第45章

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，orintosevend