327 Sweden were originally assessed to a certain number of ploughlands and later on subdivided in bunds or härads according to the prevailing military system, in the Svea-parts the fleet organization, in the Gota-parts some landbased organization, now unknown to us, consisting probably of six units of 80 attung-mantals. How old is the assessment of the Swedish lands, does it as assumed by Söderlind originate from the Viking age, 750—900, or has it been in existence since the time of Tacitus? And is it exclusively the result of Swedish initiative or can some foreign influence be traced? According to calculations by the Swedish historian F. Dovring, the mediaeval Swedish markland had a medium acreage of 12 tunnlands or 118.404 m-. a property of about the same size as a (juarter of an English ploughland and thus ecpial to the English yardland of 30 acres or 121.230 m-. The Swedish markland would then have had an area identical to that of an English yardland. The Swedish ploughland as a unit of assessment of 4 marklands can clearly be distinguished in the registers of land from 16th and 17th centuries, concerning the royal demesnes and other lands belonging to I’ppsald iki, the estates which the king of Sweden in this capacity disposed of after his election. As already has been mentioned the ploughland still appears in the registers from the 16th century of Hälsingland under the termof sköll. This correspondence in measures indicates a connection between the systems of assessment in Sweden and England. But there are even other factors. The present writer assumes that the Göta-parts of Sweden were originally assessed at 4.800 ploughlands divided into 80 härads of 60 ploughlands with the following subdivision of the lands: Number of härads Number of of 60 ploughlauds ploughlands (iaiiljod Östergötland . .. \'ästergötland . . Värmland and Dal -S Ill ålanden Öland Värend 18 1.080 1.620 2.700 27 4.J .1 300 1.200 20 5 300 5 300 80 4.800
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