Domesday-book, Sharon Turner, Lappenberg, Pauli, Hallam, Brougham, Vaughan, etc.
The social condition of the Britons previous to the invasion of C?sar was in all probability similar to that of their kindred Gauls. They lived in clans1; the soil was held by a tenure3 similar to that which prevailed among the Gauls, and was tilled by clansmen or free laborers5. Slavery was then, if possible, even more insignificant7 among the Britons than among the Gauls; and the slaves consisted of criminals and prisoners of war, and were the common property of the clan2. The laboring8 classes were not impoverished9, nor were they dependent upon the chiefs as in Gaul at the time of the Roman conquest. For various reasons Rome's influence did not operate so fatally on the Britons as it did on the Gauls; neither the culture of Rome nor her disorganizing and oppressive administration permeated10 Britain to the same extent as they did the rest of the empire. Still Roman rule seems to have altered somewhat the primitive11 relations between the chiefs and their clansmen, impoverishing12 the latter and corrupting13 the former. The Roman rule was propitious14 to slavery; it sur[Pg 224]rounded the powerful natives with dependents and chattels15, while the poor gradually lost their freedom, and began to cultivate the soil less for their own sake than on account of their chiefs. The dissolution of former social relations was effected and the impoverishment17 of the people fearfully increased, by the uninterrupted invasions of the Picts and Scots, and by the Anglo-Saxon conquest.
The Anglo-Saxons, spreading over the land, enslaved its former owners, selling them abroad or making them work for the conquerors19 at home. The Anglo-Saxons planted on the soil of Britain their German mode of life and their social organism in all its details. They brought with them their bondmen and slaves, their laws and usages relating to slavery, to the possession of the soil, and to composition for crime (all of which have been explained in former pages). Under the Anglo-Saxons and Danes, the chattels consisted of the descendants of the slaves existing in Roman times, as well as natives newly enslaved, criminals, debtors20 and captives taken in war. The Anglo-Saxon families also had slaves of Scotch21 and Welsh birth, generally from the borders; while, on the other hand, many Anglo-Saxons were kept in bondage22 by the Scotch and Welsh. Turner says: "It is well known that a large proportion of the Anglo-Saxon population was in a state of slavery; they were conveyed promiscuously23 with the cattle."
The Anglo-Saxon slaves were called theow esne and wite-theows, or penal24 slaves. Their condition was at[Pg 225]tended with all the horrors of slavery. They were kept in chains, were whipped, branded, and wore collars. They were sold in the markets, especially in London, and were at times exported beyond the sea, and found their way even to the markets of Italy and Rome. Every one knows that it was the exposition for sale of Anglo-Saxon slaves in the Roman market which resulted in the introduction of Christianity into Britain. Christianity softened25 the savage26 customs of the Anglo-Saxons, and greatly promoted emancipation27; and this again increased the number of freemen and half-freemen, which formed the lower class of the population.
The division into classes—castes almost—was very rigidly28 observed by the Anglo-Saxons. The powers and rights of nobles, and of those who reached a high position as royal officials or owners of extensive landed property, were very great. The possession of land gave a higher political status, and conferred greater power among the Anglo-Saxons than among any of the other German tribes settled throughout Europe.
The free yeomen, or owners of land in fee simple, sought protection from the hlaford or mighty29 lord. For this they bartered30 away, partially31, both their freedom and their right to the land—as was customary also among the German and all other ancient nations. The Anglo-Saxon yeomen were, in general, in a subordinate condition; they had no law, and their freedom consisted principally in having the right to change masters. The tradesmen also were, for the[Pg 226] most part, in a servile state, and were manumitted like other chattels. Some of the manumitted slaves became agricultural laborers and hired land from the clergy32, the great, the thanes or the ealdormen, paying them an annual rent in produce or money; but many of them also went into the towns and became burghers. Some of the burghers, also, were subject to barons34 and other lords, as the king; indeed, the burghers generally were not actual freeholders, and, if they were free, often had not wholly escaped the domestic service of their masters. The condition of the immense majority of Anglo-Saxons was therefore far from real freedom.
The Norman conquest transformed many landlords into tenants35, while the humbler classes passed into the hands of the new masters. They became the tenants and laborers of the Norman, for whom otherwise the conquered land would have been worthless. But the Norman conquest rendered Saxon servitude so galling36, that villeinage was nearly equal to chattelhood.
The "Domesday-book" gives 25,000 as the number of slaves in England. The great bulk of the rural population was composed of bondmen, or villeins under various designations—as bordiers, geburs, cotsetlas, etc.—who were compelled to pay oppressive imposts, and submit to various degrading and oppressing servitudes. These oppressions and exactions bore most heavily on the Anglo-Saxon population.
Slaves and serfs attached to the soil might be sold in the market-place, at the pleasure of their owners. Husbands sold their wives, and parents, unable or un[Pg 227]willing to support their children, might dispose of them in the same manner. The English slave-dealer of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, sold his Anglo-Saxon commodities to the Irish. A law enacted37 in 1102, prohibited this "wicked trade;" but the law was eluded38, the trade continued, and when Henry II. invaded Ireland, he found English slaves there, whom he manumitted. In order to increase the revenue, as also from other motives39 of policy, the royal power in England, as all over Europe, generally favored the oppressed; its tendency always was to curb40 the arbitrary exactions of the barons, to promote emancipation, and generally to aid the serfs. William the Conqueror18 ordered that the lords should not deprive the husbandmen of their land; he enacted regulations to prevent arbitrary enslavement, and prohibited the sale of slaves out of the country. He also enacted a law which provided that the residence of any serf or slave for a year and a day, without being claimed, in any city, burgh, walled town or castle, should entitle him to perpetual liberty.
An independent freeholding yeomanry existed in comparatively small numbers. The recklessness of the feudal41 barons obliged the yeomanry, for the sake of protection, to render allegiance to the manor42, and thus, about a century after the conquest, almost all the small homesteads disappeared. The conquered population held their property, not by absolute right, but by a tenure from the lord. Thus all individual freedom, except that of the nobles, became either en[Pg 228]tirely lost, or more and more contracted, till finally time and circumstance partly loosened, partly destroyed, the bonds which held the nation in slavery. In England as in the whole of Europe, feudal oppression was the growth of a very few generations; but it has required many hundreds of years to destroy it. A disease may be caught in an hour—years may be required for its cure. For the conquered race, the Norman had all the contempt common to conquerors. Macaulay says that when Henry I. married an Anglo-Saxon of princely lineage, many of the barons regarded it as a Virginia planter might regard marriage with a quadroon girl. But personal and economical interests obliged the barons to relent in their treatment of their serfs and chattels; and many of them were allowed under certain conditions to cultivate small portions of land.
The Saxon servile class, embraced under the general name of villeins, by and by began to have a permanent and legal interest in the land they cultivated, tilling it under the condition of a copyhold. The number of tenants on the manorial43 lands thus rapidly increased. But for a long period, even though the law declared that no man was a villein, still less a chattel16, unless a master claimed him (and while to all others he was a freeman, eligible44 to have and hold property), still the nobles often seized and appropriated to themselves the property of the poorer class.
The laws under the Plantagenets, although in some respects hard for the villeins, indirectly45 favored their[Pg 229] emancipation, and threw many obstacles in the way of suits brought to reclaim46 fugitives47.
The influence of the cities on the condition of the serfs in England was similar to that which they exercised everywhere else in Europe. As under the Anglo-Saxons, so under the Normans, the inhabitants of the cities were originally serfs and villeins, or their descendants. The Plantagenets were unceasingly at war, and the enlistment48 of soldiers opened up an avenue to emancipation; and predial and feudal servitude of every kind ended forever with the performance of military service on land or sea. So also the serf or villein obtained freedom in various ways—through the law of refuge in cities, by being drafted into the royal service, and finally by the tenure of the land on which the baron33 may have established him at his own baronial pleasure. Thus by degrees arose the right of copyhold lands; and Edward III. prohibited the lords from appropriating such lands when service was rendered or the rent regularly paid.
Forced servitude steadily49 diminished, and the estate-holders complained that the cities and towns absorbed the labor4 necessary for agriculture. In 1345, Parliament regulated the wages for all kinds of farm-work, and made labor obligatory50 when paid for in money, but not as personal servitude. Gradually the economic and social relations became more and more those of employer and laborer6, and less and less those of master and serf. Still the nobles and estate-holders continually evaded51 the laws, and preserved,[Pg 230] as much as they possibly could, their oppressive rights. Against these the peasants protested by various petty insurrections.
Wat Tyler and his peasant-followers demanded that the existing remnants of villeinage should be abolished, and that the land-rent be payable52 in money and not in personal services, and also that the trades and market-places be free from vexatious tolls53 and imposts. But Wat Tyler fell—the insurrection was suppressed—the barons and lords compelled the king to break the promises he had made, and the "shoeless ribalds," as the nobles called the insurgent54 rustics55, were forced back to their former condition. But in a little over a century afterward56, villeinage wholly disappeared. Contumely, oppression, and even butchery proved in the long run quite powerless against the efforts of the oppressed classes to reconquer their freedom.
The wars of the roses dissolved many of the old liens57, destroyed various domestic relations, and yet, with all their devastations, on the whole rather promoted the emancipation of land and labor. Richard III. made various regulations favorable to the peasantry and destructive of the still remaining vestiges58 of servitude. On this account, as well as for other reasons, some historians defend the memory of Richard III.; and it really seems that at first Richard was a good and upright man. But violent passions, lust59 of power, hatred60 of whoever opposed him or stood in his way, drove him step by step to measures of violence and to murder; and so he stands in history, a hideous61 and[Pg 231] accursed monster in human form, reeking62 in the blood of his victims. Nations and parties often run the same career of violence and crime as individuals. Let the pro-slavery faction63 of to-day, which already begins to move in the bloody64 tracks of Richard, take warning!
Under the Tudors but few traces of the former villeinage are to be found; still it survived until the reigns65 of Mary and Elizabeth. But throughout the whole of the centuries during which rural servitude was slowly but steadily passing away, relics66 of a very stringent67 personal servitude, almost equal to slavery, lingered in the baronial manors68 and castles, in the personal relation between the masters and their retainers and menials. Against these remains69 of rural villeinage, vassalage70, and slavery, the Henries and Elizabeths exercised their royal power, and issued decrees bearing on the subject generally, as well as others relating to special cases.[19]
It is not necessary to record here—what every student in history knows—that in proportion as servitude began to decay, the prosperity of England increased, and that from its final abolition71 in every form dates the uninterrupted growth in wealth and power of the English nation. The abolition of rural servitude gave a vigorous impulse to agriculture, and secured to it its present high social significance; and now the old[Pg 232] nobility all over Europe are proud to be agriculturists. Agriculture is now a science, and it is by freedom that it has thus reached the highest honor in the hierarchy72 of knowledge and labor.
Through such various stages passed the Anglo-Saxons and the English people, in their transition from chattelhood and various forms of personal servitude, to freedom. The present inhabitants of English towns, as well as the free yeomanry and tenants—in brief, all the English commercial, trading, farming and working classes—have emerged from slavery, serfdom or servility. In the course of centuries the oppressed have achieved the liberty of their persons and labor, and the freedom of the soil: they have conquered political status and political rights; and their descendants peopled the American colonies, and here finally conquered the paramount73 right of national independence. The genuine freemen of the great Western Republic are not ashamed but proud of such a lineage of toil74 and victory. These freemen now and here again boldly and nobly enter the lists to combat with human bondage in every shape; and thus they remain true to the holy traditions which they have inherited from their fathers.
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1
clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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laborer
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| n.劳动者，劳工 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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9
impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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10
permeated
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| 弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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11
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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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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13
corrupting
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的现在分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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propitious
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| adj.吉利的；顺利的 | |
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chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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chattel
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| n.动产；奴隶 | |
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impoverishment
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| n.贫穷，穷困；贫化 | |
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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debtors
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| n.债务人，借方( debtor的名词复数 ) | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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promiscuously
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| adv.杂乱地，混杂地 | |
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penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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bartered
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| v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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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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galling
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| adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的 | |
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enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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39
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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40
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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41
feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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42
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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43
manorial
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| adj.庄园的 | |
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44
eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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45
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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46
reclaim
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| v.要求归还，收回；开垦 | |
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47
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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48
enlistment
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| n.应征入伍，获得，取得 | |
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49
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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50
obligatory
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| adj.强制性的，义务的，必须的 | |
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51
evaded
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| 逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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52
payable
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| adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的 | |
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53
tolls
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| （缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏 | |
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54
insurgent
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| adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子 | |
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55
rustics
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| n.有农村或村民特色的( rustic的名词复数 )；粗野的；不雅的；用粗糙的木材或树枝制作的 | |
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56
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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57
liens
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| n.留置权，扣押权( lien的名词复数 ) | |
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58
vestiges
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| 残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不 | |
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59
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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60
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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61
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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62
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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63
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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64
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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65
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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66
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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67
stringent
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| adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的 | |
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68
manors
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| n.庄园（manor的复数形式） | |
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69
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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70
vassalage
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| n.家臣身份，隶属 | |
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71
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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72
hierarchy
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| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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73
paramount
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| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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