Definition
In old English law, a measure of land equivalent to a plough-land — that is, the amount of land a single plough could work in a year. The term appears in early English legal texts as a unit of land measurement used for purposes of tenure, taxation, and conveyance. It is closely associated with, and may be identical to, sulling, a term used primarily in Kent for the same concept.
Common Confusion
SULLERYE / SULLING / SULUNG: These terms are closely related and possibly identical in meaning. Sulling and sulung are the more commonly attested forms, particularly in Kentish records, where sulung designated a unit of land roughly equivalent to two carucates or one hide depending on local custom. Sullerye may be a variant spelling or copying error for sulling. Researchers should not assume that sullerye represents a meaningfully distinct legal category from sulling; the safer assumption, supported by Burrill, is that they refer to the same thing.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering sullerye in historical English legal documents should treat it with caution. Burrill himself flags the possibility that sullerye is a misprint or transcription error for sulling, meaning the term may not appear consistently across sources and may represent scribal or typographic variance rather than a distinct legal concept. When tracing land measurements in early English records — particularly in manorial surveys, Domesday-related documents, or early conveyances — researchers should search under sulling as the primary entry and treat sullerye as a variant or error form. Cross-referencing with plough-land, carucate, and sulung will capture the range of regional terminology used for the same underlying concept. Because land measurement terminology in early English law was highly regionalized, a term appearing in one county's records may not map cleanly onto usage elsewhere.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary provides the sole historical dictionary support for this term and treats it briefly, defining it as a plough-land and citing Coke on Littleton (Co. Litt. 5a) as the primary authority. Burrill's own editorial note — "perhaps a misprint for sulling" — is significant: it signals that even nineteenth-century legal lexicographers were uncertain whether sullerye had independent standing as a legal term or was simply a corrupted form of a better-attested word. No other major historical law dictionaries appear to carry a separate entry for sullerye, which is consistent with Burrill's skepticism. The Coke on Littleton citation is the researcher's best path to primary source context.
Jurisdictional Note
The underlying concept — a plough-land as a unit of land measure — was known across England, but the specific terminology varied sharply by region. Sulling and sulung were predominantly Kentish terms. Carucate was more common in the Danelaw. Researchers working with documents from specific counties should consult regional glossaries in addition to general law dictionaries.