My Celtic ancestors, becoming my Welsh ancestors, who during their social development phases, seemed to have special attraction to the number (4) four. Count all the times the number 4 appears in the social grouping of land in the previous 4 posts. (Just kidding, it is actually the last 5 posts) Four of this, leads to four of that, leads to 4 of...you name it. Well, we now come to land grouping called "commote". Drum roll please... 12 Maenols (48 townlands) plus two additional townland was to become the commote. That would be 12,288 legal acres. Can you believe it? The English had their "hundred" which was considered a 100 hides. A hide was counted as 120 acres which would equal 12,000 English acres. Close enough I guess. Anyway, the English called their land a "shire" and the Welsh called theirs a commote. In both, Royal administration and legal rights were administered. To the Welsh ancestors this land area (commote) was to be judged as an independent district, self-contained and, self-sufficient. A large kindred group it would become with its 48 townlands. That would be 256 toft, roughly over 5,000 folks related in some degree to a common ancestor.
Let's see now, to try and summarize:
4 legal acres in each toft (post of 12 March) 4 tofts in each shareland (post of 14 March) 4 sharelands in each holding (post of 21 March) 4 holdings in each townland (post of 27 March) 4 townlands in each Maenol (post of 21 April)
and here we go... 12 Maenols and 2 townlands in each commote.
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