inconvenientnetwork。Thelordhadnointeresttopreventsuchexchanges，whichcouldmanifestlyleadtoanimprovementofhusbandry，。andinregardtohisownstrips，hemusthaveperceivedsoonenoughthatitwouldbebettertohavetheminonecompactmassthanscatteredaboutinallthefields。Andstilltheopen-fieldintermixtureholdsitsgroundallthroughthemiddleages，andwefinditssurvivalsfarintomoderntimes。Thiscanonlymean，thatevenwhentheshifting，’ideal，’shareinthelandofthecommunityhadgivenwaytothepermanentownershipbyeachmemberofcertainparticularscatteredstrips，thispermanentownershipdidbynomeansamounttoprivatepropertyintheRomanorinthemodernsense。Thecommunalprinciplewithitsequalisingtendencyremainedstillastheefficientforceregulatingthewhole，andstrongenoughtosubjecteventhelordandthefreeholderstoitscustomaryinfluence。BysayingthisIdonotmeantomaintain，ofcourse，thatprivatepropertywasnotexistent，thatitwasnotbreakingthroughthecommunalsystem，andactingasadissolventofit。Ishallhavetoshowby-and-byinwhatwaysthisprocesswaseffected。Butthefactremains，thatthesystemwhichprevaileduponthewholeduringthemiddleagesappearsdirectlyconnectedinitsmostimportantfeatureswithideasofcommunalownershipandequalisedindividualrights。
Theseideasarecarriedoutinaveryroughwayinthemediaevalarrangementoftheholding，whichismorecomplicatedinEnglandthanonthecontinent。Accordingtoaverycommonmodeofreckoning，thehidecontainsfourvirgates，everyvirgatetwobovates，andeverybovatefifteenacres。Thebovateoxgang
showsbyitsverynamethatnotonlythelandistakenintoaccount，buttheoxenemployedinitstillage，andtherecordsexplainthehideorcarucate23*tobethelandoftheeight-oxenplough，thatissomuchlandasmaybecultivatedbyaploughdrawnbyeightoxen。Thevirgate，oryard-land，beingthefourthpartofahide，correspondstoone-fourthpartoftheplough，thatis，totwooxen，contributedbytheholdertothefullplough-team；thebovateoroxgangappearsasthelandofoneox，andtheeighthpartofthehide。24*Suchproportionsare，asIsaid，verycommonlyfoundintherecords，buttheyarebynomeansprevalenteverywhere。OnthepossessionsofGlastonburyAbbey，forinstance，wefindvirgatesoffortyacres，andahideof160；andthesamereckoningappearsinmanorsofWetherallPriory，Westmoreland，25*oftheAbbeyofEynsham，Oxfordshire，26*andmanyotherplaces。
Theso-calledDomesdayofSt。Paul’sreports，27*thatinRunwelleightyacresusedtobereckonedtothehide，butincourseoftimenewlandwasacquiredfortillageandmeasured，andsothehidewasraisedto120acres。Altogetherthesuppositionofanuniformacre-measurementofbovates，virgates，hides，andknights’feesalloverEnglandwouldbeentirelymisleading。Theoxenwereanimportantelementinthearrangement，but，ofcourse，nottheonlyone。Theformationoftheholdinghadtoconformalsotothequalityofthesoil，thedensityofthepopulation，etc。Wefindinanycasethemostvaryingfigures。Theknight’sfeecontainedmostlyfourorfivefullploughsorcarucates，andstillinLincolnshiresixteencarucateswenttotheknight’sfee。28*Thecarucatewasnotidenticalwiththehide，butcarucateandhidealikehadoriginallymeantaunitcorrespondingtoaplough-team。Fourvirgatesweremostlyreckonedtothehide，butsometimessix，eight，sevenaretaken。29*Theyardlandsvirgatesorfulllands，astheyaresometimescalled，becausetheywereconsideredasthetypicalpeasantholdings，consistoffifteen，sixteen，eighteen，twenty-four，forty，forty-eight，fifty，sixty-two，eightyacres，althoughthirtyisperhapsthefigurewhichappearsmoreoftenthananyother。30*Bovatesoften，twelve，andsixteenacresaretobefoundinthesamelocality。31*Wecannotevenseizeholdoftheacreastheoneconstantunitamongthesemanyvariables；thesizeoftheacreitselfvariedfromplacetoplace。Inthiswayanyattempttoestablishanormalreckoningoftheholdingswillnotonlyseemhazardous，butwillactuallystandincontradictionwithpatentfacts。
Anothercircumstanceseemsofyetgreaterimport：evenwithintheboundariesofoneandthesamecommunitytheequalitywasanagrarianoneanddidnotamounttoastrictcorrespondenceinfigures。Itwasobviouslyimpossibletocutupthelandamongtheholdingsinsuchawayastomakeeveryonecontainquitethesamenumberofacresastherest。IntheCartularyofRamseyitisstated，thatinoneofthemanorsthevirgatecontainssometimesforty-eightacresandsometimesless。32*TheHuntingdonHundredRollsmentionsalocalitywheresomeofthehalf-virgateshavegothousesontheirplotsandsomehavenot。33*IntheDorsetshiremanorofNewton，belongingtoGlastonbury，wefindareductionofthedutiesofoneofthevirgatesbecauseitisasmallone。34*AcuriousinstanceissuppliedbythesameGlastonburysurveyastotheWiltshiremanorofChristianMalford：oneofthevirgateswasformedoutoftwoformervirgates，whichwerefoundinsufficienttosupporttwoseparatehouseholds。35*