Book 2 — CHAPTER XI. THE POOR. (continued 2)

Hagustaldes hám or Hagstealdeshám, now Hexham in Northumbria: the ancient seat of a bishopric. Chron. 685.

Hamtún, now Southampton. Chron. 837.

Hamtún, now Northampton, quod vide.

Heanbyrig, now Hanbury in Worcest. Chron. 675.

Heortford, now Hertford. Chron. 913. urbs. Flor. 913.

Hereford, now Hereford. Chron. 918, 1055, 1066.

Hrofesceaster, Durocobrevis, Hrofesbreta, now Rochester; a bishop’s see for West Kent, probably once the capital of the West Kentish kingdom: a strong fortress. Chron. 604, 616, 633, 644. Asser. 884.

Huntena tún, now Huntingdon. Originally, as its name implies, a town or enclosed dwelling of hunters; but in process of time a city. Chron. 921. civitas. Flor. 918.

Judanbyrig, perhaps Jedburgh. Chron. 952.

556Legaceaster, Kairlegeon, now Chester, a Roman city. Chron. 607; deserted, Chron. 894; restored, Chron. 907. Flor. 908.

Legraceaster, now Leicester. Chron. 918, 941, 943. civitas. Flor. 942.

Lindicoln, the ancient Lindum, now Lincoln, the capital city of the Lindissi; a bishop’s see: then one of the five or seven burhs. Chron. 941. civitas. Flor. 942.

Lundenbyrig, Lundenwíc, Londinium, now London. The principal city of the Cantii; then of the Trinobantes; Kair Lunden, Troynovant. Locally in Essex, but usually subject to Mercian sovereignty. Towards the time of the conquest more frequently the residence of the Saxon kings, and scene of their witena gemóts. A strongly fortified city with a fortified bridge over the Thames connecting it with Southwark, apparently its Tête de pont. Chron. 457, 604, 872, 886, 896, 910, 994, 1009, 1013, 1016, 1052.

Lygeanbyrig, now Leighton buzzard. Chron. 571.

Maidulfi urbs, Meldumesbyrig, now Malmesbury in Wilts. Flor. 940.

Mameceaster, now Manchester: “urbem restaurarent, et in ea fortes milites collocarent.” Flor. 920.

Mealdun, now Maldon in Essex. Chron. 920, 921. urbs; rebuilt and garrisoned by Eádweard. Flor. 917.

Medeshámstede: afterwards Burh, and from its wealth Gyldenburh: now Peterborough. Chron. 913.

Merantún, now Merton in Oxfordshire. Chron. 755.

Middeltún, Middleton in Essex, a fortress built by Hæsten the Dane. Chron. 893.

Norðhamtún, more frequently Hámtún only, now Northampton: a town or “Port,” burnt by the Danes under Svein. Chron. 1010.

Norðwíc, now Norwich, a burh, burned by Svein. Chron. 1004.

Oxnaford, Oxford: a burh in Mercia, taken into his own hands by Eádweard on the death of Æðelflǽd. The burh was burnt by Svein. Chron. 1009.

Possentesbyrig. Chron. 661. ? Pontesbury, co. Salop.

Rædingas, now Reading: a royal vill, but, as many or all probably were, fortified. Asser. 871.

557Runcofa, now Runcorn, urbs, Flor. Wig. 916.

Sandwíc, now Sandwich, a royal vill, and harbour, whose tolls belonged to Canterbury. Chron. 851.

Scaroburh, now Salisbury, the ancient Kairkaradek. Chron. 552.

Scærgeat, now Scargate, built by Æðelflǽd. Chron. 912; arx munita, Flor. Wig. 913.

Sceaftesbyrig, Shaftsbury, the seat of a nunnery founded by Ælfred. Chron. 980, 982.

Sceobyrig, now Shoebury in Essex; a fort was built there in 894 by the Danes. Chron. 894.

Seletún, perhaps Silton in Yorkshire. Chron. 780.

Snotingahám, now Nottingham: the British Tinguobauc,or urbs speluncarum. Asser. 868; Chron. 868, 922, 923, 941. There were two towns here, one on each side the river. Flor. Wig. 919, 921; civitas, Flor. Wig. 942.

Soccabyrig, probably Sockburn in Durham. Chron. 780.

Stæfford, now Stafford, a vill of the Mercian kings, fortified by Æðelflǽd. Chron. 913; arx, Flor. Wig. 914.

Stamford in Lincolnshire. Chron. 922, 941; arx and civitas, Flor. Wig. 919, 942.

Sumertún, now Somerton in Oxfordshire, taken by Æðelbald of Mercia from Wessex. Chron. 733.

Súðbyrig, now Sudbury in Suffolk. Chron. 797.

Swanawíc, probably Swanwick, Hants. Chron. 877.

Temesford, Tempsford in Bedfordshire, a Danish fortress and town. Chron. 921.

Tofeceaster, Towchester in Northampton. Chron. 921; civitas, Flor. Wig. 918; walled with stone, Flor. ibid.

Tomaworðig, now Tamworth in Staffordshire; a favourite residence of the Mercian kings. Chron. 913, 922; fortified by Æðelflǽd; urbs, Flor. Wig. 914.

Wæringawíc, now Warwick. Chron. 914; urbs, Flor. Wig. 915.

Weardbyrig, now Warborough, Oxford; urbs, Flor. Wig. 916.

Wigingamere, probably in Hertfordshire. Chron. 951; urbs, Flor. Wig. 918; civitas, ibid.

558Wigornaceaster, Worcester, a fortified city. Chron. 922, 1041.

Wihtgarabyrig, now Carisbrook. Chron. 530, 544.

Wiltún, Wilton in Wiltshire. Chron. 1008.

Wintanceaster, Winchester, the capital of Wessex, a fortified city. Chron. 643, 648.

Withám, now Witham in Essex; a city and fortress. Chron. 913; Flor. Wig. 914.

Ðelweal, Thelwall in Cheshire, a fortress and garrison town. Chron. 923; Flor. Wig. 920.

Ðetford, now Thetford in Norfolk; a fortress and city. Chron. 952, 1004.

It is not to be imagined that this list nearly exhausts the number of fortresses, towns and cities extant in the Saxon times. It is only given as a specimen, and as an illustration of the averments in the text. The reader who wishes to pursue the subject, will find the most abundant materials in the Index Locorum appended to Vol. VI. of the “Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici;” and to this I must refer him for any ampler information.

559

APPENDIX D. CYRICSCEAT.

I do not think it necessary to repeat here the arguments which I have used elsewhere^[1045], to show that Cyricsceat has nothing whatever to do with our modern church-rates, or that these arose from papal usurpation very long after the Norman Conquest. I can indeed only express my surprise that any churchman should still be found willing to continue a system which exposes the dignity and peace of the church to be disturbed by any schismatic who may see in agitation a cheap step to popularity. But as the question has been put in that light, it may be convenient for the sake of reference to collect the principal passages in the laws and charters which refer to the impost. They are the following:—

“Be cyricsceattum. Cyricsceattas sýn ágifene be Seint Martines mæssan. Gif hwá ðæt ne gelǽste, sý he scyldig LX scill. and be twelffealdum ágyfe ðone cyricsceat.” Ine, § 4; Thorpe, i. 104.

“Be cyricsceattum. Cyricsceat mon sceal ágifan tó ðæm healme and to ðæm heorðe ðe se man on bið tó middum wintra.” Ine, § 61; Thorpe, i. 140.

“And ic wille eác ðæt míne geréfan gedón ðæt man ágyfe ða cyricsceattas and ða sáwlsceattas tó ðám stowum, ðe hit mid rihte tó gebyrige.” Æthelst. i.; Thorpe, i. 196.

“Be teoðungum and cyricsceattum. Teoðunge we bebeódað ǽlcum cristenum men be his cristendóme, and cyricsceat, and ælmesfeoh. Gif hit hwá dón nylle, sý he amansumod.” Eádm. i. § 2; Thorpe, i. 244.

“Be cyricsceat. Gif hwá ðonne þegna sý, ðe on his bóclande cyrican hæbbe, ðe legerstowe on sý, gesylle he ðonne þriddan dǽl his ágenre teoðunge intó his cyrican. Gif hwá cyrican hæbbe, 560ðe legerstow on ne sý, ðonne dó he of ðǽm nygan dǽlum his preost ðæt ðæt he wille. And gá ylc cyricsceat intó ðæm ealdan mynster be ǽlcum frigan (h)eorðe.” Eádgár, i. § 1, 2; Thorpe, i. 262.

“Neádgafol úres drihtnes, ðæt sýn úre teoðunga and cyricsceattas.” Eádgár, Supp. § 1; Thorpe, i. 270.

“And cyricsceat tó Martinus mæssan.” Æðelr. vi. § 18; Thorpe, i. 320.

“And cyricsceat gelǽste man be Martinus mæssan, and seðe ðæt ne gelǽste, forgilde hine mid twelffealdan, and ðám cyninge CXX scill.” Æðelr. ix. § 11; Thorpe, i. 342.

“Et præcipimus, ut omnis homo super dilectionem dei et omnium sanctorum det cyricsceattum et rectam decimam suam, sicut in diebus antecessorum nostrorum stetit, quando melius stetit; hoc est, sicut aratrum peragrabit decimam acram.” Æðelr. viii. § 4; Thorpe, i. 338.

“De ciricsceatto dicit vicecomitatus quod episcopus, de omni terra quæ ad ecclesiam suam pertinet, debet habere, in die festivitatis sancti Martini, unam summam annonæ, qualis melior crescit in ipsa terra, de unaquaque hida libera et villana; et si dies ille fractus fuerit, ille qui retinuerit reddet ipsam summam, et undecies persolvat; et ipse episcopus accipiat inde forisfacturam qualem ipse debet habere de terra sua. De ciricsceatto de Perscora dicit vicecomitatus quod illa ecclesia de Perscora debet habere ipsum ciricsceattum de omnibus ccc hidis, scilicet de unaquaque hida ubi francus homo manet, unam summam annonæ, et si plures habet hidas, sint liberæ; et si dies fractus fuerit, in festivitate sancti Martini, ipse qui retinuerit det ipsam summam et undecies persolvat, abbati de Perscora; et reddat forisfacturam abbati de Westminstre quia sua terra est.” Cart. Heming. i. 49, 50. “De ciricsceate. Dicit vicecomitatus quod de unaquaque hida terræ, libera vel villana, quæ ad ecclesiam de Wirecestre pertinet, debet episcopus habere, in die festo sancti Martini unam summam annonæ, de meliori quæ ibidem crescit; quod si dies ille non reddita annona transierit, qui retinuit annonam reddat, undecies persolvet, et insuper forisfacturam episcopus accipiet, qualem et sua terra habere debet.” Ibid. 1, 308.

561The only instance that I can find of this impost being noticed in the Ecclesiastical Laws, or Recommendations of the Bishops and Clergy, is in the Canons attributed to Eádgár:—

“And we enjoin, that the priests remind the people of what they ought to do to God for dues, in tithes and in other things; first plough-alms, xv days after Easter; and tithe of young, by Pentecost; and of fruits of the earth, by All Saints; and Róm-feoh (Peter-pence) by St. Peter’s Mass; and Cyricsceat by Martinmass^[1046].”

“Nunc igitur praecipio et obtestor omnes meos episcopos et regni praepositos, per fidem quam Deo et mihi debetis, quatenus faciatis, ut antequam ego Angliam veniam, omnia debita, quae Deo secundum legem antiquam debemus, sint soluta, scilicet eleemosynae pro aratris, et decimae animalium ipsius anni procreatorum, et denarii quos Romæ ad sanctum Petrum debemus, sive ex urbibus sive ex villis, et mediante Augusto decimae frugum, et in festivitate sancti Martini primitiae seminum ad ecclesiam sub cuius parochia quisque est, quae Anglice Circesceat nominantur^[1047].”

Oswald’s grants often contain this clause: “Sit autem terra ista libera omni regi nisi aecclesiastici censi.” See Codex Dipl. Nos. 494, 498, 515, 540, 552, 558, 649, 680, 681, 682. But sometimes the amount is more closely defined: thus in No. 498, two bushels of wheat. In No. 511 we have this strong expression: “Free from all worldly service (weoruldcund þeówet), except three things, one is cyricsceat, and that he (work) with all his might, twice in the year, once at mowing, once at reaping.” And in No. 625 he repeats this, making the land granted free, “ab omni mundialium servitute tributorum, exceptis sanctae Dei aecclesiae necessitatibus atque utilitatibus.” Again, “Et semper possessor terrae illius reddat tributum aecclesiasticum, quod ciricsceat dicitur, tó Pirigtúne; et omni anno unus ager inde aretur tó Pirigtúne, et iterum metatur.”—Cod. Dipl. No. 661. “Sit autem hoc praedictum rus liberum ab omni mundiali servitio, ... excepta sanctae Dei basilicae suppeditatione ac ministratione.”—Ibid. No. 666.

562The customs of Dyddanham^[1048] impose upon the gebúr the duty of finding the cyricsceat to the lord’s barn, but whether because the lord was an ecclesiastic does not clearly appear.

The important provisions of Denewulf’s and Ealhfrið’s charters have been sufficiently illustrated in the text.

After the conquest, Chirset or Chircettum, as it is called, was very irregularly levied: it appears to have been granted occasionally by the lords to the church, but no longer to have been a general impost: and nothing is more common than to find it considered as a set-off against other forms of rent-paying, on lay as well as ecclesiastical land. If the tenant gave work, he usually paid no chircet: if he paid chircet, his amount of labour-rent was diminished: a strong evidence, if any more were wanted, that cyricsceat has nothing whatever to do with church-rate.

THE END.

Printed by Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street.

Transcriber’s Note

On p. 152, a single footnote anchor is in the text (360); however two notes appear at the bottom of the page. The first is unnumbered, and the second has no anchor in the text. The unnumbered note is an accurate reference to p. 753 of the 1854 German edition of Jacob Grimm’s Deutsch Rechalterthümer (2nd volume), and was obviously intended as footnote 1. The second note, numbered ‘2’ in the original (“Gloss. in voc. Grafio.”), has no anchor and no obvious reference. The two notes have simply been combined.

On p. 294, the last line of the page (‘the extermination of its inhabitants, is the only re-’) was obviously misplaced to the top of the page. It has been placed in the intended position.

Minor lapses in the consistency of punctuation in citations have been corrected with no further mention.

Other errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original, not counting any embedded tables. Where a third reference is employed, the reference is to the line within the designated footnote (e.g. 166.1.1 refers to the first line in the first footnote on p. 166, as printed).

4.1.10 Abergavenny, lat. 51° 49´ N., long. 3° 2´[ W.]> Added.

4.1.44 between Perth and Inverness[,] Added.

27.5 of becoming familiar w[t/i]th the views Replaced.

35.4.34 God’s church and all the Ch[r]istian people Inserted.

35.4.22 which archbishop D[u/ú]nstán delivered Replaced.

46.2.2 were simil[i]arly circumstanced Removed.

48.2 the time of Æðelr[æ/ǽ]d (990-995) Replaced.

50.1.4 unless the king pardon him.[”] Added.

51.2.4 that he could not forfeit.[”] Added.

52.2.27 sceleribus[ ]semet[ ]ipsum condempn[ ]avit Spaces added.

102.3.19 p. 154[,/.] Replaced.

152.19 there cannot be the sligh[t]est connection. Inserted.

155.3 in connexion with judic[i]al functions Inserted.

157.12 In a prece[e]ding chapter Removed.

158.1.3 Wulfsige preóst sc[i/í]rigman Replaced.

162.21 before Æðelríc beca[em/me] sheriff Transposed.

203.2.3 head of the church in his dominio[u/n]s Inverted.

204.5 encircled by an [abbatis] of timber sic: abatis

233.2.47 witnessed by all the scírþ[e]genas in Hampshire Removed.

238.10 the Campus Ma[d]ius of Charlemagne Restored.

260.7.1 Chron. Sa[s/x]. an. 1048. Replaced.

273.1.16 [‘]nihil profici patientia sic

273.1.24 the duties laid upon the[n/m] Replaced.

295.24 injure its forti[fi]cations Inserted.

310.9 we may more famil[i]arly term Inserted.

451.9 the eager credul[i]ty which they showed Inserted.

526.17 to meet the ‘gemot’ by the king’[s] command Added.

543.15 Tous les hommes habitant dans l’enc[ie/ei]nte Transposed.

543.30 un[e] femme relevant d’une autre seigneurie Added.