Statistics Notes for Cornwall 
(version 1b)

Previous studies: Despite its age, the totals and annotation in Sir Henry Ellis, A General Introduction to Domesday Book, vol. 2, pp. 488-93, still have some value. Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond, pp. 400-403, and Darby, Domesday England, pp. 336-71, supply totals and an invaluable analysis of problems with the statistics for the Domesday county; and Ravenhill, 'Cornwall', in The Domesday Geography of South-West England, edited by H.C. Darby and R. Welldon Finn, pp. 296-347, analyses the data and its problems for the modern county. The most comprehensive breakdown of statistics is given in article by H. Mitchell Whitley, 'The Cornish Domesday and Geld Inquest', Journal of the Royal Institute of Cornwall, vol. 13 (1898), pp. 548-75. A sophisticated analysis of the value and limitations of the Domesday statistics for the comparative study of the conditions of 1066 and 1086 is provided by R.W. Finn, The Norman Conquest and its effects on the economy, 1066-1086; but since his totals exclude certain figures they have not been included in the spreadsheet below. Finally, problems in interpreting the statistics for Domesday valuations, Domesday waste, and landed wealth are examined respectively in Palmer, 'The Conqueror's footprints in Domesday Book', in The medieval military revolution, edited by Andrew C. Ayton and J.L. Price (1995), pp. 23-44; 'War and Domesday waste', in Armies, chivalry and warfare in medieval Britain and France, edited by Matthew Strickland (1998), pp. 256-75; and 'The wealth of the secular aristocracy in 1086', Anglo-Norman Studies, vol. 22 (2000), pp. 279-91.

Circuits: Cornwall is considered to have been in circuit 2, along with Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. The characteristics of the text and formulae which define the circuit are analysed by Carl Stephenson, 'Notes on the composition and interpretation of Domesday Book, Speculum, vol. 22 (1947), pp 1-15.

County: the statistics are those contained in the folios for the Domesday county which may explain some discrepancies between our county totals and those of Darby whose figures are sometimes adjusted to take account of vills divided by the county boundary or entries misplaced by the Domesday scribe: see the relevant volume of the Domesday Geographies.

Satellite texts: some statistics have been supplied by the Exeter Domesday where they fill lacunae in the data in Domesday Book; they are recorded in the notes, as are discrepancies between the Domesday figures and those of Exon. Except where they are clearly wrong, the Domesday figures are those recorded in the database.

Duplicates: Duplicates, or possible duplicates, are:
•	5,2,4 Lewarne is duplicated in 5,2,20
Duplicates which are not simply claims are included in our totals but coded to allow them to be treated separately.

Boroughs: Bodmin (4,3) has many of the characteristics of a modest rural manor; distinguished by burgesses (Exon.), urban sites and a market.

Geld: In Cornwall, the geld units are given in hides, virgates, and fiscal acres. Our statistics are recorded as decimals and assume that 1 hide = 4 virgates = 120 acres; these are fiscal units, of course, not measurements of area. Two figures are normally given, the assessment and the tax actually paid, a typical formulae being 'it paid tax for x hides, but n hides there'. The difference between the two figures is normally the amount of the exempt fiscal demesne as recorded in the Geld Accounts; these entries have been coded for separate treatment. Where only the tax paid is recorded, this is assumed to equal the assessment and is also coded for separate treatment; where only the assessment is recorded, no assumptions about the tax paid have been made. The Exeter Domesday often records the assessment of the manorial demesne, also recorded here.

Ploughlands: The formulae normally employed in Cornwall is Terra x carucis (land for x ploughs), Exon. using the phrase hanc terram possunt arare x carucae (x ploughteams can plough this land). The ploughland is theoretically the amount of arable land which could be worked by a ploughteam of eight oxen in the course of the agricultural year. In some counties, theory appears to match reality; but in others the ploughlands are clearly artificial figures whose meaning is unclear. There are no blanks in the manuscript where ploughlands are expected but 9 entries have no recorded ploughlands. In some of these cases it may be necessary to substitute ploughteams for the missing ploughlands for purposes of analysis. We have not done so; but the coding allows the relevant entries to be selected for separate treatment. Other significant variations in formulae have been coded to allow them to be treated separately.

Ploughteams: Where Domesday Book supplies only the total, the Exeter often gives a breakdown of demesne and peasant ploughteams, which are recorded here. As the Domesday scribe often 'rounded' small numbers of oxen into whole ploughteams or simple fractions of teams, the total of the satellite figures sometimes differs from that given in Domesday Book. The discrepancy amounts to 7.375 ploughteams for the county (1216.5 as compared to 1223.875).

Population: The rural population of Cornwall consisted mainly of the major population groups of villagers, smallholders and slaves. The miscellaneous population consists of 49 freedmen and 40 ale-men, Satellite statistics about population for 1,1 have been included in the database.

Woodland: is normally recorded in terms of acres, a minority supplying linear measures in leagues and furlongs, and an even smaller group referring to underwood. Figures are recorded as text to accommodate non-numerical data but can easily converted to numerals where appropriate; the coding of the units employed allow them to be treated separately.

Meadow: is invariably recorded in terms of acres, almost all of modest amounts and for surprisingly few places. Figures are treated as for woodland.

Pasture: is either recorded in terms of linear dimensions or acres, and on rare occasions both; it is recorded for the great majority of places in Cornwall. Figures are treated as for woodland.

Values: The values for Cornwall are almost invariably given in 'was; now' or 'formerly; now' formulae. In the Exeter Domesday, these formulae are almost always rendered as 'when received; now'. We have therefore interpreted the earlier value as referring to a date when the estate was received by its Norman tenant. The few T.R.E. values which do occur are miscellaneous payments rather than the normal valuations. To facilitate comparisons between pre- and post- Conquest landholding, we have created in addition to the two or three valuations a composite field- Value66/QR/86 - which includes intermediate (or failing those 1086) valuations where there is no data for 1066. All valuations - including those in Value66/QR/86 - have been coded to allow significant variations in the formulae to be treated separately.

Waste: The Exeter Domesday refers to waste at Skewes and Trembraze not recorded in Domesday Book: see Domesday Geography of South-West England, pp. 333-34.

Cornish statistics

Source	Geld	Ploughlands	Ploughs	Villagers	Smallholders	Slaves	Value 1086	
Maitland/Ellis*	 399	2377	1187	1730	2355	1160	662	
Whitley	392	2568	1206	1693	2383	1142	660	
VCH	415	-	-	-	-	-	 	
Darby	424	2557	1221	1704	2426	1149	670	
Hull	428	2573	1225	1705	2411	1155	667	

* Population figures from Ellis. All figures are rounded.

Geld	Whitley's figure has been adjusted to include those entries where the tax paid is the only assessment given for the entry, and claim entries (2,13-15) which he does not include. There is also a shortfall of 17 hides and 2 furlongs in 1,1. 4,26. 5,20,2 and 5,24,6; and an excess of 6 virgates in 2,5. 5,11,17. 5,20,2. and 5,24,6.
Ploughlands	Whitley's figure for ploughlands has been adjusted to include 2 ploughlands from the Count's lordship manor at Rinsey in 1,1, and 1 in 4,17 where he gives 7 ploughlands instead of 8. A further 5 ploughlands have been added for claim entries 2,13 and 4,29 which Whitley has not included, but 3 have been subtracted for 5,11,7. Ploughteams have been adjusted to include oxen, and a further total of 1.25 added for slight discrepancies in 4,18, 4,27, 5,2,27, 5,5,9. 5,11,7. 5,13,3. 5,18,1. and 5,23,3. We have also included the 8 cattle given in 4,23 as 1 plough. There is still a shortfall of 1.875 to account for.
Ploughs	Whitley's figures for ploughteams need to be adjusted to include oxen, and a further total of 1.25 added for discrepancies in 4,18. 4,27. 5,2,27. 5,5,9. 5,11,7. 5,13,3. 5,18,1 and 5,23,3. We have also included the 8 cattle given in 4,23 as 1 plough.
Population	Whitley has not included the satellite population statistics for the subholdings of 1,1 which account for 20 villagers, 17 smallholders and 25 slaves. Errors and discrepancies have resulted in a further 8 villagers being subtracted for 5,3,18. 5,4,2. 5,5,2. 5,5,20. 5,5,22. 5,11,7. 5,17,3 and 5,24,3;25. Eleven smallholders have been added for 5,4,2. 5,7,10. 5,11,7. 5,17,3-4. 5,20,1 and 5,24,3;15;25; and 12 slaves have been subtracted for 1,2. 5,11,7. 5,15,6 and 5,20,1. Domesday Book mentions 68 domus in Bodmin which Exon specifies as burgesses. When these adjustments have been made, our population totals match those of Whitley.
Value 1086	Whitley has interpreted the Cornwall 'formerly' values as referring to T.R.E., but his total is comparable to our Q.R. values to within £0.53, including silver marks. For T.R.W. values he has used variant satellite data for 1,1.

Darby's totals for priests, churches, miscellaneous population, burgesses, and mills match ours.