第23章

TheServilePeasantryofManorialRecordsItwouldbeaswrongtorestrictthestudyofvillainagetolegaldocumentsastodisregardthem。Thejurisprudenceandpracticeoftheking’scourtspresentaone-sided，thoughaveryimportantviewofthesubject，butitmustbesupplementedandverifiedbyaninvestigationofmanorialrecords。Withoneclassofsuchdocumentswehavehadalreadytodeal，namelywiththerollsofmanorialcourts，whichformasitwerethestepping-stonebetweenlocalarrangementsandthegeneraltheoriesofCommonLaw。So-calledmanorial’extents’androyalinquisitionsbasedonthemleadusonestepfurther；theywereintendedtodescribethematter-of-factconditionsofactuallife，thedistributionofholdings，theamountandnatureofservices，thepersonaldivisionsofthepeasantry，theirevidenceisnotopentotheobjectionofhavingbeenartificiallytreatedforlegalpurposes。Treatisesonfarmingandinstructionstomanorialofficersreflecttheeconomicsideofthesystem，andanenormousnumberofaccountsofexpenditureandreceiptswouldenablethemodernsearcher，ifsominded，toenterevenintothedetailofagriculturalmanagement。(1*)Weneednotundertakethislastinquiry，butsomecomparisonbetweentheviewsoflawyersandtheactualfactsofmanorialadministrationmustbeattempted。WritersonCommonLawinviteonetothetaskbyrecognisingagreatvarietyoflocalcustoms；Bracton，forinstance，mentioningtwonotabledeviationsfromgeneralrulesinthedepartmentoflawunderdiscussion。InCornwallthechildrenofavillainandofafreewomanwerenotallunfree，butsomefollowedthefatherandothersthemother。(2*)InHerefordshirethemasterwasnotboundtoproducehisserfstoanswercriminalcharges。(3*)IfsuchcustomsweresufficientlystrongtocounteracttheinfluenceofgeneralrulesofCommonLaw，thevitalityoflocaldistinctionswasevenmorefeltinthosecaseswheretheyhadnorulestobreakthrough，Itmaybeevenaskedattheveryoutsetoftheinquirywhetherthereisnotadangerofourbeingdistractedbyendlessdetails。Ihopethatthefollowingpageswillshowhowthevarietiesnaturallyfallintocertainclassesandconvergetowardsafewdefinitepositions，whichappearthemoreimportantastheywerenotproducedbyartificialarrangementfromabove。Wemustbecarefulhowever，anddistinguishbetweenisolatedfactsandwidely-spreadconditions。Anotherpossibleobjectiontothemethodofourstudymaybealsonoticedhere，asitisconnectedwiththesamedifficulty。Supposewegetinonecasetheexplanationofacustomorinstitutionwhichrecursinmanyothercases；areweentitledtogeneraliseourexplanation？Thisseemsmethodicallysoundaslongasthecontrarycannotbeestablished，fortheplainreasonthatthevarietyoflocalfactsisavarietyofcombinationsandofeffects，notofconstitutiveelementsandofcauses。Theagentsofdevelopmentarenotmany，thoughtheirjointworkshadesoffintoagreatnumberofvariations。Wemaybeprettysurethataresultrepeatedseveraltimeshasbeeneffectedbythesamefactorsinthesameway；andifinsomeinstancesthesefactorsappearmanifestly，thereiseveryreasontosupposethemtohaveexistedinallthecases。Suchreflectionsareneverconvincingbythemselves，however，andthebestthingtotestthemwillbetoproceedfromthesebroadstatementstoaninquiryintotheparticularsofthecase。

Thestudyofmanorialevidencemuststartfromadiscussionastoterminology。Thenamesofthepeasantrywillshowthenaturalsubdivisionsoftheclass。Ifwelookonlytotheunfreevillagers，weshallnoticethatallthevarietiesofdenominationcaneasilybearrangedintofourclasses：oneoftheseclasseshasinviewsocialstanding，anothereconomiccondition，athirdstartsfromadifferenceofservices，andafourthfromadifferenceofholdings。Thelinemaynotbedrawnsharplybetweentheseveraldivisions，butthegeneralcontrastcannotbemistaken。

Thetermofmostcommonoccurrenceis，ofcourse，villanus。

Althoughitsetymologypointsprimarilytotheplaceofdwelling，andindirectlytospecificoccupations，itischieflyusedduringthefeudalperiodtodenoteservitude。Ittakesinboththemanwhoispersonallyunfreeandstandsincompletesubjectiontothelord，andthefreepersonsettledonservileland。BothclassesmentionedanddistinguishedbyBractonarecoveredbyit。Thecommonoppositionisbetweenvillanusandliberetenens，notbetweenvillanusandliberhomo。Itisnotdifficulttoexplainsuchaphraseologyinbookscompiledeitherintheimmediateinterestofthelordsorundertheirindirectinfluence，butitmusthavenecessarilyledtoencroachmentsanddisputes：ithasevenbecomeasnareforlaterinvestigators，whohavesometimesbeenledtoconsiderasonecompactmassapopulationconsistingoftwodifferentclasses，eachwithaseparatehistoryofitsown。TheLatin’rusticus’isappliedinthesamegeneralway。ltisless