Page:Wiltshire, Extracted from Domesday Book.djvu/23

[ xvii ] truth, even at this day. But I hall, preently, enter a little more largely on this ubject.

As I have quoted Fleetwood on the ubject of a labourer's pay in 1351, I mut take ome notice of an inference which he draws from Ingulphus (who wrote in the time of the Conqueror), and which implies a contradiction to the quotation above mentioned. The inference is, that the daily pay at the time of the Conqueror was three halfpence, which was equal to four pence halfpenny of our money

He ays, at page 124 of the Chronicon, from Ingulphus, "that all the men of Croyland, who will have any turf out of the Abbot's marh, mut either work a day's work, or give three halfpence for one to cut turves for Croyland Court." This would render the mall pay of 1351 incredible: but the paage eems to be carelesly underftood by Fleetwood, for it appears in the original, that thee three halfpences were a fine or penalty upon the Tenants of the Abbey, for non-performance of their duty, and not a compoition for others to do it for them; and, probably, the fine was o heavy, that it was eldom or never incurred, Beides, the Abbot himelf was to receive two thirds of it, and the other part was allotted to increae the maintenance of the Chaplains of the Monks. This proves