Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 6.djvu/387

RENDERED AT CAISTOR, LINCOLNSHIRE. 243 Here we liave iiiciitioii made of Caistor and Iluiidoii, but nothing of Bronghton ; nor can I find the last in any other part of Domesday. Catanai and Usun arc probably Cadney and Ilowsham, which are much nearer to Caistor. Seeing the extent of Broughton and its distance from Hun- don, I can hardly think it is comprised in the above extract as part of the carucatcs of land there mentioned. Assuming, liowever, that the manor of Broughton and the 2200 acres were ancient demesne (w'hicli they may have been, notwith- standing it does not clearly appear in Domesday), that cir- cumstance points to an Anglo-Saxon origin for this custom ; since lands held by that tenure were part of the demesnes of our Anglo-Saxon kings, or at least of the last of them, Ed- w^ard the Confessor : and the original service, however it may have been since varied, was, I think, certainly reserved at an early period, and probably before the Conquest. It was a rare occurrence for any large quantity of land to be granted out at a single rent, unless as parcel of a manor ; and it is very improbable that the 2200 acres should have been granted to be held by so singular a reservation as this, if they did not form part of the manor of Broughton. And if that were the case, I am not much surprised at the title deeds not noticing this peculiarity of the tenure ; for, even liad there been a partition as Mr. Moore supposes, I do not think it very likely there would at that time have been any attempt to make an arrangement for the performance of the service, as the party who took the manor in its reduced con- dition would have been regarded as the person to perform it, as a matter of course, and for his own interest ; and no effectual means could have been devised for averting the consequences of his failing to do so. If there be more tlian one manor in the parish of Broughton (no uncommon case), Lord Yarborough's ownership of the rest of the parish may be accounted for, without the necessity of supposing a par- tition to have t-aken place. The court rolls, rental or cus- tumal, of the Manor of Hundon would be most likely to contain some notices of this singular reservation. All the versions that I have seen of this custom, favour the opinion that it had some reference to the subj(H"t of the second lesson for Balm Sunday, which is the 2Gth chapter of St. Matthew^ ; and if so, it would seem likely to follow, that the principal part of the ceremony always took place at the