Burghal Hidage

The Burghal Hidage (/ˈbɜːrɡəl ˈhaɪdɪdʒ/) is an Anglo-Saxon document providing a list of over thirty fortified places (burhs), the majority being in the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, and the taxes (recorded as numbers of hides) assigned for their maintenance.^[1] The document, so named by Frederic William Maitland in 1897, survives in two versions of medieval and early modern date.^[1][2] Version A, Cotton Otho B.xi was badly damaged in a fire at Ashburnham House in 1731 but the body of the text survives in a transcript made by the antiquary Laurence Nowell in 1562.^[1] Version B survives as a composite part of seven further manuscripts, usually given the title De numero hydarum Anglie in Britannia.^[3] There are several discrepancies in the lists recorded in the two versions of the document: Version A includes references to Burpham, Wareham and Bridport but omits Shaftesbury and Barnstaple which are listed in Version B. Version B also names Worcester and Warwick in an appended list.^[1]

The Burghal Hidage offers a detailed picture of the network of burhs that Alfred the Great designed to defend his kingdom from the predations of Viking invaders.^[1][4]