Systems of Land Assessment in Scotland Before 1400
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
SYSTEMS OF LAND ASSESSMENTIN SCOTLANDBEFORE 1400 Alexis Rachel Easson Presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Edinburgh 1986 i. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. ABBREVIATIONS iii ABSTRACT iv DECLARATION vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER TWO. THE HOUSE 27 CHAPTERTHREE. THE DAVACH 45 CHAPTERFOUR. THE PENNYLAND 101 CHAPTERFIVE. THE OUNCELAND 131 CHAPTERSIX. THE ARACHOR 172 CHAPTERSEVEN. THE PLOUGHGATE 197 CHAPTEREIGHT. CONCLUSION 266 APPENDIX I. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF THE HOUSE IN DALRIADA 279 APPENDIX II. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF DAVACHSBEFORE 1400 280 APPENDIX III. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF DAVACH PLACE-NAMES 281 APPENDIX IV. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF PENNYLANDSBEFORE 1600 282 APPENDIX V. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF PEIGHINN PENNYLAND PLACE NAMES 283 APPENDIX VI. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF OUNCELANDS/DAVACHS BEFORE 1600 284 APPENDIX VII. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF ARACHORSBEFORE 1400 285 APPENDIX VIII. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF PLOUGHGATESBEFORE 1400 286 APPENDIX IX. DISTRIBUTION MAP OF OXGANGSBEFORE 1400 287 APPENDIX X. DAVACHSLISTED IN DOCUMENTARYSOURCES BEFORE 1400 288 APPENDIX XI. DAVACH PLACE-NAMES 297 ii. - Page No, APPENDIX XII. PENNYLANDSLISTED IN DOCUMENTARY SOURCESBEFORE 1600 300 APPENDIX XIII. PEIGHINN/PENNYLAND PLACE-NAMES 317 APPENDIX XIV. OUNCELANDS/DAVACHSLISTED IN DOCUMENTARY SOURCESBEFORE 1600 321 APPENDIX XV. ARACHORSLISTED IN DOCUMENTARYSOURCES BEFORE 1400 326 APPENDIX XVI. PLOUGHGATESLISTED IN DOCUMENTARYSOURCES BEFORE 1400 329 APPENDIX XVII. RENDERSLEVIED FROM DAVACHSBEFORE 1400 335 APPENDIX XVIII. RENDERSLEVIED FROM PENNYLANDSBEFORE 1400 338 APPENDIX XIX. RENDERSLEVIED FROM ARACHORSBEFORE 1400 340 APPENDIX XX. RENDERSLEVIED FROM PLOUGHGATESBEFORE 1400 341 BIBLIOGRAPHY 344 / iii. ABBREVIATIONS Adv. Lib. Advocates Library Collection AgHR Agricultural History Review CG Crtth Gablach EcHR Economic History Review EHR English Historical Review NLS National Library of Scotland NTFS Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap POAS Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society PRIA Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy SRO Scottish Record Office TGSI Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness VCH The Victoria County History of England WHR Welsh History Review Other abbreviations used conform to the list of 'Abbreviated Titles' in SHR. 42 (1963). iv. ABSTRACT The earliest recorded system of assessment of land (or other property) in Scotland is the house system of seventh-century Dalriada. By the time documentary sources become more readily available from c. 1100 the house unit appears to have almost disappeared and between c. 1100 and c. 1400 documentary record reveals the existence of multifarious units of land assessment in Scotland. The principal units recorded during this period were the davach, the pennyland, the ounceland, the arachor and the ploughgate. The situation, however, is not as complex as it first appears. The basic framework for land assessment over most of Scotland, except the south-east, can actually be traced to the house system as recorded in seventh-century Dalriada. As regards their derivation the various land units can be grouped into two broad classes, those whose terminology implies an agrarian meaning and those which appear to have had a fiscal meaning. Regardless of their derivation and their diverse origins, which tend to reflect the influences of different cultures at different times, by c. 1100 or soon thereafter all the units were fulfilling a similar role in society. In an agricultural sense they created a structured framework within which settlement and arable developed. Fiscally they provided a base for the organisation of such fundamental prerequisites of early societies as military service and taxation. Both in their capacity as agricultural V" and as fiscal units the various land assessments found in Scotland before 1400 formed an integral part of the agricultural, economic and military organisation of that society. vi. I declare that this thesis is entirely my own work, and that no part of it has been previously published in the form in which it is now presented. ae c 0 vii. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Amongst the many colleagues and friends whose help and encouragement have been invaluable in the writing of this thesis I am particularly indebted to my supervisor Professor G. W. S. Barrow for his support and guidance throughout and to Dr. 3. Bannerman for the interest he has shown in my work and the inspiration I have gained from discussions with him. I am similarly grateful to Professor 3. MacQueen and Mr. I. Fraser of the School of Scottish Studies both for discussion of various aspects of my thesis and for help with the identification of place- names. I wish to acknowledge the help of the staffs of the Scottish Record Office, the National Library of Scotland and the Library of the University of Edinburgh. I am grateful to the S. E. O. who provided a major Scottish studentship to finance this study and to the Scottish History Department who gave financial assistance to attend relevant conferences. Thanks are also due to Mrs 0. Williamson for the precision and speed with which she typed this manuscript as well as for the many. kindnesses she has shown over the years. I would also like to thank Dr. N. Stroud for preparing the maps. Finally, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my family, to my parents and grandparents for their help, to my husband for his constant support and encouragement and to my daughter for her understanding which goes well beyond that of an average four-year old. 1. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION In tenure . any society where ownership and of land are fundamental the study of land assessment systems which were used for levying such basic necessities of government as military service and taxation is obviously vital to an understanding of that society. This thesis attempts to uncover the older systems found in Scotland from the earliest recorded (the house unit) in the seventh century to those in use, or at least still recorded, at the end of the fourteenth century. In the period between 1100 and 1400 documentary record reveals the existence of various different units of assessment, the major ones being davachs, pennylands, ouncelands, arachors and ploughgates. It is with these units, as well as with the earlier house unit, that this thesis is concerned. Some appear to have belonged to the same system of assessment, some were simply sub- divisions of a larger unit, while others represented totally different systems. An attempt is made to establish the relationship, if any, of the units to one another. Beneath the nucleated villages and large, open fields in some parts of the countryside of early- medieval Scotland and the dispersed settlements with their enclosed fields in others the land 0 2. assessment systems provided a structured framework within which settlement and arable developed. As well as in an agricultural sense so too in a fiscal sense these units occupied an important position acting as a base for the organisation of such fundamental prerequisites of early societies as military service and taxation. Although perhaps at one time the subject of land assessment was considered the preserve of antiquarian specialists, recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in it as scholars have become increasingly aware of the wider applications of the subject to many diverse historical problems. It is an important, topic not only for social organization but also for political history. Part of the cohesion of early societies depended upon their assessment systems and such systems obviously constituted an important prop for royal government. It is also important to know what kings were really doing when they were granting land in davachs or ploughgates, how much land they were in fact giving, for these issues are pre-judicial to the whole question of kingship. The study of land assessments can also make a valuable contribution towards a greater understanding of the different ethnic and cultural origins of the various peoples who eventually came to form the kingdom of Scotland and go some way towards determining their relative positions of power and influence. The distribution of assessments 3. can be used to help illustrate population movements and settlement patterns in the early period. Land assessments are also useful for the light they can shed on topics which so far lack detailed studies, in particular the history of the development of military service in Scotland. Assessments are a particularly important source in the period before 1400, a period of Scottish history where much is unknown and for which sources are so limited. For these reasons, therefore, the subject of land assessment systems is undoubtedly one which merits investigation. In the later nineteenth century the subject of land assessment systems aroused some interest among several scholars and received valuable contributions in particular from W.F. Skene, of whom it has been justly said, 'Al]. those who condemn him use his books' and from Captain I F. W. L. Thomas. In fact one of the major controversies still raging today, that is the question of the origin 1. W. F. Skene, Celtic Scotland (Edinburgh 1890), iii, 223-27; John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Na., ii, ed. W. F. Skene, The Historians of Stion,cotland, iv (Edinburgh 1872), Appendix, 449-55. The comment on Skene is taken from ES, i, pe lxxxviii. F. W. L. Thomas, 'What is a Pennyland? Or Ancient Valuation of Land in the Scottish Isles', PSAS, 18 (1883-84), 253-85; ibid., 'Ancient Valuation of Land in the West of Scotland, PSAS, 20 (1885- 86), 200-13. 4. of the pennyland system of assessment, may be said to have begun with those two scholars. The interest shown in Scottish land units towards the end of last century is paralleled in England where a period of growing interest in land assessment is reflected by various works including Maitland's Domesday Book and Beyond and Round's Feudal 2 England. However, although the importance of studying land units was recognised by various scholars of the late- nineteenth century the subject was to lie dormant in Scotland for a period of almost half a century until it was taken up by A.