earlier historians, but the whole narrative is, in the present day, scouted as fabulous. CHAP. XX. Other historians relate that, marching from Dover to London "the Kentish men met William not far from Harris, p. 308. Dover (probably Barham Downs), swore fealty to him, and delivered him hostages." According to William of Malmesbury, he proceeded by p. 281. degrees to London, as became a conqueror with his army, not after a hostile, but after a royal manner. That during this journey William made some important concessions to the men of Kent which preserved the freedom of the tenure of their land, if not of their persons, is generally believed; and I propose to refer to them again when I speak of the feudal system shortly afterwards established throughout England. Mr. Freeman p. 344. says in his Old English History, "William did not abolish the old Kentish laws, but that is because he did not do so anywhere, nor is there anything to show that he treated Kent better or worse than the rest of the kingdom." This I must respectfully deny, for those Kentish proprietors of the soil who, at the Conquest, held in socage tenure, were allowed to retain their gavelkind liberties, being the laws and usages which the men of Kent have kept "from before the Conquest, and at the Custumal of Conquest, and ever since until now;" and which have distinguished the alienation, descent, dower, curtesy, and Elton, p. 10 escheat of lands in Kent from those in other shires, and which in substance remain unaltered. William's object was, naturally, to ingratiate himself with the inhabitants of the first shire over which he was traversing; and even assuming he did not enter into any treaty, he allowed the customs and tenure of the land of an entire county to remain unaltered, which he did not do in any other part of England. The Conqueror, having firmly established himself on the throne of England, proceeded to fulfil his promise of building a monastery upon the battle field. The royal vill of Wi [Wye], as we have already seen, formed part of Kent. CHAP. XX. Translated from Lark. Dom., p. 189. Vide also Harleian Coll. of Charters, pp. 83, A. 12. p. 28. the possessions of the Crown at this time, and William. endowed the Abbey with it and other lands. The grant of Wye is not a long one, and it may interest my readers to possess a translation of it; it is supposed to bear date about the fifth year after his accession :— "I for the second time do Grant to the Church of Saint Martin, of Battle, the Royal Manor which is called Wi [Wye], with all its appendages of the demesne of my Crown, with all liberties and royal customs as free and quit as I now freely and quietly hold, or as I the King could give, to wit, from all Geld [fine or tax], and Scot [contribution], and Hidage [aid of 6s. collected by the King for every hide of land], and Danegeld, [a tax of 12d. for every hide] and from the work of bridges and castles, and inclosures of parks, and from armies and all aids, and pleas, and plaints, and shires, and hundred courts, with Sac and Soc [jurisdiction and right of holding courts], and Thol [toll], and Theam [power of judg ing and restraining dependents and criminals], and Infangen-thef [power of seizing and trying criminals within the manor], and war or wardpenny [money paid for watch and ward], and Lastages [market dues], and Hamsoken [forcible entering a man's house], and Forstal [obstruction of the highway], and bloodwite [an amercement for bloodshed], and childwite [a fine of a bondwoman unlawfully begotten with child], and robberies, if they shall happen. Likewise I give two pennies for all forfeitures and pleas of all Hundred Courts which pertain to the summons of Wi. And in Dengemareis [Dengemarsh], which is one member of Wi, I grant to the same Church all maritime customs which I had there, with all wreck. And if the fish come there which is called spear fish [adspeis], it shall altogether belong to the Abbot and monks; and if it come within the bounds of Blackware, and Horsemede, and Bradelle, unto Withiburne, the Church shall have two parts of the same fish, and the tongue, as I always have had." # From the circumstance that the king states that this grant is made for the second time, it is possible that on the first occasion he did it on the field of battle or before he left the neighbourhood, for in the "Chronicon Monasterii de Bello" it is recorded that when he conferred the manor of Wi, with all its privileges of seven sulinga, that is hides, from his crown lands, on the church of Battle, "this thrice renowned prince is remembered to have uttered this saying, remarkable and worthy to be had in remembrance. * Mr. Larking writes adspeis;' but I suspect it should be 'craspeis;' and it is so written in Chron. Monast. de Bello, p. 30, i. e., crassus piscis. The grampus may be the fish thus designated; or it may have been the whale.-Vide Thorpe's Glossary. I have given the above definitions from the best authorities, but there is much uncertainty as to some of them. For when certain marvelled on account of such munificence, he said, 'I take this away from my body and confer it on my soul,' and added, if my body could hold it freely and quietly, it is fitting that my soul, which is the better part of man, should possess it, if possible, in greater freedom and quietness.' 66 This document contains the grant of a strange mixture of royal prerogatives; still they were such as had been often conferred by Saxon monarchs. Some Norman charters," says Kemble, "while they confirm many of these privileges, frankly state they do not know the meaning of the words they are using." We shall find as we proceed that the royal vill, or what will hereafter be called the Manor of Wye, will occupy an important position in our history. CHAP. XX. CHAP. XXI. Domesday Ellis' Introduction to Domesday, Vol. I., p. 1. Stewart's Ed., CHAPTER XXI. DOMESDAY BOOK. HE attention of the reader must now be directed to Domesday Book, one of the most ancient records of England; indeed, "the oldest survey of a kingdom," says Palgrave, "now existing in the world," forming the register from which "judgment was to be given upon the value, tenure, and services of lands therein described." The year when it was compiled is differently stated by different writers. The earliest period given for its commencement is 1080; the latest for its completion is 1087; but it is generally supposed that the true date for both is 1086. Indeed, the colophon attests this, the whole having been completed between Christmas, 1085, and Easter, 1086-a remarkable instance of official dispatch. It was intended, says Palgrave, to put the Conqueror in posses-· sion of the names of the several landholders in the kingdom-the means of ascertaining its military strength and the state of the revenue. Blackstone (quoting the Sax. Chron.) says: "The nineteenth year of King William's reign (1085) an invasion was apprehended from Denmark, and the military constitution of the Saxons being then laid aside and no other introduced in its stead, the kingdom was wholly defenceless, which occasioned the king to bring over a large army of Normans, who were quartered on the landholders and oppressed the people. This apparent weakness, together with the grievances occa. sioned by a foreign force, might co-operate with the king's remonstrances and the better induce the nobility to listen to his proposals for putting them in a posture of defence. For as soon as the danger was over, the king held a great council to inquire into the state of the nation; the immediate consequence of which was the compiling the great survey called Domesday Book, which was finished the next year." The compilation of it was thus effected. Certain Commissioners were appointed, called the King's Justiciaries, |