the following heads: The royal demesne (i.e. estates managed by the crown), which was distributed throughout England, derived in part from the possessions of the old English kings. These were increased by confiscations following the rebellions during the reigns of the early Norman kings and by the doctrine of escheat which stated that untenanted land reverted to the king (terra regis) under his allodial right. Over fourteen hundred manors appear as royal demesne in the Domesday Book. The royal forests, placed under special forest laws, yielded little revenue except in the form of offender penalties. Rural tenants who held by socage at first paid rent in the form of produce from the land, but this was gradually substituted by cash payments. As the royal demesne was favourable to the growth of towns, the rents derived from urban tenants became a valuable part of the demesne's yield. The revenues of the towns were frequently farmed-out which resulted in the crown receiving from the firma burgi ("farm of the burgh") a fixed and secure annual payment. The "feudal incidents" were feudal rights of the king as the overlord of his tenants-in-chief, which included the claim to knight-service, the three regular feudal aids and payments of feudal relief on succession to a fief, as well as the profits from wardships and marriages, together with escheats forfeitures. The yields from these sources varied with the power of the king and were kept within bounds by the resistance of tenants as shown in the demands of Magna Carta(1215). The administration of justice was a lucrative prerogative of the crown. Suitors had to pay not only for the hearing of their cases but also fees for obtaining writs. Additionally, amercements and compositions increased receipts from this source. Vacant religious offices. As much of the kingdom's land (and therefore its wealth) was held by the church under tenure from the king, the opportunity afforded by keeping sees, abbacies and priories vacant (sede vacante) enabled the king to redirect their revenues to himself, under a doctrine akin to a temporary escheat. Exchequer of the Jews. Until their expulsion in the 13th century, Jews were a highly profitable source of royal revenue. Being under the absolute control of the crown, due to their obligation to obtain royal licence in order to trade as money-lenders in the kingdom, they could be taxed at will either by taking percentages of their