ABSTRACT
The history of landownership in Old England is greatly dependent upon the contents of land charters and similar diplomata. Great difficulties are inherent in the very nature of the documents. Alongside the obscurities, between the contradictions and behind the technicalities scholars have identified a wealth of fact, but nowhere is the picture complete. Fresh knowledge has been gained by toponymy and archaeology in these and many other directions. The rude chronologies of Anglo-Saxon tradition are a case in point; they have not escaped suspicion in the light of recent archaeological findings. The affiance began in Old England, and Norman feudalism perfected the nuptial. Social orders have an important place in the land story of Old England. The social significance of the ealdormen was always military and political.
