WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 363

etor of England, and bad a whole kingdom to c h a r.bestow. He reserved an ample revenue for the jv.crown ; and in the general distribution of land iosi.among his followers, he kept possession of noless than 1422 manors in different parts of Eng-land'", which paid him rent either in money, or incorn, cattle, and the usual produce of the foil.

An ancient historian computes, that his annualfixed income, besides escheats, fines, reliefs, andother casual profits to a great value , amountedto near 400,000 pounds a-year 51 ; a sum , which,if all circumstances be attended to, will appearwholly incredible. A pound in that age, aswe have already observed , contained three timesthe weight of silver that it does atpresent; and thesame weight of silver, by the most probable com-putation, would purchase near ten times more of thenecessaries of life, though not in the fame proportionof the finer manufactures. This revenue, therefore,of William would be equal to at least nine orten millions at present; and as that prince hadneither fleet nor army to support; the formerbeing only an occasional expencc, and the latterbeing maintained, without any charge to him,by his military vassals , we must thence conclude,that no emperor or prince, in any age or nation,can be compared to the Conqueror for opulenceand riches. This leads us to suspect a great

’* West’senquiry into the manner of creating peers, p. 24.

' Order. Vital. p. 523. He fays 1060 pounds and someodd shillings and pence a-day.