Note 157 — PART I TERRITORIAL STUDIES (continued 3)

Pass we now to the third levy, that of 1161. For this the rate was again two marcs on the fee according to Swereford (followed, of course, by subsequent writers), though the study of the roll (7 Henry II) reveals that in many cases, on the lay fiefs at least, the rate was one marc. Both this and the levy of the following year are most difficult to deal with in every way. We have seen that an entry on the roll of 1163 led Swereford to believe that the levy of 1161 was made for the Toulouse campaign, and Dr Stubbs has made the suggestion that it might have been raised to defray 'debts' incurred on that occasion;157 but the difficulties in the way of accepting this view seem insuperable.158