Barony coming henceforth to signify all
honorary possessions as well of earls as barons, and baronage to
denote all kinds of lords as well spiritual as temporal having
right to sit in Parliament, the baronies in this sense were
sometimes more, and sometimes fewer, but commonly about 200 or
250, containing in them a matter of 60,000 feuda militum, or
knights' fees, whereof some 28,000 were in the clergy.
It is ill-luck that no man can tell what the land of a
knight's fee, reckoned in some writs at ?40 a year, and in others
at ?10, was certainly worth, for by such a help we might have
exactly demonstrated the balance of this government. But, says
Coke, it contained twelve plough-lands, and that was thought to
be the most certain account. But this again is extremely
uncertain; for one plough out of some land that was fruitful
might work more than ten out of some other that was barren.
Nevertheless, seeing it appears by Bracton, that of earldoms and
baronies it was wont to be said that the whole kingdom was
composed, as also that these, consisting of 60,000 knights' fees,
furnished 60,000 men for the King's service, being the whole
militia of this monarchy, it cannot be imagined that the
vavasories or freeholds in the people amounted to any
considerable proportion.
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