Thelordtakesalsotenementsintohishandinthewayofescheat，intheabsenceofheirs。Court-rollsconstantlymentionplotswhichhavebeenresumedinthiswaybythelord。(91*)Thehomagehastoreporttothestewardastoallchangesofoccupation，andastothemeasureswhicharethoughtnecessarytopromotetheinterestsofthelandownerandofthetenantry。(92*)
Astothetreatmentoftenureinmanorialdocuments，itistobenoticedthatadistinctionwhichhasnojuridicalmeaningatallbecomesallimportantinpractice。Atcommonlaw，ashasbeensaidrepeatedly，thecontrastbetweenfreelandandservilelandresolvesitselfintoacontrastbetweenprecariousoccupationandproprietaryright。Thiscontrastisnoticedoccasionallyandasamatteroflegalprinciplebymanorialdocuments(93*)quiteapartfromtheconsequenceswhichflowfromit，andofwhichIhavebeenspeakingjustnow。Butinactuallifethisfundamentalfeatureisnotveryprominent；allstressislaidonthedistinctionbetweenlandheldbyrentandlandheldbylabour。Inthecommonphraseologyofsurveysandmanorialrolls，thetenementsonwhichtherentprevailsoverlabourarecalled’freetenements，’andthoseonthecontrarywhichhavetorenderlabourservices，bearthenamesof’servileholdings。’Thisfactiscertainlynottobetreatedlightlyasamereresultofdeficientclassificationorterminology。Itisaveryimportantoneanddeservestobeinvestigatedcarefully。
IntheancientsurveyofGlastonburyAbbey，compiledin1189，thequestionstobeansweredbythejuryareenumeratedinthefollowingway：’Whoholdsfreely’andhowmuch，andbywhatservices，andbywhosewarrant，andfromwhattime？HaslandwhichoughttoperformworkbeenturnedintofreelandinthetimeofBishopHenry，orafterwards？Bywhosewarrantwasthischangemade，andtowhatextentisthelandfree？Isthedemesnelandincultivation，orisitgivenawayinfreetenureorvillaintenure；issuchmanagementprofitable，orwoulditbebetterifthislandwastakenbackbythelord？’(94*)Thecontrastisbetweenlandwhichprovideslabourandlandwhichdoesnot；theformerisunfree，andvillaintenureisthetenureoflandheldbysuchservices；portionsofthedemesnegivenawayfreelymayeventuallybereclaimed。Theschemeofthesurveymadeinanswertothesequestionsisentirelyinkeepingwiththismodeofclassification。Allholdingsareconsideredexclusivelyfromtheeconomicpointofview；thetestofsecurityandprecariousoccupationisneverapplied。Itisconstantlynoticed，ontheotherhand，whetheraplotpaysrentorprovideslabour，whetheritcanbetransferredfromonecategoryintotheother，onwhatconditionsdemesnelandhasbeengiventopeasants，andwhetheritisexpedienttoalterthem。Letustakethefollowingcaseasaninstance：JohnClerkhadinthetimeofBishopHenryonevirgateinDomerhamandholdsitnow，andanothervirgateinStapelhamfortenshillings。WhenhefarmedtheDomerhammanorheleftonhisownauthoritythevirgateinStapelhamandtookhalfavirgateinDomerham，asitwasnearer。Thishalfvirgateoughttoworkandisnowfree。AndthevirgateinStapelbam，thoughitwasfreeformerly，hastoworknow，aftertheexchange。(95*)Theoppositionisquiteclear，andentirelysuitedtothelistofquestionsaddressedtothejury。Themeaningofthetermsfreeandfreedomisalsobroughtoutbythefollowingexample。AnderdBuddeholdshalfavirgateofdemesneland，fromthetimeofBishopHenry，bythesameservicesasallwhoholdsomuch。Thevillagehastorenderasgifttwenty-nineshillingsandsixpence。Sixpencearewanting(tocompletethethirtyshillings？)
becauseAnderdholdsmorefreelythanhisancestorsusedto。(96*)
Suchphraseologyisbynomeansrestrictedtoonedocumentoronelocality。InaRamseyCartularywefindthefollowingentryinregardtoaHuntingdonshiremanor：’Ofsevenhidesoneisfree；oftheremainingsixtwovirgatespayrent。Theholderpayswiththevillains；hepaysmerchetandjoinsintheboon-workasthevillains。Theremainingfivehidesandthreevirgatesareinpurevillainage。’(97*)ThegradationissomewhatmorecomplexherethanintheSomersetshireinstance：besidesfreelandandworkinglandwehaveaseparatedivisionformixedcases。Butthefoundationisthesameinbothdocuments。EarliersurveysofRamseyAbbeyshowthesameclassificationofholdingintofreeandworkingvirgates(liberae，adopus(98*))。
Inoppositiontofreeservice，thatisrent，wefindboththevillenagium(99*)andtheterraconsuetudinariaorcustoniaria，(100*)burdenedwiththeusualruralwork。Sometimesthedocumentpointsoutthatlandhasbeenfreedorexemptedfromthecommondutiesofthevillage；(101*)inregardtomanorialworkthevillageformedacompactbody。ThenotionwhichIhavebeenexplainingliesatthebottomofacuriousdesignationsometimesappliedtobasetenureintheearlierdocumentsofourperiod——terraadfurcametflagellum，(102*)fleyland。TheLatinexpressionhasbeenconstruedtomeanlandheldbyapersonunderthelord’sjurisdiction，underhisgallowsandhiswhip，butthisexplanationisentirelyfalse。Themeaningis，thatabaseholdingisoccupiedbypeoplewhohavetoworkwithpitchforkandflail，andmaybeotherinstrumentsofagriculture，(103*)insteadofsimplypayingrent。Inviewofsuchaphraseologythesametenementcouldalternatelybeconsideredasafreeoraservileone，accordingtoitschangingobligations。(104*)Somesurveysinserttwoparalleldescriptionsofdutieswhicharemeanttofitbotheventualities；whenthelandisadopus，itowessuchandsuchservices；whenitisadcensum，itpayssomuchrent。Itmustbeadded，thatinavastmajorityofcasesrent-payinglandretainssomeremnantsofservices，and，viceversa，landsubjectedtovillage-workpayssmallrents；(105*)thegeneralqualityoftheholdingismadetodependontheprevailingcharacteroftheduties。
Thedoublesenseinwhichtheterms’freetenure’and’serviletenure’areusedshouldbespeciallynoticed，becauseitlaysbaretheintimateconnexionbetweentheformaldivisionsoffeudallawandtheconditionsofeconomicreality。Ihavelaidstressonthecontrastbetweenthetwophraseologies，but，ofcourse，theycouldnotbeinuseatthesametimewithoutdependingmoreorlessoneachother。Anditisnotdifficulttosee，thatthelegalisamodificationoftheeconomicuseofterms，thatitreducestoone-sidedsimplicitythosegeneralfactswhichtheevidenceofeverydaylifeputsbeforeusinalooseandcomplexmanner；thatlandisreallyfreewhichisnotplacedinaconstantworkingsubmissiontothemanor，inconstantco-operationwithotherplots，similarlyarrangedtohelpandtoserveinthemanor。Howeverheavytherent，thelandthatpaysithasbecomeindependentinpointofhusbandry，itsdependenceappearsasamatterofagreement，andnotaneconomictie。Whenatenementisforeconomicpurposessubordinatedtothegeneralmanagementofthemanor，thereisalmostofnecessityadegreeofuncertaintyinitstenure；itisasatellitewhosemotionsarecontrolledbythebodyroundwhichitrevolves。Ontheotherhand，merepaymentsinmoneylookliketheoutcomeofsomesortofagreement，andarenaturallythoughtofastheresultofcontract。
Everythingissubjecttothewillandpleasureofthelord；
butthiswillandpleasuredoesnotfindexpressioninanycapriciousinterferencewhichwouldhavewantonlydestroyedorderandruleinvillagelife。Undercoverofthiswill，customsareformingthemselveswhichregulatetheconstantlyrecurringeventsofmarriage，succession，alienation，andthelike。Curiouscombinationsarise，whichreflectfaithfullythecomplexelementsofvillagelife。Aninstructionforstewardsprovides，forinstance，thatonepersonoughtnottoholdseveraltenements；
wheresuchagglomerationsexistalreadytheyoughttobedestroyed，ifitcanbedoneconvenientlyandhonestly。(106*)InoneofthemanorsofSt。PaulofLondontheplotsheldbytheploughmenaresaidtoberesumablebythelordwithoutanyinjurytohereditarysuccession。(107*)’Theruleofhereditarysuccession’isaffirmedinregardtonormalholdingsbythisveryexception。Wefindalreadythephraseofwhichtheroyalcourtsavailedthemselves，wheninlaterdaystheyextendedtheirprotectiontothisbasetenure：thetenantshold’bythecustomofthemanor。’(108*)Onthestrengthofsuchcustomthelifeoftheunfreepeasantrytakesashapecloselyresemblingthatofthefreepopulation；transactionsandrightsspringintobeingwhichfindtheirexactparallelinthecommonlawofthe’freeandlawful’portionofthecommunity。Walter，avillainofSt。
Alban’s，surrendersintothehandofthemonasterytwocurtilages，whicharethereupongrantedtohisdaughterandherhusbandforlife，uponconditionthataftertheirdeaththelandistoreverttoWalterortohisheirs。(109*)AnEssexvillainclaimssuccessionbyhereditaryright，forhimselfandhisheirs。(110*)Ihavealreadyspokenofthe’freebench’tobefoundequallyonfreeandunfreeland。Inthesamewaythereexistsaparalleltotheso-called’CurtesyofEngland’inthepracticeofmanorialcourts；ifthesoninheritslandfromhismotherduringhisfather’slife，thelatterenjoyspossessionduringhislife，or，itmaybe。onlyuntilhissoncomesofage。
Inviewofallthismanorialdocumentshavetodrawadistinctionbetweentenementsinvillainageandlandheldatthewillofthelord，notinthegeneral，butinthespecialandliteralsenseoftheterm。(111*)Fromaformalpointofview，villaintenurebycustomobtaineditsspecificcharacteranditsnamefromasymbolicalactperformedinopenCourtbythesteward；arodwashandedovertothenewholderbythelord’srepresentative，andacorrespondingentrymadeintherolloftheCourt。HencetheexpressiontenerepervirgamautperrotulumCurie。(112*)
Ioughtperhapstotreathereofthedifferentandinterestingformsassumedbyservicesandrentsasconsequencesofmanorialorganisation。ButIthinkthatthissubject。willbeunderstoodbetterinanotherconnexion，namelyaspartoftheagrariansystem。Onesideonlyofithastobediscussedhere。
Everywherecustomsarisewhichdefendthevillainsfromcapriciousextortionsonthepartofthelordandsteward。Thesecustomsmostlyget’inbreviated’(113*)describedinsurveysandcartularies，andalthoughtheyhavenolegallybindingpower，theycertainlyrepresentagreatmoralauthorityandarefollowedinmostcases。
Averycharacteristicexpressionoftheirinfluencemaybefoundinthefactthatthemanorialrollsveryoftendescribeindetail，notonlywhatthepeasantsareboundtodoforthelord，butwhatthelordmustdoforthepeasants；especiallywhenandhowheistofeedthem。Ofcourse，theoriginofsuchusagecannotbetracedtoanythinglikearightonthepartofthevillain；itcomesfromthelandlord’sconcessionsandgood-will，butgracelosesitsexceptionalaspectinthiscaseandleadstoamorallybindingobligation。(114*)Whenthevillainbringshisyearlyrenttohislord，thelatterofteninviteshimtohistable。(115*)Verycommonisthepracticeofprovidingamealforthelabourersontheboon-days，thedaysonwhichthewholepopulationofthevillagehadtoworkforthelordinthemostbusytimeofthesummerandautumn。Suchboon-workwasconsideredasakindofsurplusdemand；itexceededthenormaldistributionofwork。Itisoftenmentionedaccordinglythatsuchserviceisperformedoutofaffectionforthelord，andsometimesitgetstheeloquentnameof’love-bene。’Inproportionasthemanorialadministrationgetsmoreworkdoneinthisexceptionalmanner，itbecomesmoreandmoregraciousinregardtothepeople。’Dryrequests’(siccaeprecariae)arefollowedby’requestswithbeer’
(precariaecerevisiae)。Butitwasnotbeeralonethatcouldbegotonsuchdays。HereisadescriptionofthecustomsofBorle，amanorbelongingtoChristChurch，Canterbury，inEssex。’Andletitbeknownthatwhenhe，thevillain，withothercustomersshallhavedonecuttingthehayonthemeadowinRaneholm，theywillreceivebycustomthreequartersofwheatforbakingbread，andoneramofthepriceofeighteenpence，andonepatofbutter，andonepieceofcheeseofthesecondsortfromthelord’sdairy，andsalt，andoatmealforcookingastew’andallthemorningmilkfromallthecowsinthedairy，andforeverydayaloadofhay。Hemayalsotakeasmuchgrassasheisabletoliftonthepointofhisscythe。Andwhenthemowngrassiscarriedaway，hehasarighttoonecart。Andheisboundtocarrysheaves，andforeachserviceofthiskindhewillreceiveonesheaf，called“mene-schef。”Andwheneverheissenttocarryanythingwithhiscart，heshallhaveoats，asusual，somuch，namely，ashecanthricetakewithhishand。(116*)
Allsuchcustomsseemverystrangeandcapriciousatfirstsight。Butitistobenoticedthattheyoccurindifferentformseverywhere，andthattheywerebynomeansmereoddities；theybecamearealandsometimesaheavyburdenforthelandlord。Theauthorities，theso-called’Inquisitionespostmortem’
especially，oftenstrikeakindofbalancebetweentheexpenseincurredandthevalueoftheworkperformed。Bytheendofthethirteenthcenturyitisgenerallyfoundthatbothendsarejustmadetomeetincasesofextraworkattendedbyextrafeeding，andinsomeinstancesitisfoundthatthelordhastolayoutmorethanhegetsback。(117*)Theriseinthepricesofcommoditieshadrenderedtheserviceunprofitable。Nowonderthatsuch’boon-work’hastobegivenuportobecommutedformoney。
