 According to Higham, the large size of the West Saxon hidation indicates that there were close links between the scale of tribute and any political considerations.James Campbell has argued that if the list served any practical purpose, it implies that tributes were assessed and obtained in an organised way, and notes that, "whatever it is, and whatever it means, it indicates a degree of orderliness, or coherence in the exercise of power...".Yorke acknowledges that the purpose of the Tribal Hidage is unknown and that it may well not be, as has been commonly argued, an overlord's tribute list.