The Roman civitas, it must be noted, included within its area, not only the territory within its walls, but also a large tract of land outside, known as the territorium. In adopting the Roman civitas as the unit of administration, the Barbarians did so with this difference. In many instances they split up the territorium into one or more counties. Thus, in Gaul, the 120 imperial civitates became 900 Carolingian counties. The policy adopted by the Anglo-Saxons in Roman Britain was, we have every reason to believe, similar to that of the Barbarians on the Continent. As a rule the Anglo-Saxon scire succeeded the Roman civitas. London formed the principal exception. Its territorium outside the walls, with the exception of the liberties, was absorbed by the surrounding counties. So, too, the Roman comes civitatis was replaced by the Anglo-Saxon ealdorman, who later developed into the earl. In the early days of the Barbarian conquests, both in Gaul and in Britain, popular justice was administered in the hundred courts, the county assembly-mallus-witenagemot so far as it met for judicial business, dealing only with disputes between the king's thegns. In these times the ealdorman exercised his judicial functions through two deputies, the one called caldormannes gingra or principis junior, who presided in the hundred courts for the trial of disputes between Anglo-Saxons, and the other, the wealhgerefa or centenarius, who presided for the trial of disputes between the Romano-British. This distinction lasted until the Danish invasions welded the two races into one by the necessity of resisting a common danger. With this coalescence, the county court assumed greater importance. The Romano-British landowners forced their way as assessors upon the bench. They formed part of the gewitnesse with the scir-thegns. The county court became open and competent to both Roman and Saxon. In this court the ealdorman, and after the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to

Christianity, the bishop with him, presided. In his absence, the ealdorman was represented by his deputy, vici-comesscir-gerefa or sheriff, i.e., the reeve of the scire. With the growth of the monarchy the ealdorman had developed into the earl, a great territorial magnate responsible for the administration of one or more scires. In some instances he was, in fact, a deposed king, and signed as sub-regulus. After the Danish invasions the Anglo-Saxon ealdorman gave place to the Danish eorl, who ranked with the Continental dux, and was frequently so called.

The Roman tributum, originally a war tax, became a permanent tax upon land. It was continued in Anglo-Saxon Britain under the names of land-gafol and haw-gafol-landtax and house-tax. In addition to this tax, for which was later substituted the danegeld, were three further burdens upon land, known to the Anglo-Saxons collectively as threo neode, and to the Romano-British as trinoda necessitas. These were the burhbot, the brycgbot, and the fyrd. Under the first the landowner was liable for the maintenance of the walls of the chief town of the county in proportion to his holding within the county. Under the second, for the maintenance of the county bridges and highroads; and under the third, for the provision of free men, living upon his estate, in proportion to its hideage, for the defence of the kingdom. The fyrd of each county was distinct and was under the control of the ealdorman of the county.

For his trouble and expenditure in collection of these taxes and of the imposition of these burdens, the ealdorman was allowed to retain one-third of the receipts, known as the earl's third penny.

The ealdorman was also responsible for the King's peace within the county. This was secured by the police system. of the hundred and tithing, which bears too close a resemblance to the Roman milites stationarii, detailed for the

supervision of the centenae and decaniae within each civitas to be a matter of mere coincidence. Under the Anglo-Saxon system of frithbor, every free man was required to find a personal surety for his good conduct or become a member of a hundred and a tithing. Just as the Roman decanus presided over ten men, of whom he was one, so the Anglo-Saxon headborough or constable was responsible for the production of the other nine men who formed his tithing. Thus, for the punishment of peace-breakers, their pursuit, arrest and safe-keeping the hundredes-ealdor and the headborough were made personally responsible. Offences against the peace were tried in the hundred court, where the sheriff, or in his absence, the hundredes-ealdor presided. Once a year attendance at the hundred court of all the tithing men was required that all might be registered. This attendance was known as the sheriff's tourn. For the purposes of arraying the tribe in arms, this division into hundreds and tithings is said to have prevailed amongst all Germanic peoples. The same organisation was used by the Anglo-Saxon monarchs for military as for legal purposes.

Naturally, the ealdorman could not attend personally to the discharge of all the duties imposed. When the military array had been summoned, it was his deputy, the sheriff, who collected. the fines for non-appearance and the tax for the equipment of the soldiers-tributa expeditionalia— the sccorp to fyrdscipe-in which we have no difficulty in recognising the Roman militaris vestis. These soldiers, when delay would be dangerous, the sheriff might lead against invading pirates or in pursuit of thieves and cattle-lifters.

This three-fold combination of the highest legal, police and military functions within the county in the person of the ealdorman, rendered his position one of the highest dignity. and rank in the kingdom. And when, for military purposes,

several counties were placed under one ealdorman, his position was greatly enhanced. This idea was carried still further by Cnut, who divided the counties into four provinces, at the head of each of which an eorl was placed. Although we subsequently read of ealdormen and eorls as synonymous, the title of the latter supplanted that of the former. After 1048, alderman is only retained for lesser dignitaries in the cities.

This enhancement of the office of ealdorman was followed by that of the sheriff. As the ealdorman, and later the eorl, became more concerned with military affairs, legal and police functions were left more and more to the sheriff. Moreover, the latter had become an official upon whom the king could place more reliance than upon a powerful local magnate. Whatever the reason, by the end of the AngloSaxon period the holding of the county court by the sheriff was regarded as a time-honoured custom.

Upon the Norman conquest the office of eorl underwent drastic changes. His administrative functions ceased. His only connection with the county from which he derived his name was the receipt of the eorl's penny-tertius denariusfor the support of his dignity, which still survived. But even this payment was only conferred by grace and not by any right of office. Occasionally an eorl was appointed sheriff in his own county, but it became too dangerous to the royal interest to entrust such power to the nobility. The Norman vice-comes, still popularly known as the sheriff, becomes the real governor of the county as the royal representative. In the county court he now appears alone as the presiding judge, ecclesiastical causes having been relegated by the Conqueror to separate courts Christian. As police magistrate of the Crown, he is responsible for the view of frank pledge, the maintenance of the peace, the arrest of peace-breakers, and their pursuit, if necessary, with the "hue and cry" of the whole county. As bailiff of the

royal demesnes, he collected all dues within the county payable to the Crown, appearing twice a year at the Exchequer to render his account. As the King's military representative, he was responsible for the new feudal organisation which was imposed by William upon his vassals. The old system did not pass away immediately. The thegn, now known as knight, was still bound to render military service to the King as head of the State. By the new system of tenure by knight service, the duty of military service was the substantive duty due from the tenant-in-chief to his lord. This system was not complete before the reign of Henry II, when, upon each knight's fee, the obligation was imposed to furnish a fully-armed horseman to serve, at his own expense, for forty days in the year.

Whatever rights the Anglo-Saxon kings possessed, the Norman and Angevin rulers were careful to retain. Thus they never abandoned their right to summon the national forces of the shires. The English fyrd was continued alongside the Norman feudal array, and the King made use of either or both as suited his purpose. By the introduction. of scutage—a pecuniary commutation for personal service— to the combination of feudal and national troops was added a mercenary force.

By the Assize of Arms of 1181 (27 Henry II) the national militia was reorganised. Each owner of a knight's fee was required to possess a suit of armour, helmet, shield and lance. Every knight was required to have as many suits of armour as he had knights' fees. Every freeholder worth. sixteen marks in moveables or rents was also to possess a suit of armour, etc. Every freeholder worth ten marks was to have a breastplate, helmet and lance. All burghers and other freeholders, a stuffed jerkin, helmet and lance. All were to swear the oath of allegiance and to keep their weapons ever in readiness for the King's service. For the summoning and equipment of both these forces the