Legal Definitions - hide land

Definition: Hide land refers to a unit of land measurement used in medieval England. It was the amount of land that could support one household and was typically around 120 acres. The term "hide" comes from the Old English word "hīd," which means "family" or "household."

Example: In the Domesday Book, a survey of England completed in 1086, the amount of land owned by each landowner was recorded in hides. For example, a landowner might be recorded as owning 5 hides of land, which would mean they owned enough land to support 5 households.

Explanation: The example illustrates how hide land was used as a unit of measurement for land ownership in medieval England. It shows how the amount of land owned by a landowner was recorded in hides, with each hide representing the amount of land needed to support one household. This system of measurement was important for determining taxes and other obligations owed by landowners to the king or lord of the manor.