in abditis maris. Quo re-
spondente, * Adsum ! ' montanus e contra : * Surge/
inquit, * in adiutorium mihi ! Ecce peregrini vene-
runt, qui me de templo eiecerunt ;* nam Deos conte-
rebant, quos incolae isti colebant ; insuper et eos ad
se convertebant ; * Veni, veni, adiuva nos expellere
eos de terris !' Marinus demon respondit : * En unus
illorum est in pelago, cui nunquam nocere potero.
Volui enim retia sua ledere, sed me victum proba
luge re. Signo orationis est semper clausus, nee
umquam somno oppressus.' Electus vero Gallus
haec audiens, munivit se undique signaculo crucis,
dixitque ad eos : ' In nomine Jesu Christi praecipio
vobis, ut de locis istis recedatis, nee aliquem hie
CH. XII.J
HEATHENDOM. MONSTERS.
ledere praesumatis !' Et cum festinatioue ad littus
rediit, atque abbati suo, quae audJerat, recitavit.
Quod vir Dei Columbanus audiens, convocavit
fratres in ecclesiam, solitum signum tangens. O
mira dementia diaboli ! voces servorum Dei praeri-
puit vox fantasmatica, cum heiulatus atque ululatus
dirae vocis audiebatur per culmina [montium']."
But words are bardly strong enough to express
the feeling with which an educated mind contem-
plates the I'antastical, filthy and hideous images
which gross fanaticism strove to force into the ser-
vice of a religion whose end and means are love ;
the material terrors which were substituted for tlie
sanctions of the most spiritual, pure and holy creed ;
the vulgar, degrading and ridiculous phantasma-
goria devised to destroy the essential selfishness
and impurity of men, and startle them into justice
and righteousness of life ! The Teutonic Titans,
though terrible from their rude strength, and dan-
gerous even to the gods themselves, are neither
disgusting nor degrading : they are like Cbronoa
and Saturn, full of power and wisdom ; they are in
constant warfare with the gods, because the latter
are the representatives of a more humane order ;
because the latter was more civilised : but as the
giant race were mighty at the beginning, so are they
to triumph at the end of the world ; and it is only
when they shall have succeeded in destroying the
I. Anon. St. Golli. Peitz, Monum. ii. 7- PcHx hu juitlj' called
o tilt melrical form of tliia polloquy. It is deeply W be la-
mented that we no longer possess it \a its earliest shape, and in the
laogUDgc of its earliest comjioBition.
382 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
gods of OJ?inn's race, that they will themselves va-
nish from the scene, and the glorious reign of All-
father commence. Loki alone has something mean
and tricksey in his character, something allied to
falsehood — a slight spice of the' Mephistopheles.
But it is not probable that this belongs to his earliest
form^ and it appears rather to mark the deteriora-
tion of a myth becoming popular, and assuming
traits of the popular, humorous spirit, which takes
delight in seeing power counteracted by cunning,
and revenges itself for the perfection of its heroes by
sometimes exposing them to ludicrous defeat. But
even Loki was at first the friend and associate of
the gods : he was united with them by the most
sacred bonds of brotherhood, and his skill and
wisdom secured them victory in many a dangerous
encounter. like Lucifer, he had been a tenant of
heaven : why he and the gods ultimately parted in
anger we are not told ; but we find him pursuing
them with the utmost malice, till at length he
causes the death of Baldr. He is then bound and
cast beneath the worlds, the poisonous snake hangs
over him distilling torturing venom : his faithful
wife sits by and catches the drops as they fall, but
when the vessel in which she receives them is full
and she turns for a moment to empty it, the deadly
juice reaches the prostrate god, and in his agony
he trembles in every limb. This convulsion is
known to men as the earthquake. It is only in the
twilight of the gods that he will break his chain and
lead the sons of Muspel to avenge him upon the
race of OJ>inn.
CH.XI1.] HEATHENDOM. DEVIL. 383
But Loki is no devil in the Anglosaxon sense of
Satan and his son ; he is no deceiver or persecutor
of men ; least of all is he their torturer in another
world. He suffers indeed, but like Prometheus, or
Entelechus, or iEgeon, and his hour of triumph is
to come. There is in his genuine character nothing
mean or little, — much indeed that is terrible, gloomy
and vague, but nothing ridiculous or disgusting.
The Saxon devil with horns, tail, cloven feet, sul-
phur and pitch, torches, red-hot tongs, pincers and
pitchforks is less creditable to the imagination,
and more dangerous to the moral being, of his in-
ventors.
Nor are the occupations of such a fiend less vul-
gar than his form : he blasts the corn, wounds the
cattle, fetters the hands of the doomed, enters the
mouth of those who have not guarded it by the sign
of the cross, and in a future state becomes the
torturer — ^in the most material and mechanical way
—of those whose life has been spent in the service
of sin. The coarse fancy of Marlowe himself halts
after the descriptions of the Anglosaxon divines and
poets, revelling in this fruitful theme. Unpleasant
as such records are, and revolting to our sense of
right, it is necessary that we should know what was
taught or permitted by the clergy, if we are to know
anything of the mode of life and mode of belief of
our forefathers.
As early even as the eighth century, we find so
great a man as Beda condescending to admit into
his ecclesiastical history, such melancholy evidence
of Manichaean materialism as the vision of Driht*
384 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
helm. He tells how such a mao in Northumbria,
lying at the point of death, had fallen into a trance,
recovering from which and being restored to health,
he had entered the monastery of Melrose, in which
he continued till his death. During his trance he
had seen visions which he afterwards communi-
cated to HamgisI a priest, king Aldfri^ of Northum-
berland, and others. He related that on being re-
leased from the body his soul had been led by one,
bright of aspect, gloriously clothed, towards the
east, into a valley wide and deep and of a length
that s^med infinite : one side glowed terribly with
flames, the other was filled with furious hail and
freezing snow. Either side was full of human souls
which were tossed from left to right as by a tem-
pest. For when they could not bear the violence
of the immense heat, they rushed wretchedly into
the midst of the dreadful cold ; and when they
could find no rest there, they sprung back again,
again to burn in the midst of inextinguishable
flames. When Drihthelm saw them thus eternally
tormented by a crowd of deformed demons, he
thought within himself, '*This is surely hell, of
whose intolerable tortures I have often heard tell !'*
But his companion said, " This is not the hell thou
thinkest ! " and proceeding farther, he beheld how
the darkness began to thicken around and fill the
whole space before him. Suddenly in this deep
night he perceived globes of dusky fire cast up from
what seemed to be a vast well, into which they
fell again, without intermission. In the midst of
these horrors his conductor left him. On looking
I CH. xir.] HEATHENDOM. DEVIL. 3S5
more intently, he now perceived tliat the tongues
of fire were all full of liuinan souls, tossed aloft like
sparks in smoke, and then dragged back into the
abyss. And an incomparable stench, which bub-
bled up with the vapours, filled all those abodes
of darkness. Around him sounded the shouts and
taunts of fiends, like a vulgar mob exulting over
a captive enemy ; suddenly a host of evil spirits
dragged through the darkness five souls, one of a
laic, one of a woman, one tonsured like a cleric, and
plunged them into the abyss amidst a confused roar
of lamentation and laughter. Then certain malig-
nant spirits ascending from the deep, surrounded
the trembling spectator, terrifying him with their
flaming eyes and the fire which burst from their
mouths and noses, and threatening to seize him
with fiery pincers which they held in their lianda.
From Ibis danger he was rescued by the return of
bis companion, who conducted him to two corre-
sponding regions of eternal bliss, every one of whose
details is in the strongest contrast to those already
described, but just as material, as gross and sen-
sual. The moral of this is too important to be
given in any but Beda's own words, " And when,
on our return, we had reached those happy man-
sions of spirits clothed in white, he said unto me,
' Knowest thou what all these things are which
thou hast beheld ?' I answered, ' No.' Then said
he, ' The valley which thou sawest, horrible with
its boiUng flames and its stifi' cold, that is the place
where shall be tried and chastised the souls of those
men, who delaying to confess and to amend their
VOL. I. '2 c
386 THE SAXONS IN ENOLAlTD. [Udoi: t.
sins, yet fly to penitence in the hour of deaths &nd
thus leave the body : yet since they had confession
and penance even in death, shall all, at the day of
judgement, reach the kingdom of heaven. But
many, both the prayers of the living, and their altns
and fasts, and most of all the celebration of masses,
assist, so that they shall be freed even before the
day of judgement. But that flame-belching^ putrid
well which thou hast seen is the mouth of hell it-
self, into which whoever shall fall, shall never be
set free for ever and ever. And that flowery place
in which thou sawest those most beauteous youths
enjoy themselves in splendour, is that wherein are
received the souls of those who indeed leave the
body in good works, but yet are not of such per-
fection that they may at once enter the kingdom of
heaven ; who yet shall all, in the day of judgement,
enter into the sight of Christ, and the joys of the
heavenly kingdom. For they who are perfect in
every word and act and thought, immediately on
leaving the body shall reach the heavenly king-
dom ; to whose precincts that place belonged, where
thou heardest the sound of pleasant singing, toge-
ther with the smell of sweetness and the splendour
of light*.' " Having thus seen and heard, Drihtbelm
was allowed to return to the body, where no doubt
he became a powerful champion of Purgatory.
But Beda is not satisfied with this tale : he goes
on to tell of a Mercian noble, who would not go
to confession. At the point of death, he sees two
' Beda, H. E. t. 12.
OB*xiiO HEATHENDOM. DEVIL. 387
angelfl enter his room, bearing the record of his
good deeds, which fill but a small roll: having
caused him to read this, they make way for a
crowd of fiends, black and foul, who bear the enor-
mous tale of his sins of word, work and thought,
which also he is compelled to read. Then the leader
of the fiends turning to the sons of light exclaims,
" Why sit ye here, knowing assuredly that he is
ours ?" to which they reply, ** Ye say truly : take
him, and lead him with you into the accumulation of
your own damnation ! " Upon this the good spirits
vanish) and two demons, a sort of Occidental Mun-
kir and Nekir, smite him with ploughshares on the
head and feet, and creep into him ; when they meet
within him, he thes and passes into everlasting
torments ^ This tale, which Beda heard from the
venerable bishop Pecthelm^, he refines upon, ex-
plains, and finishes by declaring that he relates
simply for the salvation of those who shall read
or hear it. No doubt the distempered ravings of
monks, made half mad by inhuman austerities, un-
natural restrictions, and wretched themes of con-
templation, would in themselves be of little worth :
we can comprehend the visions of a Saint Francis
de Salis, an Ignatius Loyola, a Peter the Hermit, a
Santa Theresa, and even more readily those of a
Drihthelm or a Madame Guy on : but how shall
^ Beda, H. £. v. 13.
* The first Bishop of Whiterne in Galloway, who died in 737. Any
one who desires to learn more of the miserable superstitions which Beda
could recommend, may see the account of Fursaeus (H. £. iii. 19), and
the MS. lives of the saint of which Mr. Stevenson has given a notice
in his edition of Beda, pp. 197, 199, notes.
2c2
388 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
we understand the record of them by a Beda or a
Fenelon ?
Such authority as this was likely to be followed
with zeal ; once open, the career of unbridled fancy
was sure to find no limit ; the more sure, since
then as now, the fears and miseries of the mass
were sources of profit to the few. Then as now,
there were rogues found who dared to step between
man and Grod, to clothe themselves in the coat
without seam, to make themselves the mediators
between eternal mercy and the perishing sinner.
Accordingly in later times we find variation upon
variation in the outline already so vigorously
sketched ; Malmsbury furnishes an ample field for
collectors of this kind of literature. I shall content
myself here with citing from the so often quoted
Salomon and Saturn two passages, which to me are
redolent of heathendom, disguised after the fashion
which has been described.
Mseg simle se Godes cwidc Ever may the €rod*s word '
gumena geliwjlcum, for every man,
ealra feonda gehwone every fiend
fleonde gebriugaii, put to flight,
6urh mannes miiti, through mouth of man,
maufuha heap the troop of evil ones,
sweartne geswenean ; the black troop, oppress ;
naefre hie tJies sj'llice let them never so strangely
bleoum bregdati change their colours
eefter bancofan, in their body,
fe^rhoman onfo$. or assume plumage.
Hwilum flotau gripa^. Sometimes they seize the saflor,
hwQum hie s:ewenda^ sometimes they turn
* That is the Paternoster.
CH. XII.]
HEATHENDOM. xVICOR.
389
•
on Wynnes lie
Boearpes and sticoles,
stingaS n^ten
feldgcMigende,
feoh gestrdda^ ;
hwflum hfe on wsetere
wu^ gefani^gaiS,
homum gehedwatS
oStSaet him heortan bl<Sd,
fibnig fl6des bsetS,
ibldan ges^^.
HwQom hie ge^stera;S
fi%e8 monnes handa,
gehefegaiS tSonne he
«t hflde sceal
jnH IdSwerud
HfeatiHgan:
iwiliM hie on his weepne
wsehmita hedlp.
into the body of a snake
sharp and piercing,
they sting the neat
going about the fields,
the cattle they destroy ;
sometimes in the water
they jbow the horse,
with horns they hew him
until his heart* s blood,
a foaming bath of flood,
falls to the earth.
Sometimes they fetter
the hands of the doomed,
they make them heavy when he
is called upon in war,
against a hostile troop
to provide for his life :
they write upon his weapon
a heap of fatal marks ^
Again we are told, in the same composition :
" And when the devil is very weary he seeketh the
cattle of some sinful man, or an unclean tree ; or
if be meeteth the mouth and body of a man that
bath not been blessed with the sign of the cross,
then goeth he into the bowels of the man who hath
so forgotten, and through his skin and through his
flesh departeth into the earth, and from thence
findeth his way into the desert of hell*."
NICOR. — ^To the class of elemental gods must
originally have been reckoned the Nicor, or water-
spirit, whose name has not only been retained in the
Water Nixes of our own country, and in the Neck
> Sal. Sat. pp. 143, 144.
s Ibid. p. 149.
390 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of Germany, but in our own common name for the
devil, Old Nick. According to the account given in
Be6wulf, these were supernatural, elvish creatures
haunting the lakes, rivers and seas, ever on the
watch to injure the wayfarer, and apparently en*
dowed with the power of creating tempests. In this
semi-Christian view they were fiendish and savage
enemies of the sailor, whom they pursued with horns
and tusks, dragged to the bottom of the waves mi
then no doubt devoured\ Probably, like other su-
pernatural beings dreaded by our forefathers, they
were included in the family of ogres and monsters
descended from the first homicide. Yet it may be
doubted whether this was the original and heathen
sense of the word Nicor. As late as the thirteenth
century I find in an old German glossary Neckar
translated by Neptunus, the god of the sea ; and it
is notorious that one of the names borne by OJ?inn,
whenever he appears as a sea-god is Hniku}'r and
Nikuz. Hence it is not unlikely that in their
ancient creed, the pagan Saxons recognized Nicor
as Woden. The name Hwala which occurs in the
genealogies, and like Geat may be assumed to be
only another name of Woden, confirms this view.
Hwala is formed from Hwael, cetus, just as Scyldwa
is from Scyld, clypeus, and was probably only a
name of Woden as a sea-god. The danger attend-
ing the whale or walrus fishery^ made the first at
least of these animals an object of superstitious
* Beowiilf, /jcw^tm.
^ The fisherman in iEliric's dialogue disclaims any intention of whale-
fishing, on account of its dangers. Thorpe, Anal. p. 24.
CB.XII.] HEATHCNDOM. NICOR. 391
dread to the Anglosaxon sailor ; perhaps, as in the
case of the bear, natural peculiarities which are
striking enough even to our more scientific eyes,
helped to give an exceptional character to the mo-
narch of the Northern seas. Be this as it may, it
is not without importance that Hwala should appear
in the genealogies among names many of which
are indisputably Wdden's, that in Scandinavia and
Germany Nikuz or Necker should be names of the
sea-god, and that till a very late period, — when
the heathen gods bad everywhere assumed the garb
of fiends and devils, — the Nicor should appear as
the monster of the deep par excellence. The mira-
culous power attributed to the Nicor, — in Bedwulf
he is called '^ wundorlic wsegbora," a supernatural
bringer of the waves, — ^is in itself evidence of earlier
godhead ; and in this sense I am disposed to identify
him with the demon marinus whom St. Gall defeated
by his constant watchfulness. In his altered and
degraded form we may also recognize the demon of
the lines lately cited, who stabs the horse with his
boms while crossing the water. The beautiful Nix
or Nixie who allures the young fisher or hunter to
seek her embraces in the wave which brings his
death, the Neck who seizes upon and drowns the
maidens who sport upon his banks, the river-spirit
who still yearly in some parts of Germany demands
tribute of human life, are all forms of the ancient
Nicor ; but more genuine perhaps, — certainly more
pleasing, — is the Swedish Stromkarl, who from
the jewelled bed of his river, watches with delight
the children gambol in^he adjoining meadows, and
392 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book t.
singing sweetly to them in the evening, detaches
from his hoary hair the sweet blossonis of the wa-
ter-lily, which he wafts over the surface to their
hands.
H£L. — Among the fearful beings whose power
was dreaded even by the gods, was Hel, mistress of
the cold and joyless under-world. Called, through
the fate of battle, to the glories of Waelheal, the
Teutonic or Norse hero trembled at a peaceful
death which would consign him to a dwelling
more desolate and wretched than even that which
awaited the fallen warriors of heroic Greece *, and
many a legend tells of those whose own hand saved
them from a futurity so abhorred ^. But Hel was not
herself the agent of death ; she only received those
' Odyssee, book xi.
^ This is so completely familiar to the student of antiquity, that I
shall not multiply examples : they may be found in Bartholinus. But
one instance I may be excused for citing, inasmuch as it proves how
long the heathen spirit survived despite the peaceful hope and promise
of Christianity'. Henry of Huntingdon, in the sixth book of his history,
relates of Sigeweard the great duke of Northumberland, that hearing
of the loss of his son in battle, he exclaimed, " Recepit ne vulnus le-
thale in anteriori vcl posteriori corporis parte ? Dixerunt nuntii : In
anteriori. At ille : Gaudeo ])lane, non enim alio me, vel filium meum
digner funei*e." In 1055 however, oppressed with sickness, he found
that his desire was not to be fulfilled. *' Siwardus, consul rigidissimus,
profluvio ventris ductus, mortem sensit imminere, dixitque : Quantus
pudor me tot in bellis mori non potuisse, ut vaccarum morti cum de-
decore reservarer ! Induite me saltern lorica mea impenetrabili, prac-
cingitc gladio, sublimate galea : scutum in laeva, securim auratam mihi
ponite in dextra, ut militum fortissimus modo militis moriar. Dixerat,
ct ut dixerat, armatus honorifice spiritum exhalavit." Through every
word of this passage breathes the old heathen spirit of Ilaralldr Hil-
ditavn, and one feels that to Christianity alone it was owing, that Sige-
weard did not prevent an inglorious by a voluntary violent death.
CH. XII.] HEATHENDOM. HEL. 393
who had not earned their seat in 0])in's hall by a
heroic fall, and the Waelcyrian or Shieldmays were
the choosers of the slain. The realm of Hel was all
that Waelheal was not, — cold, cheerless, shadowy ;
no simulated war was there, from which the com-
batants desisted with renovated strength and glory ;
no capacious quaighs of mead, or cups of the life-
giving wine ; no feast continually enjoyed and mi-
raculously reproduced ; no songs nor narratives of
noble deeds ; no expectation of the last great battle
where the einherjar were to accompany AUfather to
meet his gigantic antagonists ; no flashing Shield-
mays animating the brave with their discourse, and
lightening the hall with their splendour : but chill
and ice, frost and darkness ; shadowy realms with-
out a sun, without song or wine or feast, or the
soul-inspiring company of heroes, glorying in the
great deeds of their worldly life.
For the perjurer and the secret murderer Nd-
strond existed, a place of torment and punishment
— the strand of the dead — filled with foulness,
peopled with poisonous serpents, dark, cold and
gloomy : the kingdom of Hel was Hades, the in-
visible, the world of shadows' : Nastrond was what
we call Hell. Christianity however admitted no
goddess of death, and when it was thought neces-
sary to express the idea of a place of punishment
after death, the Anglosaxon united the realm of
' So the Greeks :
*A<f>pM€£ poiovai, PpoT&p eldaXa Kafi6pr»p ;
Odys. xi. 473.
394 THE SAXONS IN ENOLiiND. [book i.
HqI with Naatrond to complete a hideous prison
for the guilty : the prevailing idea in the infernal
regions of the Teuton is cold and gloom ^ ; the poi-
sonous snakes, which waking or sleeping seem ever
to have haunted the Anglosaxon, formed a conve-
nient point of junction between his own tri^itional
hell and that which he heard of from the pulpit»
in quotations from the works of the Fathers ; and
to these and their influence alone can it be attri-
buted when we find flames and sulphur, and all the
hideous apparatus of Judaic tradition, adopts by
him. In this fact seems to me to lie a very import-
ant mark of ancient heathendom* and one which the
clergy themselves admitted, a belief in which they
shared, and which they did not scruple to impress
upon their flocks, even in spite of the contrary ten-
dency of their authorities : it will be sufllcient to
refer to the description given of hell in the poetic
Salomon and Saturn, a composition redolent of
heathendom : on the defeat of the rebel angels, it
is said, God
him helle gesc^p, for them he made hell,
wfelcealde wic, a dwelling deadly cold,
wintre be^Seahte : with winter covered :
wseter insende water he sent in
and wvrmgeardas, and snake-dwellings,
atol deor monig many a foul heast
f renum homum ; with horns of iron ;
bliSdige eamas bloody eagles
and blace ntedran ; and pale adders ;
^ Fire was too cheerful in the North to be sufficiently an object of
terror : it appemi«d otherwise in the East, where coofaieM is the greatest
of luxuries.
OH.XII.J HEATHENDOM. HEL. 396
forst and hungor thirst and hunger
and ye$xle gewin, and fierce conflict,
dLcne egesan, mighty terror,
mutStnisse. jojlessness'.
Even in their more orthodox descriptions, eccle-
siastical poets, though naturally adopting the Ju-
daic notions, cannot always shake off the old, ha-
bitual tradition of their forefathers, but recur to
the frost, gloom and serpents of Ndstrond, and the
realm of Hel ; of which a passage already quoted
from Beda is ample evidence.
As far as we can judge from the descriptions
which survive, the Anglosaxons represented Hell to
themselves as a close and covered dwelling, a prison
duly secured as earthly prisons are by locks, bolts
and bars'. But the popular fancy had probably
even then adopted the notion of a monstrous beast
whose mouth was the entrance to the place of tor-
ment : this appears not only from the illustrations
to Cesdmon ^, but from the common expression, so
long current, of Hell -mouth. From this peculiar
feature however we may believe that a remembrance
still lurked among our forefathers of the gigantic
or Titanic character of the ancient goddess, who, in
Norse mythology, was Loki's daughter. In nearly
every case, the word Hel in Anglosaxon, and espe-
cially Anglosaxon prose, has merely the abstract
sense we now give it ; but here and there a passage
> Sal. Sat. p. 173.
' Beda himself speaks of " infemi claustra" (H. £. v. 13), and for
this there was supposed to he sufficient authority in the figurative ez-
^pmdanM Matt. mri. 18.
' Puhlished hy the Society of Antiquaries.
396 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
may be found in which we discover traces of the
personal meaning : thus perhaps in Bedwulf where
we find these lines.
8i6i$an drdunale^ when reft of joy
in fenfreoSo in his fen-refuge
feorh ile^dCf he his life laid down,
h»t$ene sdwle, his heathen soul,
6»r him Hel onfeng. there Hel reodred hiin\
However as a death in battle did not consign
the warrior to Hel, it is usually Hild or Wig who
is represented as ravishing away the doomed hero.
Hel was no desired object, to be introduced into
the epic as the portion of chieftains and kings.
FATES. — ^The Northern creed, and, as it now
seems established, the Grerman also, admitted the
intervention between man and the gods, of subor-
dinate deities or Fates. I call them subordinate from
their peculiar position in the fragmentary portions
of mythology that survive ; in their nature we must
believe them to be of a higher order than the gods,
who themselves are doomed one day to perish, and
who can probably as little avoid their doom as men,
the frailer creatures of their power. It may be that
in this, different views prevailed among different
classes of men ; the warlike princes and their fol-
lowers, who exulted in tales of battle and feasting,
may have been willing to see in OJ?inn the supreme
disposer of events, while a deeper wisdom lurked
> Beow. 1. 1698 : and perhaps similarly 1. 35/, " Helle gemundon,"
they worshiped Hel.
OB. xii.] HEATHENDOM. FATES, 397
in the sacerdotal songs that told how Ur^r, Wer-
^andi and Skuld (the Norns of the Past, the Pre-
sent and the Future) bore inevitable sway over the
inhabitants of heaven and earth, and slowly waited
for the period which was to confound gods, man and
nature in one vast destruction'. The Norse view
admits however of more than three Norns, though
it names those only who have been mentioned ;
and from the extraordinary relation of those three,
' The Oreek Fatei rtc bUo three, ami staml id b very similar po*i-
tion Unrards the Goda. Zcils himself is not eiecapt from their power.
Prmnetheiu, it Is true, will not distinctlj' assert Zeus to be weaker than
the Fates, but he nnswers very decisively that even Zeus cannot escape
ha Fate.
Xo. Tt't our avaynrjt tariy olaKocnpa^os ;
Tip. Moipot Tpifxop<Pait prtn^opis r* 'Eplvyvtv-
Xo. Tuw-eii' Sp Ztii fOTif anSffiaTipas ;
Hp^ GiTkovc fiv tKtf}vyai yt r^v TTCTTptf/K^i'.
The Mnifwi here are only ministers of a deeper necessity, yet they seem
to wield it themselvts, and that it is inseparable from jtuticc seems to
follow from the venerable goddesses being joined in the task. Plato
however distinctly names three Mot^cu, the daughters of 'Kyayioj, who
jpin the life of man : what is more to our purjtose is that to each of the
three, the past, the present and the future ore severally distributed,
Bi to Urtir, WerSandi and Skuld. He says, SiXat Si xuAj/iirac nipi£
di ttrov rptis, IV 6p6vt^ txaimjp, Bvyartpas r^f Avoyaiijr, yiaipvs, Xfv-
j^ufiomitTas, rrrifipara nr! rav Kt^iaKCtv ix*ivoat, \aj(itTiv Tf irai KXuffv
■o'l 'Srpoicoy, {/lunij trpit Tqi' rar StipqMii' dp/toviaii, Xax'im' fiif Tii
ytyoinra. KXaSu S( TO iyra,' Krpairov &i ra fiiWoirra. The spindle
however lie* and revolves upon the knees of 'AKrymj, De Repub. lib. x.
The white garments, garlands and throne, aa well as the singing, are
wanting to our Norns, but the resemblance in other respects is very
striking. It dc«ervea notice also that the IVeird sisters in Macbeth are
three ; and even the Odysscc may intend that number,
(v6a 8' t-nttra
TrticriToi aaoa o\ alaa KoraiikvOis Ti fiapi'iai
yumpiiK^ yiiaanTO 'K'wif, art fiai Ttti /iijnjp.
It is well known what controversy has arisen as to the real number of
'Ep'innift iutemled by Jisehyliis in his Eumenidea.
996 THE 8AXOX8 IN firGLAHb. [MOK U
it can hsurdiv be doubted that the othen are 6f a
diflBrent order ; tnoreorer it attributes human pai*
sions to them which are hardly coDsisteUt with the
m
fuoctioDS of the venerable Fates ; in this case it is
possible that the Valkyriur, a race of bdngs whose
functions might in some respects be confounded with
those of the Nomir, have been so mixed up with
them. Man, dealing with the daily aflUrs of trou-
bled life, thinks more of the past than of the future :
to him the present is the child of the past, the past
the excuse for or cause of all he does and sufibrs ;
his intellect comprehends the events that are com-
pleted or in course of completion, but not the inde«
finite, illimitable probabilities of the undiscovered
to be ; hence perhaps Ur^r is considered the old-
est and most powerful of the Fates ; her work is
done, the others are doing or yet to do. Through
this progress of opinion it became possible for the
conception of the older Fate to include and finally
supersede those of the others, as soon as the living
belief in their personal agency became weakened.
I do not know that any certain trace of these Fates
can be found in the High-german countries ^ but
in the Low-gertnan the eldest Norn still survives
long after the introduction of Christianity, in a
sense little removed at times from that of Necessity
itself. That this should still have been coupled
with a lively feeling of personality only proves how
deeply rooted the old Heathen creed had been. In
' Grimm, Mythol. p. 3/7, «loe8 not seem to lay much stress upon the
two instances which he gives, one of which is extremely doubtful, and
the other of no certain authority.
OB.UI.] HEATHENDOM. WI£RD. 999
the following instances from the Oldsaxon Hifljand S
Wurth might almost in every case be replaced by
d6d, mors: "Thiu Wurth is at handun, ddd is at
hendi;" — the wierd'^^ or death, is at hand, i.e. so
near that she might lay hold of the doomed. ** Thiu
Wurth nahida thuo," — the wierd drew nigh. *' Wurth
ina ben am," Wierd, i. e. the goddess of death, ra-
vished him away; as in Anglosaxon we have Swylt
benami Ded% benam, and similar expressions.
The Anglosaxon equivalent is Wyrd, an express
sion of the very commonest and most frequent oc-
currence! It should however be borne in mind that
there are two separate uses of this word, one a more
abstract one, in which it is capable of being used
in the plural, and which may generally be rendered
eventus^, another more personal, similar to the Old-
saxon Wurth f and in which it never occurs but in
the singular^. In the following most remarkable
passage the heathen and Christian thoughts are
' H^and. Poema Saxonicum Saeciili Noni. Ed. A. Schmeller. Mu-
nich, pp. 146, 2; 92, 2; 163, 16; 66, 18; 111, 4.
* We are fortunate in being able to use not a translation of Wurth,
but the word itself; I am not aware of its continuing to exist in any
other German dialect.
* Ne wiM wyrd "Sagen
Vaet he mi m6ste
manna cyhnes
Mcgean ofer "Sa niht. (Be6w. 1. 1462.)
Wyrd ne ctifSon. (Ibid. 1. 246?.)
* One exception to be hereafter noticed seems more apparent than
real. If however it be taken in its fullest and ordinary grammatical
sense, it will show that all three or more sisters were in contemplation,
and that the name of the eldest bad become a general expression for
them all.
400 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
strangely mingled, Wierd being placed in actual ap-
position with God,
swd he hyra md w61de
nefhe him witig God,
Wyrd fonit^de,
:)«8esmaimesm6d*.
**A8 he would more of them had not wise God,
Wierd forstood him, and the man's courage." How
very heathen the whole would be, were we only
to conceive the word God an interpolation, which
is highly probable ; nefne him witig — Wyrd for-
stdde^ ! The following examples will show the use
of Wyrd : — ** bine Wyrd fornam," — him Wierd ra-
vished away' ; just as in other passages we have gu?
fornam*. Wig ealle fornam*, swylt fomam*, dea?
fornam^. * * Wyrd ungemete neah®," — Wierd was im-
measurably near him ; as in the Oldsaxon passages
above cited, and as Dea^ ungemete neah^ **Ac unc
sceal weor^an set wealle, swa unc Wyrd geteo^,
m^tod manna gehwses*^," — it shall befal us as Wierd
decideth, the lord of every man'^ ** Swa him Wyrd
ne gescraf ^^,'' — Wierd did not appoint. *' Ealle Wyrd
» Beow. 1.2104. « Ibid. 1.2411.
' Ibid. I. 2240. * Ibid. 1. 2154.
' Ibid. 1. 2872. « Ibid. L 4234, 44GS.
7 Ibid. I. 4836. » Ibid. 1. 5453.
• Ibid. 1. 5048.
^^ This is a most remarkable passage, for W\Td is distinctly called
Metod, a word generally appropriated to God ; but I am disposed to
think that Metten, another word for Fate, was uppermost in the poet's
mind, — perhaps found in some heathen copy of the poem. " £>a graman
mettena,'' saerae parcae. Boot. p. 161. (Rawl.)
" Beow. 1. 5145.
HEATHENDOM. WYRD,
forsweopV — Wierd has swept away. " U's se6
wyrdscy^e^, heard and hetegrim'," — us doth Wierd
pursue, hard and grim in hate.
These examples will suffice to show how tho-
roughly personal the conception of Wierd remained ;
and in this respect there is no difference whatever
between the practice in Beowulf and in the more
professedly Christian poems of the Exeter and
Vercelli codices, or C<edmon. But one peculiarity
remains to be noticed, which connects our Wierd
in the most striking manner with the heathen god-
desses generally, and the Scandinavian Nornir par-
ticularly. We have seen that Wierd opposes, that
she stands close to the doomed warrior, that she
ravishes him away, that she sweeps away the power
of men, that she decides or appoints the event,
that she is hard and cruel and pursues her victims.
But she also iveaves, weaves the web of destiny, as
we can say even to this day without violence. It
is necessary to give examples of this expression :
"Me 'tSaet wyrd gewref^" — Wierd wove that for
me; similar to which is, " Ac him dryhten forgeaf
wigsp^da gewiofu*," — hut the Lord gave him
the weft of victory ; where undoubtedly an ear-
lier weaving Wyrd was thought of. " Donne sed
Jjrag cyme^, wefen wyrd-stafura^," — when the time
Cometh, woven with u'ierrf- staves, or letters, pro-
bably runes. There is a remarkable passage in the
same collection*', " Wyrmas mec ne awiefon, Wyrda
' Beow. I. 5624, ' CoJ. Vercel. Anal. 1. 31^1.
* Cod. Eion. p. 355. • Beow. 1. 1386.
" Cod. Eson. p. 183. ' Ibid. p. 417-
VOL. 1. 2d
402 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
craeftum, ^a ^e geolo godwebb geatwum fr«twa^,"
— Worms wove me not, with the skill of WierdSj
those namely which the yellow silk for garments
beautifully form. Here weaving is especially put
forward as that in which Wierd excels, her own
peculiar craft and business ^
Spinning and weaving are the constant occupa-
tion of Teutonic goddesses and heroines : Holda
and Bertha spin^, and so do all the represeatatives
of these goddesses in popular tradition even down
to the fairies. But the Valkyriur or Shieldmays
also weave, and in this function, as well as their
immediate action in the battle-field, as choosers of
the slain^, they have some points of contact with
the Norns and Wyrd*. Gray has transferred to our
language from the Nials Saga a fine poem^ which
throws some light upon the weaving of the Valky-
riur, the wigsp^da gewiofu. The Anglosaxon belief
in the Shieldmaidens comes to us indeed in a dark-
ened form, yet we can hardly doubt that it survived.
The word Waelcyrge occurs in glossaries to explain
^ 1 am almost iDclineil to think the words searoruna gcsjxm, the veb
of various runes^ merely a jieriphrasis for wyrd^ taken in the abstract
sense of «•«!/. Cod. Ex. p. 347.
* " As terns ou Berte filait/' i. e. in a period anterior to the memory
of man : in the days of heathendom, of the goddess Bertha, not the
qneen.
* W«?lcyrige is derived from Wiel the slain and ceoaaii to choose,
* 1 do not know whether the expression Hine Wyrd g«?eas, can be
found in Saxon jK>otn- ; but ceosan is a ven* common word in phrases
denoting death, though by Christian poets transferred to the doomed
hero, from the irotl or goiUlej^:? : a'r ^n for^cure. wintrum wael reste.
Canlm. p. 99. " Priusquam annis ~i. e. vita] praetulent mortiferam
quioiem/'
* The Fatal sisters. See vol. i. p. 70, Mitford*s cditxHi.
CB.ZU.] HEATHENDOM. SHIELDMATS. 403
Belhna^ the goddess of war, and one gloss calls
eyes Waelcyrigean, gorgonei, terrible as those of
Grorgo ; the flashing of the eyes was very probably
one mark of a Waelcyrge in the old belief*, as she
floated or rode above the closing ranks of battle.
In the superstitions of a later period however we
find a clear allusion to these supernatural maidens.
A spell preserved in a Harleian manuscript^ con-
tains the following passages :
mtide ws^ron hi U hldde, U h^
ofer tSone hl»w ridon ;
wseron amndde, 6d h^
ofer land ridon.
** Loud, lo ! loud were they, as they jode over
* When Dorr visits Drymr under the disguise of Freya, the giant is
suspicious of the flashing eyes which he sees under the veil. Loki ex-
plahis them hy the sleeplessness arising from Freya's desire for the
giant's embraces.
Laut und Unu
lysti at ky ssa ;
en hann ^tan stokk
endlangan sal:
*' Hwl eru onddtt
augu Freyju ?
Hkki m^ or augum
eldr of brenna !"
Sat in alsnotra
amb6tt fyriry
er orS um fiEum
vit$ jotuns m£li :
" Svaf vaetr Freyja
l^tta n6ttum,
sva var hon o'Sfds
i jotunheima."
Hamarsheimt. xxvii. xxviii.
* MS. Harl. 585, fol. 186.
2d2
404 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
the hill ; bold were they, as they rode over the
land."
St6d under linde
under le<5htum scylde
^»r 6a mihtdgan w(f
hyra msegen ber»ddon,
and h^ gyUende
gdras sendon.
"I stood beneath my linden shield, beneath my
light shield, where the mighty women exercised
their power, and sent the yelling javelins ! " An-
other spell from a MS. in Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge, appears to name them more distinctly :
Sitte ge, sigewff,
siga^ t6 eorSan,
nsefre ge wilde
t6 wuda flecSgan ;
he6 ge swA gemindige
mines g6des,
swa bi9 manna gehwilc
metes and (5^eles.
** Sit, ye victorious women (or women of victory)
descend to earth, never fly ye wildly to the wood :
be ye as mindful of good to me, as every man is of
food and landed possession." Grimm has remarked
with great justice ^ that the sigewif here recalls the
names of Waelcyrian, Sigrdrifa, Sigrun and Sigr-
linn. I certainly see in Sigewif, women who give
victory ; and the allusion to the tvild flight and the
wood are both essentially characteristic of the Wael-
* D. Myth. p. 402. He cites this spell, but proposes on grammati-
cal grounds to read wille for wilde. If any change is necessary I should
prefer /<<^?».
"■]
HEATHENDOM. CREATION. KTC.
cyrian, whom Saxo Gramraaticus calls /eminoc and
nymphae syhestres. For many examples of this
peculiar character, it is sufficient to refer to the
Deutsche Mythologie'.
CREATION AND DESTRUCTION.— The cos-
mogony of the Pentateuch was necessarily adopted
by the Saxon converts ; yet not so entirely as to
exclude ail the traditions of heathendom. In the
mythology of the Northern nations, the creation
of the world occupied an important place : its de-
tails are recorded in some of the most striking lays
of the earlier Edda ; and several of them appear
unconsciously to have acted upon the minds of our
Christian poets. The genius of the Anglosaxons
does not indeed seem to have led them to the
adoption of those energetic and truly imaginative
forms of thought which the Scandinavians proba-
bly derived from the sterner natural features that
surrounded them : the rude rocks and lakes of
Norway and Sweden, the volcanos, hot springs,
ice plains and snow-covered mountains of Iceland,
readily moulded the Northmen to a different train
of thought from that which satisfied the dwellers
in the marshlands of the Elbe and the fat plains of
Britain. But as in the main it cannot be doubted
that the heathendom of both races was the same,
so even in many modes of expression we meet with
a resemblance which can hardly be accidental.
Like almost every other people , the Northmen con-
' Deue. Mytli. |), 40l,»#fl.
406 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [boos i.
sidered a gigantic cbaos to have preceded the world
of order. While the giant Ymer lived, the earth
was '* without form and void." listen to the words
of the Vaulu Spa, or Prophetess's Song :
A'r var alda When Ymer dwelt here,
)>ar er Y'mir bygSi : 'twai the dawn of time :
vara sandr n6 sser cool streams were not,
n€ svalar unnir : neither sands, nor seas :
jort$ fannsk seva earth was not
n6 upphuninn, nor o'er it heaven,
gap yar ^nnunga, yawned the gap,
en gras hyergi ^ and grass was nowhere.
The sons of Bur however, OJ^inn, Vile and Ve,
created the vast Midgard, or realm of earth:
S61 skein sunnan The sun shone southward
& salar steina, on the stone halls,
pd var grund gr6in then was earth grown
groenum lauki «. with green produce.
• The- constellations however as yet had no ap-
pointed course :
S61 fat ne vissi But the sun knew not
hvar hon sali atti, where her seat should be,
mani pat ne yissi and the moon knew not
hvat hann megins atti, what his might should be,
stjdmur fat ne vissu planets knew not
hyar f ser staCi ittu «. where their place should be.
So the holy Gods went to council, and divided
the seasons, giving names to night and noon aijd
morning, to undern and evening, that the years
might be reckoned '*.
» Vaulu Spa, st. '^. « Ibid. st. 4.
^ Ibid. 8t. 5. * Ibid. 8t. 6.
CH, XII.] HEATHENDOM. CREATION, ETC.
407
The construction of the world out of the frag-
ments of Ymer's body, the doctrine of the ash
Yggdrasil, and of wondrous wells beneath its roots,
could of course find no echo here, after the conver-
sion. But it is very remarkable how nearly the
description of creation given in Caedmon sometimes
coincides with the old remains of heathendom :
Ne wtts h6r H&^et
n7ini$e hedlstenceado
wiht geworden,
ac ^es wida grund
8t6d de<$p and dim,
drihtne fremde,
(del and unnyt ;
on tkme dlgiun wUt
stiSfrihd cining,
and 6a stowe behe61d
dredma ledse.
G^eseah deorc gesweorc
■6iniaa linnihte,
sweart under rodenun,
wonn and w6ste
folde wees ^^Igyt
gnes ungr6ne ;
g^brsecg )>eahte
Bweart lynnibte
wide and side
wonne wsegas*.
There had not here as yet
save cavern shade
aught existed,
but this wide abyss
stood deep and dim,
strange to its lord,
idle and useless ;
on which looked with his eyes
the king firm of mood,
and beheld the place
devoid of joys.
He saw the dark cloud
lour in endless night,
swart under heaven,
dusky and desert
the earth was yet
not green with grass ;
but ocean covered
dark in endless night
far and wide
the dusky ways.
Then follows the creation of light, the separation
of evening from morning, and the production of
organic life, as in the first chapter of Genesis. The
Wida grund, or vast abyss, is the Ginnunga gap,
yawning gulf, of the Edda, and a very remarkable
^ Cndm. p. 7> 1. 8 ^^q.
408 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
parallel lies in the assertion that there was no grass
anywhere to make green the earth.
The world was created out of the portions of
Ymer's body ; but it seems to be a remnant of an-
cient heathendom when we find in later times a
tradition that Man was created out of the great
natural portions of the world itself. An ancient
Frisic manuscript quoted by Grimm in Haupt's
Altdeutsche Blatter^ says, " Grod sc6p thene ^resta
meneska, thet was Adam, fon achta wendem ; thet
benete fon tha st^ne, thet fldsk fon there erthe, thet
bldd fon tha wetere, tha herta fon tha winde, thene
thochta fon tha wolken, thene suet fon tha dawe,
tha lokkar fon tha gerse, tha dgene fon there suiina,
and tha bl^rem on thene helga dm.'* That is, — God
created him of eight things : his bones from stone,
his flesh from earth, his blood from water, his heart
from wind, his thought from cloud, his sweat from
dew, his hair from the grass, his eyes from the
sun, and then breathed into him the breath of life.
In the prose Salomon and Saturn we are also told
that Adam was created of eight pounds by weight :
a pound of earth from whence his flesh ; a pound
of fire, whence his red and hot blood ; a pound of
wind, whence his breathing ; a pound of cloud,
whence his unsteadiness of mood ; a pound of grace,
whence his stature and growth ; a pound of blos-
soms, whence the variety of his eyes ; a pound of
dew, whence his sweat ; and a pound of salt, whence
his salt tears^
* Vol. i. Part i. p. 1.
* See the Author's edition, p. 181, and the not^s at p. 194.
CH.xii.] HEATHENDOM. CREATION, ETC. 409
But a much more striking proof of heathendom
lies in the Anglosaxon belief that after the destruc-
tion of this creation a more beautiful one would
arise ; not only a metaphysical kingdom of heaven,
but a concrete world like our own, on a more im-
posing and glorious scale. It was the belief of the
Northmen that in the closing evening of the ages,
the Ragna-rauk, or twilight of the Gods, the old
Titanic powers would burst their fetters ; Loki, the
Northern Satan, would be released from his bond-
age ; Midgard's orm, the serpent that surrounds
the world, would rise in his giant fury ; the wolf
Fenrir would snap his chain and move against the
gods ; the ship Naglfar, made of the nails of the
dead, and steered by Loki, would convey the sons
of Muspelheim to Vigrid, the plain on which this
heathen Armageddon was to be fought : at their
head the terrible Surtr, the black, the destroyer of
the gods, beneath whose sword of fire the whole
world should perish.
KJ611 ferr austan. Eastward the ship
koma munu Muspells shall shape its journey,
um laug ly^ir. Muspell's sons
en Loki styrir'. the sea shall travel,
o'er the lakes shall
Loki steer her.
OJ^inn, Thdrr, and the other gods shall perish,
but not unrevenged : the wolf and the serpent will
fall, one by the hands of Vi^arr, OJ?in's son, the
other under the terrible battle-maul of Thdrr. The
^ Vaula Sp&, 8t. 50.
410
THB SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book I.
sun and moon and earth will be destroyed, and the
ash Yggdrasil wither under the flames of Surtr.
S61 tekr sortna,
sfgr fold { mar,
hverfk af himni
heitSar atjtfrnur ;
geisar eimr
yi^ aldmdra,
leikr hdr hiti
viS bimin sj^fan ^
Black wanes the sud,
in waves the earth shaU sink,
fVom heaven shall fall
the friendly 0tan ;
round the tree
red fire shall rustle,
high heat play
against the heaven.
But the Gods will be found again in I^avelli;
the earth will arise again from the ocean ; the sun
that perished will have left a yet more beauteous
daughter to perform her task ; the deities will re-
member their ancient power, and the secrets of the
great god ; the golden tablets will be found in the
grass; Baldr, the slain god, will arise from the
tomb ; Havdr, that unconsciously slew him, will
return with him from the realms of Hel, the god-
dess of the dead. Vi^arr and Vale, sons, or rather
new births of OJ?inn ; Mode and Magne, sons of
Th6rr, will survive the universal destruction ; All-
father's glorious kingdom will be renewed, and the
power of death and evil vanish for ever.
S^r hon uppkoraa
o^ru sinni,
j6r8 or OBgi
it5jagrcena*.
Eina dcSttur
herr Alfr6«ull
d5r hana Fenrir fan ;
Then sees she rise
a second time
the world from ocean
wondrous green.
One bright child shall
bear ATfrotJull,
ere her form doth
» Vaulu Spa, st. 56.
* n>id. St. 57-
CB. wi.] HEATHENDOM. CREATION, ETC.
411
sd skal rftSa,
p& er regin deyja,
m69ur braatir maer*.
Fiiuiask MAt
& It$ayelli,
ok um mold]>inur
m^tkim doema,
ok minxuiak )»ar *
& m^grnddmii,
ok A fimbult;^a
fornar rdnar.
)mr mnnu eptir
imdrsamligar
gulliiar toflur
f grasi finnask,
|>ttni i irdaga
Attar hof^tt
fdlkyaldr goSa
ok Fjobiig kind.
Mnnu 68^mr
akrar vaxa,
bolfl mun alls batna,
Baldr mun koma ;
bda l^eir ^gSr ok Baldr
Hropts sigtdptir
¥el valtiyar*.
Sal 8^r hon standa
mHu fegra,
gulli ]>akt$an
i Oimli t
Fenrir ruin ;
thus shall go,
when gods have perished,
the maiden on
her mother's journey.
iEsir meet
in I^avelli,
doom with power
the great disasters,
there remember
mighty judgements,
and Fimbult^rs
former secrets.
After, shall be
all together
found in the grass
the golden tablets,
which in time past
possessed among them
gods that ruled
the race of Odin.
Then im>owi)
the swath shall flourish,
all bale mend, and
back come Baldr :
with him H6<5r dwell
in Hropter's palace,
shrines of godii
the great and holy.
There sees she stand
than sunlight fairer,
GimH's hall
with gold all coTered :
* Waf}yrudiiis M&l, st. 47. A'lfr5^ul is a name of the Sun, and is
■aid to denote divine splendour, Edd. Lex. Myth, in yo^.
• Vaulu Spd. St. 67, 58, 69, 60.
412 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [booki.
|>ar skolu dyggvar there the just shall
(InSttir byggja, joy for ever,
ok um aldrdaga and in pleasure
yntSis. nj6ta * . pass the ages.
The conviction that the virtuous would rejoice
with God in a world of happiness was of course not
derived by our forefathers merely from their hea-
thendom ; but to this we may unhesitatingly refer
their belief, that after doomsday the sun and moon
would be restored with greater splendour. The
Saxon Menology* says very distinctly :
''At doomsday, when our Lord shall renew all
creatures, and all the race of men shall rise again,
and never more commit sin, then will the sun shine
seven times brighter than she now doth, and she
will never set ; and the moon will shine as the son
now doth, and never will wane or wax, hut stand
for ever on his course^." That this belief was not
unknown in Gfermanv mav be arsiied from an ex-
pression of FVeidank,
Gol himel und »de \mi xer^an,
unc wil denubch ftn schc«Kfi han*.
Dim and fra^nnentarv as these ravs of li^t mav be
which $tnii:^e to us through the veiU of b3rgone
;Jice«. it is imix>ssihle not to r^rognize in them traces
iM^ th^t primjev^U taith which teaches the respon-
^biUty v>t^ m^m. the mle o£ j;tst and holy beings
> *x>i S^ «- ?^ - MS. Ov-t?. Omic Njl ir?.
CH. XII.] HEATHENDOM. SCYLDWA. SCEA'F. 413
superior to himself, and a future existence of joy
and sorrow, the ultimate consequence of human
actions. With what amount of distinctness this
great truth may have been placed before their eyes,
we cannot tell, but it is enough that we see it ad-
mitted in one of the most thoroughly heathen poems
of the Edda, and con6rmed by an Anglosaxon tradi-
tion totally independent of Christianity. Weak as
it is while unsupported by the doctrine of a graci-
ous Redeemer, it is not wholly inoperative upon the
moral being of men ; and its reception among the
nations of the North must have tended to prepare
them for the doctrine which in the fulness of time
was to supersede their vague and powerless desires
by the revelation of the crucified Saviour.
HEROES. — It now remains that we should be-
stow a few words upon the heroic names which
figure in the Epopcea of the North, and which pro-
bably in many cases belong to the legends and the
worship of gods now forgotten, or which at least
represent those gods in their heroic form and cha-
racter; even as the Iliad in Achilles may celebrate
only one form of the Dorian Apollo, and the le-
gends of Cadmus and Theseus may be echoes from
an earlier cult of Jupiter and Neptune.
The hero Scyld or Sceldwa' has been mentioned
as the godlike progenitor of the Scyldingas, the
royal race of Denmark ; but he also appears among
the mythical ancestors of Woden, in the genealogy
' From which fonn n
Wudu, Duru).
t conclude for the reiding Si-j-ldu (as
414 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of Wessex. It is a singular fact that the Anglo-
saxons alone possess the fine mythus of this hero ;
the opening division or canto of Bedwulf relates of
him that he was exposed as a child in a ship upon
the ocean ; a costly treasure accompanied the sleep-
ing infant as he floated to the shores of the Gar-
danes, whose king he became ; after reigning glo*
riously and founding a race of kings, he died, and
was again sent forth in his ship, surrounded with
treasures, to go into the unknown world, from
which he came ; he came to found a royal raceS
and having done so, he departs and nothing more
is known of him. That this mjrthus was deeply
felt in England appears from its being referred
to even bv the later chroniclers : -fi^lweard* and
Malmsbury^ mention it at length, and a desire to
* fkme God sendc whom God tent
folce to frofre, to the people for their comfort,
f>TenKmrfe ongemt the evil need he nndentood
^« hie ler drugon which they before hmd suffered
iddoHease. while without m king.
Beow. 1. 26.
^ JE^^lw. hb. iii. He mttributes the legend to Sceaf. Scrid's Cither;
his words are : ** Ipse Scef cum uno dromone adrectus est in insult
oeeani quae ilicitur Scani. armis cireumdatus, eratque Talde recens
(Hier. et ab inc<^ illius terrme ignotus ; attamen ab eis suscipitiir, et ut
famiUarem diligenti auimo eum custodierunt. et post in regem digunt :
de cuius pn>sa{>ia ordmem trahit Athulf rex."
^ Malmsburk Gest. Reg. ii. llt>^ adds another pecuharitr to the le-
geml. >» hioh howerer he gtres to Sceaf. Scyld's £uher ; be sarss ** Ute.
ut tVruut. lu quaudam lusulam Germauiae Scandzam. de qua Jordanes
histonv^graphus Gothor\iin loquitur, appulsus, nari sine renij^« poeru-
lus« potsito ad caput frumenii manipukv dormienss ideoque Seeaf bikb-
ciq,\acus, ab hv^mmibus rvgtouis iilius pro miiaculo excepciuv et aedalo
uuthtus, ailulta achate nr^!iaiv:r ia opptdo quod tunc Slasrie, none
vero Uaitbebi a^>^^rILitur. Est autem Kgio lUa Angtia Vents dicta,
unde .Vzigli Tcnenmt m Bntanniam, mter Saxoi»e« et
ca.ziiO HEATHENDOM. BECXWA. 415
engraft a national upon a biblical tradition not only
causes Sceaf to be called by some authors the son
of Shem, but leads to the assertion of the Saxon
chronicle that Sceaf was the son of Noah, born in
the arkS in obvious allusion to the miraculous ex-
posure on the waters. The mention of Scani by
iE%elweard may be taken in connection with a
Norse tradition that Skjold was Skanunga gojf, a
god of the Scanings. An Anglosaxon riddle in the
Codex Exoniensis ^, and of which the answer seems
to me to be only a shield, concludes with the very
remarkable words,
nama min is insure, mighty is my name,
ludetSom gifre> rapacious among men,
and hiilig sylf. and itself holy.
The second line seems to exclude the supposition of
there being any reference to Almighty God, though
Scyld, like Helm, is one of his names, examples
of which are numerous in all Anglosaxon poetry.
There are one or two places in England which bear
the name of this god or hero : these are Scyldes
tredw*, Scyldmere*, and Sceldes hedfda* ; but ex-
cept in the genealogy of Wessex and the tradition
recorded by -^^elweard and Malmsbury, there is
no record of Sceaf.
As in the poem of Bedwulf, Scyld is said to have
tuta." Wendover (Flor. Ilist.) copies Malmsbury, with the explana-
tion of the name Sceafa, from Sceaf a sheaf of corn ; others derived it
from scdfan, trudere, *' quia fortunae commissus." Die Stammtafcl der
Westsachsen, p. 33.
* " Se wais geboren in "Sare earce Noes." Chron. Sax. 855.
' Cod. Exon. p. 407. » Cod. Dipl. No. 436.
* Ibid. No». 356, 762, * Ibid. No. 721.
416 THE SAXONS Di ENGLAND. [book i.
a son called Beowulf from whom the kings of Sles-
wig are descended, so in the genealogy of Wessex,
Scyld is followed by Beaw : there is some uncer-
tainty in the form of the name, but upon compa-
rison of all the different versions given by various
chroniclers, we may conclude that it was Beowa or
Be6w, a word equivalent to Be6wulf. The original
divinity of this person is admitted by Grimm, but
he suffers himself to be misled by some over-skilful
German lexicographer who has added Beewolf to
the list of English names for the woodpecker, and
would render Be6wulf as a sort of Latin Picus.
I am not aware that any bird in England was ever
called the beewolf ^ or that there are any supersti-
tions connected with the woodpecker in England,
as there are in Germany ; the cuckoo and the
magpie are our birds of augury. When Grimm
then declares himself disposed not to give up the
termination -wulf in the name, he has only the
authority of the poem on his side, in defence of his
theory : against which must be placed every other
list or genealogy ; and it seems to me that these
are strongly confirmed by the occurrence of a place
called, not Beowulfes ham, but Beowan ham^ in
immediate connection with another named Grendles
mere^. Whatever the name, this hero was looked
upon as the eponymus of various royal races, and
this, though the names which have survived are
obviously erroneous^, is distinctive of his real cha-
racter.
> Cod. Dipl. No. 353. » n)id.
v^oa. i/ipi. i^o. ooo,
Stammtafel der Westsachsen, p. 18 seq.
CH. xn.] HEATHENDOM. HYGELA'C. H}iJEF. 4l7
There are various other heroes mentioned in the
poem of Bedwulf and iu the Traveller's Song, some
remembrance of which is still preserved in local
names in various parts of England. A few words
may not be misplaced respecting them. In the
first>named poem, the hero's lord and suzerain is
invariably named Hygelac ; after whose death Beo-
wulf himself becomes king of the Geatas. As Hy-
gelac is said to have perished in fight against the
Franks, and as history records the fall of a Danish
king Cliochilachus in a predatory excursion into
the Prankish territory about the beginning of the
seventh century', Outzen, Leo and others have
identified the two in fact as well as name, and
drawn conclusions as to the mythical hero, from
the historical prince. The coincidence is not con-
clusive : if Hygelac's name were already mythical
in the seventh century, it may easily have been given
to any leader who ventured a plundering expedition
into the Prankish territory, especially as the war-
like records of an earlier Hygelac would be certain
to contain some account of Prankish forays : nor
was Hygelic, in Danish Hugteikr', by any means
an uncommon name. On the other hand, if we
admit the historical allusion, we must assign a date
to, at any rate, that episode of the poem which is
hardly consistent with its general character. I am
' Leo, in his Beotmlf, p. 5, cites Orcgor. Turon. iii. 3, and the Gest.
Reg. Pr&QCoruffi, cap. 1^, for the itetoila of Cocliilacb's invaaiou and
> The uftmc HiUildk, ^vea In Lungebekc, and hy Geijer, from tlie
Yiigliiig& Saga, aa Hugkck. Hist. Swed. p. 378, tab. ii.
VOL. I. 2 E
418 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book h
therefore inclined to think that in this instance, as
in so many others, an accidental resemblance has
been too much relied upon : it is in fact quite as
likely (or even more likely) that the historian should
have been indebted to the legend, than that the
poet should have derived his matter from history.
It does seem probable that Hygeldc enjoyed a my-
thical character among the Germans: in the " Alt-
deutsche Blatter " of Moriz Haupt ', we find the fol-
lowing statement, taken from a MS. of the tenth
century. *' De Getarum rege Huiglauco mirae
magnitudinis. — £t sunt mirae magnitudinis, ut rex
Huiglaucus, qui imperavit Getis et a Francis oc-
cisus est, quern equus a duodecimo anno portare
non potuit, cuius ossa in Rheni fluminis insula, ubi
in oceanum prorumpit, reservata sunt et de longin-
quo venientibus pro miraculo ostenduntur."
But Hygelac is not known in Germany only:
even in England we have traces of him in local
names : thus Hygelaces geat^, which, as the name
was never borne by an Anglosaxon, — so far at
least as we know, — speaks strongly for bis mytlii-
cal character. That the fortunes, under similar
circumstances, of a historical prince, of the same
name or not of the same name, should have become
mixed up with an earlier legend, is by no means
unusual or surprising.
Another hero of the Beowulf cycle is Hnaef the
Hoeing, whose fate is described in a fine episode ^
and is connected with the poem called *'The battle
» Book V. part i. p. 10. « Cod. Dipl. No. 566.
' Beow. 1. 2130 seg.
CH. XII.] HEATHENDOM. WADA. WELAND. 419
of Finnesburh K'' Of him too England has some-
thing to tell : I find a place was called Hnaefes scylf ',
and further that there was aHdces by rgels^, obviously
not a Christian burial-place, a Hdces hdm ^, and a
H6cing meed^. But unless resemblances greatly
deceive us, we must admit that this hero was not
entirely unknown to the Franks also ; Charle*'
magne's wife Hiltikart, a lady of most noble
blood among the Swaefas or Sueves (' ' nobilissimi
generis Suavorum puella ") was a near relation of
Kotofrit, duke of the Alamanni ^ : in her genealogy
occur the names Huocingus and Nebi in imme-
diate succession, and it seems difficult not to see in
these Hoeing and Hnsef. If, as has been suggested,
the Hdcings were Chauci or Frisians, their con-
nexion with the Sueves must be of an antiquity
almost transcending the limits of history, and
date from those periods when the Frisians were
neighbours of the Swaefas upon the Elbe, and long
before these occupied the highlands of Germany,
long in fact before the appearance of the Franks in
Gaul, under Chlodio.
Among the heroes of heathen tradition are Wada>
Weland and Eigils. All three, so celebrated in the
myth us and epos of Scandinavia and Germany, have
left traces in England. Of Wada the Traveller's
^ Printed in the fint volume of the author's edition of Be6wulf,
p. 238.
« Cod. Dipl. No. 595. ' Ibid. No. 1267.
* Ibid. No. 1142. » Ibid. No. 1091.
• Thegan. vit. Hliidov. Pertz, Mon. ii. 590, 591. Eginhart, § 18.
Pertz, Mon. ii. 4c2, 453.
2b2
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND,
[book
Song declares that he ruled the Helsings ' ; and even
later times had to tell of Wade's boat', iq which
the exact allusion is unknown to us: the Scandi-
navian story makes him wade across the Groeoa-
sund, carrying his son upon his shoulder ; perhaps
our tradition gave a different version of this peril-
ous journey. The names of places which record his
name are not numerous, but still such are found,
thus Wadanbeorgas *, Wadanhlicw*. It is other-
wise, however, with his still more celebrated son,
Weland, the Wieland of German, Volundr of Norse
and Galand of French tradition. Weland is the
most famous of smiths, and all good swords are his
work. In Beowulf, the hero when about to engage
in a perilous adventure, requests that if he falls his
coat-of-mail may be sent home, Welandes geweorc,
either literally the work of Weland, or a work so ad-
mirable that Weland might have made it ^. .iElfred
in his Boetius*^ translates jidelts ossa Fabricii by
' Line«. See also Coil, Eson. pp.320.5H. Ettmuller, SdSpei
widsSIS.
' CliiLucer once or twice refen to this iu such a nay ta to tkavr tlmt
the expression was uscil in an oliaecne ucosi-. OUl nomeu, he u_t>,
"connen so moche crnft in (Vadei bole," Again of PanilaniB :
" He song, he plaied, be told a tale of Wade." ^H
Trail. Creuid. ^M
111 tlii« there seems to lie some allusion to vihat onatomiHts Ii^H
termed fossa naviailaris, though what immeiliate connection tlU!^'
could be with the mythical Wads, now cscniies us. It u suUicicnlly re-
mofkable that the Greeks made a similar application of trua^T.
ii voyKojunvyav BiifUTtpov Sirav ycyos'
ovt Ml d<p' Jiiiiiv (lo-i* at TpayijifSiai ,
ouSii" yip itrfiif irX^i- iroirtidaiu koI ana^.
Aristopli. Lysis
' Cod. Dipl. No, 55. * Ihid. No, 18.
' Betjw. I. <)U1 seq. ° Uoet. de Cons.
•. 137. '
I-]
HEATHENDOM. ^OEL.
" ^jes wisan goldsmiSes ban Welondes," where, as
Grimm' observes, the word Fabricius {faher) may
have led him to think of the most celebrated of
smiths, Weland. The use made by Sir W, Scott of
Welaod's name must be famiUar to all readers of
Kenilworth : from what has been said it will ap-
pear how mistaken in many respects his view was.
The place in Berkshire which even yet in popular
tradition preserves the name of Wayland smith, is
nevertheless erroneously called ; the boundary of a
Saxon charter names it much more accurately
Welandes snii^^e, i. e. Weland's smithy, his work-
shop*. The legend of Weland, identical in many
respects with that of the Wilkina Saga and other
Northern versions, is mentioned in the Cod. Exon,
p. 377. Here we find notice taken of his mutila-
tion by Ni^audr, the violence done by him to Bod-
hildr, and other acts of his revenge*, all in fact that
ia most important in this part of his history. Grimm
reminds me'' that the Wilkina Saga makes Weland
' D. Myth, p. 351. ' Cod. Dipl. Xo. 1172.
* Weland him be wunnan
nnccea cunuHde
siJSfian hbc NiShad on
D^de legde
BwoncTG seoDobandc,
ODiyllui mon.
Beadoliilde iie wen
hjre brfiSra dc&S
on scfan una air
BTva hyrc sylfra Mug,
Sart heu gearoliee
oogieten hicfdc
fast heo c&rea nieB, etc.
422 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book l
the constructor of a wondrous boat, and that the
act of the son may thus have been transferred to
the father, Weland's boat to Wade.
In the Northern tradition appears a brother of
Weland, namejl Eigil or Egil, who is celebrated as
an archer, and to whom belongs the wide-spread
tale which has almost past into accredited history
in the case of William Tell ; this tale given by Saxo-
Grammaticus to Toko, by the Jomsvikinga Saga
to Palnatoki, and by other authorities to other
heroes from the twelfth till the very end of the fif-
teenth century, but most likely of the very high-
est antiquity in every part of Europe, was beyond
doubt an English one also, and is repeated in the
ballad of William of Cloudesley : it is therefore pro-
bable that it belongs to a much older cycle, and
was as well known as the legends of Wada and
Weland, with which it is so nearly connected. Ei-
gil would among the Anglosaxons have borne the
form of Mgel, and accordingly we find places
compounded with this name, — thus -^glesbyrig,
now Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire ; iEglesford,
now Aylsford in Kent ; iEgleslona, in Worcester^
iEgleswur^, now Aylsworth in Northamptonshire^;
also ^gleswyl ; and lastly Aylestone in Leicester-
shire.
The Wilkina Saga and the Scald's Complaint
already cited from the Codex Exoniensis, lead us
next to the legends of Deodric (Dietrich von Bern)
and Eormenric, (Hermanaric,) and through the lat-
ter to Sigfried and the other heroes of the Nibe-
» Cod. Dipl. No. 649. » Ibid. Not. 691, 423.
CH. XII,] iIE.\THENDOM. DEO'DRI'C. EORMANRIC. 423
lungen cycle. The heroic or even godlike character
of Dietrich has been well made out by Grimm', and
the historical Theodoric the Ostrogoth vanishes in
his traditional representative. The Anglosaxon
poet evidently refers to the latter, not indeed from
the story he tells, but from the coftcation of De6-
dric among merely mythical personages. Perhaps,
as the whole scope of his poem is to relate the mis-
fortunes of the great and thus draw consolation for
his own, the thirty years' residence in Mreringa-
burg may be considered as a reference to Deodric's
flight from before Otachar^ and long-continued
exile. In a Saxon menology* of great antiquity,
' D. Mj-th. |). ■M(>.
* The Ililtibrants Lied says,
Hiltibrant haecti min fater. ih heittu Hadubraut.
font her ustar gihueit. floh her Otachrcs nid. ,
hiua mil Theotribhe. enti tmero degano filu.
iid DetnhhL>. darba gistontum.
fnteres mineg, dat uuos bo friuntlaoH man.
For Tcmarki on Gcodrie's exile tet W. Orimin, Deutsche Hcldcnsa|^,
pp. 2:2, 24. 34, 56, 'dl, -Xl. 2CM.
' MS. C. C. C. Cantab. No. 179. " Oo Soue efihtate6«uu di^ Saa
mont^ei by« Sec Johannes tyd 5^8 p&pon i 'Sets martjTes, se gedyde
tnak Godei inybt hlj'uiluin men geiyhi'e. 0one Jobnnnei for Ecfatum
[b^t cTrellui] Theodoricus te wics Gotcoa cyaiog in Rauenna Siere
KUtre ; i sum w^teosetla on Sdm ealonde Sc in nemncd Liparus, he
■cde •cipUSeDdum mannum fiiet he ges&wc JohaiuiBa siwle 'Smt papan
Udau Hone eyaing Se bine ofsl6b gcbundenne on ecum witun). Ue
cwaeS, se Godes l>i;6w, t6 Sam scipUScndnm : Girsan dicg ou Ga nigo-
fian tid da:gcs, Sa;t is on lionc non, pcodricua wte« f^li^ded ungyrd i
Uliwe6d *] CBC gebunden be 'Sam handum. betncoh Johannc 'Sam pipan
■J F^manum Sam ealihirmen. 1 he wiea fram hcom &wor])en on bpTiende
wM on Vymm neih-eakn<)e. 1 Sect ia nemned Ulcania. And Sa Na-
pUttende Sa 1SaX gehyredon, liig ymbhydelice iimeareodon iSone dicg, i
htm JSS eyrdon eft to Etelwara miegSe, iSicr big ■Bone fyniog ict lyfl-
gende forltettm ; big *& eft hine Srer dcadne pemftton, *y ylcan dsge
6e hii wite Nam Godes frcdwe R;tvwed nica. Da;t wn» swiSe rtht Swt
THE SAXONS !N ENGLAND
[fl.
the author, after staling the eighteenth of May to
be the commemoration of St. John, Pope and Mar-
tyr, goes on to say, that an anchoret on Lipari told
certain sailors how at a particular time he had seen
king Theodoric, ungirt, barefoot, and bound, led
between St. J(flin and St. Finian, and by them
hurled into the burning crater of the neighbouring
island Vulcano. That on their return to Italy the
sailors discovered by comparison of dates that
Theodoric died on the day on which the anchoret
noticed his punishment by the hands of his vic-
tims. The author expressly tells it was Theodo-
ricus, the king of the Goths in Ravenna; and he
concludes by saying, "That was Theodoricus the
king whom we call Deddric," which we can only un-
derstand by supposing him to allude to the mythical
Deodric. Alfred seems also to have known some-
thing of the mythical Deodric when he says, " he
wees Amaling," a fact historically true of the Ostro-
goth Theodoric, but yet unlikely to have been con-
tained in Alfred's Latin authorities. The Travel-
ler's Song says', " Deddric we61d Froncum," Theo-
doric ruled the Franks, but this I should rather
understand of one of the historical Merwinj
kings, than of the Ostrogoth.
The legends of Eormanric were obviously
miliar to the Anglosaxons : in the so often quoted
he fram flam twam maimuin wiere lendcd on 8«t 6ce (yr, BaBc he Wi
uarihtlicG ofaluh ua 'Siniim life. Diet kbcs pcoiluricus Hone we neinaa'S
De6drlc." Sec further illuatrationB of this strange tale iu the Deutsche
Ilchlcnsa^, p. 38, where Otto of Fruiaingen u quoted, but who does
not give neatly lo many Uetaila ai the Angloioxon legend.
' Trev, Soug, 1. 47.
CH. XII.] HEATUENDOM. EORMANRI'C, ETC, 425
poem of the Traveller's Song, this celebrated prince
is mentioned more than once, as well as in the
poem which contains the notices of Weland, Beado-
hild and Deodric. The character given of him in
both these compositions denotes a familiarity with
the details of his history, as we find them almost
universally in the Northern traditions, and more
particularly those of his wealth, his cruelty and his
treachery.
In Be6wulf we have a somewhat further develop-
ment of his history. We there learn incidentally that
Hama (the Ammius of Saxo Grammalicus) carried
off from him the Brdsinga-men or mythical collar
of the goddess Freya. There can he no doubt that
this necklace, called in the Norse traditions MeQ
Brisinga, is of a most thoroughly mythological cha-
racter', and any reference to it in Saxon poetry is
welcome evidence of ancient heathendom : more-
' When Loki announced to Freya that Th^ir would not recover hU
lioninicr uolexs ilie morriiMl the giant nho hud berome posseiscd of it,
■he trembled nith rage, so that the halls of (be gods shook under her,
and the Hen firiiingaburat from her neck : again when Thorrdisgniies
himielf in her distinctive dress, he do&s not forget the necklace.
Hamanheimt, xiii. xv. six. 1 am inclined to think the Saxon reading
erroneoiu, and that Brdainga is a mere error of copying. The meaning
of the iTOrd is obscure : Brising in Norse denotes a fierce llame, and the
name of the collar hai been explained from its bright and burning co-
lour. Grimm suggests a deiivaliou (ram a verb brisim (found in Middle
German under the form AHJten) aodare, «odis eonstringere, in reference
to the form of its links. But the main difficulty in my opinion is found
in the plural genitive of the patronymic, and I would almost prefer the
hypothesis of our having entirely lost the lay which described its origin :
others ne certainly have lost which had reference to it, as for instance
Loki's and Ileimdallr's contention for it- Saso Grammaticua haa a
Biory probably about its ocigin (p. 13) which is totally nnsatisfactory.
Were the Brisingas (sons of fire 7) its first possessors or maken 1
426 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
over the Anglosaxon poet alone mentions it in con*
nection with Ek)rmanric. This peculiar feature is
as little known to the other Germanic nations as
the beautiful legend of Scyld Sc^fing, the loves of
Gedt and MseVhild, the dragon-slaughter of Sig-
mund, the wars of Hengest and Finn Folcwalding,
or the noble epos of Be6wulf itself : unfortunately
we have no detail as to the circumstances under
which the necklace of the goddess came into the
possession of Eormanric.
The Traveller's Song however has traces of many
heroes who are closely connected with the tradi-
tional cyclus of Ek)rmanric : among these are Sifeca
(the false Sibich of Grermany) and Becca, the Bikki
of the corresponding Norse versions, whom it
makes chieftain of the Baningas, perhaps the ** sons
of mischief " from Bana. Hdma, already named,
and Wudga, the Wittich and Heime of Germany,
occur in the same poem : so also the terrible ^tla,
Attila the Hun, the iEtIi of Scandinavia, the Etzel
of the Nibelungen cycle. In the same composi-
tion we find GiiShere, king of the Burgundians, the
Norse Gunnar, and German Gunther ; and Hagena,
probably the Norse Hogni, and Hagen the mur-
derer of Sigfried. The Traveller's Song, and the
Sc6p's Complaint contain no mention of the great
hero of the Norse and German epos, Sigurdr Fafnis-
bani, Sigfried, the betrothed of the Shieldmay Bry-
hyldur, the husband of the fairhaired Chriemhilt.
All the more welcome to us is the episode in
Bedwulf, which not only records the tale of Sigurdr,
though under the name of his father Sigmund, and
II.]
HEATHENDOM. BEOWULF.
makes particular meation of the dragon-sla lighter
(Fafnis-bani) — which is a central point in the Norae
tradition, although hardly noticed at all in the Ni-
belungen Lied, — but also refers to the fearful ad-
ventures which the Edda relates of the hero and
his kinsman Sinti6tli(Fitela) which appear totally
unknown in Germany.
Having said thus much of the heroic personages
to whom sa large a portion of Northern and Ger-
manic tradition is devoted, it becomes possible for
me to refer to the great work of James Grimm on
German Mythology for a demonstration of the con-
nection between these heroes and the gods of our
forefathers. I regret that my own limits render it
impossible for me to enter at greater length upon
this part of the subject ; hut it requires a work of
no small dimensions, and devoted to it exclusively :
and it is therefore sufficient to show the identity
of our own heroic story and that of Scandinavia and
the continent, and thus enable the English reader
to adapt to his own national traditions the conclu-
sioas of learned inquirers abroad, with respect to
their own '.
1 I would partinilulf call stteotioD to W. Grimm'* DeoMche Uel-
denia}^, P. Miiller's Sagabibliothek, and J. Grimra'a Duntache My-
tholofpe ; tlie lait. a rerv storehouse of all ihat bean upon this
moat intereatinj^ and importaDt aubject, important wbetherne coDsidef
it merely in » literary poiut of view, or in the fcr higher one of a reve-
latioD of the ereeil of our forefathers, the Murcen of their hope and fenr,
the basis of their moral being and directing motii-e of their artioni. If
it be tnie that not .ing human can be without interest for a man, sorely
that nhich t«Ua of the religious belief of our furel'uthers miut be of the
deepest and nearest interest. It has had something to do with mnkiiig
TBE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book I.
DIVINATION AND WITCHCRAFT. —The
attachment of the Germanic races to divination
attracted the DOtice of Tacitus' : he says : "They
are as great observers of auspices and lots as an]
The way they use their lots is simple : they
into slips a branch taken from an oak or beecl
and having distinguished them by certain marl
scatter them at random and as chance wills over*:
white cloth. Then if the inquiry is a public one,
the state-priest, — if a private one, the father of the
house himself, — having prayed to the gods, and
looking up to heaven, thrice raises each piece, and
interprets them when raised according to the marks
before inscribed upon them. If they turn out un-
favourable, there is no further consultation that
day about the same matter : if they are favourable,
the authority of omens is still required. Even here
they are acquainted with a mode of interrogating
the voices and flight of birds ; but it is peculiar to
this race to try the presages and admonitions of
horses. These, white in colour and subject to no
mortal work, are fed at the public cost in the sacred
groves and woods : then being harnessed to the
sacred chariot, they are accompanied by the priest,
the king or the prince of the state, who observe
their neighings and snortings. Nor has any au-
gury more authority than this, not only among the
common people, but even the nobles and priests:
for they think themselves the ministers, but tbe-
horses the confidants, of the gods. There ii
other customary form of auspices, by which
:ion
hey^
I
II.]
HEATHENDOM. DIVINATION.
inquire concerning the event of serious wars. They
match a captive of the nation with which they are
at war, however they can come by him, with a se-
lect champion of their own, each armed with his
native weapons. The victory of this one or that
is taken as a presage."
The use of lots as connected with heathendom,
that is, as a means of looking into futurity, con-
tinued in vogue among the Saxons till a late period,
in spite of the eftbrts of the clergy : this is evident
from the many allusions in the Poeniteutials, and
the prohibitions of the secular law. The augury by
horses does not appear to have been used in Eng-
land, from any allusion at least which still survives ;
but it was still current in Germany in the seventh
century, and with less change of adjuncts thau we
usually find in the adoption of heathen forms by
Christian saints. It was left to the decision of horses
to determine where the mortal remains of St. Gall
should rest ; the saint would not move, till certain
unbroken horses were brought and charged with his
coffin : then, after prayers, we are told, " Elevato
igitur a pontifice nee non et a sacerdote feretro, et
equis superposito, ait episcopus ; 'Tollite frena de
capitibus eorum, et pergant, ubi Dominus voluerit.'
Vexillum ergo crucis cum lurainaribus adsumeba-
tur, et psallentes, equis praecedentibus, viaincipie-
batur'." It may be imagined that the horses in-
falUbly found the proper place for the saint's burial-
place ; but what is of importance to us is the use
of horses on the occasion. In this country how-
' Anna. Vit. Sci. Galli. Pcrti, Mon. ii. 17.
4d0 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book h
ever we have some record of a divination in which
not horses but a bull played a principal part ; and
as bulls were animals sacred to the great goddess
Nerthus, it is not unlikely that this was a remnant
of ancient heathendom. St. Benedict on one oc-
casion appeared to a fisherman named Wulfgeat,
and desired him to announce to duke M'Selmne^,
his lord, that it was his the saint's wish to have a
monastery erected to himself, to the pious mother
of mercy and All virgins. The spot was to be where
he should see a bull stamp with his foot. To use
the words of the saint to the fisherman, *' Ut ei
igitur haec omnia per ordinem innotescas exhortor,
sermonem addens sermoni, quatenus scrutetur di-
ligentius in loco praedicto quomodo noctu fessa
terrae sua incumbant animalia, ac ubi taurum sur-
gentem pede dextro viderit per cut ere terrain, ibidem
proculdubio xenodochii sciat se aram erigere de-
bere." Obedient to the order, duke -^^elwine set
out in the morning to find the spot : '* Mira res, et
miranda, ubi vir praedictus insulam est ingressus,
animalia sua in modum crucis, taurum vero
in medio eorum iacere prospexit, Et sicut quondam
sancto Clementi agnus pede dextro locum fontis,
sic viro isti taurus terram pede percutiendo locum
mensae futuri arcisterii significavit divinitus *.'' St.
Clement's fountain never rolled such floods of gold
as found their way to the rich abbey of Ramsey !
Other details of heathendom in the practices of
^ The same whom the grateful monks have distinguished by tlie name
of Dei amicus.
» Cod. Dipl. No. 581.
OB-zn.] HSATHEXDOM. WITCHCBAFr. 431
ordinary life must be left to the appendix to this
chapter ; hot a cursory reference may be made to
what appears to show a belief in the ctU eye, and
that practice which in Latin is called imrultuaiio.
The former of these is mentioned in the poem of
Bedwnlf \ where HrdSsar, warning Beowulf of the
frail tenure of human life, adds, '' eagena bearhtm,"
the glance of eye$, to the many dangers the warrior
had to fear :
Nd 18 tmtB ■uegnet bbed Now is the bloom of thv strractli
^be hwfle^ for a link while,
eft aona bi8 iood will it be
tet 6ec adl oMe ecg that nckiiess or the sword
eafoSes getwagfeS, chjJl part thee from thv power,
oWJe ffres feng, or dateh of fire,
o08e iliSdes wyfan, or ware of flood,
a<H$e gripe meces, or gripe of fword,
o6(Se gjirta fliht, or jaTelin's flight,
o6Se atol jldo, or oglj age,
oi58e e^lgena bearhtm, or gknce of ere,
ibnitteV and fbrsworceC. duJI oppress and darken thee !
Invultuation is defined by Mr. Thorpe in the fol-
lowing words : " a species of witchcraft, the perpe-
trators of which were called ruliitoli, and are thus
described bv John of Salisbury : Qui ad affectus ho-
minum immutandos, in molliori materia, cera forte
vel limo, eorum quos pervertere nituntur, effigies
exprimunt *. To this superstition Virgil alludes :
" Limns nt hie dnrescit, et haec nt cera liqnescit,
Uno eodemqne ieni, sic nostro Daphnis amore.
'* Of the practice of this superstition, both in
England and Scotland, many instances are to be
> Beow. 1. 3530. > De Nugis Curial. bb. L cap. 12.
432 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
met with ; among the most remarkable, that of Ele-
anor Cobham, duchess of Gloucester, and Stacey,
servant to George duke of Clarence*."
But it seems to include also the practising against
the life of an enemy by means of a waxen or other
figure, in which pins were stuck, or against which
a sharp bolt was shot. It is against this crime that
the law of Henry the First enacts* : **Si quis ve-
neno, vel sortilegio, vel invultuacione, sen maleficio
aliquo, faciat homicidium, sive illi paratum sit sive
alii, nihil refert, quin factum mortiferum, et nullo
modo redimendum sit:" and this is perhaps also
intended by the word libldc used by M^e\st&a^. It
is also probable that this was the crime for which
in the tenth century a widow was put to death by
drowning at London Bridge, and her property for-
feited to the crown^. Anglosaxon homilies however
also mention philtres of various kinds, which the
people are warned against as dangerous and damn-
able heathendom.
Such are the fragments of a system which at one
time fed the religious yearnings and propped the
moral faith of our forefathers, — faint notes from a
chorus of triumphant jubilation which once rose to
heaven from every corner of the island.
How shall we characterize it ? As a dull and de-
basing Fetish-worship, worthy of African savages?
or as a vague and colourless Pantheism^ in which
religion vanishes away, and philosophy gropes for
a basis which it cannot find ? I think not.
* Anc. Laws and Inst. vol. ii. Gloss. ^ LI. Hen. Ixxi. § 1.
» iE«eUt. i. § 6. * Cod. Dipl. No. 691.
,..]
HEATHENDOM. CON'CLIISION.
Contemplate the child who bounds through the
wood, or pauses in delight upon the meadow, where
he wantons in the very joy of life itself: to him
this great creation is full of playmates, beings ani-
mate or inanimate, with whom he shares his little
pleasures, to whom he can confide his little sorrows.
He understands their language, and in turn he has
a language for thera, which he thinks they under-
stand : he knows more of their peculiarities than
the halting step of scientific observation is always
able to overtake ; for he knows what science
haughtily refuses to contemplate or, it may be, is
unable to appreciate. The birds speak to him, the
forests whisper to him, the shadows and the low
tones of the hill and valley lull him to repose, the
winds wanton with his curled locks and blow them
over his shoulders, the streams and brooks have
spray to play with and sprinkle in his laughing
eyes. He stands before the great spirit of nature,
face to face, and knows him as he reveals himself
in every one of his divine forms ; for the child sees
and knows the secrets of God, which the man, alas I
is condemned to forget. Such as the child is, has
the child-like nation been, before the busy hum
of commerce, the crashing strokes of the piston, the
heavy murmur of innumerable spinning-jennies
necessarily banished more natural music from our
ears. An age that thinks about itself and its own
capacity, that reflects upon its own processes of
thought, and makes great combinations of powers,
and anatomizes nature till it becomes familiar with
VOL, r. 2 p
434 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
every secret of creation, may be an earnest puri-
tanical age, a stern protestant age, one that will
not be fed with imaginative religions, but it cannot
be one of implicit, trusting, fearing, rejoicing, trem-
bling belief : the age of faith ceased where the age
of knowledge began. Man knows too much, per-
haps believes too little : he will not, and he must
not, yield his privilege of calm, determined, obsti-
nate enquiry : he will, and should, judge for him-
self, weigh evidence, compare and reason, and de-
cide for himself how much or how little he will
receive as true. How can he wonder at the stars,
their rising, their setting or their eclipse ? He cal-
culates where new planets may be found : he weighs
them in his balances when found, and tells not only
their circumference or their density, but how long
the straggling ray of hght that started from them
was on its journey, before it reached the eye of the
gazer. What can these wavering fragments of time
and space be to him who calculates duration by the
nutation of suns, or the scarcely appreciable diflfer-
ence of millennial changes ? Let us remember what
our fathers were, and consider what we are. For
them there was indeed a time, a period to tell of,
" when the Sun
Knew not her dwelling, nor the Moon his power.
And the Stars knew not where their place should be I "
We know their places, and their dwellings, and
their power. They are subordinated to a hypo-
thesis of gravitation. For us there is no wavering
bridge of the Grods, no Bifrost or Ashru ; our rain-
OH. XII.] HEATHENDOM. CONCLUSION. 436
bow is a shadowy thing, a belt of deceptive colours,
the reflection of a sunbeam in the multitudinous
prisms of a shower-cloud. We have no Hammer^
wielded by the Thunder-god, and dreaded by the
giants ; our Miolner has vanished into the indiffer-
ence of opposing electricities. Apothecaries' Hall
prepares its simples without the aid of charms, or
invocation of divinities ; and though we stand as yet
but on the threshold of science, we have closed for
ever behind us the portals of mystery and beUef . For
we are raised upon the shoulders of the times gone
by, and cast a calm and easy view over the country
which our forefathers wandered through in fear
and trembling. We fear not what they feared ; we
cling not to what they clung to, for relief and com-
fort ; we have set up our own idol, the Understanding ,
fortifled by laborious experience, taught by repeated
struggles and victories, firmly based on conquered,
catalogued and inventoried nature, on facts, the
stern children of a passionless reality. I know not
whether we have gained or lost in this inevitable
career of humanity ; I have faith only that He who
rules the purpose of the ages, has thus cast our lot
in the infinite love and wisdom of his own thought.
But not to us, or in our finite forms of thought,
can the world be as once it was, and the '' dull ca-
talogue of common things" admits no admixture of
a fancied divinity ; nay, so far are we from seeking
to instil spirit into matter, that the informing soul
itself ceases to be the object of our contemplation,
while we are busied with the nerves and tendons,
2 f2
436 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
or charmed with the wonderful combination of de-
tails that form the perfect whole. We stand su-
preme among the subjects of our knowledge ; and
the marvels of science itself will now not form the
stock in trade of a second-class conjuror. Observe
the man who threads his way with imperturbable
security and speed through the thoroughfares of
a densely- peopled metropolis : the crowd throng
about him, yet he yields here, he advances there,
till at length, almost unconsciously, he has attained
the goal of his desire. He is familiar with the
straight lines and angles that surround him, he
measures his position and stands upright, mis-
taking, if indeed he think at ally the inconceivably
rapid calculations of the understanding for acts of
his own spontaneous volition. The unaccustomed
eye of the child cannot do this ; and he wavers in
his steps and stumbles from point to point, help-
less, but charming in his helplessness, till practice
brings him power, and he too walks and stands
upright among men. So is it with the minds of
men in early and uninstructed periods, stumbling
from belief to belief, resting for support upon every
circumstance of surrounding life, and unfurnished
with the elements of scientific reasoning, which, by
assuring certainty, destroy the vague, indefinite
basis of faith, or bring within a narrow and con-
stantly decreasing circle, its vague and indefinite
object. We believe the results of Geometry, the
theorems of analytic mathematics, because we can-
not help ourselves, cannot escape from the inevita-
xn.j
HEATHENDOM. CONCLUSION.
437
ble conclusiou involved in the premises ; but we
cannot call this acquiescence faith, or establish
upon it a mora! claim before our own conscience
and our God. And as there can be no reason save
in the unintelligible, no faith save in the impossi-
ble, all that is brought within the realm of the in-
tellect, or the sphere of the possible, is just so much
withdrawn from the circle of religion.
The basis of the religious state in man is the
sensation of weakness, — whether that weakness be
or he not distinctly traced in the consciousness to
the ignorance which is its cause, or to the ultimate,
more abstract and more philosophical conviction of
sinfulness, in the conscience. Man cannot rest for
his anxious desire to know the why and how of
every phccnomeuon he observes : this restlessness is
the law of his intellect, that is, the condition of his
humanity : he interrogates the phsenomena them-
selves, but if they will give no answer to his ques-
tion, be will seek it without them. In himself he
will seek it in vain. At no time, at no stage of hia
development can he understand the relation of the
subject and the object, or comprehend the copula
that unites them. The philosopher the most deeply
trained in watching abstract forms of thought, ac-
knowledges with a sigh that even the intuitions of
the reason hall in the fetters of the understanding,
and that to give objective reality to what can be
known only in the forms and through the powers
of the subjective, is at best to be guilty of a noble
trCEison to the laws of pure reasoning. And what
438 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
shall he do, who is not trained in watching abstract
forms of thought ? Is he more likely to find the
answer in himself? Alas, no ! he feels only too
surely that his nature can give no satisfying re*
sponse; that his confined and bounded being is
itself full of problems which remain unsolved.
And now let this state be considered with refer-
ence to the early inhabitant of a world, whose secrets
are yet undiscovered, and on whom no light of hea-
venly radiance has fallen. For him, as for us, there
is no answer either in the phaenomenon or in the
observer : but he has no reason to reject the sup*
position of a supernatural influence : everything
that surrounds him is filled with evidence of super-
natural power. He lives in^iearer communion than
we do with the world ab6ut him ; his frame, not
yet clogged and vitiated by the habits of an ad-
vanced cultivation, is more alive than ours to the
external effects of natural causes : the world itself,
existing under different conditions of climate, dif-
ferent electrical combinations, not yet subdued by
the plough, or the axe of the forester, not yet
bridled and trained by the canal, the manufactory
or the railroad, has effluences which act upon the
nerves and fluids of the man, and which seem to
him divine emanations, revelations of the divinity
within the lake, the mountain and the tree : the
lake, the mountain and the tree he peoples then
with gods, — with Nymphs and Nereids, with Oreads
and Hamadryads— to whose inward and spiritual
action the outward owes its power and its form.
GB. XII.] HEATHENDOM. CONCLUSION. 439
But the outward and visible is not a sign only, of
the inward and spiritual; it is a symbol, a part
of that which it denotes ; it is at once the sower and
the seed.
In no age can man be without the great ideas of
God, of right, of power, of love, of wisdom ; but an
age that has not learnt to feed upon abstractions,
must find the realization of these ideas in the out-
ward world, and in a few familiar facts of human
nature. It strives to give itself an account of itself,
and the result of its efibrts is a paganism, always
earnest and imaginative, often cruel and capricious,
as often gentle, affectionate and trusting — for even
in spite of cruelty and caprice, the affections will
have their way, and trust will find a home. Its in-
consistence is the offspring not of guilt, but of im-
perfect knowledge : it seeks the great solution of
all religious problems, a mediator between Grod and
man : it is its error, but not necessarily its crime,
that it finds that mediator in the complex of the
world itself : no other has been revealed to it ; and
the reveries of philosophy that haunt the sounding
Portico or the flowery swathes of Hymettus, cannot
tell of the " Unknown God " to the agriculturist,
the huntsman or the pirate.
I believe in two religions for my forefathers : one
that deals with the domestic life, and normal state
of peace ; that sanctifies the family duties, pre-
scribes the relations of father, wife and child, di-
vides the land, and presides over its boundaries ;
that tells of gods, the givers of fertility and increase,
the protectors of the husbandman and the herds-
440 THS SAXONS IN ENGLAND. book i.
man ; that guards the ritual and preserves the li-
turgy ; that pervades the social state and gives per-
manence to the natural, original political institu-
tions. I call this the sacerdotal faith, and I will admit
that to its teachers and professors we may owe the
frequent attempt of later periods to give an abstract,
philosophic meaning to my thus and tradition, and
to make dawning science halt after religion.
The second creed I will call the heroic ; in this
I recognize the same gods, transformed into powers
of war and victory, crowners of the brave in fight,
coercers of the wild might of nature, conquerors of
the giants, the fiends and dragons ; founders of
royal families, around whom cluster warlike com-
rades, exulting in the thought that their deities
stand in immediate genealogical relation to them-
selves, and share in the pursuits and occupations
which furnish themselves with wealth and dignity
and power. Let it be admitted that a complete
separation never takes place between these different
forms of religion ; that a wavering is perceptible
from one to the other ; that the warrior believes
his warrior god will bless the produce of his pas-
tures ; that the cultivator rejoices in the heroic
legend of Woden and of Baldr, because the culti-
vator is himself a warrior when the occasion de-
mands his services : still, in the ultimate develop-
ment and result of the systems, the original distinc-
tion may be traced, and to it some of the conclu-
sions we observe must necessarily be referred: it
is thus that spells of healing and fruitfulness sur-
vive when the great gods have vanished, and that
"■]
UEATUENDOM. CONCLUSION,
the earth, the hills, the trees and waters retaio a
portion of dimmed and bated divinity long after
the godlike has sunk into the heroic legend, or
been lost for ever.
I can readily believe that the warrior and the
noble were less deeply impressed with the religious
idea than the simple cultivator. In the first place,
the disturbed life and active habits of military ad-
venturers are not favourable to the growth of re-
ligious convictions: again, there is no tie more
potent than that which links sacred associations to
particular localities, and acts, unconsciously per-
haps but pervasively, upon all the dwellers near the
holy spots : the tribe may wander with all its wealth
of thought and feeling ; even its gods may accom-
pany it to a new settlement ; hut the religio tod,
the indefinable influence of the local association,
cannot be transported. Habits of self-reliance, of
a proud and scornful independence, are not con-
sistent with the conviction of weakness, which is
necessary to our full admission of the divine pre-
eminence ; and the self-confident soldier often felt
that he could cope with gods such as his had been
described to be. In the Greek heroic lay Tydides
could attack, defeat, and even wound Ares: I do
not know that the Teutonic mythology ever went
so far as this ; but we have abundant record of
a contemptuous disregard with which particular
heroes of tradition treated the popular religion.
Some selected indeed one god in whom they placed
especial trust, and whom they worshiped (as far
as they worshiped at all) to the exclusion of the
442 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
rest ; but more must have participated in that feel-
ing which is expressed in a Danish song,
I trust my sword, I trust my steed.
But most I trust myself at need'!"
while to many we may safely apply what is said of a
Swedish prince, '* han var mikit blandinn i trunni,"
he WQS mightily confused in his belief. Still it is
certain that a personal character was attributed to
the gods, as well as an immediate intervention in
the affairs of life. The actual presence of OJ?inn
from time to time on the battle-tield, in the storm,
in the domestic privacy of the household, was firmly
believed, in Scandinavia; and it is reasonable to
assume that W6den would have been found as ac-
tive among our German progenitors, had not the
earlier introduction of Christianity into Teutonic
Europe deprived us of the mythological records
which the North supplies. Beda tells us that
Eadwini of Northumberland sacrificed and offered
thanks to his gods upon the birth of a daughter.
Raedwald of Eastanglia, even after his nominal con-
version, continued to pay his offerings to idols,
and the people of Essex, when labouring under the
ravages of a pestilence, abjured the faith of Christ
and returned to the service of the ancient gods.
But in the personality of God alone resides the
possibility of realizing the religious idea.
* " Forst troer jeg mit gode srard,
og saa min gode best,
demast troer jeg mine dannesvenne,
jeg troer mig self allerbedst."
Many examples are given in Grimm, Mythol. p. 7.
CH. XII.] HEATHESDOM. CONCLUSION. «3
We possess no means of showing how the reli-
gion of our own progenitors or their brethren of
the continent, had been modified, puritietl, and
adapted in the course of centuries to a more ad-
vanced state of civilization, or the altered demands
of a higher moral nature; but, at the commence-
ment of the sixth century we do find the pregnant
fact, that Christianity met but little resistance
among them, and enjoyed an easy triumph, or at
the worst a careless acquiescence, even among those
whose pagan sympathies could not be totally over-
come. Two suppositions, indeed, can alone explain
the facile apostasy to or from Christianity, which
marked the career of the earliest converts. Either
from a conviction of the inefficacy of heathendom
had proceeded a general indifi'erence to religious
sanctions, which does not appear to answer other
conditions of the problem, or the moral demands
of the new faith did not seem to the Saxons more
onerous than those to which they were accustomed ;
for it is the amount of self-sacrifice which a religion
successfully imposes upon its votaries, which can
alone form a measure of its influence. The fact
that a god had perished, could sound strangely in
the ears of no worshiper of Baldr ; the great mes-
sage of consolation, — that he had perished to save
sinful, suffering man, — justified the ways of God,
and added an awful meaning to the old mythus.
An earnest, thinking pagan, would, 1 must believe,
joyfully accc,)t a version of his own creed, which
offered so inestimable a boon, in addition to what
he had heretofore possessed. The final destruction
444 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i.
of the earth by fire could present no difficulties to
those who had heard of Surtr and the Twilight of
the Gods, or of Allfather's glorious kingdom, raised
on the ruin of the intermediate divinities. A state
of happiness or punishment in a life to come was
no novelty to him who had shuddered at the idea
of Nastrond : Loki or Grendel had smoothed the
way for Satan. Those who had believed in runes
and incantations were satisfied with the efficacy of
the mass ; a crowd of saints might be invoked in
place of a crowd of subordinate divinities ; the holy
places had lost none of their sanctity; the holy
buildings had not been levelled with the ground,
but dedicated in another name ; the pagan sacrifices
had not been totally abolished, but only converted
into festal occasions, where the new Christians
might eat and drink, and continue to praise God :
Hr^Se and E6stre, W6den, Tiw and Fricge, Dunor
and Saetere retained their places in the calendar of
months and days : Erce was still invoked in spells,
Wyrd still wove the web of destiny ; and while
Woden retained his place at the head of the royal
genealogies, the highest offices of the Christian
church were offered to compensate the noble class
for the loss of their old sacerdotal functions. How
should Christianity fail to obtain access where Pa-
ganism stepped half way to meet it, and it could
hold out so many outward points of union to pa-
ganism ?
We dare not question the decrees of omnipotence,
or enquire into the mysterious operations of omni-
scient God ; it is not for us to measure his infinite
CH. XII.] HEATHENDOM. CONCLUSION. 445
wisdom by the rules of our finite intelligence, or to
assume that his goodness and mercy can be appre-
ciated and comprehended by the dim, wavering
light of our reason ; but man feels that in every
age man has had a common nature, a common
hope and a common end of being ; and we shall do
no wrong either to philosophy or to religion, if we
believe that even in the errors of paganism there
lay the germs of truth ; and that the light which
lighteth every one that cometh into the world, was
vouchsafed in such form and measure as best to
subserve the all-wise, all-holy, and all-merciful ob-
jects of creation!
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX A.
MARKS.
The following patronymical names I believe to be those of ancient
Marks. The first portion of them is derived from the Codex
Diplomaticus and otheif original authorities: the second portion
contains names inferred from the actual local names in England at
^0^ present day.
.&lingas.
Kent. Cod.
Dipl.
No. 111.
iBsdngas.
Surrey.
314.
Anningas.
Northamptonshire.
445.
Antingas.
Norfolk.
785.
^feningas.
1073.
Beredngas.
Essex.
38.
Besingas.
994.
Banesingas
Oxfordshire.
81.
Bcerlingas.
Kent.
152.
Beardingas.
Kent.
207.
Beadingas.
Sussex.
314.
Billingas.
1000.
Bruningaa.
374, 1113.
Brahcingas.
Hertfordshire.
.
410.
Brytfordingas.
Hampshire.
421, 985, 1108.
Brydingas.
Wiltshire.
436.
Brydingas.
Dorsetshire.
447.
VOL, !•
2g
450
APPENDIX A.
Bydelingas. Northamptonshire. Cod. Dipl. No. 445.
Beaddingas. Isle of Wight. 475.
BeorhfeldiDgas. 1175.
Beringas. Kent. 518.
Buccingas. Chron. Sax. 918.
Bulungas. Somersetshire. Cod. Dipl. No. 569.
Birlingas.
"Worcestershire.
570.
Br6mledgingas.
Kent.
657.
Beorgaustedingas.
Sussex.
663.
Boccingas.
Essex.
698.
Beorhtingas.
Sussex.
782.
Bercingas.
Suffolk.
907.
Byrtingas.
Warwickshire.
916.
Culingas.
Kent.
132.
Centingas.
Chron.
Sat. 999
Crangas.
Kent. Cod. Dipl.
No. 179.
Ceanningas.
1193.
Colingas.
Wiltshire.
336.
Ceaniingas.
1212.
Ciwingas.
Hertfordshire.
410.
Cytringas.
Northamptonshire.
443.
Cnyllingas.
Northamptonshire .
480.
Cystdningas.
Kent.
657.
Cateringas.
722.
Coringas.
Lincolnshire.
953.
Cyceringas.
957.
Dicelingas.
Sussex.
314.
Deutiiuingas.
Northamptonshire.
445.
Doccingas.
Norfolk.
759.
Eohingas.
Kent.
121.
Enghmgas.
123.
Eastringas.
Northamptonshire.
480.
Earmiugas.
Cambridgeshire.
5C3.
THE MARK.
451
Earningas.
Cod. Dipl
. No. 1320.
Embasingas.
Hampshire.
673.
Eastilningas.
1023.
Eofordiiningas.
Northamptonshire.
736.
Erpingas.
Norfolk.
785.
Effingas.
Surrey.
812.
Emingas.
Cambridgeshire.
907.
Ferlingas.
Somersetshire.
73.
Fullingas.
987.
Focingas.
Kent.
207.
Fasingas.
1083.
Fearuingas.
Hampshire.
450.
Feambeorgingas .
Kent.
657.
Fingringas.
Essex.
685.
Feamingas.
Somersetshire.
723.
Frinningas.
Kent.
896.
Glaestingas.
Somersetshire.
49.
Geddingas.
Middlesex.
101.
Gumeningas.
Middlesex.
116.
Gustingas.
Wiltshire.
174.
GetingaA.
Surrey.
318.
Ganingas.
Kent.
364.
Gnmdlingas.
Worcestershire.
548.
Gildingas.
Kent.
790.
Gillingas.
809. Chron. 1010.
Gyrstlingas.
967.
Hallingas.
Kent.
160.
Hsestingas.
Chron. Sax. 1050.
HealliDgas. Worcestershire. Cod. Dipl.
No. 209.
HerettiniTigas.
Dorsetshire.
412
Hrepingas.
990.
Hoppingas.
Surrey.
537.
Hffiglingas.
1193.
2q2
452
APPENDIX A.
Hduituningas.
Cod. Dipl.
No. 1212.
Heartingas.
Cambridgeshire.
533.
HwKssingiis.
Sussex.
591.
Hohtdningas.
Hampshire.
633.
Unutscillingas.
Hampshire.
642.
Uolingas.
Kent.
722.
Heningas.
Northamptonshire.
733.
•
Herelingas.
Norfolk.
782.
Hodingas.
Hampshire.
783.
Hanningas.
Norfolk.
785.
Hellingas.
Norfolk.
809.
Horningas.
Hampshire.
556.
Homingas.
. Norfolk.
740.
Horningas.
Oxfordshire.
775.
Homingas.
Somersetshire.
816.
Horningas.
Cambridgeshire.
907.
Hicelingas.
971.
Heedngas.
Kent.
364.
Ircingas.
Chron.
Sax. 918
Lingas.
Middlesex. Cod. Dipl
.No. 159.
Lsellingas.
Essex.
715.
Lambumingas.
Berkshire.
792.
Linfrodingas.
1133.
Lacingas.
1153.
Merlingas.
Somersetshire.
73.
Mundlingas.
Kent.
107.
Mallingas.
Kent.
240.
M<5dinga8.
Kent.
287.
Mich^mingas.
Surrey.
537.
Meringa«.
809.
Maessingas.
953.
Nessingas.
813.
THE MARK.
453
Neddingas.
Suffolk. Cod. Dipl. No. 907.
Oddingas.
Worcestershire.
209.
Pegingas.
257.
Psecdngas.
Sussex.
414.
Purbicingas.
Dorsetshire.
418.
Palingas.
Sussex.
432.
Piiningas.
Sussex.
481.
PiccingaA.
812.
Piperingas.
1001.
Peartingas.
•
1016.
Ricingas.
•
Essex.
35.
Roegingas.
Kent.
196.
Reddingas.
Berkshire.
685.
Rodingas.
907.
Rocingas.
1014.
Ruwanoringas.
•
1163.
Stoppingas.
Warwickshire.
83.
Sunningas.
Berkshire.
214.
Sempingas.
Lincohishire.
267.
St^ningas.
Sussex.
314.
Scearingas.
Berkshire.
357.
Suntingas.
Northamptonshire.
445.
Snotingas.
Chron. Sax. 922.
SdiStdningas.
Hampshire. Cod.Dipl.
No. 578.
Stameringas.
Berkshire.
762.
Seaxlingas.
Norfolk.
782.
Scealdedeningas.
Hampshire.
783.
Stutingas.
Kent.
773.
1042.
Terringaa.
Sussex.
1138.
Teiringas.
Kent.
405.
464
APPENDIX A.
T6tinga8.
Surrey. Cod.
Dipl.
No. 363.
T6tingas.
Norfolk.
785.
Teofuntingaa.
"Wiltshire.
379.
Tudingas.
Sussex.
593.
Terlingas.
Essex.
907.
Ticdngas.
928.
Uggafordingas.
Wiltshire.
778.
W6cingas.
Surrey.
168.
Wfgingas.
Kent.
225.
WigingM.
Hertfordshire.
Chron. Sax. 921.
Wealth^mingas .
Hampshire. Cod.Dipl
.No. 342:
Weodilningas.
Northamptonshire.
399.
Wrsetlingas.
399.
Wellingas.
Hertfordshire.
410.
Wealingas.
716.
Wealingas.
ri016. 1061.
..Chron. Sax. 1013.
Wealingas.
TTampshire. Cod.Dipl
.No. 422.
Wcliiigas.
Wiltsliire.
462.
Welingas.
1069. 1154.
Witringas.
Sussex.
464.
Wyrtingas.
Hampshire.
481.
WoCringas.
Kent.
492.
Wuduti'iningag.
Hampshire.
638.
Wealdingas.
Suffolk.
685.
Wanetingas.
Berkshire.
698.
Witeringas.
992.
Wcopingas.
721.
Westmoringas.
Chron. Sax. 966.
Wilringas.
Suffolk. Cod.
Dipl.
No. 759.
Wsclsingas.
Norfolk.
759.
Wylfingas.
1135.
Wratingas.
907.
Wanhflcmingas.
1135.
THE MARK.
Winlingas.
Cod. Dipl. No. 907.
Wasingas.
1159. 1173.
Wedringas.
907.
Watingas.
907.
Wintringa«.
953.
Weargebumingas.
Hampshire. 783.
Wimbedtiiiingas .
Surrey. 537.
455
Ytingas.
1228. Chron. Sax. 906.
Dutingas.
Hampsbire. Ckxl.
Dipl. No. 752.
Domingas.
Kent.
207.
Dristlingas.
Worcestersbire.
570.
Writolas.
Essex.
35.
Hogebiira.
Hampshire.
589.
Holigai^.
952.
Momelas.
952.
Waegelas.
Somersetshire.
774.
Beohlu^me.
Kent.
657.
Burbhseme.
Kent.
688.
Cetbseme.
Kent.
688.
Cynghs^me.
1212.
Crobbs6me.
Worcestershire.
507.
Dichfiine.
Wiltshire.
778.
Hinbseme.
Worcestershire.
764.
Middelbaeme.
Hampshire.
648.
MonningbsSme.
W^orcestershire.
645.
Letffeshs^me.
Kent.
657.
Mi(^haeme.
Hampshire.
638.
Polbs^me.
Hampsbire.
642. 1136.
Se<^haeine.
Worcestershire.
764.
Uppinghseme.
Hampsbire.
590.
Wichaeme.
Kent.
657. 1038.
Domhseme.
Worcestershire.
511.
456
APPENDIX A.
Beonotsetan.
Worcestershire. Cod.
Dip].
No. 266.
Bdulfietan.
"Worcestershire.
289.
Brddsetan.
Gloucestershire.
274.
Crsegsetan.
Kent.
287.
Crudsetan.
Wiltshire.
460.
Grimsetan.
Worcestershire.
561.
Incsetan.
Worcestershire.
511.
M6setan.
Worcestershire.
266.
Wreocensetan.
Worcestershire.
•
277.
MARKS INFERRED FROM LOCAL NAMES IN
ENGLAND.
^hingas.
^blingas.
iEcingas.
iEceringas.
iEclingas.
Aldingas.
Aldringas.
iElcingas.
iElcringns.
iElingas.
iElnihigas.
iElmodingas.
iElfingas.
iElpingas.
iElwingas.
Angmeringas.
Antingas.
Ardingas.
Abinger^iS^tirr.; AbinghaU^G/owc. ; Abington^C^rm^.
Ablington, Gloue, ; Ablington, Wilts.
Oakington^ Camb.
Accrington, Lane. ; Eakring, NotU.
Acklington, Nthld.
Aldingboum, Sussx. ; Aldingham, Lane. ; Alding-
ton, Kent and Wore.
Aldringham, Sujf^, ; Aldrington, Sussx.
Alkington, Gloue, and Salop.
Alkrington, Lane.
Allington, Devon, Dors., Hants, Kent, Line,,
Wilts.
Almington, Staff, and Wane.
Almodington, Sussx.
Alphington, Devon; Alvington, Gloue., Somers,
and Devon ; Alvingham, Line.
Alpington, Nor/.
Alwington, Devon.
Angmering, Sussx.
Antingham, Nor/.
Ardingly, Sussx. ; Ardington, Berks.
THE MARK.
467
Arlingas.
Armingas.
Arringas.
AriSingas.
Artingas.
.^Iscingas.
^sclingas.
iE^ringas.
^tingas.
JSfingas.
Baebingas.
Bsedingas.
Baecgingas.
Beedlingas.
Balcingas.
Bselingas.
Baoingas.
Beorcingas.
Beorlingas.
Beormingas.
Beomingas.
Beorringas.
Beortingas.
Basingas.
Bassingas.
Bafingas.
Bealingas.
Bebingas.
Beceringas.
Beccingas.
Arlingham, Glauc, ; Arlington, Devon, Glouc. and
Siissx,
Armingford, Camb. ; Anninghall^ Nor/.
Arrington, Camb.
Arthington, York. ; Arthingworth, Nhamp,
Artington, Sussx.
Astringdon, Essex \ Astrington, Sussx., Somers.
and Nthld. ; Ashendon, Bucks.
Ashling, Sussx,
Athrington, Devon and Sussx.
Attington, Ox/.
Avington, Berks, and Hants.
Babbingley, Nor/ ; Babington, Somers.
Baddington, Chesh. ; Badingham, Suff.
Badgington, Glouc. ; Baginton, Warw.
Badlingham, Camb.
Balking, Essex.
Ballingdon, Essex ; Ballingham, Here/,
Banningham, Nor/.
Barking, Essex, Suff'. and Mddx.
Barling, Essex ; Barlings, Line.
Banning, Kent ; Birmingham, Warw.
Bamingham, Suff., York, and Nor/
Barrington, Camb., Somers., Berks., Glouc.
Bartington, Chesh.
Basing, Hants; Basuigstoke, ibid.
Bassingboum, Camb. ; Bassingfield, Notts ; Bas-
singham. Line. ; Bassingthorpe, Line. ; Bassing-
ton, Nthld.
Bavington, Nthld.
Bealings, Suff.
Bebington, Chesh.
Beckering, Line.
Beckingham, Essex, Line., Notts; Beckington,
Somers.
458
APPENDIX A.
Beadingas.
Bsedlingas.
Becingas.
Bddingas.
Bellingas.
Beltingas.
Benningas.
Bensingas.
Berriiigas.
Bessingas.
Beofingas.
Biccingas.
Billingas.
Bilsingas.
Bingas.
Binningas.
Bircingas.
Bridingas.
Birlingas.
Biteringas.
Blsecingas.
Bleedingas.
Bleccingas.
Bliclingas.
Bobbingas.
Bocingas.
Boddiiigas.
Beddingham, Sumx. ; Beddington, Surr, ; Beding-
field, Sujf. ; Bedingham, Nor/,
Bedlington, Drhm,
Beeching Stoke, Wilts.
Beeding, Sussx.
Bellingdon, Bucks; Bellinger, Hants; Belling-
ham, Nthld.
Belting, Kent,
Benningbrough, York, ; Benningbolme, York. ;
Bennington, Herts, Line, ; Benningworth, Line.
Bensington, Ox/,
Berrington, Drhm., Glouc., Salop, Wore.
Bessingby, York. ; Bessingham, Nor/
Bevington, Wane.
Bickington, Devon.
Billing, Nhamp, ; Billinge, Lane, ; Billingford,
Nor/ ; Billingham, Drhm, ; Billinghay, Line, ;
Billingley, York, ; Billingsgate, Mddx. ; Bil-
lingshurst, Sussx, ; Billingside, Drhm, ; Billings-
ley, Salop ; Billiugton, Bed/, Staff., Lane.
Bilsiiigton, Kent,
Bing, Suff, ; Bingfield, Nthld. ; Bingham, Nhamp,,
Somers, ; Bingley, York.
Binnington, York.
Birchington, Kent.
Birdiugbun', Warm.
Birling, Kent, Nthld, ; Birliiigham, Wore.
Bittering, Nor/
Blatcbington, Sussx. ; Blatchinworth, Lane.
Bleddington, Gloitc.
Blotchingley, Surr. ; Bletchingtoii, Ox/
Blickliiig, Nor/
Bobbing, K(>nt ; Bobbington, Salojy, Staff', ; Bot-
tingwortb, Essex ; Bobinger, Essex.
Bockiiig, Essex, Suff.
Boddiiigtou, Glouc., Nhamp,
THE MARK.
469
Bolingaa.
Bollingas.
Bondingas*
Bonningas.
Bosingas.
Bofingas.
Biadingas.
Brentingas.
Brahcingas.
Bressingas.
Bridlingas.
Brihtlingas.
Brimingas.
Bringas.
Brfningaa.
Brinningas.
Briiliiigas.
Britiiigas.
Bucingas.
Budingas.
Bulcingas.
BuUingas.
Buntingas.
Burlingas.
Burmingas.
Buningas.
Biislingas.
Byttingas.
Bolingbroke, Line.
BoUingtoiiy Chesh,
Bondington> Somers.
Bonnington, Kent and Notts ; Boningale, Salop ;
Boninghall, Salop.
Bossingbam, Kent ; Bossiiigton, Hants, Somers,
BoTingdon, Herts.
Brading, Hants.
Brantingham, For^. ; Brentingley, Leic.
Braughin, Herts.
Bressingham, Nor/.
Bridlington, York.
Brightling, Stissx. ; Brightlingsea, Essex.
Brimington, Derby.
Brington^ Hunt, and Nhamp. ; Bringhurst, Leie.
Briningham, Norf.
Brinnington, Chesh.
Brislington^ Somers.
Brittenton, Oxf.
Buckingham, Bucks.
Buddington, Sussx,
Bulkington, Warw., Wilts.
Bullingdon, Oxf. ; Ballingham, Heref. ; Bulling-
tou, Hants and Line,
Buntingford, Herts.
Burlingham, Norf. ; Burlington, York.
Burmington, Warw.
Burringham, Line. ; Burrington, Devon, Heref,
Somers,
Buslingthorpe, Line.
Butting Hill, Sussx.
Csedingas.
Collingas.
Csegingas.
Caddington, Bedf, Herts ; Keddington, Line. ;
Kedington, Essex, Suff.
Callington, Cornw.
Keyingham, York.
460
APPENDIX A.
^CardingtoDy Bedf,^ Salop; Cardinham, Camw,
Cerringas.
Cersington.
Ceessingas.
Ceadlingas.
Cealfingas.
Ceandlingas.
Ceadingas.
Cyllingas.
Cameringas. Cameringham, Line, ; Cammerton, Cumb,
Canningas. Cannings, Wilts ; Cannington, Somers. ; Ken-
ninghall. Nor/.; Kennington, Berks., Kent,
Surr,
Ceardingas
(?Heardingas).
Cearlingas. Carlingcot, Somers. ; Carlinghow, Fork.
Carrington, Chesh., Line., Notts ; Charing, Kent;
Cherrington, Salop, Wilts.
Carsington, Derby.
Cassington, Oxf.
Chaddlington, Oxf.
Chalvington, l^issx. ; Kilvington, Fork.
Chandling8, Berks.
Cheddington, Bucks, Dors.
Chellington, Bed/.; Chillingford, Stqf.; Chil-
lingham, Nthld. ; Chillington, Devon, Somers.;
Kelling, Nor/. ; Kellingley, Fork. ; Kellington,
Fork.
Chessington, Surr. ; Kessingland, Stifi^.
Chevington, SuJ^,, Nthld.
Kirklington, Notts, Fork.
Chiddingfold, Surr. ; Chiddiiigly, Sussx. ; Chid-
dingstone, Kent ; Kidding! on, Ox/.
Kirmington, Line.
Chiltington, Sussx.
Kerasing, Kent.
Chipping, Herts, Lane., Glouc., Berks., Oj/.j
Essex, Nhamp., Bucks.
Kensington, Mddx.
Choppingtbn, Drhm.
Kettering, Nhamp. ; Ketteringham, Nor/.
Clavering, Essex, Nor/
KirtHng, Camb. ; KirtUngton, Ox/.
Climping, Sussx.
Kislinghuiy, Nhamp.
Ceassingas.
Cifingas.
Cyrcliugas.
Cidingas.
Cirmingas.
Ciltingas.
Ceraesingas.
Cypingas.
Cenesingas.
Ceopingas.
Cetringas.
Clsefringas.
Cyrtlingas.
Chmpingas.
C^sUngas.
THE MARK.
461
Coceringas.
Cnadliiigas.
Codngas.
Codingas.
Codringas.
CoUingas.
Cnossingas.
Cnottingas.
Culingas.
Copingas.
Coringas.
Cosingas.
Cotingas.
Cofingas.
CramliDgas.
Credtingas.
Cressmgas.
Cridlingas.
Crucgingas.
Cubingas.
Cublingas.
Cweedringas.
Cycelingas.
Cwseringas.
Cydingas.
Cydliogas.
Callingas.
Cweningas.
Culmingas.
Cjlingas.
Cockerington, Line.
Knedlington, York,
Cocking, Sussx. ; Cockington, Devon.
Coddington, Chesh., Here/., Notts ; Coddenham,
Suf.
Codrington, Gloue.
Collingbourae, Wilts \ Colliogham, Notts, York,;
Collingtoiiy Here/. ; Collingtree, Nhamjp.
Knossington, Leie.
Knotting, Bed/. ; Knottingley, York.
Cooling, Kent ; Cowling, SuJ^., York.
Copping Syke, Line. ; Coppingford, Hunt.
Corringham, Essex, Line.
Cossington, Leicest., Somers.
Cottingham, Nhamp., York. ; Cottingley, York. ;
Cottingwith, York.
Covington, Hunt.
Cramlington, Nthld.
Creeting, Suff.
Cressing, Essex ; Cressingham, Nor/
Cridling Stubbs, York,
Crudgington, Salop.
Cubbington, Warw.
Cublington, Bucks.
Quadring, Line.
Cucklington, Somers.
Quarrington, Drhtn., Line.
Cuddiugton, Bucks, Chesh., Surr.
Kidlington, Ox/
Cullingworth, York.
Quenington, Gloue.
Cuknington, Salop ; Kilmiugton, Devon, Somers.
Killingbeck, York. ; Killiiighall, York. ; Killing-
bolm, Line. ; Killingwortb, Nthld.
Dsedlingas. Dadlington, Leie.
463
APPENDIX A.
Daeglingas.
Dagliiigworthy Glouc,
Dsellingas.
Dalling, Nor/,; Dallingboo, Sufi^,; DallingtODi
Nkan^,, Swsx,
DeorlmgM.
Darlingscott, Wore, ; Darlington, Drhm.
Deorrmgas.
Danington, York.
Dartingas.
Dartingtou, Devon,
Dsefingas.
Dayington, Kent,
Deoplingas.
Debtling, Kent,
Deddingas.
Deddington> Oxf.
Denningas.
Dennington, SuJ^.
Deorsingas.
Dersingham, Nor/, ; Dorsington, Giouc, Want,
Dicringas.
Dickering, York.
Diddingas.
Diddington, Hunt.
Didlingas.
Didling, Sh9$x. ; Didlington, Dors.y Nor/,
Dillingas.
Dillington, Norf,
Dimlingas.
Dimlington, York.
Dinningas.
Dinnington, Nthld., Somert., York,
Dintingas.
Dinting, Derby,
Dissingas.
Dissingtou, Nthld.
Distingas.
Distington, Cvmb.
Dicelingas.
Ditchling, Sussx.
Dociiigns.
Docking, Xorf.
Dodiiigas.
Doddinghurst, .Ewftr; Doddir^ton, Cflrmi.,CA^#A.,
Kenty LinCy Nthld,, Nhamp. ; Doddingtree,
JJ ore. ; Dodington, Clove, Salop, Somers.
Doiiingas.
Doiiington, Line, Leie,, Salop ; Donnington,
Berks,, Glouc, Here/,, Leic, Salop, Sn9sx,
Deorcmgas.
Dorking, Svrr.
Dorminjjas.
Dormington, Here/
Dorringas.
Dorrington, Line. Salop.
Drihlin2:as.
Drijrhlington, York.
Dycingas.
Duekinffton, Chesh, ; Dvkin^ Line.
Dvclin^as.
Diicklingtou, Ox/
Dvlinjxrts.
Dnllineham, Camb,
Dviiiiuras.
Dunnmc:lev, York.; Dunninscton, Wane,, York,;
Dumiingwith, Sujf^,
THE MARK.
463
Dyringas. Dorrington, Sussx,, Wilts.
Ealingas.
Eardingas.
Eflingas.
Eastingas.
Eastlingas.
Eastringas.
Eberingas.
E(^;inga8.
Edingas.
Eadlingas.
Eafiniras.
£(^lingas.
Eldngas.
Elringas.
EUingas.
Elmingas.
Elsingas.
Eltringas.
Elfingas.
Empingas.
Eppingas.
Eanmngas.
Eorpingas.
Eomngas.
Essingas.
Ettmgas.
Eofrnngas.
Efingas.
EscoingES.
Ealing, Mddx, ; Eling, Hanta.
Eardington, Salop ; Erdington, Warw.
Eashing, Snrr,; Easington, Bucks, Drhm.,Glouc,,
Nthld., Oxf., York. ; Easingwold, York.
Eastington, Dors., Gloue., Wore.
Eastling, Kent.
EastringtoD, York.
Ebrington, Glouc.
Eckington, Derby., Wore. ; Eggington, Bed/. ;
EtchiDgham, Sussx.
Edingale, StaJ^. ; Edingley, Notts ; Edingthorp,
Nor/. ; 'Ed^D^ODyBerks.^Nthld., Somers., Wilts;
Edingworthy Somers.
Edlingham, Nthld. ; Edlington, Line., York.
Effingham, Surr.
Eglingham, Nthld.
EUdngton, Nhamp., Line.
EDerington, Nthld.
Ellmgham, Hants, Nor/., Nthld. ; Ellingstring,
York. ; Ellington, Hunt., Kent, Nthld., York.
Ehnington, Nhamp.
Eking, Norf.
Eltrin^uun, Nthld.
Elvington, York.
Empingham, Rutl.
Epping, Essex.
Ermington, Devon.
Erpingfaam, Nor/
Erringden, York.
Essington, StaJT.
Ettinghall, Staf.
Erering^uDD, York.
Eringxr, Hants ; Erington, Glouc., Leie.
Exning, Suff.
464
APPEiNDIX A.
Fealcingas.
Fealdingas.
Fearingas.
Feorlingas.
Feormingas.
Feamingas.
Felmingas.
Feningas.
Fiddingas.
FUlingas.
Fincingas.
Fingringas.
Finningas.
Fitlingas.
Fleccingas.
Fobingas.
Folcingas.
Fordingas.
FotJeringas.
Fraraingas.
Framlingas.
Frescingas.
Fringas.
Frodingas.
Funtiugas.
Fylingas.
Falkingham, Line. ; Felkington, Drhm.
Faldingworth, Line, ; Fawdington, York,
Fariiigdon, Devon; Famngdon, Dors,, Hants,
Berks,, Somers, ; Farrington, Lane,, Somers,
Farlington, Hants, York,
Farmington, Gloue.
Farningham, Kent,
Felmingham. Nor/.
Ferring, Sussx,
Fiddington, Glouc, Somers,, Wilts,
FUlingham, Line,
Finchingfield, Essex,
Fringringhoe, Essex,
Finningham, Sujf, ; Fiiminglejy Notts, York, ;
Vennington, Salop,
Fitling, York.
Fletching, Sussx,
Fobbing, Essex,
Folkingham, Line, ; Folkington, Sussx,
Fordiugbridge, Hants ; Fordington, Dors., Line.
Fotheringay, Nhamp.
Framingbam, Norf. ; Fremington, Devon, York.
Framlingham, Snff. ; Framlington, Nthld,
Fressingfield, Svff,
Fring, Norf. ; Fringford, Oxf.
Frodingbam, Line, York.
Funtington, Sussx.
Fyliiigdales, York. ; Fylingtborpe, York.
Geegingas.
Galmingas.
Ganielingas.
Giirliiigas.
Geersiiigas.
Gealdiugas.
Gagingwell, Oxf. ; Ginge, Berks.
Galmington, Somers.
Garalingay, Camb. ; Gembling, York.
Garliiigc, Kent.
Garsiiigtou, Oxf. ; Grassington, York, ; Gressing-
bam. Lane. ; Gressenball, Norf,
Yaldiug, Kent ; Yielding, Bedf.
THE MARK.
465
Geddingas.
Gearlingas.
Gsedliiigas.
Gearingas.
Grestingas.
Geofoningas.
Giddingas.
Geatingas.
Gildingas.
GiUingas.
Gimingas.
Gipingas.
Gialingas.
Gitlingas.
Glsestingas.
Glseferingas.
Groddingas.
Groldingas.
G^uringas.
Go^ringas.
GrtegiDgas.
Gystlingas.
Grydngas.
Gedding, Suff. ; Geddington, Nhamp, ; Yeading,
Mddx, ; Yeddingham, York,
Yarlington, Somers.
Gedling, Notts,
Yanington^ Ox/.
Gestingthorpe, Essex.
Yeayening, Nthld.
Gidding, Hunt.
Yettington, Devon.
Gildingwellsy York.
Gilling, York. ; Gillinghain, Dors., Kent, Nor/. ;
Yelling, Hunt.
Gimingham, Nor/. ; Gimmingbrook, Kent,
Gipping, SuJ^.
Gislingbam, jS>if^.
Yetlington, Nthld.
Glastonburyy Somers.
Glevering, jS>ii^.
Groddington, Ox/
Grolding Stoke, Leic, ; Groldings, Surr, ; Grolding-
ton, Bed/, Bucks.
Goring, Ox/, Suff".
Grotherington, Glouc.
Grayingbam, Line.
Guestling, Sussx,
Guyting, Gloue.
Hcecingas.
Hsedittgas.
Hallingas.
Haningas.
Heepingas.
Heardingas.
VOL. I.
Hackington, Kent.
Haddington, I^nc.
Hallingbnry, Essex ; Ilallington, Line,, Nthld,
Hanningfield, Essex ; Hannington, Han ts, Nhamp . ,
Wilts.
Happing, Nor/
Hardingbam, Nor/ ; Hardington, Somers. ; Hard-
ingstone, Nhamp. ; Harden, York. ; Harden-
dale, Wmld. ; Hardenbuish, Wilts,
2u
,1
466
APPENDIX A.
Herelingas.
Hearingas.
Heortingas.
Heortlingas.
Heorfingas.
Hseslingas.
HsessiDgas.
Hfestingas.
Hseferingas.
Hafocingas.
Haeglingas.
Heafodingas.
Healingas.
Ileccingfls.
llcllingas.
llelmingas.
Helpringas.
Helsingas.
Hemlingas.
Hemingas.
Ilancsingas.
Ileorringas.
ITcofingas.
Hiccliiigas.
Harling, Norf, ; HarlingUm, Bedf,y Mddte.^ York,
Harrington, Cumb.^ Linc^ Nhamp, ; Harring-
worth, Nhamp.
Harting, Sussx, ; Hartington, Derby. ^ Nttdd. ;
Hertingfordbury, HerU.
Hartlington, York.
Harrington, Wore.
Haslingden, Lane. ; Hafllingfield, Camb. ; Hasling-
ton, Chesk. ; Heslington, York.
Hassingham, Nor/.
Hastings, fi^Ma?., Berks, Warw., Nhamp. ; Hasting-
leyt, Kent ; Hastingwood, E^ex.
Havering, Essex; Hareringhatn, Suf. ; HaTering-
land, Norf.
Hawkinge, Kent.
Hawling, Glouc, ; Hayling, Hants.
Headingley, York. ; Headington, Oxf. ; Hedding-
ton, Wilts ; Hedingham, Essex.
Healing, Line.
neckingham, Norf. ; Heckington, Line. ; Heigh-
ingtoii, Drkm.y Line.
Hellinghill, Xfhfd. ; nellbigly, Sussx.
Ilclmingham, Sujf. ; Helmington, Drhm.
Ilclprington, Line.
Helsington, Wmld.
Hcmbliiigton, Norf. ; Hemlingford, Wane. ; Hem-
liiigton, York., Drhm.
Hemiiigbro\igh> York. ; Hemingby, Line, ; Ile-
mingficld, York. ; Hemingford, Hunt. ; He-
mingstone, Svf. ; Hemington, Nhamp.^ Somers.
Hensingham, Cirmb. ; Kensington, 0.rf.
Herring, Dors. ; Herringby, Norf ; Hcrringflect,
SuJ^. ; Herringstone, Dors. ; Herringswell, Svf. ;
Herringthorpe, York. ; Herrington, Drhm.
Hcvingham, Norf.
Hickling, Norf, Notts.
I
THE MARK.
467
Hillingas.
Hindringas.
Hdcringas.
Hodingas.
Holdingaa.
Holingas.
Homingas.
Honingas.
Horblingas.
Homingas.
Hillingdon, Mddw. ; Hillington, Nor/,
Hindringham, Nor/.
Hockering, Nor/
Hoddington, Hants,
Holdingham, Line.
Hollingbourn, Kent; HoUingdon, Bucks; Hol-
linghilljiVif A/J. ; Hollington, Derb.,Staff.y8ua9X. ;
Hollingworth, Chesh.
Homington, Wilts.
Honing, Nor/ ; Honingham, Nor/ ; Honington,
Line., Sufft, Warw.
Horbling, Line.
Horning, Nor/ ; Horninghold, Leie. ; Homing-
low, Staff. ; Horningsea, Camb. ; Homingshan],
Wilts ; Horningsheath, Suff. ; Homingtoft,
Nor/
Horrington, Somers.
Horsington, Line,, Somers.
Hoveringham, Notts.
HoTingbam, York.
Hucingas, or\ .- ^r ^
Hocingas./^"^^"^'^^'-
Hudingas. Huddington, Wore,
Honingas, orH
„ .. ^Hunningbam, Warw, ; Hunnington, Salop.
Hunsingas. Hunsingore, York.
Hyrsiingas. Hundngstone, Hunt.
Horingas.
Horsingas.
Hoferingas.
Hofingas.
loelingas.
IDingas.
Umingas.
Dsingas.
Immingas.
Impingas.
Ipingas.
Irmingas.
Icklingbam, Suff.
Illington, Nor/ ; Illingwortb, York.
nmington, Gloue., Warw.
Usington, Devon., Dors.
Immingbam, Une.
Impington, Camb.
Iping, Sussx.
Inningland, No*/.
2 h2
468
APPENDIX A.
IrSingas.
IrSlingas.
Islingas.
Issingas.
Iccingas.
Iteringas.
Ifingas.
Irthington, Cumb.
Irthlingborough, Nhamp.
Islington, Nor/,, Mddx,
Issington, Hants,
Itchingswell, Hants ; Itchington, Gloue,, Want,
Itteringham, Nor/,
Ivinghoe, Bucks ; Ivington, Here/, ; Jerington,
Stissx.
Leecingas.
Larlingas.
Leortingas.
Leamingas.
Leasingas.
Leafeningas.
Leafingas.
Lsepingas.
Let5ringas.
Lseferingas.
Lexingas.
Lidlngas.
Lidlingas.
Lidesingas.
Lillingas.
Limingas.
Lingas.
Lytlingas.
Locingas.
Lodingas.
Loningas.
Lackington, Somers, ; Latcbingdon, Essex.
Larling, Nor/
Lartington, York.
Leamington, Warto, ; Leeming, York. ; Leming-
ton, Glouc., Nthld.
Leasingham, Line. ; Lissington, Line.
Leavening, York.
Leayington, York. ; Levington, Suff".
Leppington, York,
Letheringham, Suff". ; Letberingsett, Nor/
Leverington, Camb.
Lexington, Notts.
Liddiugton, RutL, Witts.
Lidlington, Bed/
Lidsing, Kent.
Lillings, York. ; Lillingstone, Bucks ; Lillingtoii,
Dors., Ox/y Warw.
Limington, iS^omer*. ; Lyminge, iTe/i^; Lymington,
Hants.
Lings, York. ; Lingbob, York. ; Lmgen, Here/. ;
Lingfield, Surr. ; Lingbam, Chesh. ; Lingwell
Gate, York. ; Lingwood, Nor/ ; Lyng, Nor/
Littlington, Camb., Sussx.
Locking, Somers.; Lockinge, i?er^*; Lockington,
Leic.y York.
Loddington, Kent, Leic.y Nhamp.
Loningborough, Keh\
THE MARK.
469
Lopingas.
Lofingas.
Ludngas.
Ludingas.
Lullingas.
Loppington, Salop,
Lovington, Scmers.
Luckington, Samera,, Wilts,
Luddington, Line, Wane., Hunt,, Nhamp.
Lullingfield, Salop, ; LuUingstane, Kent ; Lulling-
stoiie, Kefit ; Lullington, Derb,, Somers., Sussx,
Msedingas.
Mallingas.
Manningas.
Myrcingas.
MKrlingas.
Maddington, Wilts ; Madingley, Camb,
Mailing, Kent, Sussx,
Manningford, Wilts; Manningham, Fork, ; Man-
nington. Dors,, Nor/, ; Manningtree, Essex ;
MoDTiiiigton, Here/.
Marcbington, StaJ^, ; Markington, York, ; Mark-
ingfield. Fork,
Marlingford, Nor/
Maeringas, or^Marrington, Salop, ; Mering, Notts ; Mcrrington,
Myrgings? J Brhm,, Salop,
Meessingas. Massingham, Nor/ ; Messing, Essex ; Messing-
ham. Line,
Matching, Essex,
Mattinglej, Hants ; Mettingham, Suff,
Maegdlingas. Maudling, Sussx.
M^cingas. Meeching, Stissx.
Melling, Lane,
Metberingham, Line,
Millington, Chesh,, York,
Minting, Line,
Mollington, Chesh,, Ox/, Wane.
Mottingbam, Kent,
Mucking, Essex.
Meeccingas.
Msetingas.
Mellingas.
MetSringas.
Millingas.
Mindngas.
Mollingas.
Mottingas.
Mycgingas.
Nsecingaa'.
Nsessingas.
Nydingas.
Nackington, Kent ; Nedging, SuJ^,
Nasaington, Nhamp. ; Nazeing, Essex,
Needingwortb, Hunt.
> These may properly luTe eommeoced with an H, that Ilnsciiigai, Ilnut.
tingas. Simflarly Hmitioffingw, now NntthtlKng or Nonliiig in Hanti*
470
APP£NDIX A.
Niwingas. NewingtoD, Kent, Notts, Ox/., York,, Glouc.,
Surr,, Mddx,
NorSingas. Northington, Hants.
Nottingag ' . Notting, Bedf. ; Nottington, Dors. ; Nottingham,
Notts, Berks.
Oddingas.
Oldingas.
Orlingas.
OrpediDgas.
Osmingas.
Ossingas.
Oteringas.
Ofingas.
Oddingley, Wore. ; Oddiogton, Gloue., Oxf.
OldingtoD, Salop.
Orlingbury, Nhamp.
Orpington, Kent.
Osmington, Dors.
Ossington, Notts.
Otterington, York. ; Ottringham, York,
Oving, Bucks, Sussx, ; Ovingdean, Sussx. ; Ching-
ham, York., Nthld. ; Orington, Essex, Hants,
Norf., Nthld., York.
Pasccingas.
Packington, Derb,, Leie,, Stc^., Wane. ; Patch-
ing, Sussx.
Psedingas.
Paddingtou, Mddx. (? Padau tiin.)
Psellingas.
Palling, Norf. ; Pallinghaiu, Sussx. ; Pallington,
Dors.
Pseiriingas.
Pauiington, Glouc.
Peartingas.
Partington, Chesh.
Psetringas.
Patrington, York.
Paetinga^s.
Pattingham, Salop., Staff.
Peefingas.
Pavinghaui, Bedf. ; Pevington, Kent.
Petlingas.
Peatling, Leic.
Psedlingas.
Pedling, Kent.
Penningas.
Pennington, Hants, Lane.
Piccringas.
Pickering, York.
Pidingas.
Piddinghoe, Sussx. ; Piddington, Nhamp., Oxf.
Pilcingas.
Pilkington, Lane.
Pillingas.
Pilling, Lafic.
* See note in p. 469.
THE MARK.
471
Pitingas.
Poclingas.
Podingas.
Puntingas.
Polingas.
Poringas.
Porcingas.
Portingas.
Postlingas.
Potingas.
Pucingas.
Pdningas.
Pydingas.
PittingtoD, Drhm.
Pocklingtou, York.
Poddington, Bed/. ; Podiugton, Dors.
Pointington, Somers.
Poling, SuMsx, i Pollington, York.
Poringland^ Norf,
Porkington, Salop.
Portington, York.
Postling, Kent.
Poting, York.
Puckington, Somers.
Pojnings, Sussx.
Puddington, Bed/., Chesh., Devon.
Rsedingas.
Rsetlingas.
B8ef1linga8^
Baedlingas^
Reimiiigas.
Ricingafl.
Riclingas^
Ridingas.
Ridlingas.
Rillingas.
Rimmingas.
Riplingas*.
Ripingas*.
Risingas^
Rifingas.
Rocingas^
Raddington, Somers. ; Reading, Berks ; Reading-
street, Kent.
Ratlinghope, Salop.
Raveningfaam, Nor/.
Redlingfield, Suf.
RenningtODy Nthld.
Rickinghall, St^.
Rickling, Essex.
Riddinge, Derb. ; Riding, Nthld.
Ridlington, Nor/, Rutl.
Rillington, York.
Rimmington, York.
Riplingham, York. ; Riplington, Hants, Ntkld.
Rippingale, Line.
Rising, Nor/ ; Rissington, Glouc.
Rivington, Lane.
Rockingham, Nhamp.
' All these words commeucing with an R may have originally had an II,
in which case we should have had these formations : Ilraefhingas, Hretningas,
Ilrycglingas, Ure6plingas, llreopingas, Ilrisingas, Hrudngas, Hr6ringa«,
Ureawingas, Hrrcingas, Hre6diogas, Hrjscingas.
472
APPENDIX A.
RodingaD.
Rollingas.
Roringas.
Rossingas.
Rotingas.
RowiDgas\
Rucingas*.
Rudingas^
Runingas.
Ruscingas^
Rustingas.
Roddiugtou, Salop, ; Roding, Essex.
RoUiDgton, Dors,
Rorrington, Salop,
Rossington, York,
Rottiiigdean, Sussx. ; Rottiugton, Cumb.
Rowington, Warw,
Ruckinge, Kent,
Ruddington, Notts.
Rimnington, Somers,
Ruskington, Line,
Rustington, Sussx.
Scedingas.
Saelingas.
Sealfingas.
Sandringas.
Seaxlingas.
Scealingas.
Sceamingas.
Scearingas, or
Seringas.
Sceart5iiigas.
ScrjEgingas.
Scrcadingas.
Seafingas.
Sccgingas.
ScaSingas.
Syllingas.
Scamiugas.
Sempriiigas.
Setringas.
Syfingas.
Sceabingas.
Saddington, Leie.
Saling, Essex.
Salvington, Sussx.
Sandringham, Nor/.
SaxliDgham, Nor/.
Scaling-dam, Fork.
Seaming, Nor/.
Scarrington,i\^o^^*; Sharrington, A^or/*. ; Sheering,
Essex ; Sheringford, Nor/. ; Sherringham, Nor/. ;
Sherrington, Bucks, Wilts.
Scarthingwell, York.
Scrayingham, York.
Scredington, Line.
Seavington, Somers.
Seckington, Wariv.
Seething, Nor/.
SelUng, Kent ; SelUnge, Kent.
Semington, Wilts.
Sempringham, Line.
Settrington, York.
Sevington, Kent.
Shabbington, Bucks.
^ See note in the preceding page.
THE MARK.
473
Sceadingas.
Scedfingas.
Sceaningas.
Scyllingas.
Scylfingas.
Scymplingas.
Scytlingas.
Scolingas.
Scyrdingas.
Scytingas.
Syclingas.
Sidingas.
Silfingas.
Sinningas.
Sittingas.
Sceaclingas.
Sceaflingas.
Scyldingas.
Scyrlingas.
Sleaningas.
Snoringas.
Somtingas.
Sunningas.
StiSingas.
Spaldingas.
Specingas.
Spyringas.
Sprsettingas.
Sprydlingas.
Steallingas.
Shadingfield, Suff,
Shavingtou, Chesh, ; Shevington, Lane, ; Skef-
fington, Leic.
Shenington, Glouc,
Shilling-Okeford, Dora, ; Shillingford, Berks,
Oxf,, Devon. ; Shillingstone, Dors, ; Shilling-
thorpe, Line, ; Shillington, Bedf, ; Skelling-
thorpe. Line. ; Skillington, Line,
Shilvington, Dora,, Nthld.
Shimpling, Nor/,, Suff.
Shitlington, Bed/,, Nthld,, York.
Sholing, Hanta,
Shordington, Gloue.
ShuttingtOD, Warw,
Sicklinghall, York.
Siddington, Gloue.
Silvington, Salop.
Sinoington, York.
Sittingboume, Kent.
Skeckling, York.
Skeffling, York.
Skelding, York.
Skirlington, York.
Sleningford, York.
Snoring, Norf,
Sompting, Suaax.
Sonning, Berka, Ox/. ; Sunninghill, Berka ; Sun-
ningwell, Berka.
Sonthington, Hanta.
Spalding, Line, ; Spaldington, York,
Speckington, Somera,
Spirringate, Glouc.
Spratting- street, Kent.
S})ridlington, Line.
Stalling-busk, York. ;
Stallington, StaJ".
Stallingborough, Line. ;
474
APPENDIX A.
Stseningas.
Stanningfield, Suff, ; Stanninghall, Norf, ; Stan-
ningley, York. ; Stannington, NtfUd,, York, \
Ste^ning, Stissx.
Steorlingas.
Starling, Lane.
Stebbingafl.
Stebbing, Ussex ; Sdbbington, Hunt.
Steapmgas.
Steeping, Line. ; Steppingley, Bed/.
Stellingas.
Stelling, Kent; Stalling, NikU.; Stillingfleet,
York, ; Stillington, Brhm.y York.
Stefingas.
Stevington, Be(j{f.
Stocingas.
Stocking, if 0r^«; Stockingford, Warw.i Stokiog-
haui, Devon.
Storningas.
Stomingley, York.
Storringas.
Storrington, Suasx.
Stutingas.
Stouting, Kent.
Strellingas.
Strellington, Su99x.
Stubingas.
Stubbington, Hants.
Sulingas.
Sullington, Sussx.
Surlingas.
Surlingham, Norf.
Swaningas.
Swannington, Leic., Norf.
Sweorlingas.
Swarling, Kent (? Sweordhlincas.).
Swe(5eliiigas.
Swathling, Hants.
Swefelingas.
Sweffliiig, Suff.
Swilliiigas.
Swillington, York.
Sydlingas.
Sydliiig, Dors.
Tsedingas.
TBelingas.
Tseningas.
Teorringas.
Taetingas.
Tcndringas.
Teorlingas.
DegiiingaB.
Deodingas.
Taddiiigton, Gfouc, Derby, ; Teddington, Mddx.y
Wore. ; Tiddington, Oxf., JFanv.
Talliiigton, Line.
Tannington, Suff.
Tarring, Sussx. ; Tarrington, Here/. ; Terrington,
No?/., York. ; ^Torrington, Devon., Line.
Tattingstone, Suff.
Teudring, Essex.
Terling, Essex.
Thanington, Kent.
Thcdingworth, X«c., Nhamp.
THE ICARK.
476
Docingas.
Doringas^ or
D7rmgas«
Domingas.
Drecgingas.
Dredlingas.
Dristlingas.
Diysdngaa.
Durningas.
Dwingas.
Tibbingas.
Tidmingas.
Tilingas.
TUsingaa.
Titlingas.
Teofingas.
Todngas.
Todingas.
Toltingas.
T6tingas.
Torcingas.
Tortingas.
Trimingas.
Tringaa.
Tritlingas.
Trumpingas.
Tucingas.
Tuscingas.
Tuttingag.
Twiningas.
Twicgingas.
Tyrringas.
Ty«ermgas.
Ucingaa.
Uffingas.
Thockington, Nthld.
I Thoriiigton, Sujf. ; Thorrington, Essex,
Thornington, Nthld,
Threckingham, Line,
Tbredling, Svff.
Thrislington, Drhm,
Thrussington, Leie,
Thuming, Hunt,, Nor/,, Nhamp,
Thwing, York,
TibbingtoD, Staff,
Tidmington, Wore,
Tilliiigbain,iS!9«e47; TiXl^^iiyHeref.yStaff.ySussx,
■
TiasiiigtOD, Derby,
TitlingtoD, Nthld,
Tivington, Somers.
Tockington^ Glouc,
Toddington^ Bed/,, Oloue,
Toltingtrougb, Kent,
Tooting, Surr, ; Tottingtoni Lane,, Nor/,
Torkington, Chesh,
TortingtOD, Sussx,
Trimingbam, Nor/
m
Tring, Herts.
Tritlington, Nthld,
Trumpington, Camb,
Tucking Mills, Somers, ; Tuckington, Hants,
Tufibingbam, Chesh,
Tuttington, Nor/,
Twining, Glouc.
Twitcbing, Devon,
Tyrringbara, Bucks,
Tytberington, Chssh., Glouc, Wilts,
Uckington, Glouc, Salop,
Uffington, Berks, Line, Salop,
476
APPENDIX A.
Ulingas.
Ultingas.
Upingas.
Ullingswick, Here/.
Ulting, Essex,
Uppingham, Rutl. ; Uppington, Salop.
Wadingas.
Wseceringas.
Wealdingas.
Wealdringas.
Wealcringas.
Wealcingas.
Wealingas.
Waddingham, Line. ; Waddington, Line., York. ;
Waddingworth, Line. ; Weddington, Warw.
Wakering, Essex.
Waldingfield, Suff. ; Woldingbam, Surr.
Waldringfield, Suff.
Walkeringham, Notts.
Walkingham, York. ; Walkington, York.
Wallingfen, York. ; Wallingford, Berks; Wal-
lington, Hants, Herts, Nor/., Surr., Nthld.;
Wallingwells, Nottsi ; Wellingboro', Nhamp. ;
Wellingham, Nor/. ; Wellingley, York. ; Wel-
lingore, Line.
Walsingham, Nor/. ; Wolsingham, Drhm. ; Wool-
sington, Nthld.
Waplington, York.
Wapping, Mddx.
Wcarblingas*. Warblington, Hants.
Weardingas. Wardingtoii, Ox/,
Warlingham, Sussx.
Warmingham, Chesh. ; Warmiiighurst, Sussx. ;
Wamiington, Nhamp., Warw.
Warniiigcamp, Sussx.
Warrington, Bucks, Lane. ; Wcrrington, Devon.,
Nhamp.
Warthing, Sussx.
Washingborough, Line. ; Washingley, Hunt. ;
Washington, Derby., Durh., Sussx. ; Wasing,
Berks; Wessington, Derby.
Wateringbury, Kent.
Wselsingas.
Weeplingas*.
Wseppingas'.
Wearhngas.
Wearmingas.
Weamingas.
Weeringas.
Weartingas.
Waesingas.
Weetringas.
* As the whole of these names might commence with an II, we should have
the following forms: Hwaeplingas, Hwaeppingas, Ilwearflingas, Hwaetlingas,
Hwelpingas, Hwerringas, Hweopingas, Hwitlingas, Hwiteringas, Hwitingas.
THE MARK.
477
Waetlingas.
Weotingas.
Weolingas.
Weudlingas.
Weningas.
WetJeringas.
Westingas.
Westoningas.
Weetlingas^
Welpingas*.
Weningas*.
Wippingas^
Witlingas*.
Witeringas * .
Wittingas*.
Widingas.
Willingas.
Wylmingas,
Winingas.
Wintringas.
Wiscingas.
Wiccingas.
Wiclingas.
Wit5ingas.
Wocingas.
Weorcingas.
Wyrlingas.
Wyrmingas.
WatUngton, Norf.^ Oxf.
Weeting, Norf,
Wellington, Heref.y Salop, y Samers,, Wilts.
WencQing, Norf.
WeDnington, Essex, Hunt., Lane.
Wittering; Sussx. ; Wetheringsett, SuJ^. ; Wither-
ington, Wilts.
Westington, Gloue.
Westoning, Bed/.
Whatlmgton, Sussx.
Whelpington, Nthld.
Whenriugton, Staff.
Whippingham, Hants.
Whitlingham, Norf.
m
Whittering^ Nhamp.
Whittingham, Lane., Nthld. ; Whittington,2>fr5.,
Glouc, Lane, Norf., Salop., Staff., Warw.,
Wore., Nthld.
Widdington, Essex, Nthld., York.
Willingale, Essex ; Willingdon, Sussx. ; Willing-
ham, Camb., Line., Suff. ; Willington, Bedf,
Chesh., Derb., Drhm., Nthld., Warw.
Wilmington, Kent, Salop,, Somers,, Sussx.
Winnington, Chesh., Staff,
Winteringham, Line., York.
Wissingtou, Salop,, Suff,
Witohingham, Norf.
Witchling, Kent ; Wychling, Kent.
Withmgton, Glouc., Heref, Lane., Salop., Staff.,
Chesh.
Woking, Surr. ; Wokingham, Berks, Wilts.
Workington, Cumb.
Worlingham, Suff. ; Woriington, Suff., Devon. ;
Worlingworth, Suff'.
yforwm^oxd, Essex-, Wormmghall, i?MC^*; Wor-
mington, Glouc.
1 See note in the preceding page.
478
APPENDIX A.
WeorCingas.
Worthing, Nor/,, Suwit, ; Worthington, JLane,
Leic.
Wramplingas. Wramplingham, Nor/,
Wratting, Catnb,, Suff,
Wreningham, Nor/
Wrestlingworth, Bed/
Wrightington, Lane,
Writhlington, Somers,
Weomeringas. Wymering, Hants.
Wymingas. Wymington, Bed/
Wrsettingas.
Wreeningas.
Wrestlingas.
Wrihtingas.
Wrihtlingas.
The total number of the names thus assumed from local deno*
minations amounts to 627> but as several occur once only, while
others are found repeated in various counties, I find the whole
number reaches to 1329, which are distributed through the coun-
ties in a very striking manner, as the following table will show.
Bedford 22
Berks 22
Bucks 17
Cambridge 21
Cheshire 25
Cornwall 2
Cumberland 6
Derby 14
Devon 24
Dorset 21
Durham 19
Essex 48
Gloucester 46
Hereford 15
Hertford 10
Huntingdon 16
Kent 60
Lancashire 26
Leicester 19
Lincolnsh 76
Middlesex 12
Monmouth
Norfolk 97
Northampton 3.5
Northumberland ... 48
Nottingham 22
Oxford 31
Rutland 4
Salop 34
Somerset 45
Southampton .... 33
Stafford 19
Suffolk 5f)
Surrey 18
Sussex 68
Warwick 31
Westmoreland .... 2
Wilts 25
Worcester 13
York (3 Ridings) . . . 1 27
THE MARK. 479
There are two slight causes of inaccuracy to be borne in mind
in using the foregoing tables : the first arises from the insertion of
names which properly do not, the other from the omission of
names which properly do, belong to this class. But I think these
two errors may nearly balance one another, and that they do not
interfere with the general correctness of the results.
It is remarkable how many of these names still stand alone,
without any addition of -wic, -hdm, -worSig, or similar words. The
total number of patronymical names thus found (in the nominative
plural) is 190, or very nearly one-seventh of the whole : they are
thus distributed : in Kent, 25 ; Norfolk and Sussex each 24 ;
Essex 21 ; Suffolk 15 ; Yorkshire 13 ; Lincoln 7 ; Southampton
6 ; Berks and Surrey, 5 each ; Bedfordshire, Lancashire, Middle-
sex and Northampton, 4 each ; Hertford, Huntingdon, NorthuTii-
berland and Nottingham, 3 each ; Cambridge, Derby, Dorset,
Gloucester and Oxford, 2 each ; Bucks, Devon, Leicester, Salop,
Somerset^ Warwick and Wilts, 1 each ; and none at all in the re-
maining ten coimtics. When now we consider that of 190 such
places, 140 are found in the cotmdes ou the eastern and south-
em coasts ; and that 22 more are iu couuties easily accessible
through our great navigable streams, we shall be led to admit
the possibility of these having been the original seats of the
Marks bearing these names ; and the further possibility of the
settlements distinguished by the addition of -hdm, -wlc and so forth
to these ori^al names, having been filial settlements, or as it
were colonies, from them. It also seems worthv of remark that
they are hardly found to the north of the Humber, or about
53*^ 40' N. Lat., which renders it probable that the prevailing
mode of emigration was to take advantage of a N.E. wind to secure
a landing in the Wash, and thence coast southward and westward
as far as circumstances required. Sailors, who in the ninth cen-
tury could find their way from Norway to Iceland in sufficient
numbers to colonise that island, who in the tenth could extend
their course from Iceland to Greenland, and who had noble spirit
enough to affront the perils of the Polar ocean rather than submit
to oppression at home, were not likely to find any insurmountable
480 APPENDIX A.
difficulty in a voyage from the Elbe or Skager Rack to England :
and the conquest of the Orkneys and Hebrides, of the south of
Ireland and Man, nay of large tracts of England by the Scandi-
navians in the ninth, tenth and following centuries, may supply
the means of judging how similar adventures were conducted by
populations of the same race, and as noble spirit, nine hundred or
a thousand years before.
The following additions may be made to the evidences given in
this chapter.
A marked linden or lime-tree is noticed in Cod. Dipl. No. 1317.
Again in Kent we hear of eames bedm, the eagle's tree, ibid.
No. 287 : it is more probable that this was a tree marked with the
figure of an eagle, than that a real bird of that species should
have been meant. Further in the boundary of the charter No.
393 we have, on ^&xi merkeden 6k, to the marked oak.
The sacred woods are again mentioned by Tacitus, Annal. i. 59,
where he tells us that Arminius hung up the captured Roman
ensigns to the gods of the country, in the woods, lucis : we hang
them up in cathedrals. See also Tac. Grerm. vii. Annal. iv.
22.
Tlie character of the Mark or March is verv evident in the fol-
lowing passage : " Siquidem in Lindeseia superiori extat prioratus
qui Marchby dicitur, longas ac latas pasturas pro gregibus alendis
inhabitans, non omnino privato iure, sed communem cum com-
patriotis libertatem ex dono patronorum participans," etc. Chron.
Lauerc. an. 1289. See also the quotations from the Indiculiis
Pagan, and Synod. Leptin. an. 742, in Moser, Osnab. i. 52, and
the whole of his twenty-ninth chapter, for the religious rites with
which boundaries were dedicated, especially vol. i. p. 58, note c.
It is more than one could now undertake to do, without such
local cooperation as is not to be expected in England as yet, but I
am certain that the ancient Marks might still be traced. In look-
ing over a good county map we are surprised by seeing the syste-
matic succession of places ending in -den, -holt, -wood, -hurst,
-fald, and other words which invariably denote forests and outlying
pastures in the woods. These are all in the Mark, and witliin
THE MARK. 481
them we may trace with equal certamty, the -h^ms, -tuns, -wor^igs
and -stedes which imply settled hahitations. There are few coun-
ties which are not thus distributed into districts, whose Umits may
be assigned by the observation of these peculiar characteristics.
I will lay this down as a rule, that the ancient Mark is to be recog-
nised by following the names of places ending in -den (neut.),
which always denoted cubile ferarum, or pasture, usually for
swine. Denu, a valley (fem.), a British and not Saxon word, is
very rarely, perhaps never, found in composition. The actual
surface of the island, wherever the opportunity has been given of
testing this hypothesis, confirms its history. But there are other
remarkable facts bearing upon this subject, which are only to be
got at by those who are fortunate enough to have free access to
manorial records, before the act of Charles II. destroyed all feudal
services in England. A striking example of the mark-jurisdiction
is the " Court of Dens,*' in Kent. This appears to have been a
mark-court, in the sen^e in which mark-court is used throughout
this second chapter, and which gradually became a lord^s court,
only when the head markman succeeded in raising himself at the
expense of his fellows : a court of the Uttle marks, marches, or
pastures in Kent, long after the meaning of such marks or marches
had been forgotten : a court which in earlier times met to regulate
the rights of the markmen in the dens or pastures. I am indebted
(among many civilities which I gratefiilly acknowledge) to the
Rev. L. Larking of Ryarsh for the following extracts from Sir
Roger Twisden's journal, which throw some light upon what the
court had become in the middle of the seventeenth century, but
stiU show its existence, and lead us to a knowledge of its ancient
form.
The reader who feels how thoroughly English liberty has become
grounded in the struggles between the duties and privileges of
various classes, how entirely the national right has been made up
and settled by the conflict of private rights, how impossible it
was for the union of empire and freedom to exist, — or for impe-
rium and freedom to co-exist, without the battle in which the
several autocracies measured their forces and discovered the just
VOL. I. 2 I
482 APPENDIX A.
terms of compromise, — will value this record of the reluctance
with which a staunch country squire submitted to the duties of
his position. It is not only amusing, but instructive, to watch
these men of the seventeenth century, fighting on the minutest
grounds of squabble : very amusing, to those who take the world
as it is, to have been always as it is, and likely always so to re-
main : very instructive to those who know the miserable condition
from which such " squabbles " have raised us. There are people,
who having no sense of right, but a profound sense of the wrong
done them, raise barricades, and overturn dynasties in moments of
irrepressible and pardonable excitement : there are people on the
other hand who steadily and coolly measure right and wrong, who
take to the law-book rather than the sword, who argue the ques-
tion of ship-money, on which a system of government depends, as
calmly as if it were a question of poor-rates in a parish attorney's
hands, and having brought their right, the ancient right of the
land, into light, fall back into the orderly frame of society in
which they lived before, as if no years of desperate struggle had
intervened, — the law being vindicated, and the work of the work-
men done. This work without distinction of Parliamentarian or
King's Man was done by the Seldens and the Twisdens, and men
of more general note and name, but not more claim to our grati-
tude and respect. But to do this, required that study which un-
happily our English gentlemen no longer think absolutely neces-
sary to their education, the study of the law, of which they are
the guardians, though a professional class may be its ministers :
and most amusing now it is to see how zealously these old cham-
pions of the law did battle in its defence, even in the most minute
and now unimportant details. It was then a happy thing for
England that there were courts of Dens, and squires who did not
like them : it is now an admirable tlimg for England that there
are courts of all sorts and descriptions, and people who do not
like them, who are constantly trying their right against them,
constantly winning and losing at the great game of law, or per-
haps the greater game, of the forms under which law is admini-
stered, — htigious people, — people liking to argue the right and
^ THE MARK. 483
the wrong in a strict form of logic, the legal form ; who are
always arguing, and therefore never fighting. If there had not
been courts of Dens to argue about, — and unhappily, at last, to
fight about, — there would most certainly not now be a " High
Court of Parliament," for there would never have been those
who knew how to establish it. The country-gentlemen of the
seventeenth century appeal to the experience of the nineteenth, in
every land but this of England, whose steady, legal order the
country-gentlemen of the seventeenth century founded ; and the
grateful middle class of the nineteenth century in no country but
this respond to that appeal in this year 1 848, by declaring that no
force, whether of king or not of king, shall be known in England,
except that of the law, — the great and ancient law, — that all asso-
ciations of men are united in a guarantee of mutual peace and
security.
It is now time to return to Sir R. Twisden and the Court of
Dens. It appears that this was held at Aldington, and that it
claimed jurisdiction over a considerable space. If we follow the
main road from Hythe to Maidstone, a little to the north of
Aldington', and running to the east of Houghton, we find a tract
of country extending to the borders of Sussex and filled with
places ending in -den, or -hurst : this country of the Dens runs
exactly where we should expect to find it, viz. along the edge of
the Weald, within whose shades the swains found mast and pas-
ture. I will enumerate a few of the places so named : they can
readily be found on a good map of Kent, and form a belt of mark
or forest round the cultivated country, quite independent of the
woods which once lay between village and village.
Ashenden. Castleden.
Bainden. Chiddenden.
Benenden. Cottenden, Sussex,
Bethersden. Cowden.
Biddenden. Frittenden.
' Aldington is about 57' east of Greenwich.
2 i2
484
APPENDIX A.
Godden.
Hazleden.
Hemden.
Hiffenden.
Hollenden.
Horsmonden.
Iden, Sussex.
Marden, Sussex,
Newenden.
Rolyenden.
Romden.
Smarden.
Surrenden.
Tenterden.
Wisenden.
Ashurst.
Billinghurst, Sussex,
CoUingburst, Sussex,
Crowhurst, Sussex.
Dodhurst.
Duckhurst.
Ewhurst, Sussex.
Fenchurst.
Goudhurst.
Greenhurst, Sussex,
Hawkhuret.
Henhurst.
Hophurst, Sussex,
Lamberhnrat.
Afidhurst, Sussex,
Nuthursty Sussex.
Penhorst, Sussex,
Penshurst.
Sandhurst.
Shadoxhorat.
Shiphurst.
Sinkhurst.
Sissingburst.
Speldburst.
Stapleburst.
Ticeburst, Sussex,
Wadburst, Sussex,
Warmingbiirst, Sussex.
Alfold, Sussex,
Amisfold, Sussex.
Cowfold, Sussex.
Cbiddingfold, Surrey.
Shinfold, Sussex.
It is not likely that all these various places, the list of which
might be greatly increased, were ever reduced imder one judicial
unity ; but, even with the aid of Sussex, I have been able to men-
tion only twenty-five dens, and we know that at least tbirty-two,
if not forty-four, were subject to the court of Aldington.
The entries in Twisden's Journal are to the following effect : —
'* 18th September 1655. I was at Aldyngton Court, at the
chusing the officers to gather the Lord's Rent, where grew a
question, whither, if the Lord released our Rent, Sute, and Ser-
vice, to the Court, we were subject to the slavery of attendance,
THE MARK. 485
aud whither the Tenants could prescribe men, &c., &c., &c., or
impose an office upon them, — and it was the whole resolution of
the Court, the Lord might sell his quit-rents and all manner of
attendance on the Court, and then he could not be tyed to any
office, nor the Tenants impose any office upon him
"The 16th September 1656, I went to Aldyngton Court, but
came too late, there beeing layd on me the office for collecting the
32 Denns, for my land in them. I desired to know what land it
was. ... in the 32 Dens upon which the office was laid, but this I
could not learn. . . . the issue was, that if they can name the land
or descry it, I am to do it, — ^if not, I refused to gather it."
" 1658. I was at Aldynton Court again, and then there was
much stir about this land which could not bee found. I still
insisted the Denne of Plevynden held of Wye, that the 16«. 2d,
ob. I payd was for light money in time past. The Conclusion was,
They will distrain me if they can find the land, and then come to
a trial in their Court which is held at Smethe."
" 1659. I was at Aldington Court, where I came before the
Steward sate, yet were they then chusing for the 32 Denns, and
Mr. Short brought me a note for chusing Mr. John Maynard,
Serg* at Law. ... he was not chosen after the ancient custom of
the Court, that is, to present two to the Steward, and he to take
one. . . . The tenants of the 1 2 Denns pretended if it were some-
time a Custom it had been long interrupted, and refused to follow
the example of the 32. . . . after dinner, this grew a great dispute,
Mr. Short complaining of partiality, that the choice of one man
was received for the 12 and not for the 32 Dennes. This drew
on the manner of chusing of the 32 Dennes, which was, that they
usually met at 9 o' clock long before the Steward himself could
reach the Court, made choice of one man before there was a
Court. . . . This brought forth an excellent order, that the Denns
should chuse and present the person by them chosen after the
manner the other Culets did Coming away, the Bailiff told
me he had a writ to distreyn me for the rent of the 32 Denns. I
told him I had no land, held of it that I knew Sir Edward
Sydnam, Lord of the Manor, and who is to answer the rents to
486 APPENDIX A.
the Exchequer, told me I would be distreyned for it, — my answer
was, I was not willing to make my land chargeable with a burthen
more than my ancestors had paid — that there was a Court of
Survey to be kept in the Spring, — that if I could not then dis-
charge myself of having land, held of the 32 Denns, I would and
must pay it.*'
" Aldington Court. 1 664. S' John Maynard Serg* at Law was
chosen to the Great Office though it were affirmed, he being
Kings Serg* would procure a dischai^. The order before men-
tioned of 6«. 8^. for such Culets as received from the Steward a
transcript of what they were to collect, and \0s. for the Great
Office was at this Court willingly assented to."
This determined refusal of a Markgraviat in the Mark of Kent
is amusing enough : the Alberts, Berchtholds and Luitpolts did
not make quite so much difficulty about Brandenburg, Baden or
Ancona. How the dispute ended I do not know, but the right
was not in question : all that Sir Rc^r doubted was its apphca-
bility to himself. Still the nature of the jurisdiction seems clear
Plough, and the transition of an old Mark Court into a Lord's
Court, with a steward, is obvious from the custom of the Tenants
chasing " before the Steward himself could reach the Court ;*' the
abolition of which, Sir Roger naturally considered an excellent
thing.
4S7
APPENDIX B.
THE HID.
From the tables in the above chapter, it appears that we cannot
allow one hundred actual acres to the Hid, and still less one hun-
dred and twenty. A similar result will be obtained if we examine
the entries in Domesday. Thus
T
Name.
Key nsham, Somen, . . .
Dowliah, Somert. ...
Easton in Gordano,
Somen.^
Babington, Somen,^ .
Lullington, Somert.* .
Road, Somer$.* ,
Pilton, Devon.*
Taunton^ Somert.^ ....
Portshead with West-
hvaryt Somer$J
}
}
Hides.
50
9
20
5
7
9
20
65
11
Acre-
age.
3330
680
1440
600
840
1010
1210
2730
1610
At 30
At 40
At 100
1500
270
600
150
210
270
600
1950
330
At I so Ex«
acres, at 30.
! at 40.
2000
360
800
200
280
360
800
2600
440
5000
900
2000
500
700
900
2000
6500
1100
6000 1830
1080^ 410
2400 840
i
600 450
840 630
I
1080
2400
7800
1320
740
610
780
1280
1330
320
640
400
560
650
410
130
1170
I have intentionally selected
whole acreage exactly makes up
one or two examples where the
the sum of hides multipUed by
> Here are to be added 125 acres of meadow and wood, and one leuga of
pasture. (Domesd. iii. p. 133.)
3 Add 27 acres of mead and pasture, and a wood, 6 quadragenae long by 2
qnadr. wide. (Ibid. p. 137.)
* Add 20 acres of mead and pasture, and a wood, 6 quadragense long by 2
wide. (Ibid. p. 137.)
* Add 91 acres of mead, pasture and forest. (Ibid. p. 138.)
* Add 86 acres of mead, etc., and a forest a leuga and a half square. But
there was also land not geldable which sufficed for 20 ploughs ; and the 20
geldable hides were calculated at 30 ploughs. Taking the same proportion,
we ought to reckon not 30 but 33^ hides in Hilton, which at 30 acres would
give 1000 arable ; at 40 would give 1333^, while the whole acreage is but 1210.
This would exclude the calculation of 40 acres ; but we cannot trust the merely
approximate supposition that the land for 20 ploughs was to be reckoned in
the same proportion as that for 30.
* Taunton properly is 52^ geldable hides, and land for 20 ploughs not geld-
able. The 65 hides are made up subject to the same error as the last calcu-
lation. The appendant manor of Lidgeard, with the meadow pastures, etc.,
amounting to 519 acres, is also to be added, as well as forest a leuga long, by
a leuga wide, and pasture two leugae long by one wide.
7 To these add 149 acres of mead, etc. Forest 12 quad. long by 3 wide :
again forest 12 quad, long by 2 wide, and 6 quadragens of marsh.
488
APPENDIX B.
120, because it is probable that such instances may have led to
that calculation : but it is necessary to bear in mind that the Hid
is exclusively arable land, and that in the case where the number
of hides equalled the whole acreage, there could have been neither
forest, nor meadow nor pasture. The notes on some of the entries
will show how erroneous any such calculation would necessarily
be. And lest this assertion that the hid is exclusive of unbroken
land should appear unsupported, I wish the following data to be
considered. But first we must see how the hid is distributed into
its component parts. In Domesday the hid consists of four yard-
lands, virga or virgata : and the virga of four farthings or farlings,
ferhngus, ferlinus, ferdinus, fertinus : thus
1 fertiu.
4 fertm. = l virg.
1 6 fertin. = 4 virg. = 1 hide,
whatever may have been the number of acres in the ferling. Again
in Domesday, the amount of an estate held by any one is given,
together with the amount of wood, meadow and pasture in his
hands. If these be included in the amoimt of the hid, or its parts,
which the tenant held, we shall arrive at the foUowmg results ;
which (even for a moment taking the hid at 120 acres) are a
series of reductiones ad absurdum. In the Exeter Domesday,
fol. 205*^ (vol. ill. 187) I find an estate valued at 11 acres: the
])€asture etc. mentioned as belonging to it is counted at 20 acres :
these, it is clear, could not be comprised in the eleven. But let us
take a few examples tubularly.
Exon. Domesd.
Holding.
f. 210.
f. 211.
if. 211, b.
'f. 211,b.
If. 212.
:f. 212.
f. 213.
f. 214.
f. 216.
f. 217.
|f. 218.
f. 224.
>f. 224, b.
'f. 225.
vol. iii. 191. 1
191.1
191.
191.
191.i
192.;
192.
193.
196.
197.
198.
203.
203.
204.
\ hide.
1 virg.
J ferl. (^ h.)
1 virg.
^ ferl.
3 ferl.
1 hide.
1 virg.
1 virg.
1 virg.
1 hide.
1 liidc.
1 ferl.
1 ferl.
Pasture, etc.
At least.
93 acres. .% hide= 186 acres.
55
6
40
4
40
164
40
37
84
310
500
106
103
.*. hide-
.'. hide
.*. hide
.*. hide
.*. hide
.-. hide-
.*. hide-
.*. hide:
.'. hide =
.-. hide:
.-. liide =
.*. hide:
.*. hide-
220
288
160
192
164
160
148
336
310
500
1696
1648
THE HID. 489
Now it 18 particularlj necwsary to bear in mind that these ridi-
culous amounts are the minimum ; that in every case the arable
land remains to be added to them, and in some cases whole square
miles of forest and moorland. I conclude then that the wood,
meadow and pasture were not included in the hid or arable, but
were appurtenant to it. Sometimes indeed they bear a very small
proportion to the arable, and to the number of cattle owned — a
fact perhaps to be explained by the existence of extensive com-
mons.
Let us now endeavour to settle the amount, as well as the pro-
portions of the hid and its several parts. As I have said the hid
consisted of four virgates, the virgate of four ferlings*. I do not
give examples, because they may be found in every other entry in
Domesday ; but I may add that the gyld or tax payable to the
king from the land, is based upon precisely the same calculation:
the hfd paid 6 shillings (worth now about 18«. 6d,), the >irgate
U. 6d., and the ferling y or 4|c?. Thus (Exon. D. f. 80, 80, b.
vol. iii. p, 72.) in the hundred of Melebome, the king had
^18 ISs. 4^. as geld from 63 hides and 1 ferling of land :
now 63x6«. a378t.
1 fer].x4^.» Of. Hd. 378t. 4^ or 18/. 18«. 4^.
Agam (fol. 80, b. iii. p. 73.) the king had £9 10«. S^d. for 31 h.
3 V. i ferl.
f. e. 31x6«. »I86«.
3xlt. M. » 49, 6d,
iX 4i</.- 0t.2H 190«. Sid. or9/. 10«. 8id,
in which passage, ferlingus is used for the coin as well as the mea-
sure of land. Again in fol. 81, b. (vol. iii. p. 74) the geld for
60 h. 3 V. 1^ ferl. was ^18 5«. O^d, ('* unum obolum et unum
ferling").
i.e. 60 x6f. =360«.
3 xU.6d, » 4i.6d.
lixOt. 4\d.^ Of. 6^, 365«. O^d. or 18/. 5t. 0|</.
Or to test it another way; the hid= 1 6 ferlings, .'. 60 h.3v. 1^ ferl.
^ From/eower, four. Fwrimg or Feor^ing are similar formations, and de-
note a fourth, or farthing in money or land : also in corn (a quarter of com),
and in the wards of a city. Ellis, Introd. p. 1. note.
490
APPENDIX B.
±=9731? ferl. But the ferl. paid A^d. .\ 973^ ferl. paid 43S0ld,
which gives us the same value 181, 5*. O^d,
Now if we can ohtain the value of any one of these denomina-
tions, we can calculate all the rest with security. The value of the
virga or yardland we can ohtain : it consisted of ten Nonnan agri,
acrse or acres, perhaps eight or eight and a third Saxon.
In the Exeter Domesday, fol. 48. (vol. iii. p. 42) we find ten
hydes of land to he made up of the following parcels, 4 hides
+ 1 virg. + lO agri-f 5^ hides+4 agri;
then 10 h. = 9i h.+l v.+lO a.
or 10-9ih.=.l v.-flOa.
ori h. = l v.-f 10 a.
But ih. = 2v.
.-. 2 v. = l v.+lOa.
2 — 1 v. = 10 a. .'. 1 virga=10 agri.
But 1 hyd= 4 virg. = 16 ferling.
.*. 1 hyd=40 acres =33^ Saxon.
1 ferl.= 2^ acres = 2^ Saxon.
It will now be seen why I have given a colunm in which the whole
acreage was measured by a calculation of forty acres to the hid.
That this result is a near approximation to the truth appears from
the following considerations. In the Cornish Domesday, (a county
where arable land bore a very small proportion to the markland,
forest and pasture,) there are a great number of estates, valued at
one ager or acre. These are generally said to pay geld for half a
ferling. Thus in Treuurninet, one ager paid geld for half a ferl-
ing': so in Penquaro^ in Trelemar^, in Landmatin*, in Chilon-
goret\ in Roslet^, in Pengelli', in Telbricg^, in Karsalan-^ in
Dinielhesc'^; and similarly in AVidewot, two agri paid geld for
one ferling '^ Now throughout Domesday there are innumerable
examples of land being rated at less than its real value, or even
» Exon. D. f. 227. vol. iii. 206.
3 Ibid. f. 234. vol iii. 213.
s Ibid. f. 236. vol. iii. 216.
7 Ibid. f. 245. vol. iii.
» Ibid. f. 253, b. vol. iii. 233.
" Ibid. f. 254, b. vol. iii. 234.
2 Ibid. f. 233. vol. iii. 212.
« Ibid. f. 235. vol. iii. 214.
« Ibid. f. 239, b. vol. iii.
« Ibid. f. 245, b. vol. iii. 225.
»<> Ibid. f. 254, b. vol. iii. 234.
THE HID. 491
at its real value ; but I have not detected any instance in which
is rated at more : and in Cornwall especially the rating seems
to have been in favour of the tenant. I do not therefore believe
that one ager was less than half a ferling : it was either more
than half a ferling or equal to it. But ^ ferl.= 1^ Norman acre,
which is more than one statute acre : therefore we may conclude
that the ager or acre was equal to half a ferling. The way I under-
stand this, is by the assumption that the Saxon acre was some-
what larger than the Norman : we know that they differed in
point of extents and it is possible that the original Saxon calcula-
tion was founded upon multiples of eight, while the Norman was
reduced to a decimal notation : if this were so, we may believe
that the hid was the unit, and that its principal subdivisions re-
mained, being familiar to the people, but that the value of the acre
was slightly changed. Hence that the
Saxon hid ==32 Saxon acres =40 Norman acres.
virg. => 8 «10
feor«ing= 2 = 2^
The document entituled " Rectitudines singularum personarum "
saysS that the poor settler on first coming in, ought to have seven
acres laid down for him in seed, out of his yardland ; and the
same authority implies that his grass-land was usually short of
his need : this it might be, if he had only one acre to support
the two oxen and one cow with which his land was stocked on
entry. The lot of meadow and pasture attached to these small
plots of one ager, is so frequently quoted at thirty agri, in Corn-
wall, that one could almost imagine an enclosure-bill to have been
passed just previous to the Conquest, under which the possession
of even so small a quantity as one acre qualified the owner to re-
ceive a handsome share of the waste.
It is obvious that all these calculations are ultimately founded
upon the value of the acre relatively to our own statute measure,
in which the survey of 1841 b expressed. That ager and acra
1 Ellis, Introd. p. 1. The fractions, and the admixture of a decimal with
the quarterly division, seem to imply that the later or Norman measure was
the smaller of the two. ^ Thorpe, i. 434.
492 APPENDIX B.
are equivalent terms appears from their being used interchange-
ably in various entries of Domesday. Nor is there any good rea-
son to suppose that the Normans made any violent change in the
values of these several denominations, although they might adopt
more convenient subdivisions of the larger sums. They did just
the same thing in respect to the Saxon money. Besides, as it was
from the Saxons that they derived the information which the Sur-
vey contains, it is reasonable to believe that the Saxon values were
generally adopted, at least as far as the hid was concerned. The
minute subdivision of land consequent upon the Conquest probably
rendered it necessary to pay especial attention to the smaller units,
and I can conceive nothing more likely than a slight change in
the value of the acre, while the hid and virgate remained unalter-
ed. Then where an estate comprised only one Saxon acre, it might
readily be considered equal to half a ferling, or 1^ Norman mea-
sure, for it would have been difficult and compUcated to express
it in other terms. In fact where small fractional parcels of land
were to be subtracted, the Commissioners were generally glad to
avoid details, and enter " A. has so much in demesne, and the
A^illani have aliam terram, the rest of the land" If the Saxon
ager paid for half a ferling in the time of the Confessor, it was
likely to be taken at that value in the Sur>'ey ; for the law, qute
ile minimis non curate could hardly notice so trifling a deviation.
The approximate value of the Saxon acre, however, I have given ;
it was one day's work for a plough and oxen, in other words very
nearly our own statute-acre.
That the value of the hide became gradually indistinct, when
reckonings ceased to be made in it, and the calculation was taken
upon knights' fees, is ver>- intelUgible. We consequently tind
sur])rising variations in the amount of hides counted to a knight's
fee, as well as the acres contained in tliis last measure. In the
time of Edward the Third it was computed that there were 60,215
knight's fees in England, which taking the present acreage of
31,770,615 gives rather more than 527 acres to a fee : hence those
who beUeved a hide to contain 100 acres, calculated five hides to
a knigbt'j* fee, in accordance with the Saxon law which made that
THE HI'D. 493
amount the minimum of a thane's estate, and also to the entries
in Domesday, from which it appeared that one miles went from
five hides: but here it was overlooked that the hide was exclusively
arable land. To such erroneous modes of calculation we owe
such entries as the following : —
" Decem acrae faciunt fardellum, iv fardelli faciimt virgatam, qua-
tuor virgatae faciunt hydam, quatuor hydae faciunt unum feodum/'
MS. Harl. 464. fol. 17, b.
where 1 £urdel = 10 acres.
4 fiffdelsa 40 acres^ 1 virgate.
16 fiffdels^ 160 acres— 4 virgates^l hide.
64 £urde]8sB640 acres = 16 ▼irgate8»4 hides=l knight's fee.
Again we are told (Regist. Burgi Sci. Petri, fol. 81, b.) that
''Quinque feoda fuerunt antiquitus una baronia; et quinque
hydae unum feodum; et quinque virgatae terrae una hyda, quae-
Kbet virgata de viginti acris."
Or tabularly, —
1 virgate » 20 acres.
5virgates» 100 acres— 1 hide.
25 virgatesa 500 acres == 5 hides ==1 knight's fee.
125 virgates = 2500 acres ^ 25 hides » 5 fees == 1 barony.
which results neither coincide with the last, nor with those of
Domesday, nor with those derived from Saxon authorities.
The hidage of various ancient 64s which has been given in
Chapter III. could naturally not be sufficient guide imder the new
shire divisions. Unfortunately we have not a complete account
of the hidage in the shires ; nor does what we have coincide with
the conclusions arrived at in the course of the fourth chapter.
In the Cotton. MS. Claud. B. vii. (fol. 204, b.), which appears
to have been written in the time of Henry III., we have the fol-
lowing entries : —
Hydae.
In Wiltescyre continentur 4800
In Bedefordscyre sunt 1200
In Cantebrigescyre sunt 2500
In Huntedunescyre sunt 800|
In Northamptescyre sunt 3200
494
APPENDIX B.
Id Glttuccsterscyre sunt 2400
Id Wirecesterscrre sunt 1200
In Herefordescyre sunt 1500
In Warewjcscyre sunt 1200
In Osenefordscyre sunt 2400
In Salopescyre aunt 2300
Id CesterecjTe aunt 1300
In StaSbrdeacyre aunt 500
The Cotton MS. Vesp. A. xriii. ftil. 1 1 2, b., written in the reign
of Edward I., gives a dUTerent list of counties, amoDg which the
foUowing variatioDS occur : —
Bedfordshire 1000
Northamptonshire 4200
Gloucestershire 2000
Worcestershire 1500
Shropshire 2400
Cheshii* 1200
If we pursue the plan heretofore adopted, we shall have these
results : —
Couarr. .ln«g»-
Hidi^
H,««.
"-""■' "™i""i
Rtao '
Rui-i
WLIii. .868,060
1800
H 1.000
1 92.000 '72i.o60i<i;e.ooai
:S 1
3-5
3«df. ..\297.6ii
1200
36,000
1^.000 261.632 '219.0321
:;unb..:i3G.313 -^51)0
75.000
100.000 l6U13',)36.313l
:6 1
4-5
Hum. . 212.250 eOO)
24,015
32,020 218.235
210,230
:9 I
>-rhiii..6lt>.K10 32011
96.000
128.(»0 550.810
518.810
5lr,uc..790,irO 2100
72,000
96,000 718.170
S91,470 1
:I0 1
Wore. .159.710 1200
36,0)0
l-i.OOO 123.700
111,710
;11-751
iIcrer..S13,HO0 1500
15.000
60,000 502.800
403300
:11 1
n.nT..567,930 1200
36,000
18,000 531.930
519,930 '
; 11-73 I
Otrf.... 167.230 2100
7-1/XHl
96,000 395530
371,230
!5-5 1
Silop..'8(il.3llO 2300
69.000
92.000 795,360
772,360 1
;lI-5 1
8-4
Zhttb. 619,050 1300
39.000
52.000 610.050
597,050 ,
: 15-ea 1
11-5
Stiff... ;36.290, 500
15,000
20.000 721.290
716,290
-48 I
36-8
Now either these figures cannot be reUed on, or we mtist carry
the hide in this calculation to a very different amount. If we
take it at 100 acres, we shall tind the whole hidage of these thirteen
3 amounts (o 25,300 x 100 or 2,530,000, while the whole
THE HID. 496
acreage is 7,669,905 ; giving an excess of 5,139,905, and con-
sequently a ratio of 25 : 51 nearly, or 1 : 2. This would a little ex-
ceed the present ratio, which is 5 : 1 1 , a result which appears very
improhable indeed in the reign of Henry III. But w^hen we con-
sider the numberless errors of transcription, so unavoidable where
merely numbers, and not words, are given, and the totally incon-
sistent accounts contained in different manuscripts, we can hardly
rest satisfied that the figures themselves are trustworthy. Even
on the hypothesis that in the time of Henry III. or Edward I.
the hide was calculated on the new footing of 1 00 acres, we yet
could not reconcile the confiictmg amounts assigned to the counties
themselves.
496
APPENDIX C.
MANUMISSION OF SERFS.
The following examples of Manumission are iUustratiTe of the
assertions in the text.
And he wylle Seet man freoge
eefter his deege selcne witefsestne
man Se on his timan forgylt
wsere. — Archbishop JElfric^
996-1006.
Bdtan Sset he6 wylee he Sinre
ge^afimga Seet man freoge on
aelcum tiinse s61cne wite|>e<Swn8e
manu ^se under hirae gefeowud
waes . — Queen JElfgyfu . 1012.
Dset is aerest, ^aet ic geann
tJset mau gefreoge selcne wite-
fsestne man, Se ic on sprece
dhte. — ^^^eUtan ^^^eling.
And bedn heora mann frige
Better heora beira daege. —
Durst an, 1049.
And it is his will that ye shall
manumit after his life, every con-
vict who has been ruined by
crime, in his time. — Cod, Dipl,
No. 716.
Except that she wills, with
thy permission, that they shall
manumit in every one of her
farms, everv convict who was
reduced to slavery under her. —
Cod. Dipl. No. 721.
Firstly, I grant that they
shall free everv conwt whom I
got in suits. — Cod. Dipl. No.
722.
And let their serfs be free,
after both their lives. — Cod.
Dipl. No. 788.
Dimidiam vero partem hominum qui in memorata terra sub
ser^dtute degunt libertate donavimus. — Cod. Dipl. No. 919.
Geatfleda geaf freols for Godes Geatfleed freed for God' s sake
lufa^ for heora sawla fearfe, Saet and for her soul's need, namely
is Ecceard smiS, -] iElstan ^ his Ecceard the smith and iElfstan
w(f, ^ eall heora ofsprinc boren and his wife and all their off-
MANUMISSION OF SERFS.
4i>7
"] unboren; -} Arcil 3 Cole, -}
Ecgfer^ Eadhdnes dohter, -}
ealle 5a men Sa he<Snon heora
heafod for hyra mete, on Him
yflam dagom. SwA hw4 swi
Sis iwende "} hjre siiwla Sises
bere^e, beredfige hine God
celmihtig Sues lifes 3 heofona
rices ; -3 s^ he Awjrged deM 3
cwic aa on ^cnysse. And eic
he6 hafaS gefreiSd 6a men 6e he<S
^ngede set Cwsespatrike, Seet is
iElfwald, 3 Colbrand, JElsie, -}
Gkunal his sane, E^ulred Trede-
wode 3 Uhtred his stedpsunu,
Acolf 3 Durkyl 3 i£lsige. Hwi
tie heom tSises bere^fie Grod eel-
mihtig sie heom wrd5 "} sancte
Cdt$berht. — Gedi/ad, about
1060.
spring bom and unborn ; and
Arcil and Cole and EcgferS Ead-
hun*8 daughter, and all the men
who bent their heads for food in
the evil days. Whoso shall set
this aside and deprive her soul
of this, may Almighty God de-
prive him both of this life and
of the kingdom of heaven ; and
be he accursed, quick or dead, for
ever and ever. And she hath
also freed the men for whom
she interceded with Cosjmtrick,
namely ^Ifwald, and Colbrand,
iElfsige and Gamal his son, £ad-
red Tredewood and Uhtred his
stepson, Aculf and Thurkill
and iElsige. Wlioso depriveth
them of this, may he have the
wrath of Almighty God and
Saint Cuthbcrt.— CW. Dipf.
No. 925.
And ic wille Sset alle mine
men h4n M on hirde and on
tdne for me and for 56 5e me
bigeten. — Le6fgyfu ,
And I will that all mv serfs be
free, both in manor and farm,
for my sake and the sake of
them that begot me. — Cod.
DipL No. 931.
Her swutela5 on 5isse Cristes
b6c 58et Le6fen<$5, i£geln<$5es
0ima set Heorstdne, heef^ ge-
boht hine "] his ofspring dt set
iElfsige abbod "} set eallon hi-
rede on Ba5on, mid Hf oran and
mid xii he^don sceapa, on Ledf-
VOL. I.
Here witnesseth in this book
of gospels, that Leofeno5, iE5el-
no5*s son of Harston, hath
bought out himself and his off-
spring, from abbot iElfsige and
all the brotherhood at Bath,
with five ores and twelve head
2 K
498
APPENDIX C.
dldes gewitnesse portgerefan, of sheep, by witness of Leof-
and on ealre tSsere burhware on cild the portreeye, and all the
Baik)n. Crist hine ^blende tSe commonalty of Bath. Chnst
Sis cefre awende. — Cont?ent of blind him that ever setteth this
Batk. aside I— Cod. Dipt. No. 933.
Her swutelaS on Sisse Cnstes
b^ tSaet iEgekige eet Lintiinne
\aeS& geboht Wilsige his sunu
i&t set ^Ifsige abbod on BatSon,
and set eaUon hirede US ^cean
fre6te. — Content of Bath,
Here witnesseth in this book
of gospels, that iBSelsige of Lin-
ton hath bought out Wilsige
his son from .^Hfsige abbot at
Bath, and all the brotherhood,
to eternal freedom. — Cod, DipL
No. 934.
Her swutelat^ on t^isse Cristes
b^ tSaet JSgelsige Bx-ttices sunu
haef^ geboht Hildesige his sunu
lit set .£lfsige abbod on BaSon,
and set eaUon hirede mid STXti-
gon pen^ou t6 ^an freote. —
Convent of Bath,
Here witnesseth in this book
of gospels, that .£6elaige, Bjt-
tic*s son, hath bou^t out Hil-
desige his son from ^fsige,
abbot at Bath and all the bro-
therhood, with sixty pence, that
he mav be free for ever. — Cod.
DipL No. 935.
Her swutelaC on tJisse Cristes
bee tSset Godwig se bucca haefC
geboht Leofgife t5a dagean set
NofSstoce ^ hyre ofspriiig mid
healiaii pmide set .Elfsige abbod
to eceau freote, on eaDes Sees
hiredes gewitnesse on Ba^on.
Crist hine aiblende Se Sis refre
liwende. — Content of Bath.
Here witnesseth in this book
of gospels, that Godwig the
buck hath bought Leofgifu the
doe at Northstock, and all her
oifspriiig, with half a pound from
abbot ^Ifsige, that she may be
free for ever, bv witness of all
m
the brotherhood in Bath. Christ
blind him who ever setteth this
aside. — Cod. Dipt. No. 936.
Her swutelaS on Sisse Cristes Here witnesseth in this book
bee Sset ^Elsige abbod hsefS ge- of gospels, that abbot .Elfsige
MANUMISSION OF SERFS.
499
fre6d God wine bace aet St^tdne
for hine "} for calne Sone hired
on Batman, on Semannes gewit-
nesse •} Wulwiges set Prisctdne
■3 i£lfrice8 cermes. — Convent of
Bath.
An ic an mine landseSlen here
tofles t6 <$wen aihte 3 alle mine
men frc. — Sigefiaed,
And ic an tSaet land set Tit \\\i6
sevntePaules kirke tSen hewen t(S
blonde mid al Saet S^ron stant,
buten 5e men t5e 5ser dren M
men alle for mine sdule. And
ic an Sset land aet SuSereye mid
alle ^e fiscoSe Se tS^rtd bireS Sen
hewen intd sancte Panics kirke,
and frie men t$o men for Se bi-
scopes 8<$ule. . . . And ic an t^set
lond set LutSinglond Offe mine
sustres sune 3 his brdSer, -] frd
men ^ men halue, and set Mind-
hAm als<S for iSe biscopes sdule
And lete mon stonden 8<5
mikel s<5 ic S^ron fond, and fre
men t$o men alle for mine sdule
. — — Bishop Deddred.
hath freed Godwine Back of
Stanton, for his own sake and
that of all the brotherhood at
Bath, by witness of Seman and
Wulfwig of Prisctiin and iElfric
Cerm.— C<w/. Dipl. No. 937.
And to my tenants I give
their tofts to be their own pro-
perty, and all my serfs free. —
Cod. DipL No. 947.
And I grant the land at Tit
to the brotherhood at St. Paul's
church for the support of their
table, with all that is upon it,
except the serfs there ; let them
emancipate these for my soul's
sake And I grant the land
in Surrey with all the fishery
thereunto appertaining to the
brotherhood of St. Paul's
church, and let the serfs be freed
for the bishop's soul .... And I
grant the estate at LuSingland
to Offe my sister's sou, and his
brother, and let half the serfs
there be freed, and so also at
Mendham for the bishop's soul
.... And [at Hoxne] let them
leave as much stock as I found
there, and let all the serfs be
freed for my soul. — Cod. DipL
No. 957.
Erst for his sdule Palegraue First for his soul, Palgrave to
into Sevnt Eadmnnd, •] Witing- St. Edmund, and half Witing-
2 k2
500
APPENDIX C.
hdm half, "} half Se bisscop : and
alle mine men fr^, and ilk hsebbe
his toft 3 his metecd *] his mete-
corn . — DurcyteL
Her swutela^ on tSisum ge-
write Seet iEgelsi on Wuldehdm
heefV gel^ned be Siwordes deege
biscopes his ddhter '] heore
diShter lit of Totteles cynne, "^
hffif5 (S«ra mffinn Sxrin ged($n,
be Ss^re burhware gewitnesse
on Hroueceaster 3 be ealle Sses
biscopes geferan. — ^^elsige.
And alle tk) men fn^ for unker
biStJer sdnle. — Wulfsige.
Durkil and iE^elgit unnen
Wigorham int6 seynt Eadmunde
8<S fill and s6 fortJ so wit it dwen,
after unker b6Ser day, "] So men
half frc, feowe ■] lisingas. —
Yyurcytel.
ham, the other half to the bi-
shop: and all my serfs free, and
let each have his toft, and his
meatcow and his meatcom. —
Cod, DipL No. 959.
This writing witnesseth that
i£6elsige of Wonldham hath
borrowed for the life of Bishop
Sigeward, his daughter and her
daughter out of Tottles kin, and
hath replaced them by other
serfs, by witness of all the com-
monalty of Rochester, and the
bbhop's comrades. — Cod. DipL
No. 975.
And all the serfs free, for both
our souls. — Cod, DipL No. 979.
Thurkill and iEtJelgiS grant
Wigorham to St. Edmimd, as
full and as forth as we two
owned it, after both our lives,
and let them free half the men,
both )>e<5ws and lisings. — Cod.
DipL No. 980.
The following manumissions from a religious book, formerly
the property of St. Petroc's, are selected from a much larger num-
ber found in the Codex Dipl. No. 981. The British names which
occur in them are of great interest.
Des ys 15ses manes nania Se This is the man's name whom
Byrhsie gefreade et Petrocys Byrhtsige freed at St. Petroc's,
stowe, Byhstan hdte Bluntan Byhstdn he was called Bluuta*s
MANUMISSION OF SERFS.
501
siinu, ou iESelhlde gewitnjse
hjs ^en wif, and on Byrhisijs
maesepredstes, and on Riol, and
Mynnen, and Wimsie, Mor-
haetSiSo, and Cynsie, pre<Sst.
Woenumon and hire te^,
Mdnii« hire swuster and hire
tedm, and Wurgustel and his
te^, warun gefre<5d h^r on
tdne for E^ulryde cynigc and
for .£^l[geard] biscop an Sas
hiiydes gewitnesse Se h^r on
ttine syndun.
Marh gefreiSde LeSelt and
ealle hire te^ for Eddwig cy-
ningc on his s%en reliqoias: and
he hie h^ Icedan hider t6 myn-
stere, and h^r gefre<5gian on Pe-
inxys reliquias, on Sees hirydes
gewitnesse.
Her kf6 on tSissere b^ Saet
bohte hme wifinann On-
%ilsig
gynelSel h^te and hire sunu
GySiccsel set Durcilde mid healfe
pnnde, set Si^re cirican dura on
Bodmine, and sealde iEilsige
portgerdua and Maccosse hun-
dredes mann .iiii. pengas t6
tolle ; m ferde iEilsig t<$ Se Sa
men bohte, and nam hig and
fredde dpp an Petrocys weofede,
^re sacles, on gewitnesse Sissa
son, by witness of i£t(elh(5 his
own wife, and Byrrhtsige the
mass priest, and Riol, Myrmen,
Wynsige, MorheeSSo and Cyn-
sige the priest.
Wuenumon and her offspring,
Morui6 her sister and her off-
spring, and Wurgustel and his
offspring were manumitted here
in the town, for Eadred the king
and iEt$eIgeard the bishop, by
witness of all the brotherhood
here in the town.
Marh freed LeSelt and all her
progeny for EMwig the king,
upon his own reliques : and he
caused her to be led hither to
the minster, and here to be freed
on Petroc's reliques, by witness
of the brotherhood.
This book witnesseth that
i£lfsige bought a woman named
OngyneCel and her son GySic-
csel from Durcild for half a
pound, at the church-door in
Bodmin, and gave iElfsige the
portreeve and Maccos the hun-
dred-man, four pence as toll;
then went iElfsige, who bought
the serfs, and freed them at Pe-
troc's altar, eyer sacless, by wit-
ness of the following good men :
502
APPENDIX C.
gtSdera manna : ^aet wses, Isaac
messepre6st, andBleScuf messe-
pre<5st, and Wanning mcsse-
pre6st, andWulfg^r messeprecSst,
and Grifiu^ messeprecSst, and
Noe messeprecSst, and Wur8ici6
messepredst, and iEilsig diacon,
and Maccos, and Te^ion Mo-
dredis sunn, and Kynilm, and
BeiSrldf, and Dirling, and Grat-
cant, and Talan. And gif hwd
tJas frecSt dbrece, hebbe him wit5
Criste gem^e. Amen.
namely, Isaac the masspriest,
BletScuf the roasspiiest, Wun-
ning the masspriest, Wulfger
the masspriest, tjiifiutS the
masspriest, Noe the masspriest,
Wur5ici^ the masspriest, and
iElfsige the deacon, and Maccos,
and Te^ion Modred's son, and
Cynehelm, BedrUif, Dirhng,
Gratcant and Talan. And whoso
breaketh this freedom, let him
settle it with Christ ! Amen.
Her kyt5 on Sissere b^ t^set
iElMc iElfwines sunu wolde
)>e6wian Putraele him t6 nyd-
)>e<5wetlinge. Di cum Putrael
t6 Boia and bed his forespece
to ^Ifrice his breSere : t5a sette
Boia 6es spece \vi6 /Elfricc; tiset
wees Saet Putrael scalde ^Elfrice
.VIII. oxa set t^cre ciricaii dura
set Bodminc, and gef Boia sixtig
penga for 5cre forspoecc, and
dide hine sylfne and his ofspreng
wfre freols and saccles frani ?iam
dsege, wis /Elfrice and wi(5 Boia
and wis ealle iElfwines cvld
and heora ofspreng, on Sisscre
gewittnisse : Isaac messepredst,
and Wunning presbyter, and
Sewulf presbyter, and Godric
diacon, and Cufure prauost, and
W'incnf, and Wullwerd, and
This book witnesseth that
JElfric the son of ^fwine want-
ed to enslave Putrael as a need-
serf. Then came Putrael to
Boia and begged his interces-
sion with his brother iElfric:
and Boia made this agreement
with iEIfric ; namelv that Pu-
trael gave iElfric viii oxen at
the church-door in Bodmin, and
gave Boia sixty pence for tBe
intercession, and so made him-
self and his offspruig ever free
and sacless from that day forth,
as to iElfric, Boia, and all .Elf-
wine's cliildren and their off-
spring, by this witness : Isaac
the masspriest, Wunning tbe
presbyter, S(?wulf the presby-
ter, Godric the deacon, Cufure
the provost, Wincuf, Wulfwerd,
MANUMISSION OF SERFS.
503
Gestin, See bisceopes stiwerd,
and Artaca, and Kinilm, and
Ciodric map, and Wulfger, and
mi gddra manna.
H^ c^ on tSyson b^ iktt
^wold gefredde Hwatu for hys
fliwle a[t] Petrocys stow a degye
and sefter degye. An[d] iElger
ys gewytnesse, and Godric, and
WalloS, andGiyfyiS, and Blej-fJ-
cuf, and Salaman. And hebbe
he Gode eura and sanctes Pe-
trocns and aealle welkvues sane-
tas 5e Set brece Seet vdun vs.
Amen.
Gestin the bisliop*s steward,
Artaca» Kinihn, Godric Map,
Wulfgar and other good men.
This book witnesseth that
iElfwold freed Hwatu for his
soul, at St. Petroc*s, both during
life and after life. And ^Elfg^
is a witness, and Grodric, and
\Vallo6, and Griffith, and Bley6-
cuf, and Salaman. And let him
who breaketh what is done have
the curse of God and St. Petroc
and all the saints of heaven.
Amen.
Des sint ISa menn 5e Wulf-
sige byscop freode for Eadgar
cinig and for hyne sawle, tct
Petrocys wefode : Leuhelec, We-
let, . . nwalt, Beli, losep, Den-
gel, Proswite, Tancwuestel : an
^SnB gewitnese, Byrhsige msesse-
prost. Mermen masseprost, Mar,
Catuuti, Wenwiu, Puer, Me5-
wuistel, losep.
Dvs svndnn Sara manna na-
man Se Wulfsige byscop gefre6-
det let Petrocys wefode for Ead-
gar and for huic silfne ; and
B}Thsi ys gewitnese masseprost,
and Mermen massepriSst, and
Morhi : Diusct and calle here
teAm.
These are the men whom
Wulfsige the bishop freed for
Eadgiir the king and for his own
soul, at Petroc' s altar: Leuhelec,
Welet nwalt, Beli, Josep,
Dengel, Proswite, Tancwues-
tel : by witness of Byrhsige the
masspriest. Mermen the mass-
priest, Mar, Catuuti, Wenwiu,
Pucr, MeSwuistel, Josep.
Tliese are the names of the
men whom Wulfsige the bishop
freed at Petroc' s altar for Ead-
gar and himself ; by witness of
Byrhsi the masspriest, Mermen
the masspriest and Morhi : Diu-
set and all her offspring.
604
APPENDIX C.
Dys sindun tMlra manna na-
man i$e Wunsie gefredde at
Petrocys stowe, [for] E^dg^r
cinig, on ealle Sses liiredys ge-
witnesse : Conmonoc,Iarnwallon,
and Wenw8ef51on and Maeiloc.
These are the names of the
serfs whom Wunsige freed at
St. Petroc's, for king Eddgir,
by witness of all the brother-
hood : Conmonoe, lamwallon,
WenwaerSlon and Mceiloc.
iElfred by his will manumitted all his unfree dependents, and
with great care provided for their enjoyment of this hberty : he
says': —
And ic bidde on godes naman
and on his h^gra, tSset minra
maga ndn n^ yrfewearda ne
-geswence ndn nsenig cyrelif 5dra
tJe ic foregeald, •] me West-
seaxeua witan t6 rihte gerehton,
tSaet ic hi m<$t Isetan swd freo
swd )>e<5we, swdSer ic wille ; ac
ic for Godes lufan and for minre
SHwle fearfe, wylle Sset hy syn
heora freolses wyrSe, ^ hyre
cyrcs ; and ic on Godes lifiendes
naman beode, ^aet by ndn man
ne brocie, ne mid feos manunge,
ne mid naeningnni pingiim, fiset
liic ne mdtan ceosan swylcne
mann swylce hie wyllan.
And I pray in the name of
God and of his saints, that none
of my kinsmen or heirs oppress
any of my dependents for whom
I paid, and whom the witan of
the Westsaxons legally adjudged
to me, that I might leave them
free or fe^w, whichever I chose;
but I for God's love and my own
soul's need, \^ill that they shall
enjoy their freedom and their
choice ; and I command m the
name of the linug God, that no
one disquiet them, either by de-
mand of money, or in any other
way, so that they may not choose
whomsoever they please [as a
protector] .
Cyrelif is a person who has a right of choice, or who has exer-
cised a choice : these must have been poor men, free or unfree, who
liad attached themselves personally to ^Elfred, voluntarily or not.
Tie provides that these as well as his serfs may have full liberty
to select any other lord, without disquiet through demands of
' Cod. Dipl. No. 314.
MANUMISSION OF SERFS.
505
arrears or any other claims. This is confirmatory of the view
taken in the text, that the manumitted serf was obliged to find
himself a lord, and so did not become fuUy free.
And freoge man Wulfware,
folgige i$dm Se hyre le6fo[st s^,]
ealswd, and freoge man
Wnlflsede on ^eet gerdd tSset bed
folgige iEMflsede -] Eddgyfe :
and he4 becwsetS Eadgyfe dne
crencestran 3 ^e s^mestran,
66er hitte Eddgyfii, 65er hitte
iESelgyfu; 'j freoge man Ger-
burg -} Miscin, •] his el,
■3 Burhulfes d<5htur set Cinnuc,
'j ^fsige 'j his wif 'j his yldran
dohter, "3 Ce<Slst^es wlf ; ^ set
Ceorlattine freoge man Pifns '}
Eadwyne, *] e ... an wife;
*] set Faccancumbe freoge man
iE^elm -} Man *] lohannan, *]
Sprow •] his wlf, ^ Ene faette,
•] Gersande "] Suel ; "3 aet Colles-
hylle freoge man iECelg^e "}
Biccan wif, ^ iEffan ^ Bedan, ^
Gurhannes wlf, *] freoge man
Wul^are swystorBryhsigeswlf,
^ tJisne wyrhtan, -} Wiilf-
gf^ iElfsw^e debtor: -} gif
fiaer hwylc witefecSwman s^
buton tJyson, tJe he<S gefedwede,
he6 ge\ff6 t6 hyre beamon ^aet
hi'hine wyllon lihtan for hyre
saulle
And let Wnl^aru be free, and
follow whom she best pleases,
and also , and let Wulfls^d
be freed on condition that she
follow iESelflsed and Edith : and
she bequeathed to Edith one
weaving woman and one semp-
stress, the one called Edith, the
other jECelgifu; and let them
free Gerburg, and Miscin, and
his ... . and BurhwulTs daugh-
ter at Cinnuc, and iElfsige and
his wife and elder daughter, and
Ce<$lstiui*s wife ; and at Charlton
let them free Pifus and Eadwyn,
and wife; and atFaccombe
Iq^ them free iESelm, and Man,
and Johanna, and Sprow and his
wife, and Ene the fat, and Ger-
sand and Sucl ; and at Coleshill
let them free JEMgyt and
Bicca*s wife, iEffc and Bede,
and Gurhan*s wife, and let them
free Wulfware's sister Byrhsiges
wife and this wright, and
Wulfg^S iElfsw^S's daughter:
and if there be any other con-
victs besides these, whom she re-
duced to slavery, she trusts that
her children will give them this
alleviation for her soul*s sake
506
APPENDIX C.
Denne an hi6 iSdn hiwum iSdra
gebiira ^e on ^am gafollande sitt-
a^, *] 9^ra pe6wra, manna hid an
hyre syna d^ter EMgyfe •] tJaes
yrfes, biitan ^im sAvhcestte 5e
man t<5 Gifle syllan sceal ; -) hi<5
wylle tSset man Isete on S^m
lande standan yi oxan *] iiii c^
mid iiii ceal^m; *] of ^dm
)>e6wan mannan set Cinnuc he6
becwit5 Eddwolde, Ceolstan Ed-
stdnes sunu, *] Mffan sunu; *]
Burhwynne, Martin •] his wif ;
-} hi<5 becwiC Eddgyfe Caer
angean iElfsige t$ene c<Sc •] Tefl
Wareburgan d6htor, -} Qerestan
^ his wif, ^ Ecelm ^ his wlf, •]
heora cild, •] Cynestdn •] Wyn-
sige, "3 Bryht rices sunu, •] Edd-
wyime, j Buneles sunu j iElf-
wcrcs dohtor ; and hi6 beo^i^
yESclflcude Elhhelmes dehter
(Sa geongran. — Wynfced, about
99.").
Then she grants the conyent
the boors who at on rent-paying
land, and the serfs she giyes to
her son* s daughter Edith, and also
the chattels, except the sonl-ahot
which they are to pay to Gifle*
And it is her will that they shall
leave on the land six oxen and
four cows with four calves; and
of the serfs at Cinnuc she be-
queaths to Eddwold, C^lstdn
Edstdn's son, and ^ffe's son;
and to Burhwyn she gives Mar-
tin and his wife ; and she be-
queaths again, to Edith, iElfsige
the cook, and Tefl, Waerburge's
daughter, and Herestan and his
wife, Eghelm and his wife and
their child, Cynestdn and Wyn-
sige and Brihtric's son, and
Eadwyn, and Bunel's son, and
^Ifwcres daughter; and slie
bequeaths to jESelflaed Ealh-
helms younger daughter. — Cod.
Dipt. No. 1290.
The next passage which I have to cite is unhappily very cor-
riij)t, but as the sense is obvious I have given such corrections as
were required : the readings of the MS. may be seen in the copy
printed Cod. Dipl. No. 1339.
And ic wille ^eet mine men
be(5n ealle freo And ic wille
^aet ealle Sa men Sa ic an freo,
Sret hi hsebben ealle |nng Sa hy
under hande babbaS, butan Sset
And I will that my serfs sball
all be free .... And I will that all
the men to whom I grant free-
dom shall have everj thing which
is under their hand, except the
MANUMISSION OF SERFS.
607
load set Herelingum Stigande
arcebisceope minum hliforde,
8wd hit stent, biitan 9a men be6n
ealle freo. — Cytel, about 1055.
land at Harling which I give to
archbishop Stigand my lord, as
it stands, only that the serfs
are all to be free. — Cod, Dipt,
No. 1342.
The following manumissions are recorded by the Convent in
Bath. They will be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, No. 1351 .
H^r swutelaS on ^issere Cristes
b^ t$8et E^dric set Fordan haef 9
geboht Saeg^fu his debtor set
iElfsige abbod and set iShn hi-
rede on BaSan t<$ ^um fre<5te,
and eall hire ofspring.
H^r swutelaiS on 9isse Cristes
b^ tSset ^Ifric Scot and iEgelric
Scot synd gefre<$d for iElfsiges
abbodes sdwle t6 ^n fredte.
Dis is ged(Sn on ealles hiredes
gewitnesse.
Her swutelaS on tJissere Cristes
bee, Cset iElfwig se rM hsefiS ge-
boht bine selfne dt set ^Ifsige
abbot and eallon hirede mid
anon punde. DAr is t6 gcwitnes
eall se hired on Ba^an. Crist
bine dblende 9e Sis gewrit
ilwende.
Here witnesseth on this book
of gospels that Eddric at Ford
hath bought Ssegyfii his daugh-
ter from iElfsige the abbot and
the convent at Bath, that she
may be free for ever, and all
her offspring.
Here witnesseth on this book
of gospels, that iElfric the Scot
and iESelrlc the Scot are made
free, for the soul of abbot iElf-
sige, that they may be free for
ever. This is done by witness
of all the convent.
Here witnesseth on this book
of gospels, that iElfwig the red
hath bought himself out from
iElfsige the abbot and all the
convent for one pound. To this
is witness all the convent in
Bath. Christ bhnd him who
setteth this writ aside !
Her swutelaS in tSisre Cristes Here witnesseth on this book
b^, Sset lohann hceftS geboht of gospels, that John hath
508
APPENDIX C.
Gimnilde, purkilles d6hter, set
Gr6de, Leofen^tSes Ufe, t6 healfan
punde, on ealles hiredes gewit-
nysse. Crist hine dblende, t$e
dis gewrit dwende. And he
haefS hi beteht Criste ^ sancte
Petre for his mdder sdwle.
bought Gunhild, Thurkil*8
daughter, from G6de LeofeniS's
widow, for half a pound, by wit-
ness of all the convent. Christ
blind him who setteth this writ
aside ! And he hath given her
to Christ and St. Peter for his
mother's soul.
Her swutelat^ on iSissere Cristes
b^, t5flet Ssewi Hagg eet Wide-
cumbe hseft^ ged6n dt his twegen
sunaset^lfsige abbude,on ealles
hiredes gewitnesse.
Here witnesseth on this book
of gospels, that Si6wig Hagg of
Widcomb hath done out his two
sons from ^Ifsige the abbot, by
witness of all the convent.
Her swutelat^ on t$issere Cristes
b^, tJeet iEgylmaer bohte Ss6-
^rfiSe set Ssewolde abbude, mid
.III. maxan on ealles hiredes
ge\\'ituysse ; and ofer his dseg
and his wifes daeg beo se man
iVcoh. Crist hine ableiide, t5e
?is gewrit awcnde.
Here witnesseth on this book
of gospels, that .£^elm2§r bought
Sset$r^S from Si^wold the abbot
for two mancuses, by witness
of all the convent ; and after his
and his wife's life let the serf
be free. Christ blind him who
setteth this writ aside !
Her swutela^ on ftissere Cristes
biV, 5«et Wulfwiiie Hareberd
bohte »et ^Ifsige abbude, .Elf-
gViVuiid healfan pimde on ealles
hinnles gewitnysse : and Crist
hine ableude ?>e ftis gewrit
aweude.
Here witnesseth on this book
of gospels, that Wulfwine Hoar-
beard bought ^ElfgyC from ab-
bot ^Ifsige for half a pound, by
witness of all the convent : and
Christ blind him who setteth
this writ aside I
Her swutelaS on Mssere Cristes
ht'w ^apt ."Effvlsitre bohte W'vuric
apt .Elfsigt.^ abbude mid anon yre
prides. Dysses ys to gewitnysse
Here witnesseth on this book
of gospels, that .ESelsige bought
Wynric from abbot .illfsige for
an ore of gold. The witnesses of
MANUMISSION OF SERFS.
oin)
^fryd portger^ua and eal se
hired on BaSon. Crist hine
ablende 5e Sis gewrit awende.
Her swntelatS on Sissere Cristes
b^ tSset Siwine LedfVies sunu
letLincnmbe bafaS geboht Svde-
flaede dt mid f if scrllingam and
penegam et lohanne bi-
aeope and et eallon Sam birede
onBaSon t6 ^um fre6te: andber
t6 is gewitnesse Grodnc Ladda
and Saewold and bis twegen su-
nan Scirewold and Bribtwold.
Her swntelaS on Sisse Cristes
b^ Sect LifgiS et Forda is ge>
fre6d, and bire tw£ did, for Sone
bisoop Jobanne and for ealne
Sone bired on BaSon, on iElf-
redes gewitnesse Aspania.
Her crS on Sisse bee Seet
H[mi]fl[5ed] gebobte WulfgySe
aet iElfirice .£5elstines sa[na]
.£Selminge8, on Winemines ge-
witnisse eald-portgerefan, and on
Godrices bis snna, and on ^Elf-
wines Mannan snna, and on Le<S-
fHoes dldes set Hjmed, and on
JElfrfoes .£lfbelmes sona ge<Sn-
gan : and Brun brdel nam Saet
toll on .flfstanes gewitnisse
maessepretSstes and on Le<Sfnoe8
Winemines suna, and on mi
l[igweda 1 gebidodra.]
tbis arc i£lfred tbe portreeve
and all tbe conyent at Batb.
Cbrist blind bim wbo setteth
tbis writ aside !
Here witnessetli on tbis book
of gospels, tbat Sigewine Le6f-
wige's son of lincomb batb
bougbt Sjdefl^ed out witb fire
shillings and .... pence from
bishop John and all the convent
at Bath, to be free for ever:
and witness thereof are GrodrCc
Ladda, and Saewold and his two
sons Scirewold and Bribtwold.
Here witnesseth on this book
of gospels, that LifgiS at Ford
is freed, witb her two children,
for bishop John and all the
convent at Bath, by witness of
^Elfred Aspania.
Here witnesseth in this book
that Hunflxd bought Wulfgf'S
from iElfnc tbe son of .£5elstan
the son of .ESelm, by witness
of Winemine tbe old portreeve,
and of Godric bis son, and .Elf-
wine Manna* s son, and LetSfric
tbe child at Hvmed, and .Elfiric
iElfhelm's son, tbe young : and
Bnin the beadle took tbe toll
bv witness of iElfstin tbe mass
priest, of Le<SfHc Wincmine's
son, and more persons both lay
and ordained. — Cod. Dipt. No.
1353.
510 APPENDIX C.
These examples, so numerous and varied, supply a Tery clear
yiew of the mode of emancipation, and its objects, in the Anglo-
saxon time. It is to be regretted that we have not more of them,
and from other places : but still, as it is probable that the system
adopted by the clergy prevailed throughout England, these may
senre as a very satisfactory specimen of the usual course on these
occasions, — both as to the form of manumission and the method
of providing for the emancipated serf.
511
APPENDIX D.
ORCTS GUILD AT ABBOTSBURY.
(From the Cod. Dipl. Xo. 942.)
" This writing witnesseth that Grey hath granted the guildhall
at Ahbotshurr and the site thereof, to the honour of God and St.
Peter, and for a property to the guild, hoth during his life and
aaer his life, for a long lasting commemoration of himself and his
consort. Let him that would set it aside, answer it to God in the
great day of judgement !
*' Now these are the corenants which Orcy and the gyldsmen of
Abbotshury hare ordained, to the honour of God, the worship of
St. Peter, and the hele of their own souls. Firstly ; three davs
before St. Peter's mass, from each guildbrother one penny, or one
pennyworth of wax, — look which the minster most needeth ; and
on the ^lass eve, from every two gufldbrothers one broad loaf,
well sifted and well raised, towards our common alms ; and five
weeks before Peter^s mass, let each guildbrother contribute one
guildsester full of clean wheat, and let this be paid within two
days, on forfeiture of the entrance, which is three sesters of wheat.
And let the wood be pa^ within three days after the com-coD-
tribution, from every full guildbrother one load of wood, and
from those who are not full brothers, two ; or let him pay one
guildsester of com. And let him that undertaketh a charge
and perfcHineth it not accordingly, be mulcted in the amount of
his entrance ; and be there no remission. And if one brother mis-
greet another within the guild, in hostile temper, let him atone
for it to all the fellowship with the amount of his entrance, and
after that to him whom he misgreeted, as they two may arrange :
and if he w31 not bend to compensation, let him lose our feflow-
512 APPENDIX D.
ship and every other advantage of the guild. And let him that
introduceth more guests than he ought, without leave of the stew-
ard and the caterers, forfeit his entrance. And if any of our fel-
lowship should pass away from us, let each brother contribute a
penny over the corpse for the soul's hele or pay bro-
thers : and if any one of us should be afflicted with sickness within
sixty we are to find fifteen men who shall fetch him,
and if he be dead, thirty, and they shall bring him to the place
which he desired to go to, while he lived. And if he die in this
present place, let the steward have warning to what place the
corpse is to go ; and let the steward warn the brethren, the greatest
number that he can ride or send to, that they shall come thither and
worthily accompany the corpse and bear it to the minster, and
earnestly pray there for the soul. It is rightly ordained a guild-
ship if we do thus, and well fitting it is both toward Grod and
man : for we know not which of us shall first depart.
" Now we have faith, through Grod's assistance, that the afore-
said ordinance, if we rightly maintain it, shall be to the benefit of
us all. Let us earnestly from the bottom of our hearts beseech
Almighty God to have mercy upon us, and also his holy apostle
St. Peter to make iutercessiou for us, and take our way unto eter-
nal rest, because for his sake we have gathered this guild together;
he hath the power in heaven to admit into heaven whom so he
will, and to exclude whom so he will not, even as Christ himself
spake unto him in his gospel : Peter, I give to thee the keys of
heaven, and whatsoever thou wilt have bound on earth, the same
shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou wilt have unbound
on earth, the same shall be mibound in heaven. Let us have
hope and trust in him, that he will guide us here in this world,
and after death be a help to our souls. May he bring us to eternal
rest! x\men ! ''
THE GUILD AT EXETER.
" This assembly was collected in Exeter, for the love of God, and
for our souls' need, both in regard to our health of hfe here, and
to the after days, which we desire for ourselves by God's doom.
CORPOBATE EXISTENCE. 513
Now we bftve agreed that our meeting shall be thrice in the twelve
mooths ; onoeat St. Michael's Mass, secondly at St. Mary's Mass,
after midwinter, and thirdly at Allhallows Mass after Easter ; and
let each gfld-hrother hare two sesters of malt, and each young
man* one aester, and a sceat of honey ; and let the mass-priest at
each of our meetings sing two masses, one for our liring friends,
the other for the dead : and let each brother of common condition
ang two psahers of psalms, one for the living and one for the
dead ; and at the death of a brother, each man six masses, or six
paakers of psalms ; and at a death, each man five pence ; and at
a hoaseboniing each man one penny. And if any one neglect the
day, for the first time three masses, for the second five, and at the
third time let him hare no £iTonr, unless his neglect arose from
lirlmeas or his loid^s need. And if any one neglect his subscrip-
tion at the proper day let him pay double. And if any one of this
brotheribood miagreel another, let him make boot with thirty
pence. Now we pray for the lore of God that erery man hold
this meeting ri^thr, as we rightly hftve agreed upon it. God
help OS theremito."
THE GOLD AT CA3fBRIDGE.
« In thb writ is the notification of the agreement whidi this hro-
theihood hath made in the thanes' gild ^ Grantabrycg. That is
first, that eadi gare oath upon the relics to the rest, that he would
hold tme brotherlKMd for God and for the world, and aC the bro-
therhood to siqiport him that hath the best ri^ht. If a;^y ^A-
brother die, all the gildship b to bring him where he defired lo
lie ; and let him that cometh not thereto pay a ie^er ^A Iwoer ;
and let the gildfhip inherit of the dead half a farx, azyi each ^i-
brother con tri b ute two pence to the ah&s, and oct rA this S3£ kc
what is fitting be taken Vj ik. SA^.rf^. A^^iif any gm>>raher
hare need of his Migprn^ aai, aul it be si^ie kiy/wn *f* tzie reeve
the gild ^anle» the gild-brother hinueif ae w^; tcsd tae
VOL. f . 2 L
514 APPENDIX D.
reere neglect it, let bim pay one pound ; if the lord neglect it, let
him pay a pound, unless he be on his lord's need or confined to
his bed. And if any one steal ^m a gild-brother, let there be no
boot, but eight pounds. But if the outlaw neglect this boot, let
all the gildship ayenge their comrade ; and let all bear it, if one
misdo ; let all bear alike. And if any gildA)rother slay a man,
and if he be a compelled arenger and compensate for his insult,
and the slain man be a twelve-hundred man, let each gild-
brother assist if the slain be a ceorl, two
ores ; if he be a Welshman, one ore. But if the gild-brother
with folly and deceit slay a man, let him bear his own deed ; and
if a comrade slay another comrade through his own folly, let him
bear his breach as regards the reladTes of the slain ; and let him
buy back his brotherhood in the gild with eight pounds, or lose
for ever our brotherhood and Mendship. And if a gild-brotha
eat or drink with him that slew his comrade, save in the presence
of the king, the bishop or the ealdorman, let him pay a pound, un-
less he can dear himself with two of his dependents, of any know-
ledge of the fact. If any comrade misgreet another, let him pay
a sester of honey, except he can clear himself with his two de-
pendents. If a servant draw a weapon, let his lord pay a pound,
and recover what he can from the servant, and let all the company
aid him to recover his money. And if a servant wound another,
let the lord avenge it, and the company, so that seek what he may
seek, he shall not have his life. And if a servant sit within the
spence, let him pay a sester of honey, and if any one hath a foot-
sitter let him do the same. And if any gild-brother die or lie
sick out of the country, let his gild-brethren fetch him alive or
dead, to the place where he desired to lie, under the same penalty
as we have before said, in case of a comrade's dying at home, and
a gild-brother neglecting to attend the corpse."
The following document, which seems justly referable to the
reign of EMgar, that is to the close of the tenth century, gives
the regulations under which the Hundred was constituted'.
* Thorpe, i. 258, etc.
CORPORATE EXISTENCE. 515
'^ Hub 18 the Ordinanoe how the Hundred shaU be held.
'* First that they meet erery foar weeks, and that each man do
right to other.
** That a thief be pursued, if necessary. If there be present need,
let it be told the hundredman, and let him afterwards make it
known to the tithingmen, and let them all go forth whither Grod
may direct them to their end : let them do justice on the thief aa
it was formerly E^Ldmund's law. And be the eeApgild paid to
him that owns the chattel ; and be the rest divided in two, half to
the hundred, half to the lord, except men ; and let the lord take
poasessitHi of the men.
''And if any man n^^ect this, and deny the judgement of the
hundred, and the same be afterwards proved against him, let him
pay to the hundred thirty pence ; and the second time, sixty
pence ; half to the hundred, half to the lord. If he do it a third
time, let him pay half a pound : the fourth time, let him lose all
that he hath, and be an outlaw, unless the king wiU allow him to
remain in the land.
"And we have ordained respecting unknown cattle, that no man
should have it without the witness of the hundredman or the
tithingman ; and that he be a well trusty man ; and unless he
have one or other of these, let no vouching to warranty be aUow-
edhim*.
"We have also ordained, that, if the hundred pursue a track
into another hundred, notice be given to the hundredman, and
that he then go with them. If he ne^ect this, let him pinr thirty
shillings to the king.
" Ifany one flindi from justice and eaeq>e,let him that had him
in custody pay the amgild. And if he be accused i^ having aided
the esoqie, let him clear himsdf according to the custom of the
country.
" In the hundred as in every other gem6t, we ordain that folk-
rig^t be proBOuneed in every suit, and that a term be appamud
> CoB|Mve Ae tetlMr prvviMW or E^ds^ft kw. S«pp. II. S ^ 7. 9. 9.
10,11. Thorfc i. 274, 27C.
2l2
516 APPENDIX D.
when it shall be flilfilled. And if any one break that tenn, im-
kia it be through the lord's decree^ let him make amends with
thirty shillings, and on a set day Iblfil that whieh he shoold have
done befixe.
" An oies beDy and a dog^s ooDar, and a blast horn, each of these
three shall be worth a Aillmgi and each is reckoned mm utfhrmer.
*' Let the iron ibr the threefidd ordeal wei§^ three poonds ; snd
finr the sin^ one pound/'
517
APPENDIX E.
L^'NLAXD.
The following documents throw light upon the nature of Lden-
land, and the conditicHis under which it was held. The first is a
detailed accoont giren by Oswald, bishop €^ Worcester, to king
lE£dg£T, cf the plan which he adopted in leasing the lands €^ his
church : it is reprinted here from the sixth rolume cf the Codex
IKplomaticus, No. 1287. The second is a statement of the waj
in which an estate of six ploughlands at Woukfliam in Kent be-
came the propertT of the Cathedral at Boefaester: it is No. 1288
in the same collectioa.
'* Domino meokarissimofcgiAngiomm Eadgafo,egoOsaoa]diis
Uuigomensb aecclesi a e episeopos ommnm quae mifai per ipsins de-
mentiam mnnerum tradita sunt, apod deum et apod bominca grm-
tias ago. Igitur si dei miserieordia w ip pe dit et, coram deo et homi-
nibus perpetuahter ei fidetis permaoebo, mninisoetts cam giatiafim
actione largiflnae beffrignitari^ eins, quia per meof Ufaid qood
nopere expetebam mihi concesst intennmtiM, id est
mum Dnnstannm archieptscopom ec Tenerandam JEMaaMnm
UuiBtomae epocopum et iirum inagnificum BrflttDo^iuB coniiteB,
quorum leg ati oD e et adzutorio mttm et tanrtae dex irrrirwae tfmt-
relam sasttpit, ec seeondnm cfMuiBam sapieiKmi ec priflc^puBSi
suorum iosu emeadarit, ad coiteDtameD jfrririiae qnaai anba
benigpe et Kbens regWMJam comrniiit. Qnafe quoBodo fidoa sdi
subditos teJtanhoa qvae meae trmHue suae pMcaCaci per
temporis tnam boouBBizR, id mC diMms pMC «e
cam wasi figiasm ipfb imumhma ec
pBsa seentM ec
618 APPENDIX E.
bus meifl successoribus, scilicet episcopis, per cyrograpbi coutionem
apertius enuclearem, ut sdant quid ab eis extorquere iuste debeant
secundum conventionem cum eis factam et sponsionem suam ; unde
et banc epistolam ob cautelae causam componere studui, ne quis
malignae cupiditatis instinctu boc sequend tempore mutare Tolexis
abiurare a sendtio aecclesiae queat. Haec itaque conrentio com
eis facta est ipso domino meo rege annuente et sua attesta-
tione munificentiae suae largitatem roborante et confirmante, om-
nibusque ipsius regiminis sapientibus et principibus attestantibus
et consentientibus. Hoc pacto eis terras sanctae aecclesiae sub
me tenere concessi, boc est ut omnis equitandi lex ab eis impleatur
quae ad equites pertinet, et ut pleniter persolvant omnia quae ad
ius ipsius aecclesiae iuste competunt, scilicet ea quae Ang^oe
dicuntur dricsceatt et toll id est tbelon. et tacc. id est swinsceade
et caetera iura aecclesiae, nisi episcopus quid alicui eorum perdo-
nare voluerit, seseqne quamdiu ipsius terras tenent in mandatii
pontificis humiliter cum omni subiectione perseverare etiam iure-
iurando affirment. Super baec etiam ad omnis industriae episcopi
indigentiam semetipsos praesto impendant, equos praestent, ipsi
equitent, et ad totum piramiticum opus aecclesiae calcis atque ad
pontis aedificium ultro inveniantur parati, sed et venationis sepem
domiui episcopi ultronei ad aedificandum reperiantur, suaque quan-
documque domino episcopo libuerit venabula destinent venatnm ;
insuper ad multas alias indigentiae causas quibus opus est domino
autistiti sepe frunisci, sive ad suum servitium sive ad regale ex-
plendum, semper illius archiductoris dominatui et voluntati qui
episcopatui praesidet, propter beneficium quod illis praestitum est,
cum omni bumilitate et subiectione subditi fiant, secundum ipsius
Toluntatem et terranmi quas quisque possidet quantitatem. De-
curso autem praefati temporis curriculo, videlicet duorum post eos
qui eas modo possident haeredum vitae spatio, in ipsius antistitis,
sit arbitrio quid inde velit, et quomodo sui velle sit inde ita stet,
sive ad suum opus eas retinere, si sic sibi utile iudicaverit, sive eas
alicui diutius praestare, si sic sibi placuerit, velut ita dumtaxat ut
semper aecclesiae servitia pleniter ut praefati sumus inde per-
soh-antur; ast si quid praefatorum delicti praevaricantis causa
LE'NLAND.
f deruprit turum, praeyaricattonia delictum secundum quod praesulis
ius est emendet, aut illo quod aiilea potitus eat dono et terra careat.
Si (juis vero diabolo instigante, quod minime optamus, estiterit
qui per nostrum beneficium aeccleaiam dei ftaude, seu in ana pos-
BCssioiie aut servitio debito privare temptaverit, ipse n
que benedictione dei et sanctorum eJua privetur, aisi profundissima
emendatione illud coirigcre studeat et ad pristiuum statiim quod de-
fraudavit rcdigat, scriptum est enim 'Raptores ct sacrilegi regoum
dei non consequentur.' Nunc autem propter deum et sanctam
MHriam, in cuius nomiae hoc monasteriuin dicatum est, n
praecipio, ut nullo modo quia hoc praevaricare audeat, Bed ai
nobis statutum est, ut praefati sumua, perpetualiter maueat. Qui
custodierit omni benedictione repleaiur ; qui vcro infringerit male-
dicetur a domino Ct ab omnibua sauctis. Amen. Gratanter, reve-
reDtisaimedominc,quo tautitt tuaedouia clcmciitiae,Becundum quod
totius creatoria cosmi est velle, pracditus sum, mcae operom voluO'
tatia, ut pro tc tuisque dcuni iugiter LnterpcUem devotus impen-
dam, raeosque successorcs ad hoc hortari studcbo, ut domiui mixe*
ricordiam pro te deprecari nou desinant, ut Chriatus pace qui per-
heuui r^nat ethrali in arce te consortio dignum haberi digtietur
Banctorum omiiiiun in aula coeleati, Valeat in aevum qui hoc stu-
duerit sen-arc dccretum. Ilarum textua .... epiatolarum tres
HUnt ad praetitulationem et ad signuni, una in ipsa civitate quae
vocatur Uuigraceaater, altera cum venerabili Dunstano archiepi-
(tcopo in Cantuaria, terlia cum -ilSeluuoldo episcopo in UulutoniK
dvitate."
"jE5elbryhtoinchitgeb(5code " KiJig ^6clberht granted it
lam apostole on ice yrfe, and by his charter for ever to the
beUehte hit Bilm hiscope EAr- apostle, and gave it in chat^
dulfe t6 hewitenne and his tef- to bishop Eardwulf and hia suc-
ter^iencan. £>^ betneonan Sim cessors. Howercr in process of
weartS hit Ate, and htefdon hit lirae it became alienated, and
cynegas 08 Eadmund cine; 6d the kings had it down to E^d-
APPEXMX E.
gAoku^JEtht^ HnflntAi
JEtMk bis
lub Trfewrd; am! Itaet be
\tmt OP babe tnngnn, and oltemb
.Sfrice bit br^to- famdn nd
Kbu, bdian be bwvt aet bim
gcamode. IM for Ifaere brotor-
sbbe gedSe be bim EarbiScs
and Waldabames bis daeg. f)£
oferbad .fifeb bis brdSor and
fong t4S bis bine: «a bjefde.£lfnc
SUDA Eadric hitte and .£lfeh
naenne. Da ged^ -Elfeh f^am
Eadnce Earhi5es and Craegan
and Wuldahames, and hsefde
him ?ylf .^nesford. Da gewat
E^nc ser .-Elfeh cwideleas, and
^liehfengtohislaene. Dahaefde
Eadnc life and nan beam ; da
geu?^e ^Elfeh hire hire morgen-
gife aet Craegan ; and st6d EarhiC
and W'uldaham and Lvtlanbr6c
on his Isene. DA him eft geSiihte,
i^A nam he his feonne on Wul-
dahim and on ?Sam 6?5ran wolde,
achinegeyflade,and he fta saende
t<5 ^am arcebisceope Diinstane,
; dMB .afirtin SOD d
HcabitaB boi^ it of tbe kk^
war a bnuuicd. and twcotj man'
of gold aad tbirtj popunds,
.£lfbeab bis soo gare bim
nearij all tbe money. After
)da^ E^dmmid, king E^Ubed
booked il to Mihkin as an in-
berkanee for erer: now after
^l&tan's daT, iElfbeA bis son
was bis beir, and tbat be prored
wicb a wbole tongue, and de-
prived JEtbic bis brotber both
of bmd and chattels, but what
be ndgbt desenre at bis bands.
Now for brotberir lore be grant-
ed bim Eritb, Cray, JSnesford
and Wooldbam, for bis life.
Then .£lfbeab survive d bis bro-
ther, and re-entered on his Is^n :
bat .Eliric had a son called
Eadric, and .Elfheah had none.
Then ^Elfheah granted Eadnc,
Erith, Crav and Wouldham,
and kept iEnesford for himself.
Now Eadric died before iElf-
heah without making a will,
and ^Elfheah re-entered on his
Isen. Eadnc had a widow but
no child ; then iElf he^ granted
her her moming-ffift, at Cray ;
and Erith, Wouldham and Lit-
tlebrook stood on his Isen. When
he bethought him, he took his
feorm at Wouldham, and meant
Lii'NLAND.
521
and he c6m t6 Scylfe t6 him :
and he cwaetJ his cwide heforan
him, and he ssette senne cwide
t(5 Cristes cvrican, and d^eme t6
sancte Andrea, and Sane )>riddan
sealde his Idfe. Di braec s^SSan
Leofsmiu |>urh test wif t$e he
nam, E^rices Ufe, tone cwide,
and herewade Sses arccbiscopes
gewitnesse, rad €a innon t5a land
mid Sam wife butan witena
d6me. Da man Sset Sdm biscope
ciSde, S^ gelsedde se biscop
dhnunga ealles Mif^es cwides
1(5 EdrhiSe, on gewitnesse i£lf-
stiuies biscopes on Lundene,
and ealles Sees hiredes, and Sses
set Cristes cvrican, and Sses bi-
scopes ^Ifst^es an Hrofece-
astre, and Wulfsies pre6stes Sees
scirigmannes, and Bryhtwaldes
on MsereweorSe, and ealra East
Cantwareua and West Cantwa-
rena. And hit wees gecnsewe on
SdS-Sedxan and on West-Serbian
and on Middel-Se^Lxan and on
Est-Seaxan, Sset se arcebisceop
mid his selfes aSege^hnodeGode
and sancte Andrea mid Sdm IxS-
can on Cristes hr6de, Sa land Se
Ledfsmiu him t<Steah. And Ssene
Ah nam Wulfsige se scirigman,
S^ he nolde t<5 Sees cinges handa :
and Saere wses God e^ ten
hundan mannan Se Sane iS
sealdan.
so to do at the other places, but
he fell ill, and sent to arch-
bishop Dtinstdn, and he came
to hun at Scylf : and i£lfhe^
declared his will before him,
and he deposited one will at
Christchurch, another at St.
Andrews, and the third copy he
gave his widow. But afterwards
Leofsunu broke through the
will, through the wife he mar-
ried, namely Eddrfc's widow,
and set at nought the arch-
bishop's testimony, and rode in
upon the land with the woman,
without any judgement of the
witan. Now when this was re-
ported to the bishop, he took
all the claims of ownership un-
der ^Ifhe^'s will, to Erith, m
witness of .£lfstibi bishop of
London, and all the convent,
and that at Christchurch, and
iElfstim bishop of Rochester,
and Wulfsige the priest who
was sheriff, and Bryhtwald of
Mereworth, and all the men of
East Kent and of West Kent.
And it was well known in Sus-
sex and Wessex, and Middlesex
and Essex, that the archbishop
with his own oath upon the
cross of Christ, recovered the
land which Leofsunu had in-
vaded, together with the books,
for God and St. Andrew. And
522
APPENDIX E.
Rubric. Ddfl wi§nm 9tL seoz
salung aet Wtildahibi sancte
Andrea geseald mt6 Hrofe-
•oeastre."
Wnlfs^e the shariff receiredtlie
oath, since he woold not go to
the king^s hand : and there was
a good addition of a thoosand
men who gare the oath.
Bmbrie. Thus were the six
ploni^ilands at Wooldham giren
to St. Andrew at Bochester."
523
APPENDIX F.
HEATHENDOM.
The following passages of the Anglosaxon Laws contain general
enactments against heathen pnurtices, or references to heathen
superstitions.
" Gif ceorl biiton wifes wiad6me de6flum gelde, he sie ealra his
cehta scyldig, and healsfange. Gif butwn de^flom geldaS, sion
h^ healsfange scrldige, 3 eahra a^ta.''— X/. JFihtr. f 12. Thorpe,
i. 40.
<<
if pe6w de6flum gcldaS .vL sdll. geb&e, c^iSe his h^d." —
LI. Wihtr. ^ 13. Thorpe, L 40.
** Gif hwi CristendfSm wyrde, oS9e ha^Send^ weorf^ige, wordes
0$^ weorces, gylde wmk wer twk wite, twk lahsKtf, be tMon t$e sed
dxd fiyr—E6dw. GiA. f 2. TJu^rpe, i. 168.
" Gif wiccan o80e wigleras, mdhisworan o80e morSwjrhtan, o08e
fule, aff lede a^baere horcwenan ^Uiwar on lande wurSan igjtene,
t(onne f^sie Yd man of earde 'y da^oaie fte K^ide, o58e on earde
for&re hf mid ealle, bdton h( geswican "} t$e detfppor geb^an.'' —
E6dw. GiA. f 11. Tki^rpe, L 1/2.
" Ond we ewa&ion be Mm wiccccrg ft am, -y be fibUcnm, 3 be
morSdapdnm, gif man Mx icweald wa^re, ^3 he his gtsacan ne
mihte, 5set he be<S his feores scjldig.'* — JEMsi. i. f 6. Tlof^pr,
i. 202.
"Da 9e minsweriaft ;} Ijblic wjicaft, %fu hi a fram aScufli
Godes dxle iLworpene, bdtoo hj to rihtre daedbdce gecrrran.*' —
E6dM. i. S ^' Thorpe, i. 246.
524 APPENDIX F.
" And gif wiccan o5Se wigleras, sciucnefligan ot$5e horcwenan,
morSwyrhtan o68e miasworan ^war on earde wuHSan igitene,
ff se h( man geome dt of Sjrsan earde 3 claensige €£s pe6de, o6l$e
on earde forfare hi mid ealle, bdtan hi geswican 3 tSe dedppor ge-
bAan "—jEMr. vi. § 7. Thorpe, i. 316. Citw^, ii. § 4. 2%oiye,
i. 378.
"And we forbe6da$ eomostlice s^lcne hsl6enscipe. HaetSen-
adpe bi6 Siet man idok weorSige, tSset is tsdt man weorSige hsS-
ISene godas '} sunnan oSSe mdnan, f^ o55e fl6d, wseterwyUas (AStSe
sUnas o56e sSniges cynnes wudutredwa, o66e wiccecneft lufige,
oStSe mor6werc gefrenmie, on s^nige wisan, o9t$e on bl6te, otStSe on
fyrhte, oS5e on swylcra gedwimera senig )>ing dredge." — Cnut, ii.
§ 5. 7:1017}^ i. 378.
" Si quis Teneno, vel sortil^o, rel invultnacione, sen maleficio
aliquo, fadat homicidium, sive illi paratum sit, sive alii, nihil
refert, qnin factum mortiferum et nullo modo redimendum sit." —
Li. Hen. I. hod. § 1.
The well- and tree-worship noticed in these laws continued to
be retained, though in a somewliat altered form, until a very late
period ; and especially it was usual to perform religious ceremo-
nies at the salt-springs, spots always looked upon as holy'.
The confessional however was more likely to be in the secret of
the popular heathendom than the civil legislator. Accordingly
the Poenitentials supply us with a variety of information upon this
subject. The Poenitential of Theodor has a long chapter devoted
to the heathen practices of commmiicants, and their appropriate
penances.
** xxvii. De Idolatria et Sacrilegio, et qui Angelos colunt, et
maleficos, Ariolos, Veneficos, Sortilegos, Divinos, et vota reddentes
nisi ad aecclesiam Dei, et in Kalendas Januarii in cervulo et in
^-itula vadit, et Mathematicos, et Emissores tempestatnm."
' Thorns, Anecd. and Traditions, p. 93. The holy character of the salt-
springs is noticed by Tacitus.
HEATHENDOM. 525
The points principally noted here are, sacrificing to daemons, that
is, the ancient gods; eating and drinking near heathen temples,/ana,
in honour of the god of the place ; or eating what has been sacrificed
to daemons ; or celebrating festal meals in the abominable places
of the heathen ' ; seeking auguries by the flight of birds, making
philacteries or philtres. Other forms may be gathered from the
following heads: —
Si quis maleficio suo aliquem perdiderit vii. annos poeniteat.
Si quis pro amore veneficus sit et neminem perdiderit, etc. Si
antem per hoc mulieris partum quis deceperit, etc. Si quis ari-
olos quaerit, quos diyinos vocant, yel aliquas divinationes fecerit,
quia et hoc daemoniacum est, etc. Si quis sortes habuerit, quas
Sanctorum contra rationem vocant, vel aliquas sortes habuerit,
Tel qualicunque malo ingenio sortitus fuerit, vel divinaverit, etc.
Si qua mulier divinationes vel incantationes diabolicas fecerit, etc.
Si qua mulier filium suum vel filiam super tectum pro sanitate po-
suerit, vel in fomace, etc. Qui grana arserit ubi mortuus est homo,
pro sanitate viventium et domus, etc. Si quis, pro sanitate filioli,
per foramen terrae exierit, illudque spinis post se concludit, etc.
Si quis ad arbores, vel ad fontes, vel ad lapides, sive ad cancellos,
vel ubicunque, excepto in aecclesia Dei, votum voverit aut exsol-
verit, etc., et hoc sacril^um est vel daemoniacum. Qui vero
ibidem ederit aut biberit, etc. Si quis in Kalendas Januarii in cer-
vulo aut vetula vadit, id est, in ferarum habitus se communicant*,
et vestiuntur peUibus pecudum, et assumunt capita bestiarum ; qui
vero taliter in ferinas species se transformant, etc., quia hoc daemo-
niacum est. Si quis mathematicns est, id est, per invocationem
daemonum hominis mentem converterit, etc. Si quis emissor tem-
pestatis fuerit, id est, maleficus, etc. Si quis ligatnras fecerit, quod
detestabile est, etc. Qui auguria vel divinationes in consuetudine
habuerit, etc. Qui observat divines, vel praecantatores, philacteria
etiam diabolica, et somnia vel herbas, ant quintam feriam honore
Jovis, vel Kalendas Jannarii, more paganomm, honorat, etc. Qui
* Bcfer to GffCfory't letter, cited tt p. 332 of tlm ? oliiac
> Probobl7'«co«Diit«Bt.''
626 APPENDIX F.
student exercere quando luna obecormtur, ut damoiibos suis ac
iiudeficiiB sacril^o usa earn defendere oonfidant, etc. Qui in lio-
nore Innae pro aliqna sanitate ieiunat, etc.
Other firagments of Theodor contain this additional proTision : —
" Qui noctuma sacrificia daemonum celebraTerint, yel incanta-
tionibus daemones inTocaTerint, capite puniantur."
Archbishop Ecgberht has further details : he says > : —
"Si quis daemonibus exigui quid immolayerit, annum unum
ieiunet. Quicunque cibum daemonibus immolatum comederit, etc.
Quicunque grana combusserit in loco ubi mortuus est homo, pro
sanitate yirentium et domus, etc. Si mulier filiam suam super do-
mum, yd in fomaoe posuerit, eo quod cam a febri sanare yelit," etc.
The Saxon version in the MS. at Brussels, appHes this to other
illness besides fever : " Gif hwylc wif sete6 hire beam ofer hrdf
o5t$e on ofen, for hwylcere untrymiSe hsQo .vii. gear fiaeste."
The same prelate in his Poenitential ordains': —
" Gif aenig man 66eme mid wiccecrsefte fordo, fseste .vii. gear/*
etc.
" Gif hwa drife stacan on senigne man, fseste .iii. gear, and gif
se man for tJaere stacunge dead bitJ, tJonne fseste be .vii. gear, eal-
swa hit her bufpon ilwriten is^."
This " stacan drifan " or " stacung " is the invultuatio which
has been explained in the text, and of which an example has been
1 Ck)nfes8ionale, 32, 33 ; see also his Poenitentiaie, ii. 22, 23. Thorpe, ii.
157, 190.
* Poenit. iv. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Thorpe, ii. 208, 210.
' This is repeated in the same words in the collection called Canons enacted
under king Eidgdr, in that portion entitled *' Modus imponendi poenitentiam."
But as Dr. Kunstman, an authority of the highest character on this point, in-
forms me, these Canons are founded upon and contain portions of the very an-
cient Poenitential of Cummianus; and we may suppose Ecgberht to have
adopted these passages from him.
HEATHENDOM.
fiS7
giren from a charter of Eidgir. Mr. Thorpe's expl&nation of
Sucung is tts foUowB : —
" Siacanif, a stickmg. The practice of sticking pins or needles
into B waxetk image of the person agabst whom the wit<:hcraft
was directed, consisted probably at first in sticking tliem sctndly
mto the body of the indiyidual, ' gif hwi drife st^can on ^nigne
man;' but as this process was no doubt aometimea attended with
inconvenience and danger to the operator, the easier and safer
method was devised of substituting a waxen proxy, instead of the
true man. This practice was kuo^m under the name of dejixio,
'quod eiuamodi incantorea acus aubinde dffigerent in images
cereas, iis locis quibua viroa Ipsos pungere decrererant, qui punc-
turas ipsaa, ac ai ipsi pungercntur persentiebant,' Du Cange. To
it Ovid alludes :
' Devovit abaentes, simulacraque cerea fingit,
^L Et misemm tenues in iecur urget acus.' "
Ecgberht thus continues respecting philtres and other magical
practices : —
"Gif hwa wiccige ymbe rfaiges mannes lufe, ~\ him on sete
Bylle o65e on drince, ofii5e on leniges cyimes gealdorcrieftum, Stet
hyra lufii forSon Be milre bedn acyle," etc.'
" Gif hwd hlytas oS8e hwatunga begi, oKBe his wceccan set
(fnigum wylle hrebbe, oSSe eet tfnigre dSre geaceafte biitau tet
Godes cyricean, fECste he .iii. gear," etc.
" Wifman bed Sees ylcan wyr8e, gif hed tilaS hire cilde mid
rfnigmn wiccecrtefte, oi5He ret wegn gelieton 8urh *a eorJ5an tihB :
eala Sfet is mycci hteSenacipe."
The Canons enacted luder E^dgdr give the following fill] de-
tails of popular lieathendom' : — ■
"And we enjoin, that every priest zealously promote Cbriatianity,
' Repeated in neirly (he aanic words in (ho ' Modui imponendi poeniten-
tiain,' \ 39. Thorpe, ii, 2?4.
* Thorpe, ii. 249. " And we Ieetk^ fist preoata gehwilc criiteoddm geomliee
!, 'j selcne hcf endiSm mid eaU« IdwEice, -] forbeode wilweorRuiigi -j
528 APPENDIX F.
and totally extinguish every heathenism ; and forbid well-worship-
ings, and necromancies, and divinations, and enchantments, and
man-worshipings, and the vain practices which are carried on
with various spells, and with ' frithsplots,' and with elders, a«d
also with various other trees, and with stones, and with many
various delusions, with which men do much of what they should
not."
Many of these heathen practices still continue to subsist, at
least in the memory and traditions of the peasantry in remote parts
of England. Devonshire, for example, still offers an unexhausted
field for the collector both of popular superstitions and popular
tales, counterparts of which are current in Germany. The Anglo-
saxon herbals Aimish various evidences of heathendom connected
with plants, but I pass over these in order to give one or two de-
tailed Saxon spells, which are of the utmost value, as bearing un-
mistakeable marks of Anglosaxon paganism. The following spells
are taken from a MS. in the Harleian collection. No. 585.
1 . " Wit5 Cymel. Neogone walran NotSf aes sweoster, pA wurdon
t5a nygone t6 viii. -} fa viii. t<5 vii. -} fa vii. t<5 vi. -) fa vi. id v. ^
fa V. t6 iiii. j fa iiii. td iii. j fa iii. td ii. j fa ii. t6 i. "3 fa i. t6
nanum. fis fe libbe cymneles 3 scrofelles 3 weormes j aeghwylces
yfeles. Sing benedicite nygon sifum'.'*
2. " Se wifman se hire cild afedan ne maeg, gange id gewitenes
mannes birgenue 3 stfeppe Sonne f riwa ofer 5a byrgemie, j cwe5e
Conne f riwa 5as word : Dis me t6 bote tJsere lat^an laetbyrde : Dis
UcwigluDga '^ hwata "j galdra ^ manweorSunga ^ "Sa gemearh "Se man dnfC
on mislicum gewiglungum, i on fri^splottura, 'j on ellenum, *j eac on 6'5rum
mislicum tre6wum, 'j on stanum, 'j on manegum mislicum gedwimerum iSe
mon ondre6ga'S fela "Saes ISe hi na ne acoldon."
A various reading adds : — " treowwurSunga 'j stanwurSunga *j tSone de6flei
cneft "Sae'r man "Sa cild furh "Sa eorSan tih"5, *j "Sa gemear "Se man diih^ on
geares niht :" — *• tree-worsbipings and stone-worshipings, and that devil's crafty
whereby children are drawn through the earth, and the vain practices which
are carried on on the night of the year." The firiiStfpiot was a pat<;h or plot
of ground sanctified, ffe/riiSod, by some heathen ceremony, a kind of Taboo.
* MS. Hari. 585. fol. 193.
HEATHENDOM. 629
me t6 h6te ISaere swseran swsertbyrde : Dis me t6 h6te t^re USan
lambyrde. And ^nne Cset wff se6 mid beame, ;) he<5 t6 hire
hMforde on reste gd, tSonne cwelSe he<5 :
" Up ic gonge,
ofer 8e stceppe,
mid cwican cilde,
nalses mid cwellendum,
mid fiilborenum,
nalses mid fie^gan.
And tSonne se<S moder geMe Sset tsdt beam si cwic, gd tSonne t6
cyrican, ;) tSonne he6 tcSforan Can weofode cume, cwelSe tSonne,
" Criste ic saede
Sis gec^lSed.**
3. '*Se wifman se hyre beam if(^dan ne msege, genime he6 sjlf
hjre ^nes cildes gebyrgenne ds^l, frf sefter ^n or bldce wulle,
3 bebicge t6 c^pemannum, "] cweSe Sonne :
*' Ic hit bebicge
ge hit bebicgan,
t&& sweartan wulle
and Sisse sorge com."
4. *' Se [wifjman seSe [ne] meege beam dfedan, nime Sonne ^es
ble<$s cilmeoluc on hyre handa, ;) gestipe Sonne mid hjre mdSe, -}
gange Sonne t6 ymendum wsetere, ;) spfwe Sserin Sa meolc, '} hldde
Sonne mid Ss^re ylcan hand Sees wseteres mtiSfiilne 3 forswelge.
CweSe Sonne S^ word : Gehw^r ferde ic me Sone mseran maga-
^tan, mid Sysse ms6ran meteyihtan, Sone ic me wille habban "y
h£m g^. Donne he6 t6 Sdn br6ce ga, Somie besed he6 n<5, n^
eft Somie he6 Sanan g^ ;) Sonne gd he6 in <5Ser htis 6Ser he6 tit
ofe6de, '} SaSr gebyrge metes ' ."
5. '' Wis hors-oman -} mannes, sing Sis ])riwa nygan siSan on
eefen ;) on morgen, on Sses mannes he^od dfan, *) horse on Saet
> MS. HarL 585. fol. 196. 196 b.
VOL. I. 2 M
530 APPENDIX F.
wynstre e^e, on ymendum waetere, *j wend ^aet he^od ongean
stre^. In domo mamosin. in choma mesti. stimi mesti. quod
dealde otuustiua el marethin. Crux mihi vita. e. tibi mors inimici.
alfa et o initium et finis, dicit dominus'."
6. " Wii$ Oman. Grenim ^e gr^ne gyrde, *] Iset sittau 5one man
on middan huses fl6re, ;) bestric bine ymbiitan, ^ cwet$ : Opars et
orelli Apars et pars iniopia. e. alfa et o. litium^/'
7. " Gif wsennas eglian msen SRt tSs^re beortan, gange msedenman
t6 wylle 9e ribt e^t jme, 3 geblade hie cuppan fulle forS mid
Z&m streame, 3 singe ^seron Credo "} Paternoster, 3 ge6te ^nne
on 6^er feet, ;) blade eft 6t5re, ^ singe eft Credo ;) Paternoster, "]
d6 swd t$8et 9u bsebbe |>reo. Do swd njgon dagas : sona bim biS
sel5."
8. " WiC fserstice, Feferftdge, and se6 redde netele, ^ tJurb aem
inwvx^, and wegbrsede : wylle in buteran.
" Hldde ws^ron by \& bldde
Sa hv ofer t5one hloew ridon ;
wseron anmdde, ^A by
ofer land ridon.
Scvld 8d 6e, nil 5u t^isne 11 15
genesan m6te.
Ut lytel spere,
gif ber inne sie !
St(5d under linde,
under leohtiuu scylde,
ftser ^a niibtigau wif
hyra nisegen beraeddon,
aud by gyllende
garas sendou :
ic bim 65eme
eft wille seudau,
fleogende tljln
' MS. Harl. No. 585. fol. 197. « Ibid. fol. 197. 3 Ibid. fol. 200.
HEATHENDOM. Wl
forane to geanes.
Ut lytel spere,
gif hit her uiiie sy !
Saet smit$, sloh scax lytel,
isenia wund swftJe.
Ut Ijtel spere,
gif her inne s^ !
Svx smit^as sceton,
wselspera worhton ;
lit spere^ nses inspere,
gif her inne sy
Isenes dsSl,
haegtessan geweorc,
hit sceal gemyltan :
gif ^d wsere on fell scoteu,
abiSe waere on flsesc scoteu,
o$5e waere on bldd scoten,
ot$5e wsere on lit5 scoten,
nsefre ne s^ 91n lif dtaesed ;
gif hit wsere ^agescot,
ot5Se hit waere ylfa gescot,
oSt$e hit wsere haegtessan gescot ;
nu ic wille ^in helpan !
Dis ^e t6 bote ^ gescotes,
^is t$e t<5 b6te ylfa gescotes,
Sis t5e t6 b6te hsegtessan gescotes !
Ic tSin wille helpan.
Fled ^s^r on fyrgen !
hedfde h^ westii !
Helpe ^in drihten !
Nim t5onne tSset seax, id6 on wsetere."
9. ** Her is sed bdt, hd t5ii meaht 9ine seceras bdtan, gif hi nellaS
wel wexan, ot3t$e t^ser hwilc ungedefe ]>ing ongeddn bit$, on drjr
oSSe on libUce.
"Geuini Sonne on niht, ser hit dagige, feower tyrf on fcowcr
healfa Sacs landes, and gemcarca hu hi ser stddon. Nim Sonne
2 M 2
632 APPENDIX F.
ele and hiinig and beorman, and selces feos meolc, ^ on t(a§in
lande &{, and slices tredwcynnes dsel, te on t$s§m lande si gewexen,
biitan heardan bdunan, and s^lcre namcd'Sre wjrte dsel, biitan
glappan dnon : and d6 t$onne hdlig wseter tSseron, and drype tSonne
])riwa on t$one statSol 94ra turfa, and cwetSe ISonne t$ds word;
CrescitCy waxe, e^ multiplicamini, and gemsenigfealde, ^f replete,
and gefylle, ^err^, t5ds eortSan, tn nomine patris etfilii et spiritus
sancti, sit benedicti ; and pater noster^ swd oft swd tSset 6t$er :
and bere siS^an tSa turf t6 cyrcean, and msessepreost ^inge feower
meessan ofer iS&a turfon, and wende man iStdt gr^ne t6 t$dm weo-
fode ; and sit$€an gebringe man t$a turf t$s6r hi sir wseron, air sun-
nan setlgange; and hsebbe him geworht of cwicbeime feower
Cristes mselo, and ^wrfte on silcon ende Matbeus and Marcus,
Lucas and Johannes. Lege t$8et Cristes msil on tk)ne pyt neoSe-
weardne; cwetJe ^onne: Cnix Mattheus, Crux Marcus^ Crux
Lucas, Crux Scs Johannes, Nim tSonne t$a turf and sette 5air
ufon on, and cwet$e ^onne nigon s(t$on iS&& word, Crescite, and swa
oft Pater noster ; and wende t$e t^onne eastweard, and onldt nigon
8it$on e^m(5dlice, and cwe^ ^ornie ^ds word :
** eastweard ic staude,
drena ic me bidde :
bidde ic tioiie mseran dne,
bidde 5one miclan drihten,
bidde ic tSone haligan
heofonrices weard :
eor^an ic bidde
and upheofon,
and Sa soSan
sancta Marian,
and heofones mcaht
and beahreced,
^a?t ic mote (Sis gealdor,
mid gife drihtnes,
to^nm ontynan,
ftnrli trumne gel^anc,
HEATHENDOM. 533
^weccan 9iis wsestmas lis
t6 woruldnytte,
gefylle tSds foldan
mid feeste geleifan,
wlitigigan t&s wangcturf ;
swd se witega cwse^,
t$8et se hsefde dre on eortSan
se t$e selm jssan
dselde dcimlice,
drihtnes J^ances.
" Weude t$e tk)nne )>riwa sunganges, dstrecce [t5e] t$onne on and-
lang, and drim t$s^r LetantaSy and cwet$ 9onne, Sanctus, sanctus,
sanctus, ot$ ende. Sing ^onne Benedicite d)^nedon eannon, and
Magnificat, and Pater noster, iii, and l)ebe<$d hit Criste and
sancta Marian, and ^s^re halgan rdde, t6 lofe and t6 weor^inga,
and t&m [td] are 9e ^set land dge, and eallon t$dm 6e him under-*
)>eddde synt.
''Donne tSset eall sie geddn, tSonne nime man uncdtS ssed set
eelmesmannum, and gegaderie ealle his sulhgeteiSgo tdgsederc:
borige Sonne on tSdm beame stdr and finol and gehdlgode sdpan,
and gehdlgod sealt. Nim tSonne "Seet ssid, sete on tSees sules bodig.
CweS ^nne :
"Erce, Erce, Erce,
eorSan mddor,
geunne t$e se alwealda
6ce drihten,
secera wexendra
and wridendra
edcniendra
and ehiiendra :
sceafla hen
se scire wsestma,
and t^sere brddan
here weestma.
534 APPENDIX F.
aiid t$8ere hwitaii
hwsete weestma,
and ealra
corSan waestma,
Geunne him
cce drihten,
and his hdlige te
on heofenum sint,
tSaet t5b jr6 si gefritk)d wit5 ealra
fednda gehwsenc,
and he6 si geborgen wi^ eahtt
bealwa gehuylc,
tan, lyblaca
geond land sdwen.
Nd ic bidde t$one waldend
se"8e tids weoruld gescedp,
t$8et ne si n^ t6 ^ses cwidol wif,
ne td ^ees cneflig man,
tJaet awendan ne msege
worud tSiis gecwedene.
** Donne man ^a, sulh fortidrife and Sa forman furh onscedte,
cvveft (Sonne :
** Hal vves 6ii, Folde,
fira m()dor !
beo Sii growende
on Godes fsetSme,
fodre gcfylled,
firum to nytte !
" Nini Sonne selccs onmes nielo, and abace man innewerdne
liftudii brudnc hhif, and gccned hine mid meolce and mid hailig-
waetere, and lecgc nnder ^a forman fnrh. Cwetie ftonnc ;
*' Ful secer fodres
fira cinnc
bcorht blowcndc,
(Si'i goblt'tsod weorft
HEATHENDOM. i>3o
i$8es h^igan nomau
t$e t$as heofon gescedp,
and tAs corSan
t$e we on lifiat^.
Se god se t$as gnindas geworhtc,
geunne lis grdwende gife,
tSset lis coma gehwylc
Clime t6 nytte.
" Cwe8 tJonne f riwa Crescite in nomine Patris sit benedict i.
Amen : and Pater noster friwa."
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
Printed by R. and J. E. Tftylor, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street.
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