In the
Venedotian Code used in
Gwynedd, the basic field unit was the Welsh
acre or erw, whose legal description—its breadth as far as a man can reach in either direction with an ox-goad as long as the long yoke (16 Welsh feet) and its length "thirty times that measure"—is noted by
Owen as ambiguous. He finds it more likely, however, that the "measure" to be multiplied thirty times is the width of the acre (that is,
two long yokes) rather than a single long yoke. Thus, at least in theory, • 2 rods × 30 rods = 1 acre ≈ 1,440 square
imperial yards, or2 rods × 60 rods = 1 acre ≈ 4,320 square
imperial yards • 4
acres ( '
, ', "tilled [land]"; ) = 1 homestead • 4 homesteads ( '
, ') = 1 shareland • 4 sharelands ( '
, ') = 1 holding • 4 holdings ( '
, ') = 1 township • 4 townships ( '
, ') = 1
manor •
manors ( '
, ') = 1
commote • 2
commotes ( '
, ') = 1
cantref = 25,600 acres although in fact the commutes and cantrefs were fixed political entities with quite various sizes. The 11th-century
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn is also described as having changed the
legal composition of the homestead for purposes of inheritance and so on, varying its size depending on the social status of the owner. The homestead of a nobleman ('
) was 12 Welsh acres, that of a serf ( ', '
) had 8, and that of a bondsman or slave ( ') had 4. The text, however, notes the uncommonness of this division and says it was generally understood as 4 acres regardless of status. In the
Dimetian Code used in
southern Wales, the same divisions were reckoned differently: • 2 rods × 18 rods = 1 acre • 312 acres = 1 shareland • 3 sharelands held by
serfs = 1 serf-town • 4 sharelands held in freehold = 1 free town • 7 serf-towns ('
) = 1 lowland manor ( ', '''') = 936 acres • 12 free towns ( '
, ') = 1 upland
manor ( '
, ') = 1248 acres ==Volume==