hide

Anglo-Saxon unit of measurement used to measure the extent of arable land; it varied from about 296 ha/120 acres in the east of England to as little as 99 ha/40 acres in Wessex. One hide was regarded as sufficient to support a peasant and his household; it was the area that could be ploughed in a season by one plough and one team of oxen.

The hide was the basic unit of assessment for taxation and military service; under Norman rule it became the basis for the feudal tax of hidage.