of ourselves) become a wise and a great people.
The Romans having governed Oceana provincially, the Teutons
were the first that introduced the form of the late monarchy. To
these succeeded the Scandians, of whom (because their reign was
short, as also because they made little alteration in the
government as to the form) I shall take no notice. But the
Teutons going to work upon the Gothic balance, divided the whole
nation into three sorts of feuds, that of ealdorman, that of
king's thane, and that of middle thane.
When the kingdom was first divided into precincts will be as
hard to show as when it began first to be governed. It being
impossible that 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,
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