To all appearances many of the arrangements found in the course of, and to the close of, the Middle Ages, and even (in a decaying and disappearing form) almost to our own generation, were descended6 from that well-nigh immemorial antiquity7, in which our forefathers8 were colonists9 in what was to them a new world—a world of forest and of fen10, of man-eating beasts, and alien foemen as fierce or fiercer than they. These conditions determined11 the course of action of the men who lived under them. For safety, men of one blood dwelt together in a stockaded village or tún. They and their stock, however, had to subsist12 on their labour and the bounty13 of the earth; and therefore around the village a tract4 of cultivable land was appropriated to the use of the community. Until some degree of security was attained14 it was futile15 to dream too much of individual rights; the inhabitants would have been only too glad of the co-operation of their neighbours, and whilst some worked others no doubt stood to arms. Within this area seem to have lain fenced fields for the shelter of calves17 and other young animals, but this was probably the only exception. Beyond the arable18 land lay a ring of meadow land; beyond that the stinted19 pasture; and beyond that again the forest or waste.
By the term "common" is generally understood common of pasture; it is not unusual to meet with the phrase "cow commons," as though cows were the principal, if not the sole, objects which rendered commons of service. This may well have been the case in later times. In early days however, there went along with it common tillage, examples of which are still to be found on the Continent. Traces of the open-field system exist also in various parts of England, notably20 between Hitchin and Cambridge, where there are huge turf balks21 dividing the fields. It is said that within the last century the country lying between Royston and Newmarket was entirely22 unenclosed, and till quite late in the century parishes like Lexton, in Northamptonshire, retained this characteristic. Other examples occur at Swanage in Dorset and Stogursey in West Somerset.
Borough23 English
Before proceeding24 to describe the methods of cultivation25 employed, it is desirable to glance at a custom which, there is reason to suppose, is connected with that remote period when the English were not de jure masters of the soil, but occupied the position of colonists, who either expropriated the original inhabitants or entered upon possession of land as res nullius, to which they had established no solid claim by prescription26. We have already referred to that valuable repertoire27 of national customs, so judiciously28 edited as to merit the higher praise invaluable—the Year-Books. The reports of the pleas in the Common Bench for 1293 include the following:
"One A. brought a writ29 of entry against B., saying, 'Into which he had not entry except by such an one who had tortiously, &c., disseised his father Robert.' And he laid the descent thus: 'From Robert descended the right, &c., to Adam the present demandant, as his youngest son and heir, according to the custom of such a place, &c.'
"Asseby: 'Sir, we tell you that Adam has an elder brother named N., who is legitimate30 and is alive, and whom they have omitted. Judgment31 of the omission32.'
"Sutton: 'Sir, even if he had made a quit-claim to him, yet that could not be a bar to us, because by the custom of the country the youngest shall have his inheritance, wherefore there is no need to make mention of him.'
"Asseby: 'Sir, he has brought a writ at common law; judgment if he ought not to be answered at common law, and if he (the demandant) can allege33 the custom.'
"Sutton: 'In many places in England a woman demands her dower by the writ "Unde nihil habet," which is a writ at common law, and yet, according to the custom of the country, she will recover for her dower a moiety34 of the tenements35 which belonged to her husband, where by common law she would have only the third part, and also in the case of tenements in some countries which are holden by knight-service the lord can avow37 the taking as good for cornage according to the law of the country; and yet the writ is at common law. And also in Gavelkind according to the custom [of Kent] the younger brother shall have as much as the elder; and yet one brother shall recover against the other brother by right "De rationabile parte," and by the "Nuper obiit," which are writs39 at common law. So in the present case.'
"Metingham [the judge]: 'Asseby, answer.'"
Now what was this custom? It is that known as "Borough English," and the reader will have already inferred from the report of the action that, wherever it prevailed, the youngest son claimed to succeed to his father's estate. It is therefore the antithesis40 of the right of primogeniture, whereby real estate falls to the eldest41 son. An old record given to print by the late Mr. Robert Dymond, F.S.A., exhibits in great detail the customs of the Manor42 of Braunton, in Devonshire, and among them is that of Borough English, or, as it is termed in local parlance43, "cradle-land." This testimony44 is of peculiar45 interest, since the document comprises a provision for the assignment of the property in the not wholly improbable event of the family consisting entirely of daughters. The section touching46 upon Borough English is thus formulated47:
"Heirs of the Youngest Holding
"Item, the Custome ys in every of the sayd manors48 that if eny manner of person or persons be seased of eny manner of land or tenements, rents or premises49 of the yonger holdyng liying withyn eny of the seid manors or liberties in fee symple or in fe tayle, in demeane or in usu, and have divers50 sonnys by dyvers venters, viz. by dyvers wyvys, or women by divers men, and dye, that then the yonger son of them shall inherite the seid lands and tenements with other the premyses in fe symple as in fe tayle that so descendith in the seid yonger holdyng in demeane or in use, except ther be any other estate made & proved to the contrary by wryting & if the[y] have no yssue butt51 all doughters that then the seid inheritance [is] to be parted betwene theym except any lawful52 wryting or state made to the contrary after the custom."
Neither of these rules of succession was in any way confined to the West of England. Indeed, the late Mr. T. W. Shore, who appears to have been quite an authority on the subject, affirms that "in a general way it may be said that the further we go from Kent the less numerous become the instances in any county of England." This statement is confirmed by a yet greater authority. "Borough English," says Elton, "was most prevalent in the S.E. districts, in Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, in a ring of manors encircling ancient London, and, to a less extent, in Essex and the East Anglian kingdom." Mr. E. A. Peacock, however, points out that there are in Lincolnshire seven places where the custom is still abiding—viz., Hibaldstow, Keadby, Kirton-in-Lindsey, Long Bennington, Norton (Bishops), Thoresby and Wathall; and he further calls attention to the fact, which is certainly most important, that the custom may be traced over nearly all Europe with the exception of Spain and Italy, and up to the boundaries of China and Arracan. The German name is jungsten-recht; and the practice for which it stands existed, amongst other places, at Rettenburg in Westphalia. How then did it become known as Borough English? The reason is suggested by the two sorts of tenure—Burgh Engloyes and Burgh Francoyes—which are found in different parts of the town of Nottingham in the reign54 of Edward III. Borough English was the native custom which had succeeded in holding its ground against the effects of the Norman Conquest.
As has been said, Borough English was in vogue55 all around London—at Lambeth, Vauxhall, Croydon, Streatham, Leigham Court, Shene or Richmond, Isleworth, Sion, Ealing, Acton, and Earl's Court. In some of these places—Fulham, Wimbledon, Battersea, Wandsworth, Barnes and Richmond—the "yonger holding" descended not only to males but to females; and at Lambeth (and at Kirton-in-Lindsey, in Lincolnshire) there existed the identical arrangement which has been found at Braunton, in Devon. This equal division between daughters Mr. Shore regards as an "intermediate stage between Borough English and Gavelkind." The latter is distinctively56 the "custom of Kent," and signifies that the land was "partible," and inherited by the sons in equal shares, the youngest son retaining the homestead, and making compensation to his brethren for this addition to his share. Borough English and gavelkind, therefore, though not the same, are near akin38; and it is an interesting question which of the two was prior to the other. It may be that gavelkind is the older, and that Borough English is a remnant or distortion of what appears, on the face of it, a more equitable57 condition of things. On the other hand, gavelkind may have been, so to speak, grafted58 on a more simple usage which the community, through change of circumstances, had outgrown59, and had ceased to possess the same justification60 as at first.
Why should the youngest son take the inheritance? One explanation is that he was presumed to be least able to provide for himself. This, however, expresses only half the truth. The other half has, we think, been furnished by Mr. Peacock:
"The most popular explanation in the last [eighteenth] century was the calumny61 known as mercheta mulierum, now known as a malignant62 fable63 popularized by novelists and playwrights64. Another suggestion is that it is a custom that has survived from some prehistoric65 race; a third that it has grown up at different points...." Mr. Peacock regards the last as the most likely. "It is only when the population becomes relatively66 dense67 that land, apart from what it produces, is of any value. A time, however, would soon be reached when land would have a value of its own. The good soil would soon be taken up, and in the days of a primitive68 mode of culture third-rate land would be valueless. Then the house-father would be forced by circumstances to make provision, ere his death, for the sons sharing the ancestral domain69 between them.
"Here we have the origin of gavelkind—a form of devolution more widely spread than even ultimo-geniture or Borough English. Gavelkind, however, could be but a temporary provision. As the population grew, so it would be absolutely necessary that the young men of the household should make new settlements for themselves. This fact accounts in its measure for the vast shifting of the population that took place when the Roman Empire was in its protracted70 death-agony. The torrents71 of human beings which poured in on the decaying Empire were considered by the older historians as evidence of nomadic72 barbarism. We, with our present lights, say rather that they indicate a population too dense for their own homes to support.
"It would be a matter of course that the elder sons should go forth73 and carve out for themselves new homes in the West; but when the swarm74 departed, all the sons would not go forth from the shelter of the native roof-tree. One at least, commonly the youngest, would stay behind. On him would devolve the duty of looking after the old folk and his unmarried sisters. On him would devolve in due time the duties of the sacrifices connected with the sacred hearth75; and when the father died to him would devolve the paternal76 dwelling77, with its ploughland, its meadow, and its rights of wood and water. Here is, we believe, the key to the origin of Borough English."
The Open Field
We now pass to the methods of cultivation observed in the open field—the conditions of early agriculture. There is reason to believe that at the time of the English settlement extensive tillage must have existed, at any rate to some degree; but this was soon superseded78 by intensive culture. Certain fields, that is to say, were allocated79 for the raising of particular crops, the limits being marked by large balks or banks. Beside these arable fields there was a tract of meadow land, from which the cattle would have been excluded during the time necessary for the growth and carrying of hay. After harvesting operations had been completed, and all through the winter, the cattle were allowed to range at will among the stubble of the arable fields, and over the meadow land, as also over the waste, which was more properly their domain.
As it was impossible to raise crops year after year from the same fields without gravely impoverishing80 the soil, this system was exchanged in some places for another—that of cropping one or two fields and allowing the other to lie fallow. This modification81 was not always judged requisite82 to prevent the exhaustion83 or deterioration84 of the land; and thus there arose a third—what is termed the "three-field" system, by which out of three arable fields two were under cultivation at the same time, one lying fallow. The third plan was that which ultimately met with most favour. In the early autumn the field that had lain fallow through the summer was ploughed and sown with wheat, rye, or other corn; and in the spring the stubble of the field that had yielded the last crop of wheat was ploughed up, and barley85 or oats sown in it. The third field, in which the previous crop had been barley, retained the stubble till the early days of June. It was then ploughed up and left in that condition until a fresh crop was sown in the autumn. Professor Cunningham, whose account we here follow, has furnished a convenient chart or diagram which we venture to reproduce as an aid to the comprehension of the subject:
I. II. III.
Wheat (or rye)
sown Stubble of
wheat Stubble of
barley
Jan sown wheat barley(or oats)
March sow
barley
June Plough and
leave fallow
August Reap
October Plough and
sow wheat
Wheat
stubble Barley
stubble
This chart represents one year's labours. In the following year the first field would take the place of the second, the second that of the third, and the third that of the first. The process would be repeated in the third year, and in this way the rotation86 would continue to be maintained. There were districts in which the three-field ousted87 the two-field system; and others in which neither entirely displaced the other. Both eventually gave way to the more modern method of four-course husbandry. The three-field style of agriculture may date back to the remote reign of King Ine, when, it seems certain, open-field cultivation in some form was the rule. This being the case, it was necessary that the fields in which corn and grass were growing should be fenced off for the time being; and one of King Ine's laws has reference to the recognition or neglect of this neighbourly duty:
"If churls have a common meadow or other partible land[15] to fence, and some have fenced their part, and some have not, and (cattle stray in and) eat up their common corn or grass; let those go who own the gap and compensate88 to the others who have fenced their part the damage which there may be done, and let them demand such justice on the cattle, as it may be right. But if there be a beast which breaks hedges, and goes in everywhere, and he who owns it cannot restrain it, let him who finds it in his field take it and slay89 it, and let the owner take its skin and flesh, and forfeit90 the rest."
The picture this law presents is that of fields divided by temporary fences, in which, if the three-field system were in use, two would be under cultivation and the third fallow. One great field of thirty acres would have sixty distinct strips, with a narrow margin91 of turf serving in each case as the line of demarcation. To each servile holding in the Confessor's time the landlord assigned a pair of oxen with which to work it; and these may have been combined into a powerful team of eight or twelve, similar to manorial92 teams, though plough-teams varying in numerical strength are recorded, and the efficiency of some of them may well be doubted.
If there were oxen, it is clear that provision must have been made for their support; and this consisted in the hay from the meadow, in the pasture of the common waste, and that of the fallow field and the other fields in the interval93 between harvest and seed-time. The question whether the tillers were bond or free probably made no difference to the way in which agricultural operations were conducted.
The collapse94 of this system may be attributed to the scarcity95 of labour brought about especially by the Black Death. When men could not be had in sufficient number, the necessary consequences was the expansion of pasture and the contraction96 of tillage; and this dual16 process was assisted by the stampede of labourers to the towns and the policy of enclosure to which landowners resorted as a remedy. Deprived of their quit-rents, and not having resources for the payment of wages on an adequate scale, supposing that labour was obtainable on reasonable terms, the landholders fell back upon the only expedients97 that remained to them. They had land, and they had stock; and, as an escape from absolute ruin, they let the land to tenants98 who took over the stock and, probably, as the need arose, replaced it with their own beasts. This revolution, already in full swing in the fourteenth century, paved the way for the present order of things, under which the tenant99 pays a fixed100 rent for the use of land and buildings, and finds the capital for farming.
The Waste
We have next to deal with the waste. The meaning of the term is clear—it signifies land which, from the poverty of the soil or other reasons, had never been brought under cultivation. The commons that still survive are mostly of that description, the more valuable land having been resumed during one of the successive periods of enclosure, or—piecemeal.
Originally, there is little doubt, such land belonged to the family or sept, by whom it was used as forest for game or as pasturage for cattle. Unlike the arable field or the common meadow, it was not distributed into sets, but enjoyed in common by all who possessed101 the right of stocking it. In a genial102 article in the "Antiquary" describing how the world wagged in his parish of Blewbury, Berks, in the eighteenth century, the Rev1. N. L. Whitchurch observes: "There were 'cow commons' on the downs in those days, and a road from the village is still called the 'cow way.' In the early morning a man would collect the various cows of the village, which he drove to pasture for the day. The ancient bell which he rang at the foot of the 'cow road' is still preserved in the village."
In Saxon times the purchase of stock by an individual was a matter of general concern to the community in which he lived. By a law of King Edgar, if a man in the course of a journey bought cattle, he was required on his return to turn them out into the common pasture, "with the witness of the township." If he omitted to do so within five nights, the townsmen were to acquaint the hundred elder, and the cattle were forfeited103, the lord receiving one-half and the hundred the other. If the townsmen failed in their duty, their herdsman was subjected to a flogging. For the purchase of cattle the witness of the township was not enough. Twelve standing104 witnesses were appointed for every hundred, and the buyer had to make it his business to seek out two or three of them so as to secure their presence at the transaction.
Whatever the primitive constitution of society may have been, in historical times three parties possessed an interest in the waste. Blackstone defines common as "a profit which a man hath in the land of another, as to feed his beasts, to catch fish, to dig turf, to cut wood, and the like." In theory, the waste belonged to the King, who vested portions of it in individual lords or religious houses, and they thus became recognized owners of the soil. In case of outlawry105 or attainder, the waste reverted106 to the Crown, which, according to custom, held possession of it for a year and a day. Thirdly, the use of the soil, for various specified107 purposes, resided in the inhabitants of certain townships or hundreds, was appendant to certain tenements, or was reserved as easement on the sale of the land.
Some very interesting questions, arising out of this joint108 occupancy, were raised in the courts at the close of the thirteenth century—notably the right of search for the object of ascertaining109 whether there were on the common more animals than any of the parties was entitled to place there, and, if so, of impounding them. Was this right appurtenant to the manor, or was it also appendant to a frank tenement36 in a particular vill? In one case where the lord had depastured an excess of beasts, the court decided110 against him, and in favour of a commoner whom he accused of "tortiously" taking his cattle. But, notwithstanding this judgment, there is some uncertainty111 on the point, as appears from the report of an action tried in the Middlesex Iter of 1294.
"Robert Fitznel brought the Replegiare against Richard, the son of John, saying that he had tortiously taken his beasts in the wood of the Abbat of Horwede, formerly113 the forest of King Henry, by whom it was given as a chace to N., ancestor of Richard."
"Warwick: 'Sir, we offer to aver114 that Robert and all those who have held the land in N., which he holds have been seised for all time, &c., of the common in the wood where his taking was made as appurtenant to their frank tenement....'
"Gosefield imparted, and returned and said: 'Sir, we will tell you the truth of this matter; and we tell you that the place where the taking was made was King Henry's forest; and Henry granted what was the forest to our ancestor by way of chace; and that in that chace, according to the custom of the chace, no person could put to common more beasts than could be fed or wintered on the produce of the land which he held in the same chace; and because Robert brought his beasts from his lands which he held elsewhere, which beasts could not be fed or wintered on the land which he held within the chace, contrary to the usage and custom of the said chace, he (Richard) took them, &c....'
"Warwick: 'Sir, first of all they avowed115 the taking, and said that we ought not to have any kind of common; and now they have admitted our right of common partially116, viz. as to beasts which can be wintered ...'
"Gosefield: 'The assise of forest is notorious and well-known to all, viz., that no man can have therein more beasts to common than can be fed off the said land.'
"Warwick (he spoke117 then for the King): 'Richard, do you claim to have assise of forest?'
"Gosefield: 'Nay118, sir. But King Henry granted and gave it to us to hold as a chace in the same manner as he held it while it was a royal forest; and we have three swain-motes yearly for searching and inquiring whether anyone puts more beasts therein than he ought to put; and, inasmuch as King Henry granted it to us to hold like as he held it, it seems to us that there is no need to take the Inquest.'
"Hertford [the judge]: 'Do you accept the averment or not?'
"Gosefield (being obliged to accept the averment) said: 'Sir, they were never seised of common for more beasts than could be wintered and fed and supported on the growth of the said land.'"
There is appended to this report a note which lays down the law in a different sense from that before stated. It is as follows:
"It is not sufficient for anyone who avows119 distress120 to say that he avows the taking, &c., for that he found the beasts in his chace of such a place, or in the common of such a place, where he had no right of common; for it may be that neither party had a right of common; and thus it is not sufficient but he must say that he found them in his several pasture, or must say some other thing that touches himself and gives him a right to impound what he found. For no man can avow a distress in a common pasture save the lord of the soil of the common pasture. For if any of the commoners were to make avowry for beasts taken in the common pasture it would then follow that if the Inquest were to pass against the plaintiff, he who avowed the taking in the common pasture would have the return of the beasts and the amends121, and not the lord of the pasture, and that would be improper122. But this does not hold good where the King is the lord of the common pasture, and several persons holding of him in socage have common, because in that case anyone having common may avow a good distress. The reason is because the King will not be a party in such case or distrein anyone."
In medi?val country life, then, commons might be either manorial or forestal. Bishop53 Stubbs in his "Constitutional History" affirms that "neither the hundreds of England nor the shires appear ever to have had common lands." As regards hundreds, on the enclosure of a common, allotments were made to several townships of Knaresborough, and Stubbs himself allows that "it seems a fair instance of common lands of a hundred." Similarly, there is in the hundred of Coleness in Suffolk a pasture common to all the inhabitants. But in each instance we have probably to distinguish between use and ownership; and the same distinction applies to counties, otherwise the case of the Devonshire Commons might seem to refute the dictum.
The Devonshire Commons are not to be confused with the Forest of Dartmoor. They constitute rather the purlieus, and, in general, afford better pasturage than the forest itself. Neither are they identical with the commons of the separate vills—the manorial or parochial commons. The whole of the inhabitants of the county may be regarded as possessing an interest in the Devonshire Commons, with the exception of the people of Barnstaple and Totnes, the reason being that those districts not having been afforested with the rest of the county, the residents acquired no new privileges when Devonshire was disafforested. The other inhabitants retained whatever rights they had previously124 enjoyed not only in respect of the Devonshire Commons, but of the Forest of Dartmoor, of which, at some early period—before the era of perambulations, in which they were not included—those commons had no doubt formed part. One effect of the wide extent of the right of common was that the rule of levant and couchant did not obtain here. Naturally, when all Devonshire men were entitled to the use of the land, it was impossible to fix a limit to the number of the beasts that might be turned out throughout the length and breadth of the county.
Mention was made above of royal forests as occupying, in some respects, a different position from other lands in which a right of common was exercised. Dartmoor, although the property of the Prince of Wales as Duke of Cornwall, may be taken as, to all intents and purposes, answering to that description; and thus peculiar interest attaches to the usages which prevailed, and still prevail, within its bounds.
The question of "Venville Rights on Dartmoor" is one that engaged the attention of a very capable writer as well as an accomplished125 antiquary, the late Mr. W. F. Collier; and although the subject has been handled by other investigators126, it is from him that we have derived127 the bulk of our information on this very remarkable128 aspect of commonage. First, as to the name. "Venville" is a provincial129 corruption130 of fines villarum, each vill paying a larger or smaller sum for the right of pasturage; and certain parishes or manors on the outskirts131 of the forest were said to be "in venville." "The perambulation [of 1224]," says Mr. Birkett, "establishes three important facts: viz., that the moor123 was originally part of a royal forest; that the Commons of Devon, and surrounding parishes were once part of the forest; and that the moor is not waste of a manor." The townships were grouped into four bailiwicks—North, South, East, and West; and the fines payable132 compose too long a list to be given entire. The following, however, are specimens133: The township of Trulegh (Throwleigh), 2s. 6d.; the parish of South Tawton, 7s. 4?d.; the township of Sele (South Zeal), 6?d.; the hamlet of Lowyngton, in the parish of Meavy, 2d.; the township of Gadamewe (Godameavy), in the same parish, 2d.; the township of Chagford, 12d.; the hamlet of Teigncombeham, with [within?] the parish of Chagford, 4s. This was in 1506-7. In return for these payments the commoners have certain "venville" rights, which extend over the forest proper and the Devonshire Commons, and include the taking of stone and sand for their own use. But the most valued is that of agistment or pasturage, especially of ponies134. The Duchy, on its part, claims and exercises the right of "drift"—a picturesque135 survival on which we may well bestow136 some regard.
The division of the forest into four quarters still continues, each being in charge of a moorman; and over these wide tracts137 and the adjacent Commons sheep, bullocks, and ponies are turned out by the tenants to graze at will. In the autumn the animals are driven to a traditional spot, in order that they may be claimed by their owners. There is a bullock drift, and a pony138 drift, of which the former is the earlier; and each quarter has its own drift days, which are usually different. In any case, no notice is given, but about two o'clock in the morning the moorman is apprised139 by a messenger that he must "drive" his quarter for bullocks or ponies. Thereupon, according to the regular procedure, he ascends140 the tors and blows his horn as an intimation to the tenants to assist in the drift. In the western quarter there was formerly a stone, through a hole in which it was the custom to blow the horn, but this stone now graces a wall in a hedge.
The drift to Merrivale Bridge is accomplished by men on horseback and men on foot, and dogs, to the accompaniment of horns and halloos; and when all the animals have been gathered, an official of the Duchy takes his stand on an ancient stone and reads a proclamation, which done the owners are summoned to claim, let us say, their ponies. The venville tenants identify their beasts, making no payment; but other persons—and in no case, apparently141, is the right of pasturage disputed, nearly the whole of Devonshire having been forest—have to render a fine for each animal. They have also to meet a trivial charge for night rest, which is supposed to have arisen from an old custom that debarred anyone from remaining on the forest by night, with the consequent temptation to deer-poaching. An unclaimed animal is driven to Dunnebridge Pound and there kept for some weeks, at the expiration142 of which, if he is still unclaimed, or if the owner refuses to pay for poundage, etc., he is sold for the benefit of the Duchy.
Each quarter of the moor has its peculiar earmark for ponies, consisting of a round hole at the base or the tip on the near or off ear, through which a piece of string is tied, there being thus four distinct marks.
Some of these ancient usages have fallen into desuetude143. The last occasion on which the horn was sounded was in 1843; and the four quarters are now let to as many "moormen," who endeavour to make as much profit as possible out of them. To this day, however, neither on Dartmoor nor on the Devonshire Commons, is any man denied pasturage for his ponies or cattle.
Bondmen
From vills we may naturally turn to those who in ancient days—the word has another meaning now—were named after them villeins. More than once in the course of this work we have had occasion to refer to the existence of an unfree class in England, on which prouder and more happily circumstanced persons looked with considerable disdain144, and therefore our account would fail of a necessary element of completeness if it omitted to deal, in some measure, with this striking phenomenon of medi?val English life. The subject is too wide and complex to be discussed with any approach to thoroughness, but some aspects of it may be introduced, and indeed must be introduced, being, as we have said, complementary to statements of social relationships already set down.
The position of those who rested under the stigma145 of servitude is brought home to us pretty forcibly by a report of proceedings146 in the Middlesex Iter of 1294:
"One A. brought a writ of imprisonment147 against B.
"Heilham (for B.): 'He ought not to be answered, for he is our villein.'
"A.: 'A free man and of free condition, ready, etc.'
"Heilham said as before.
"Metingham [the judge]: 'He cannot give a higher answer in a writ of Neifty.'
"Heilham: 'We will tell you the truth; his father was our villein, and held of us in villeinage land in the vill mentioned in his count, and where he was taken; and he begot148 this A., and also one B., his brother, of whom we are now seised, as of our villein; and this A. went out of the limits of the villeinage, and afterwards returned, and we found him at his hearth in his own nest, and we took him as our villein, as every lord may well do; and we pray judgment.'
"Metingham: 'If my villein beget149 a child on my land which is in villeinage, and the child so begotten150 go out of the limits of my land, and six or seven or more years after return to the same land, and I find him in his own nest and at his own hearth, I can take him and tax him as my villein for the reason that his return brings him to the same condition as he was when he went.'
"Heilham: 'He fell into the pit which he hath digged.'"
We must beware of attributing this doctrine151 of Neifty to the Norman Conquest, which merely supplied names; in definiteness and cruelty nothing could exceed the practice of serfage under the Saxons. "The slave," says Green, "became part of the live stock of the estate, to be willed away at death with the horse or the ass5, whose pedigree was kept as carefully as his own. His children were bondmen, like himself; even the freeman's children by a slave-mother inherited the mother's taint112. 'Mine is the calf152 that is born of my cow,' ran the English proverb." In the same passage he points out that the number of the serfs was being continually augmented153 from various concurrent154 causes—war, crime, debt, and poverty all assisting to drive men into a condition of perpetual bondage155.[16] Degradation156 of freemen into serfs remained a disagreeable possibility as long as the system endured.
The agricultural population actually consisted of three elements. First there was the lord; secondly157, his free tenants; and thirdly, the villeins or serfs. The main difference between the two latter classes was that the free tenants had proprietary158 rights in their holdings and chattels159. They could buy, sell, or exchange without the lord's intervention160; and, in the event of a dispute, they could sue him or anyone in the courts. Nevertheless, they stood in some degree of subjection to the lord, since the geld due to the State was paid through the lord as responsible to the sheriff for all who held land within the manor.
Another very important distinction between the free tenants and the villeins was the payment of merchet on the marriage of daughters, which signified that the offspring of such marriages would be the lawful property of the lord. From this payment, and all that it implied, the free tenants were exempt161.
Predial services, on the other hand, might be rendered as well by free tenants as by villeins. This is shown by an entry in Domesday:
"De hac terra [Longedune] tempore Regis Edwardi tenebant ix liberi homines xviii hidas et secabant uno die in pratis domini sui et faciebant servitium sicut eis precipiebatur."
Much would depend on the capital possessed by the free tenant, who might elect to make good any deficiency by corporal labour. The villein had no capital, and was simply an instrument, like the cattle of which he had charge, in the working of the estate. He was bound to the soil with which all his interests were linked; and he was regarded in the light of an investment, in which the lord had a perpetual stake. It was the lord who furnished him with the means of gaining a livelihood162, and, in return for this accommodation, the lord demanded from him, and his children after him, lifelong service.
From the "Rectitudines Singularum Personarum," an eleventh-century document, we learn that the cotsetle, for his holding of about five acres, was required to labour for his lord on one day a week all through the year,[17] and this was known as week-work. He had also to give what was called boon-work—namely, three days a week in harvest. Another type of unfree tenant was the gebur, who held a yardland of some thirty or forty acres, which, upon his entrance, was stocked with two oxen, one cow, six sheep, tools and household utensils163. His week-work amounted to two or three days a week, as the season required; in winter, he had "to lie at his lord's fold," when bidden; and he had to contribute his quota164 of boon-work. Certain payments also had to be made.
The first attempt to regulate wages was made in the statute165 of 12 Richard II., cc. 3-7, the preamble166 of which affirms that "the servants and labourers will not, nor by a long season would, serve and labour without outrageous167 and excessive hire, and much more hath been given to such servants and labourers than in any time past, so that for scarcity of the said servants and labourers the husbands and land tenants may not pay their rents nor unnethes live upon their lands, to the great damage and loss as well of their lords as of all the commons; also the hires of the said servants in husbandry have not been put in certainty before this time."
The "hires" were now defined, and this act penalized168 masters who paid labourers at a higher rate than was allowed under it. The scale of wages varied169 in different reigns170. Here we may confine ourselves to the provisions of the statute of 11 Henry VII., which not only determined the maximum payments, but sanctioned reductions on legitimate grounds. Thus regard was had to the current wages in the locality, which the employer was under no obligation to exceed. Less was to be paid at holiday than at other times; and if a man were lazy in the morning or lingered over his meals, he might be mulcted at his master's discretion171.
Premising that the purchasing power of a penny in the fifteenth century was about twelve times as much as it is now, we are able to form some idea of the economic position of the different classes which were the subjects of this legislation. The bailiff, it appears, might have a salary of 26s. 8d.; the common servant in husbandry cost 16s. 8d. and 4s. for clothes; and the artisan received per day 5d. in the summer and 6d. in the winter. This brings us to the hours of labour, which depended on the season, and were also regulated by statute. These were from 5 a.m. till between 7 and 8 p.m. from the middle of March to the middle of September, half an hour being allowed for breakfast, and an hour and a half for dinner and a siesta—an indulgence countenanced172 from May to August. During the winter, the rule was that work was to be carried on whilst there was daylight.
Mention has been made of holidays. These, though inevitable173, were evidently regarded as seasons of danger, since the favourite recreations of labourers, if left to their own devices, were poaching and politics. Against these twin evils the King's counsellors took precautions in an act (13 Rich. II., st. I., c. 13), of which the preamble ran:
"Forasmuch as divers artificers, labourers, servants, and grooms174, keep greyhounds and other dogs, and on the holy days, when Christian175 people be at church hearing Divine service, they go a-hunting in parks, warrens, and coningries of lords and others to the very great destruction of the same, and sometimes under such colour they make their assemblies, conferences, and conspiracies176 for to rise and disobey their allegiance, &c."
Hence none but laymen177 with 40s. and clerks with ￡10 were suffered to keep dogs or use ferrets, nets, harepipes, cords, or other engines to destroy deer. Instead of engaging in such perilous178 diversions, servants and labourers were ordered to "have bows and arrows and to use the same on Sundays and holy days, and leave all playing at tennis or football and other games called quoits, dice179, casting of the stone, kailes (skittles) and other importune180 games." Swords and daggers181 were prohibited "but in time of war for the defence of the realm of England"—a wise measure when the country was infested182 with vagrants183 and there were so many liveried retainers prompt to resent a real or imaginary affront184.
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1
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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merging
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| 合并（分类） | |
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tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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7
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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fen
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| n.沼泽，沼池 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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subsist
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| vi.生存，存在，供养 | |
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bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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15
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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dual
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| adj.双的；二重的，二元的 | |
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calves
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| n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解 | |
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arable
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| adj.可耕的，适合种植的 | |
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stinted
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| v.限制，节省（stint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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balks
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的第三人称单数 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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repertoire
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| n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表 | |
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judiciously
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| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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writ
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| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
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30
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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32
omission
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| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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allege
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| vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言 | |
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34
moiety
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| n.一半；部分 | |
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35
tenements
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| n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 ) | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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writs
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| n.书面命令，令状( writ的名词复数 ) | |
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40
antithesis
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| n.对立；相对 | |
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41
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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42
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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parlance
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| n.说法；语调 | |
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44
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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45
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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46
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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47
formulated
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| v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示 | |
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48
manors
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| n.庄园（manor的复数形式） | |
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49
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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50
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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51
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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52
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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53
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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54
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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55
Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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56
distinctively
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| adv.特殊地，区别地 | |
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57
equitable
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| adj.公平的；公正的 | |
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58
grafted
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| 移植( graft的过去式和过去分词 )； 嫁接； 使（思想、制度等）成为（…的一部份）； 植根 | |
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59
outgrown
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| 长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过 | |
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60
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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61
calumny
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| n.诽谤，污蔑，中伤 | |
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62
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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64
playwrights
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| n.剧作家( playwright的名词复数 ) | |
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65
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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66
relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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67
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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68
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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70
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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71
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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72
nomadic
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| adj.流浪的；游牧的 | |
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73
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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74
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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76
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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77
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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78
superseded
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| [医]被代替的，废弃的 | |
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allocated
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| adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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80
impoverishing
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| v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的现在分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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81
modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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82
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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83
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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84
deterioration
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| n.退化；恶化；变坏 | |
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85
barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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86
rotation
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| n.旋转；循环，轮流 | |
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87
ousted
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| 驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺 | |
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88
compensate
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| vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消 | |
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89
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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90
forfeit
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| vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物 | |
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91
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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92
manorial
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| adj.庄园的 | |
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93
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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94
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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95
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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96
contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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97
expedients
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| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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98
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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99
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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100
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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101
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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102
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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103
forfeited
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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105
outlawry
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| 宣布非法，非法化，放逐 | |
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106
reverted
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| 恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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107
specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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108
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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109
ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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110
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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111
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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112
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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113
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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114
aver
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| v.极力声明；断言；确证 | |
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115
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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116
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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117
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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118
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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119
avows
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| v.公开声明，承认( avow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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120
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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121
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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122
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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123
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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124
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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125
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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126
investigators
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| n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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127
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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128
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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129
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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130
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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131
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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132
payable
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| adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的 | |
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133
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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134
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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135
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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136
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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137
tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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138
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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139
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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140
ascends
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的第三人称单数 ) | |
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141
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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142
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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143
desuetude
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| n.废止，不用 | |
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144
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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145
stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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146
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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147
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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148
begot
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| v.为…之生父( beget的过去式 )；产生，引起 | |
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149
beget
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| v.引起；产生 | |
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150
begotten
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| v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 )；产生，引起 | |
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151
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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152
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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153
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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154
concurrent
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| adj.同时发生的，一致的 | |
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155
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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156
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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157
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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158
proprietary
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| n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主 | |
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159
chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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160
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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161
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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162
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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163
utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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164
quota
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| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
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165
statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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166
preamble
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| n.前言；序文 | |
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167
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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168
penalized
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| 对…予以惩罚( penalize的过去式和过去分词 )； 使处于不利地位 | |
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169
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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170
reigns
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| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
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171
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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172
countenanced
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| v.支持，赞同，批准( countenance的过去式 ) | |
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173
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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174
grooms
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| n.新郎( groom的名词复数 )；马夫v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的第三人称单数 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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175
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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176
conspiracies
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| n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 ) | |
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177
laymen
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| 门外汉，外行人( layman的名词复数 )； 普通教徒（有别于神职人员） | |
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178
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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179
dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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180
importune
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| v.强求；不断请求 | |
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181
daggers
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| 匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 ) | |
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182
infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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183
vagrants
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| 流浪者( vagrant的名词复数 )； 无业游民； 乞丐； 无赖 | |
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184
affront
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| n./v.侮辱，触怒 | |
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