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194 THE SAXON LAND CHARTERS OF WILTSHIRE. I ~J\ A6. Thonne bi eastan Cester Slaed 1 Byrg xxx gerda : 6 Then thirty rods east of Chester Slade Camp.' B9. Thonne of, etc. upp on Dune thrittig gyrda be eastan Ceaster Blaedbyrig on tha Byrigenne : ' Then from Sigewine's Dyke up on the Down thirty rods east of Chester Camp where the Flowers grow to the Burialplace.' 2 The camp is of course Chiselbury Camp (OMi). The burialplaces were probably at the SE. corner of the parish, 1 fur. ESE. of the camp. A7. Swae up to Here Pathe : 4 So up to the Highway.' Bio. O/, etc. on thane Hearpath : 4 From the Burialplace to the Highway.' The highway is the great ridgeway which runs all along the S. boundaries of Fovant and Sutton Mandeville. 3 A8. Thaet swa uest on Here Pathe anlang Hrygges : ' Then so west on the Highway along the Ridge.' Bn. Thonne andlang Herepathes : 6 Then along the Highway.' 1 1 prefer the reading Blaed of B9 to Slaed of A6. The latter is, topographically speaking, an unlikely name in such a locality. A similar name to Blaedbyrig is Bleobyrig in Berks., the modern Blewbury, which is probably named from the wildflowers growing in the camp. Cf. Chesterblade, Somerset, near Crewkerne. 2 The very precise measurement of 30 rods given here throws some light on the exact meaning of the AS. gyrd. Measured with as much accuracy as is possible on OM6 the distance from the nearest point of the boundary to the edge of the vallum of the camp is exactly 200 yds. This would give 6\ yds. to the gyrd. Of course the measurement given by the AS. surveyor may only have been an eye estimate. My own impression—an impression which may well have been formed and published by others— is that the gyrd was an approximate forerunner of our exact measurement, the rod, pole, or perch, of yds. and that it was arrived at in the following way. The AS. aecer was a strip of ploughland of no exact measurement, but always tending to the length of a furlong "and the breadth of a chain of 22 yds. This breadth was ploughed in two ridges for drainage purposes; so each ridge would be 11 yds. in breadth, and the distance from the summit of the ridge to the furrow on either side of the ridge would be 5J yds. This was the origin of what was no doubt the customary, but not exact, measurement known as the gyrd. In the charters which I know, and the topography of which I have solved completely or partially, a measurement in gyrds occurs in two other instances. In the charter B.675 of Watchfield, Berks., one landmark reads, ' Thonne and lang Herpathes seofan and fiftig gyrda,' ' then for 57 rods along the Highway.' The ' highway ' here was coincident with the modern high road to Faringdon, which the Watchfield by. follows for a short distance. But when that distance is measured, it gives a gyrd of yds. My impression is that there were two gyrds in AS. times, a long and a short; and that the long one has eventuated into our exact measurement, the rod, and the short one into our yard. There was undoubtedly a gyrd of about yds. ; and, as to the existence of a short one, the AS. word gyrd has given us our word 4 yard.' The other case of a statement of measurement in the charters is the charter of Appleton, Berks., B.777. In it is a landmark described as follows: ' Thonne on west healfe thaes Heafod Landes vi gyrda be zees tan 7" t tinges HlaweJ ' then to the west side of the headland (of the ploughland) 6 rods west of Ytting's Low.' Unfortunately this tumulus has vanished. 3 For description of this road see Arch. Journ. vol. lxxv, 1918, 'Ancient Highways of Wilts.' road 57, p. 106.
THE SAXON LAND CHARTERS OF WILTSHIRE. I ~J\ The by. runs W. along the ridgeway along the S. by. of Fovant. A9. Thaet of, etc. on Rugan Die : ' Then from the Highway to Rough Dyke.' The rough dyke survives as Row Ditch (OMi) on Sutton Down (OMi) near the SW. corner of Sutton Mandeville. Β12. On thone Seearpan Gar an westewerdne : ' To the Sharp Gore (a triangular piece of ploughland with an unusually Scute angle) on its west side.' This was probably at the SW. corner of Sutton Mandeville. Β13. Of, etc. in on tha Tfre : ' From the Gore to the Escarpment.' 1 This is the great escarpment on the N. side of the down on the S. edge of Sutton Mandeville at the point where the W. by. of that parish descends it. Aio. On Ber Hulle westezvearde : 'To ... . Hill on its west side.' I cannot guess the meaning of ber in this connexion. The hill is almost certainly Buxbury Hill on the W. by. of Sutton. It looks as if several landmarks had fallen out from the extant copy of the A survey, for the passage of the by. from the rough dyke to this point is quite unmarked. B14. On tha G are thru 2 ·. 'To the Foot of the Slope of the Escarpment.' B15. Of, etc. Feower Aekeras be westan tham Hangran : ' From the Foot of the Slope Four Strips of Ploughland west of the Hanging Wood.' The hanging wood must have been at the bottom of the slope of Buxbury Hill; and the feower aekeras at that part of the by. where, after descending the slope, it turns W. to run for a little more than a furlong in that direction. Β16. Of, etc. andlang heafda on Blacan Hylle middewerde : ' From the Four Strips of Ploughland along the Headland to (the middle ? 3 ) of Black Hill.' 1 For a discussion of the meaning of this •word, which is not given in the dictionaries, see English Essays and Studies, 1922, 4 On the Meanings of certain Terms in the AS. charters.' 2 This is a word of unknown meaning. It .occurs several times in the Wilts, charters, and is always associated with the foot of the slope of an escarpment (yfre). It looks as if it had that meaning. 3 I am very doubtful as to the true meaning of the term middeweard in AS. surveys. I have not been able to find a crucial instance of its use.
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