第58章

Ihaveonlytosayinadditiontothissummingupofthesubject，thatthequasi-legalstandingofthevillainsinregardtothelordappearswithspecialclearnesswhentheystandarrayedagainsthimasagroupandnotassingleindividuals。Wecouldguessasmuchongeneralgrounds，buttheself-dependentpositionassumedbythe’communitasvillanorum’ofBrightwalthamisthemoreinteresting，thatitfindsexpressioninaformalandrecordedagreement。

Wecatchaglimpseofthesamephenomenonfromyetanotherpointofview。Itisquitecommontofindentireestateslettofarmtotheruralcommunitysettleduponthem。(16*)Insuchcasesthemediationofthebailiffmightbedispensedwith；thevillageenteredintoadirectagreementwiththelordorhischiefstewardandundertookacertainsetofservicesandpayments，orpromisedtogivearoundsum。Suchanarrangementwasprofitabletobothparties。Thevillainswerewillingtopaydearlyinordertofreethemselvesfromthebailiff’sinterferencewiththeiraffairs；thelandownergotridofanumerousandinconvenientstaffofstewardsandservants；therurallifewasorganisedonthebasisofself-governmentwithaveryslightcontrolonthepartofthelord。Suchagreementsconcernthegeneralmanagementofmanorsaswellasthelettingofdomainlandorofparticularplotsandrights。(17*)Ofcoursetherewasthisgreatdisadvantageforthelord，thatthetiebetweenhimandhissubjectswasverymuchloosenedbysucharrangements，andsometimeshehadtocomplainthattheconditionsunderwhichthelandwasheldweremateriallydisturbedunderthefarmershipofthevillage。Itiscertain，thatinageneralwaythismodeofadministrationledtoagradualimprovementinthesocialstatusofthepeasantry。

Onegreatdrawbackofinvestigationsintothehistoryofmedievalinstitutionsconsistsintheveryincompletemannerinwhichthesubjectisusuallyreflectedinthedocuments。Wehavetopickupbitsofevidenceastoveryimportantquestionsinthemidstofavastmassofuninterestingmaterial，andsometimeswholesidesofthesubjectareleftintheshade，notbythefaultoftheinquirer，butinconsequenceofdisappointinggapsinthecontemporaryrecords。Evenconveyancingentries，surrenders，admittances，areofrareoccurrenceonsomeofthemoreancientrolls，andtheprobablereasonis，thattheywerenotthoughtworthyofenrolment。(18*)Asforparticularsofhusbandrytheyarealmostentirelyabsentfromthemedievaldocuments，anditisonlyontherecordsofthesixteenthandyetlatercenturiesthatwehavetorelywhenwelookforsomedirectevidenceofthefactthatthemanorialcommunitieshadtodealwithsuchquestions。(19*)

Andsoourknowledgeoftheseinstitutionsmustbebasedlargelyoninference。Butevengrantingalltheseimperfectionsofthematerial，itmustbeallowedthattheonesideofmanoriallifewhichiswellreflectedinthedocuments——thejuridicalorganisationofthemanor——affordsveryinterestingcluestowardsanunderstandingofthesystemandofitsorigins。

Letusrepeatagain，thatthemanagementofthemanorisbynomeansdependentoncapriciousandone-sidedexpressionsofthelord’swill。Onthecontrary，everyknownactofitslifeisconnectedwithcollegiatedecisions。Notwithstandingtheabsolutecharacterofthelordwithregardtohisvillainstakenseparately，heisintruthbutthecentreofacommunityrepresentedbymeetingsorcourts。Notonlythefree，butalsotheserviletenantryareruledinaccordancewiththeviewsandcustomsofacongregationofthetenantsintheirdiversclasses。

Therecanbenodoubtthatthediscretionofthelordwasoftenstretchedinexceptionalcases，thatrelationsbasedonmoralsenseandatruecomprehensionofinterestsoftensufferedfromviolenceandencroachment。Butasageneralrule，andwithunimportantexceptions，thefeudalsystemisquiteasmuchcharacterisedbythecollegiateorganisationofitspartsasbytheirmonarchicalexterior。Themanorialcourtswerereallymeetingsofthevillagecommunityunderthepresidencyofthelordorofhissteward。

Itiswellknownthatlaterlawrecognisesthreekindsofseignorialcourts：theLeet，theCourtBaron，andtheCustomaryCourt。ThefirsthastokeepthepeaceoftheKing，theothersareconcernedwithpurelymanorialaffairs。TheLeetappearsinpossessionofapoliceandcriminaljurisdictioninsofarasthathasnotbeenappropriatedbytheKing’sowntribunals-itsparallelbeingthesheriff’stourninthehundred。TheCourtBaronisacourtoffreetenantsentrustedwithsomeo