Thedutiesheredescribedpresentonlyavariationofthecommon’week-work’ofthepeasant，itsapplicationtoacertainkindoflabour。Theycouldonoccasionbereplacedbysomeotherwork，(7*)orthelordmightlosethemifthetimeassignedforthemwasquiteunsuitableforwork。(8*)Thereisanotherformofploughingcalledgafol-earth，whichhasnoreferencetoanyparticulartime-limits。Apatchofthelord’slandisassignedtothehomageforcultivation，andeverytenantgetshisshareintheworkaccordingtothesizeofhisholding。Gafol-earthisnotonlyploughedbutmostlysownbythepeasantry。(9*)
Athirdspeciesofploughing-dutyistheso-calledaverearth。
orgrass-earth。Thisobligationariseswhenthepeasantswantmorepasturethantheyareentitledtousebytheircustomaryrightsofcommon。Thelordmaygrantthepermissiontousethepasturereservedforhim，andexactsploughingsinreturnaccordingtothenumberofheadsofcattlesenttothepasturage。(10*)Sometimesthesameimpositionisleviedwhenmorecattlearesenttothecommonsthanaholdinghasarighttodriveonthem。(11*)ItisnotimpossiblethatinsomecasestheveryuseofrightsofcommonWasmadedependentontheperformanceofsuchduties。(12*)Akindredexactionwasimposedfortheuseofthemeadows。(13*)Localvariationshave，ofcourse，tobetakenlargelyintoaccountinallsuchmatters：thedistinctionbetweengafol-earthandgrass-earth，forinstance，thoughdrawnverysharplyinmostcases，getssomewhatconfusedinothers。
Manorialrecordsmentionafourthvarietyofploughingworkunderthenameofben-earth，precariaecarucarum。Thisisextraworkinoppositiontothecommonploughingsdescribedbefore。(14*)Itisassumedthatthesubjectpopulationisreadytohelpthelordforthetillageofhisland，evenbeyondthecustomarydutiesimposedonit。Itsendsitsploughsthreeorfourtimesayear’outoflove，’and’fortheasking。’Itmaybeconjecturedhowagreeablethisdutymusthavebeeninreality，andindeedbythesideofitscommondenominations，asboon-workandasked-work，wefindmuchroughertermsinthespeechofsomedistricts——itisdeemedunlawenearthandgodlesebene。(15*)Itmustbesaid，however，thatthelordgenerallyprovidedfoodontheseoccasions，andevenwentsofarastopayforsuchextrawork。
Otherexpressionsoccurincertainlocalities，whicharesometimesdifficultofexplanation。Lentenearth，(16*)inthemanorsofElyMinster，meansevidentlyanextraploughinginLent。ThesameElyrecordsexhibitaploughingcalledFilstnertheorFilsingerthe，(17*)whichmaybeidenticalwiththeLentenearthjustmentioned：afastnyngseed(18*)occursatanyratewhichseemsconnectedwiththeploughingunderdiscussion。ThesameextraworkinLentiscalledTywe(19*)intheCustumalofBleadon，Somersetshire。Whentheploughing-workispaidforitmayreceivethenameofpenyearth。(20*)TheGloucestersurveyspeaksoftheextracultivationofanacrecalledRadacre，andtheElysurveysofanextrarood’deRytnesse。’(21*)Idonotventuretosuggestanexplanationfortheselastterms；andI
neednotsaythatitwouldbeeasytocollectamuchgreaternumberofsuchtermsinlocalusefromthemanorialrecords。Itissufficientformypurposetomarkthechiefdistinctions。
Alltheotherlabour-servicesareperformedmoreorlessonthesamesystemastheploughings，withthefundamentaldifferencethatthenumberofmenengagedinthemhastobereckonedwithmorethanthenumberofbeasts。Theextentsareespeciallyfullofdetailsintheirdescriptionsofreapingormowingcornandgrass；theprocessofthrashingisalsomentioned，thoughmorerarely。Inthecaseofmeadows(mederipe)
sometimestheirdimensionsaremadethebasisofcalculation，sometimesthenumberofwork-dayswhichhavetobeemployedinordertocutthegrass。(22*)Astothecorn-harvest，everyholdinghasitsnumberofacresassignedtoit，(23*)orelseitisenactedthateveryhousehastosendsomanyworkmenduringacertainnumberofdays。(24*)Ifitissaidthatsuchandsuchatenantisboundtoworkonthelord’sfieldatharvest-timewithtwenty-eightmen，itdoesnotmeanthathehastosendoutsuchanumbereverytime，butthathehastofurnishanamountofworkequivalenttothatperformedbytwenty-eightgrown-uplabourersinone，day。Itmaybedividedintofourteendays’workoftwolabourers，orintosevendays’offour，andsoforth。
Harvest-timeisthemostpressingtimeintheyearforruralwork；itisespeciallyimportantnottolosetheopportunitypresentedbyfineweathertomowandgarnerinthecropbeforerain，andtheremaybeonlyafewdaysofsuchweatheratcommand。Forthisreasonextralabourischieflyrequiredduringthisseason，andthevillagepeoplearefrequentlyaskedtogiveextrahelpinconnexionwithit。Thesystemofprecariaeisevenmoredevelopedontheseoccasionsthaninthecaseofploughing。(25*)Alltheforcesofthevillagearestrainedtogothroughthetask；allthehouseswhichopenonthestreetsendtheirlabourers，(26*)andinmostcasestheentirepopulationhastojoininthework，withtheexceptionofthehousewivesandperhapsofthemarriageabledaughters。(27*)Thelandlordtreatstheharvesterstofoodinordertomaketheseexertionssomewhatmorepalatabletothem。(28*)These’love-meals’aregraduatedaccordingtoasetsystem。Ifthemenarecalledoutonlyonce，theygettheirfoodandnodrink：theseare’dryrequests。’Iftheyaremadetogoasecondtime，aleisservedtothem(precariaecerevisiae)。Themutualobligationsoflordsandtenantryaresettledveryminutely；(29*)thelattermayhavetomowaparticularacrewiththeobjectofsaying’thanks’forsomeconcessiononthepartofthelord。(30*)Thesamekindof’requests’areinuseformowingthemeadows。Thedutiesofthepeasantsdifferagreatdealaccordingtosizeoftheirholdingsandtheirsocialposition。Thegreaternumberhaveofcoursetoworkwithscytheandsickle，butthemorewealthyarecalledupontosupervisetherest，torideaboutwithrodsintheirhands。(31*)Ontheotherhand，apoorwomanholdsamessuage，andneeddonomorethancarrywatertothemowers。(32*)
Averyimportantitemintheworknecessaryformedievalhusbandrywasthebusinessofcarryingproducefromonepartofthecountrytotheother。Themanorsofagreatlordwereusuallydispersedinseveralcounties，andeveninthecaseofsmalllandownersitwasnotveryeasytoarrangearegularcommunicationwiththemarket。Theobligationtoprovidehorsesandcartsgainsinimportanceaccordingly。(33*)Theseaveragiaarelaidoutforshortandlongdistances，andthepeasantshavetotaketheirturnatthemoneaftertheother。(34*)TheywereboundtocarrycorntoLondonorBristolaccordingtothesizeoftheirholdings。(35*)Specialimportancewasattachedtothecarriageofthe’farm，’thatisoftheproductsdesignedfortheconsumptionofthelord。(36*)Insomesurveyswefindthequalificationthatthepeasantsarenotobligedtocarryanythingbutsuchmaterialasmaybeputonthefire，i。e。usedinthekitchen。(37*)Inthemanoritselftherearemanycarriagedutiestobeperformed：cartsarerequiredforthegrain，orforspreadingthedung。Theworkofloadingandoffollowingthecartsisimposedonthosewhoarenotabletoprovidetheimplements。(38*)Andalongsideofthedutiesofcarriagebyhorsesoroxenwefindthecorrespondingmanualduty。The’averagiumsuperdorsumsuum’fallsonthesmalltenantwhodoesnotowneitherhorsesoroxen。(39*)Suchsmallpeoplearealsomadetodrivetheswineorgeesetothemarket。(40*)Thelordandhischiefstewardsmustlooksharpafterthedistributionofthesedutiesinordertopreventwealthytenantsfrombeingputtolightdutiesthroughtheprotectionofthebailiffs，whomaybebribedforthepurpose。(41*)
Itwouldbehardtoimagineanykindofagriculturalworkwhichisnotimposedonthepeasantryinthesemanorialsurveys。
Thetenantsmindthelord’sploughs，constructhousesandboothsforhim，repairhedgesanddykes，workinvineyards，washandshearthesheep，(42*)etc。Insomecasesthelabourhastobeundertakenbythem，notintheregularrunoftheirservices，butbyspecialagreement，asitwere，inconsiderationofsomeparticularrightorpermissiongrantedtothem。(43*)Alsoithappensfromtimetotimethatthepeopleofonemanorhavetoperformsomeservicesinanother，forinstance，becausetheyusepastureinthatothermanor。(44*)Such’forinsec’labourmaybedueevenfromtenantsofastrangelord。Bythesideofpurelyagriculturaldutieswefindsuchasarerequiredbythepoliticalorjudicialorganisationofthemanor。Peasantsareboundtoguardandhangthieves，tocarrysummonsesandorders，toserveatthecourtsofthesuperiorlordandoftheking。(45*)
Inconsequenceofthegreatvarietyoftheselabour-servicestheyhadtobereducedtosomechiefandplainsubdivisionsforpurposesofageneraloversight。Threemainclassesareverynoticeablenotwithstandingallvarietythearaturae，averagia，andianuoperationes。Theselastarealsocalledhand-dainaeordaywerke，(46*)。andtherecordsgivesometimestheexactvaluationoftheworktobeperformedduringadayineverykindoflabour。Sometimesallthedifferentclassesareaddedupunderoneheadforageneralreckoning，andwithoutanydistinctionastoworkperformedbyhandorwiththehelpofhorseorox，AmongthemanorsofChristChurch，Canterbury，(47*)forinstance，wefindatBorle’1480work-daysdividedinto44weeksoflabourfromthevirgaters，88fromthecotters，320fromthetoftersholdingsmalltenementsinthefields。’InBockyngthework-daysof52weeksarereckonedtobe3222。Itmustbeadded，thatwhensuchageneralsummingupappears，itismostlytobetakenasanindicationthattheoldsystembasedonlabourinkindismoreorlessshaken。Theaimofthrowingtogetherthedifferentclassesofworkistogetageneralvaluationofitsworth，andsuchavaluationinmoneyiscommonlyplacedbythesideofthereckoning。Thesingleday-workyieldssometimesonlyonepennyoralittlemore，andthelandlordisgladtoexchangethiscumbrousandcheapcommodityformoney-rents，evenforsmallones。
Wemustnowproceedtoexaminethedifferentformsassumedbypaymentsinkindandmoney：theypresentacloseparalleltothemanyvarietiesoflabour-service。Thirteenth-centurydocumentsarefullofallusionstopaymentsinkind-thatmostarchaicformofarrangingtherelationsbetweenalordandhissubjects。Thepeasantsgivecornunderdifferentnames，andforvariousreasons：asgavelseed，inadditiontothemoney-rentpaidfortheirland。(48*)asfoddercorn，ofoatsforthefeedingofhorses(49*)；asgathercorn，whichamanorialservanthastocollectorgatherfromtheseveralhomesteads。(50*)ascorn-bole，abestsheafleviedatharvest-time。(51*)Ofotherprovendersuppliedtothelord’shouseholdhoneyisthemostcommon，bothincombsandinaliquidform，(52*)Aleissometimesbrewedforthesamepurpose，andsometimesmaltandbraseumfurnishedasmaterialtobeusedinthemanorialfarm，(53*)Animalsarealsogiveninrent，mostlysheep，lambs，andsucking-pigs，Themodeofselectionispeculiarinsomecases。IntheChristChurch(Canterbury)manorofMoncktoneachsulunghastorendertwolambs，andthelord’sservanthastherighttotakethosewhichhepleases，whereupontheownergetsareceipt，evidentlyinviewofsubsequentcompensationfromtheotherco-ownersofthesulung。(54*)Ifnosuitablelambistobefound，eightpencearepaidinsteadofitasmail(mala)，ononeoftheestatesofGloucesterAbbeyafreemanhastocomeonSt。Peter’sandPaul’sdaywithalambofthevalueof12d。，andbesides，12penceinmoneyaretobehunginapurseontheanimal’sneck。(55*)
Poultryisbroughtalmosteverywhere，buttheseprestationsareverydifferentintheirorigin。Themostcommonreasonforgivingcaponsisthenecessityforgettingthewarrantyofthelord：(56*)Inthissensethereceiptandpaymentoftherentconstituteanacknowledgmentonthepartofthelordthatheisboundtoprotecthismen，andonthepartofthepeasantthatheisthelord’svillain。Woodhens’aregivenforlicencetotakealoadofwoodinaforest；similarprestationsoccurinconnexionwithpastureandwiththeuseofamoorforturbary。(57*)AtEasterthepeasantrygreettheirprotectorsbybringingeggs：inWalton，amanorofSt。Paul’s，London，thecustomissaidtoexistinhonourofthelord，andatthefreediscretionofthetenants。(58*)Besidesallthosethingswhichmaybe’putonthefireandeaten，’rentsinkindsometimestaketheshapeofsomeobjectforpermanentuse，especiallyofsomeimplementnecessaryfortheconstructionoftheplough。(59*)
Triflingrents，consistingofflowersorrootsofginger，aresometimesimposedwiththeobjectoftestifyingtothelord’sseignory；butthepayersofsuchrentsaregenerallyfreeholders。(60*)IneednotdwelllongontheenumerationofallthestrangeprestationswhichexistedduringtheMiddleAges，andpartlycamedowntoourowntime：anyreadercuriousaboutthemwillfindanenormousmassofinterestingmaterialinHazlitt’s’TenuresofLandandCustomsofManors。’
