ened it on him. Wentworth (Lord Stafford) wished to SETTLE
Connaught, as Ulster had been SETTLED in the preceding reign, and, to
accomplish it, tried to break the titles granted under "the commission
of defective titles." Lord Dillon's case, which is still quoted as an
authority, was tried. The plea for the Crown alleged that the honor of
the monarch stood before his profit, and as the commissioners were only
authorized to issue patents to hold in capite, whereas they had given
title "to hold in capite, by knights' service out of Dublin Castle," the
grant was bad. In the course of the argument, the existence of feudal
tenures, before the landing of William of Normandy, was discussed,
and Sir Henry Spelman's views, as expressed in the Glossary, were
considered. The Court unanimously decided that feudalism existed in
England under the ANGLO-SAXONs, and it affirmed that Sir Henry Spelman
was wrong. This decision led Sir Henry Spelman to write his "Treatise on
Feuds," which was published after his death, in which he reasserted
the opinion that feudalism was introduced into England at the Norman
invasion. This decision must, however, be accepted with a limitation;
I think there was no separate order of NOBILITY under the ANGLO-SAXON
rule. The king had his councillors, but there appears to have been no
order between him and the FOLC-GEMOT. The Earls and the Thanes met with
the people, but did not form a separate body. The Thanes were country
gentleman, not senators. The outcome of the heptarchy was the Earls or
Ealdermen; this was the only order of nobility among the Saxons; they
corresponded to the position of lieutenants of counties, and were
appointed for life. In 1045 there were nine such officers; in 1065 there
were but six. Harold's earldom, at the former date, comprised Norfolk,
Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex; and Godwin's took in the whole south
coast from Sandwich to the Land's End, and included Kent, Sussex,
Hampshire, Wilts, Devonshire, and Cornwall. Upon the death of Godwin,
Harold resigned his earldom, and took that of Godwin, the bounds being
slightly varied. Harold retained his earldom after he became king, but
on his death it was seized upon by the Conqueror, and divided among his
followers.

The Crown relied upon the LIBERI HOMINES or FREEMEN. The country was not
studded with castles filled with armed men. The HOUSE of the Thane was
an unfortified structure, and while the laws relating to land were, in
my view