Before they invaded Britain the Saxons and kindred tribes appear to
have held their lands in common. Each head of a family had a
permanent homestead, but that was all.[1] "No one," says Caesar, "has
a fixed quantity of land or boundaries to his property. The
magistrates and chiefs assign every year to the families and
communities who live together, as much land and in such spots as they
think suitable. The following year they require them to take up
another allotment.
[1] Tacitus ("Germania") says that each house "was surrounded by a
space of its own."
"The chief glory of the tribes is to have their territory surrounded
with as wide a belt as possible of waste land. They deem it not only
a special mark of valor that every neighboring tribe should be driven
to a distance, and that no stranger should dare to reside in their
vicinity, but at the same time they regard it as a precautionary
measure against sudden attacks."[2]
[2] Caesar, "Gallic War," Book VI.