第55章

Whenaknightwasenfeoffedbyamonasteryinconsiderationofsomeinfinitesimalpayment，theremightbeseveralreasonsforsuchatransaction。Theabbotmayhavethoughtitgoodpolicytoacquirethesupportofaconsiderableperson，hemayhavebeenforcedtogivethelandandonlygladtoobtainsomerecognition，howevertrifling，ofthegift；oragain，hemayhavemadeabeneficialfeoffmentinreturnforasumofreadymoneypaidbywayofgersumaorfine，buthemayalsohaveextendedhissupremacyoverapieceoflandwhichdidnotbelongtohimoriginallyatall。Eveninfeudaltimesthiscouldbedonebymeansofafictitiouslawsuitendingin’afinalconcord’；orevensimplybyaninstrumentofquitclaimandfeoffmentwithoutanysuit。(81*)Atthetimewhenfeudalismwasonlysettlingitself，inthetwelfthandthirteenthcenturies，thismusthavebeenacommonthing，evenifwedonottakeintoaccounttheSaxonpracticeof’commendation。’Howeverthismaybe，thetriflingdutiesimposedonfreeholdsleadtotheinferencethattheagreementbetweenlordandtenanthadbeenmadeonthebasisofthelatter’sindependentright，andnotonthatofthelord’swillandpower。Theytestifytoasubjectionoffreepeopleandnottotheliberationofserfs。Andastheyarefoundconstantlyalliedwithshareholding，wehavetosaythattheyimplymanorialrelationssuperimposedonacommunitywhich，ifnotentirelyfree，containedfreeelementswithinit。Themanorialdutiesaremorevariedandcapriciousthanarethesharesjustbecausetheyarealatergrowth。

Ishouldnotliketoleavethisintricateinquirywithouttestingitsresultsbyyetanotherstandard。Ihavebeentryingtoprovetwothings：thatsomeofthefeudalfreeholdsareancientfreeholds，notliberatedfromservitudebutoriginallybasedontherecognisedrightoftheholders；thatsuchancientfreeholdswereincludedinthecommunalarrangementofownership，althoughtheassessmentoftheirdutieswasnotcommunal。Towhatextentarethesepropositionssupportedbyananalysisofthatadmittedlyancienttenure，thetenureofthesocmen？Wemustlookchieflytothe’free’socmen；butImaybeallowed，onthestrengthofthechapteronAncientDemesne，totakethebondsocmenalsointoaccount。

LetustakethemanorofChesterton，inCambridgeshire。(82*)

Itisroyal，butletoutinfeefarmtothePriorofBarnwell，anditsmenmakeuseoftheparvumbrevederecto。Thereisonefreetenantofeighty-eightacresholdingdeantiquitateandtheScholarsofMertonholdforty-fouracresfreely。Theyhaveclearlytakentheplaceofsomefreeman，whetherbypurchaseorbygiftIdonotknow；theyareboundtoperformploughingsandtocarrycorn。Bothtenementsareworthyofnoticebecausechartersarenotmentionedandstilltheholdingsaresetapartfromtherest。Intheonecasethetenureisexpresslystatedtobeanancientone，andpresumablythetitleoftheothertenementisofthesamekind。Thenumberofacresispeculiarandpointstosomeagrariandivisionofwhicheighty-eightandforty-fourwerefractionsormultiples。Thebulkofthepopulationaredescribedascustomers。Theyusedtoholdhalf-virgates，itissaid，butsomeofthemhavesoldpartoftheirlandaccordingtothecustomofthemanor。Andsotheirtenementshavelosttheiroriginalregularityofconstruction，althoughitseemspossibletofixtheaverageholdingsattwelveorfifteenacres。Anyhow，itisimpossibletoreducethemtofractionsofeighty-eight；forsomereasonoranother，thereckoningismadeonadifferentbasis。Thedutiesvaryagooddeal，anditwouldbeevenmoredifficulttoconjecturewhattheoriginalservicesmayhavebeenthantomakeoutthesizeofthevirgate。

Theexampleisinstructiveinmanyways。Itisastepping-stonefromvillainagetosocage，orrathertosocman’stenure。Therecanbenoquestionofdifferencesoffeoffment。Themanorialpowerisfullyrecognised，andontheotherhandthecharacterofancientdemesneisalsoconspicuouswithitsprotectionofthepeasantry。Andstillthewholefabricisgivingway——theholdingsgetdispersedandtheservicelosesitsuniformity。Allthesetraitsareafairwarningtothosewhoarguefromtheirregularityoffreetenementsandtheinequalityoftheirrentsagainstthepossibilityoftheirdevelopmentoutofcommunalownership。Hereisawell-attestedvillagecommunity；

itsmembersholdbycustomandhavenotchangedtheirconditioneitherforthebetterorfortheworseinpointoftitle。Lateragenciesareatworktodistorttheoriginalarrangement——afewstepsmoreinthatdirectionanditwouldbeimpossibletomakeouteventhechieflinesofthesystem。Stanton，inCambridgeshire，isasimilarcase。(83*)Iwouldespeciallydirecttheattentionofthereadertothecapriciouswayinwhichtheservicesareassessed。Andstillthetitlesofthetenantsaretheresultnotofvariousgrantsbutofmanorialcustomappliedtothewholecommunity。Irepeat，thatirregularityinthesizeofholdingsandintheservicesthattheyoweisnoproofthattheseholdingshavenotformedpartofacommunalarrangementorthattheirfreecharacter(iftheyhaveafreecharacter)mustbetheresult