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Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An Anglo-Saxon unit of land area, typically 60-120 acres, considered sufficient to support one household; used for taxation and land assessment.

Detailed Definition
The hide (Latin "hida"), fundamental to Anglo-Saxon land organization, measured enough arable land to support one free family and their dependents—varying from 60 to 120 acres depending on soil quality. Used for taxation, military assessment (providing one soldier), and social organization, the hide defined medieval English rural life. In poetry concerning Anglo-Saxon England, medieval agriculture, or feudal society, hides provide authentic historical measurement. The term emphasizes land's social function—not abstract area but livelihood and family support. Poets employed hides when exploring themes of possession, feudal obligation, social structure, and the relationship between land and community identity in medieval England.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Anglo-Saxon poetry and historical verse, "each thane received one hide of land for loyal service"; Medieval poetry might reference "the hide—enough to feed one family, the basic unit of English rural life"; In verse about Domesday Book, "William's clerks recorded every hide, quantifying conquest in ancient English measures"; Poetry exploring feudal obligations describes "one hide supports one household, one household provides one soldier"; Historical verse about taxation might reference "hidage—the hide's burden, measured in service and grain"; Modern poets writing about medieval history often invoke "the hide persists in place names: Hyde Park where medieval forests once sustained one family."
Additional Notes
The hide represents fundamental Anglo-Saxon land organization—enough arable land to support one free family and its dependents. Students should understand that hide varied by soil quality (60-120 acres), measuring productive capacity rather than abstract area. The term appears in Domesday Book and defines medieval English rural society. Understanding that hide determined taxation, military obligation (each hide owed one soldier), and social status helps students grasp its significance beyond mere measurement. In medieval historical poetry, hides represent feudal organization, family livelihood, and social structure. The hide's subdivisions (virgate, bovate/oxgang) show hierarchical land measurement reflecting social hierarchy. Students should recognize that hide measured not just land but social relationships—obligations between lord and tenant, community and crown. Related terms include virgate (1/4 hide), oxgang/bovate (1/8 hide), and carucate (equivalent to hide in Danelaw areas). For students writing about Anglo-Saxon or medieval English society, understanding hide measurement connects land to social organization, taxation to agricultural capacity, and abstract acres to family survival. The hide can represent feudal bonds, agricultural sustenance, or measurement as social control.
Also Known As
hide land virgate Lay low Sweep under the rug Skin
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