at
there should be any government without some division. The division that
was in use with the Teutons was by counties, and every county had either
its ealdorman or high reeve. The title of ealdorman came in time to
eorl, or erl, and that of high reeve to high sheriff.

Earl of the shire or county denoted the king's thane, or tenant by grand
sergeantry or knight's service, in chief or in capite; his possessions
were sometimes the whole territory from whence he had his denomination,
that is, the whole county; sometimes more than one county, and sometimes
less, the remaining part being in the crown. He had also sometimes a
third, or some other customary part of the profits of certain cities,
boroughs, or other places within his earldom. For an example of the
possessions of earls in ancient times, Ethelred had to him and his heirs
the whole Kingdom of Mercia, containing three or four counties; and
there were others that had little less.

King's thane was also an honorary title, to which he was qualified
that had five hides of land held immediately of the King by service of
personal attendance; insomuch that if a churl or countryman had thriven
to this proportion, having a church, a kitchen, a bell-house (that is,
a hall with a bell in it to call his family to dinner), a borough-gate
with a seat (that is, a porch) of his own, and any distinct office in
the King's court, then was he the King's thane. But the proportion of a
hide-land, otherwise called caruca, or a plough-land, is difficult to
be understood, because it was not certain; nevertheless it is generally
conceived to be so much as may be managed with one plough, and would
yield the maintenance of the same, with the appurtenances in all kinds.

The middle thane was feudal, but not honorary; he was also called a
vavasor, and his lands a vavasory, which held of some mesne lord, and
not immediately of the King.

Possessions and their tenures, being of this nature, show the balance
of the Teuton monarchy, wherein the riches of earls were so vast that to
arise from the balance of their dominion to their power, they were
not only called reguli, or little kings, but were such indeed; their
jurisdiction being of two sorts, either that which was exercised by them
in the court of their countries, or in the high court of the kingdom.

In the territory denominating an earl, if it were all his own, the
courts held, and the profits of that jurisdiction were to his own
use and