The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-25
Y q.

Domesday Book, was begun, apparently, in tho
year 1885 and completed in the year following.
or the forty counties into which England is now
divided six are not included in the survey. these
being Monmouth Northumberland. Westmore-
land. Durham. and Lancashire. Lancashire,
however. had not yet been made a separate
county. and part OF it, therefore, appears in tho
survey OF Yorkshire and Cheshire. Monmouth
was at that time entirely Welsh. and the other
counties, those TO the north. were still desolste
and wasted by the ruthless severity OF Williams
well.known devastation. in 1069-7O A. II. AZ.
ter his march from the Humber to the Tyne
not one Inhabited village was TO be seen on the
road between York and Durham. and many Of
those whom the sword had spared died of starva.
ton in the subsequent nine years famine. The
statistics OF the other thirty-four counties are.
however, pretty full; from them we gather that
the total population must have been under TWO
million persons. The population actually given
is 2s3. 242, but this only includes the able-hodied
men. and it should be multiplied by five 70 give
the total OF actual inhabitants. This multiple
cation gives about 1.4OO 600, and. allow
ing for omissions or careless enumeration.
Mr.. Gibbins would compute not much more
than 100000 for the whole land. Small 40
this number may seem. it was not doubled
till the reign Of Charles II. In a table published
in this volume it will be noticed that the east
ern and southern counties were the most pop
ulous at that time, as was to be expected
when the volume Of tho population depended
much more closely than il does now upon The
yield OF agricultural produce and the develop
ment of agriculture generally. The three coun.
ties in which population was densest were Suf-
folk. Norfolk. and Essex; this seems to have
been due to the wool trade of Flanders and the
Continent. The distribution OF wealth is shown
in another table. Here. again. the eastern
and southern counties rank highest. Kent
coming first, and being followed by Essex and
Norfolk. The chief towns were London. Bristol,
Norwich. Lincoln, Oxford, York, Exeter. and
Winchester: Dover was also a place OF consider
able Importance. They seem almost insiynif-
cant. however, IL compared with their modern
dimensions. York, for instance. had only some
1000 houses; Norwich boosted not moro than
1870 burgesses; it has been estimated tina.
generally speaking. from 200 TO 10000 people
constituted the population OF a firstclass town.
The towns were, in fact, trading centres rather
than seats Of manufacturing industry. II il,
however. to be noted that, although compare
lively unimportant at the time OF Domesday,
they began 10 increase very much in prosperity
soon a~fterward. There are $3.50 manors emu
merated in Domesday. but all the settlements,
except the towns above mentioned. were
what would now be called villages OF no
great size. Each of these manors. after the
Norman Conquest. was held by q lord" who.
in turn. held it more or less remotely from the
king. The lord of the manor was a person Of
great Importance, but of very varying social
position. Robert OF Mortain held the largest
number OF manors. viz. 7a3. but Odo OF Bayeu1
had 429 and Alan OF Brittany Az The ancient
demesne OF the Crown consisted OF APO manorS.
The great mobiles, such as Robert OF Mortain.
held a rank equal to the richest duke OF the
present day. But there were a large number
AZ 1eSSar n0hleS whnSe iucoue En-ad fro-
$500 TO $500 n year. and also many
country gentlemen. as we would now
call them, who. though tenants in chief and lords
OF manors, had a comparatively small income
Five TO twenty pounds a year was no uncom-
mon income for a gentleman. but this, OF course,
must be multiplied by al least twenty TO give any
idea Of its purchasing power in modern fgurea
Besides the lord of the manor himself whetheP
king. noble or sub-tenanu. with his personal re-
tanners and, generally, a parish priest or soma
monks, there were three distinct classes OF in
First came the villeins. who formed
about 80 per cent, OF the total population re-
corded in Domesday, and were by ta1
the most numerous and widely distrib
uted class. Their holdings differed in size,
but, on the average, they occupied a viz
gate or yardland. which is go uivalent TO somo
thirty acres OF arabic land. A holding would
not be in one piece, but would be scattered In
'i'o NLC III ltids VI llIt lhIloE
The villein also had a house in the village. Next
TO the villeins came the cottars. or ~horiars, a
class distinct from and below the former. who
held only some five or ten acres OF land
and a cottage apiece. and did not even possess n
plough, much less a team OF oxen. but had 10
combine among themselves for the purpose Of
ploughine. Finally came the slaves, who were
much fewer than is commonly supposed. forming
only Q per cent. OF the Domesday population.
I -. 49,, rt,,r a,,or 49,, ,,,, 49,
slaves had disappeared and become merged into
the co,tars. They should not be confused with
either villCins. or bordars. but Mr.. Gibbins con-
ours with Ellis in believing that tho scrri corre-
spond Ia the Saxon theotc or esnc, while the Wiz
lcins correspond to the ceoris or churls. and
that. under the Norman system. there was o
continual approximation going on between
them. the churls becoming degraded and the po-
sition OF tho theows or thralls being improved.
so that both were brought nearer together N
the social scale.
What was the general economic condition OF
from the reign OF William the Norman
to the reign OF Henry III II is manifest. in tho
first place. that industrial development WAS
necessarily slow. The disputes between stephen
and Maud and the civil wars OF their paitisars,
the enormous drain upon the resources OF tho
caused by the expenses incurred by
|. In carrying on u crusade when he
should havo been ruling his kingdom. and tho
enormous taxes and brides paid by the
worthless John to the Papal Sec could not fail
TO check national industry. II is no
wonder that in Johns reign. at the beginning OF
the thirteenth century. there was an era OF great
discomfort throughout the land, of much misery
and poverty, especially in the towns. and a general
feeling of revolt. That miserable monarch WAS
only saved from deposition by his opportune
With all these evils. however, tho
condition OF England, although de.
pressed, was by no means absolutely unhealthy.
The following long reign Of Henry III. n"lG.7"l,
with its comparative peace, afforded sufficient
10 enable tho people Ia regain 4
OF general prosperity and even opulcnce.
An important change was coming over the in
history OF England IN the twelfth and
centuries, Tor now we begin To see. AS
new phenomena, manufacturing aud other In
.dustrics arising sdo by Size with agriculture
and the manufacturer and urtia,n D,akipR