Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 29.djvu/290
23S THE ALIEN PRIORIES IN THE ISEE OF WIGHT. Professor Rogers remarks[1] on the difficulty affecting an inquiry into the price of wood in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, from the extraordinary variations in the number of pounds contained in the petra, or stone. He speaks of no less than thirteen of these variations, and in some cases two or even three recognised in the same locality, e. g, a petra of 71b., 14 1b., and 16 lb. used at Gamlingay. In this case, at least at Appuldurcombe, we can determine the weight of the petra with tolerable accuracy. The return specifies that 10 petræ go to a pisa. iSow a ]>isa was half a sack ; and if wc regard the sack as containing .52 cloves, or 364 lb., the petræ would amount to one thirty-second part, or 11⅜ lb.
Poultry is found only at St. Helens and Appuldurcombe.— 10 ducks and 12 chicken at the former, and 80 chicken at the latter, all at 1d. a head; about the usual price at the period of which we are speaking.
Turning now to agricultural produce, we find the entire return amounting to 216½. quarters of wheat, 107 of barley, 59 of oats, and 20 of drage, a grain pronounced by Professor Rogers to be "clearly of the same character with barley, and frequently malted." The year of the return was one in which "prices had fallen considerably' ; but "wheat was uniformly dear, barley a little below the proportion, and drage still less; oats rather cheap."[2] The prices in the Isle of Wight are somewhat lower than the averages given by Rogers:—wheat, 6s , average 6s. 9d.; barley, 4s., average 4s. 4d.; oats, 2s., average 2s. 4¾d. ; drage, 3s., average 3s. 2⅝d. There are returns of two pounds of malt, " braseum," and "cursal," or "scurril-braseum," of inferior grain. The better kind was priced at 4s. at Carisbrooke, and 6s. at Appuldurcombe ; the average for the year being 7s. 1⅜d., and the inferior, 2s. Its badness may br inferred from its falling so much short of the average — 5s. 3⅜d.
The only other articles of agricultural produce occurring in the inventory are sides of bacon, "bacones," of which we have 7 at Carisbrooke, valued at 2s. each. "quia debiles;" cheese, two "pondera," i.e ways of 2 cwt, at the same Priory, priced together at 16s.- below the average of