On Saturday, June 18, 2016 at 9:02:41 PM UTC+2, peter...@yahoo.ca wrote: > A big reason why I'm into genealogy is that it makes history come alive. A case in point is the following from the Inquisitions Post Mortem of Edward II, Volume 7 done at Bedfor 14 January, 13 Edward II, which I believe is 1320. It deals with Nicholas de Meperteshal (Meppershall) an ancestor of mine. > > "Meperteshael. The manor (extent given), including rents in Feelmereshan, held of the king in chief by service of being in the king's war for forty days at his own charges with a horse, hauberk, shield, sword, lance, iron cap and knife; and 18a. arable held of Henry atte Hoo by service of 18d. yearly." > > What particularly interests me is the list of what Nicholas took into battle. This helps to bring knighthood alive for me. > > I confess to not knowing about 18a or 18d refers to or "atte Hoo", although I suspect that 18a may refer to 18 acres and 18d to a monetary fee. > > Peter D. A. Warwick 18d is 18 pence, as in £sd (pounds, shillings and pence) - d is short for denarius/denarii.The £ symbol is derived from the letter "l", short for libra ponda, originally a pound weight, but when abbreviated to £ it denotes a pound in the monetary sense. This is why pounds are often shown as a figure followed by the letter "l" in early documents. The abbreviation s. is for the Latin solidus. Thus Latin Libra - solidus - denarius = English Pound, shilling and penny (plural pence). Incidentally, the abbreviation for the old pound weight is lb., to distinguish it from a monetary pound.