Domesday land measures in Suffolk

Domesday Book for Suffolk and Norfolk is unique in including, for most vills, measures of 'lengths' and 'widths', expressed in leagues and furlongs. If multiplied together, these give areas smaller than the nineteenth-century parishes and amount to only about one-third of each hu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Landscape history 2000-01, Vol.22 (1), p.21-36
Main Author: Hesse, Mary
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
arable measures
caracutes
Domesday Book
Suffolk
vills
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Summary:Domesday Book for Suffolk and Norfolk is unique in including, for most vills, measures of 'lengths' and 'widths', expressed in leagues and furlongs. If multiplied together, these give areas smaller than the nineteenth-century parishes and amount to only about one-third of each hundred. The only plausible interpretation is that the linear measures are estimates of the extent of a vill's arable land, and might be numerically related to its caracute-value. This hypothesis is tested for fourteen Suffolk hundreds together with the relation of Suffolk linear measures to the 'ploughlands' of other counties. It is concluded that the linear measures may give a more accurate picture of the extent of arable exploitation than any other measures available in Domesday Book.
ISSN:0143-3768
2160-2506
DOI:10.1080/01433768.2000.10594519