V. EARLIER EVIDENCE OF THE PAYMENT OF WELSH GWESTVA, OR FOOD-RENT.

From the combined evidence of the Domesday Survey and the 'Ancient Laws of Wales,' the fact has now been learned that in the eleventh century, as it had done previously probably for 400 years, the river Wye separated by a sharp line the Saxon land, on which the manorial land system prevailed, from the Welsh land, on which the Welsh tribal land system prevailed. On the one side of the river, at the date of the Survey, clusters of scattered homesteads of free Welshmen contributed food-rents in the form of gwestva to the conqueror of their chief, and taeogs their dawn-bwyds. On the other side the villata of geneats and geburs, besides paying gafol, performed servile week-work upon the demesne lands of the lord of the [p209] village or manor. It may be well, however, to seek for some earlier evidence of the payment of gwestva on the Welsh side of the river.

Documentary evidence of the manorial system on the Saxon side was forthcoming as early as the seventh century, in the laws of King Ine. How far back can documentary evidence be traced of the Welsh system?

The Book of St. Chad. Charters of the eighth century mention food-rent.

In the possession of the church of Llandaff there was long preserved an ancient MS. of the Gospels in Latin, called the Book of St. Chad.[266] This MS. appears to date back to the eighth century. And it was for long the custom to enter on its margin a record of solemn compacts sworn upon it, as in the similar case of the Book of Deer. It thus happens to contain (inter alia) two short records of grants to the church of St. Teilo (or Llandaff). One of these gifts is as follows:[267]—

'This writing showeth that Ris and the family of Grethi gave to God and St. Teilo, Treb guidauc. . . and this is its census: 40 loaves and a wether sheep in summer; and in winter, 40 loaves, a hog, and 40 dishes of butter. . . .'

Another is in these words:—

'This writing showeth that Ris and Hirv . . . . gave Bracma as far as Hirmain Guidauc, from the desert of Gelli Irlath as far as Camdubr, its "hichet" [food-rent?], 3 score loaves and a wether sheep, [p210] and a vessel of butter. And then follow the witnesses.' [268]

Evidently of Taeog-trevs.

Rhys ap Ithael, the donor in these two cases, was king of the district of Glewyssig in the middle of the ninth century, about the time of Alfred the Great. Now, a king or chief would hardly be likely to transfer to the church of Llandaff a free trev and the gwestva paid therefrom. This would have involved the severance of free members of the tribe from the tribe, to put them under an ecclesiastical lordship. We should expect then to find that the Trev 'Guidauc' was a taeog-trev on the chief's own land, and according to the description given in the grants, the census corresponds not with the gwestva of a free trev under the Welsh laws, but with the 'dawn-bwyd' of the taeog-trev.

The food tribute in these grants was divided into summer and winter payments, and so, as we have seen, were the dawn-bwyds of the taeogs in the Welsh laws; the scores of loaves, the sow, the wether sheep, and the tubs of butter, correspond also with the food-gifts from the taeog-trevs, as described in the laws, though with varying quantities.[269]

These grants in the margin of the Book of St. Chad may, therefore be taken as evidence that the system of food-rents was prevalent in Wales in the middle of the ninth century.

Survival of Welsh customs in Wessex.

There is still earlier evidence of the prevalence of the system of food-rents where we should little expect to find it, viz., in the laws of King Ine. Ine being King of Wessex, and Wessex shading off as it [p211] were into the old British districts both south and east of the Severn, it was but natural that some old Welsh or British customs should have survived in certain places; as Walisc men here and there survived amongst the conquering English. These Welshmen were allowed under Ine's laws to hold half-hides and hides of land. We have only to examine the Domesday Survey for Gloucestershire and Herefordshire to find traces even at that date of survivals of Welsh and Saxon customs in exceptional cases, even outside those districts which had only just been conquered.

In some places where Saxon customs had long prevailed a little community of Welshmen remained under Welsh customs. In other places the customs were partly Welsh and partly English.[270] [p212]

Food-rents mentioned in the laws of Ine in the seventh century.

In precisely the same way survivals such as these must have existed in King Ine's time. There must have been then, as 400 years afterwards, at the date of the Survey, places in Wessex where Welshmen predominated and Welsh customs survived. There must have been, in other words, manors which paid Welsh gwestva instead of Saxon services. There is a remarkable passage in King Ine's laws which can only be thus explained. On the same page, and in the next paragraph but two to the law about the yard-land set to 'gafol' and to 'weorc,'[271] there is a clause apparently out of place, which begins abruptly with this heading: 'Æt x. hidum to fostre.' [272] In the Latin version this is rendered 'De x. hides ad corredium.' [273] Now, there is a passage in a charter of Louis VII. of France, anno 1157, given by Du Cange under the word 'Corredium,' in which certain 'villas' are freed from the exaction of 'quædam convivia, quæ vulgo Coreede vel Giste vocantur.' This definition of corredium and of 'giste,' as a contribution of food exacted from tenants, corresponds exactly to the Welsh 'gwestva.' And the Saxon word fostre also means food. So that this heading to the passage in question may be translated—'from x. hides paying gwestva.' And so interpreted the following list [p213] becomes perfectly intelligible, for it describes what the gwestva consisted of.

Now, if the system of gwestva payment or food-rent described in this passage of the laws of King Ine be evidence of the survival of the Welsh custom after the Saxon conquest, it is at the same time equally clear documentary evidence of the seventh century that the system of gwestva or food-rents was prevalent outside Wales in the west of Britain before the Saxon conquest.[274]

Go to:
[Contents.]
[Next Chapter].