In the English fyrd, one soldier was owed for every five hides of land.
A hide was an Anglo-Saxon unit of land assessment, originally linked to the resources needed to support a household. It was not a fixed acreage: the same number of hides could represent different physical areas depending on a district’s productivity and established assessment.
The hide also measured public obligations. Land assessments helped determine food rents, taxes, bridge and fortification work, and military service. Under the fyrd system, five hides were expected to provide one fully equipped soldier for the king’s service, while separate obligations could require men from individual hides to help garrison fortified places.
This system should not be confused with the housecarls, Harold Godwinson’s professional or household troops, who were generally better equipped. Nor did every landholder personally march to Hastings: local communities organized their quotas, and the size and availability of the fyrd varied with circumstances. The English army at Hastings also included housecarls and thegns, not just ordinary fyrdmen.