From the last post the "legal acre" was defined. [I am not sure the exact interpretation but I believe it to be 1 rod x 30 rods which would equal approximately 16 ft x 480 ft ] At any rate the law books go on to define:
"It is right that there be four such acres in the toft";
This would be about 64 ft x 480 ft in dimension. A toft was a plot of land carrying a house (ty). This would suggest that a family would be allowed 4 acres of plowed land.
"four tofts in every shareland";
Thus four houses (families) would live together on shared land.
"four sharedlands in every holding"
Thus a "holding" would be roughly 16 houses in an area that most likely represented a families' land...i.e. "holding" which was shared by the larger family group under the head of the family. Generally this was four generations of descent.
"four holdings in every townland";
Dafydd Jenkins in his translation states that a townland corresponds closest to the medieval Latin villa (p. 387). This does not indicate an actual town in the medieval sense. Thus up to 32 houses could be contained in an area equivalent to the Roman villa.
"four townlands in every maenol";
This is were the concept of the "manor" is derived among the Welsh. Thus four villas would group together under the leader of the tribe (mayor). This would be a tribal (family) holding to six generations.
"twelve maenolydd and two townlands in every commote"
The commote was the basic land area defined in Welsh culture by 850 AD.
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