第65章

Althoughtheholdingsareundoubtedlymadesubservienttothewantsofthemanor，itwouldbegoingagreatdealtoofartosupposethattheywereformedwiththeprimaryobjectofmeetingthosewants。Ifwelookcloserintothestructurewefindthatitisbasedontherelationbetweentheplough-teamandthearable，arelationwhichismoreorlessconstantandexplainsthegradationsandthemodeofapportionment。Thedivisionofthelandisnoindefiniteorcapriciousone，becausethelandhastobeusedincertainquantities，andsmallerquantitiesorfractionswoulddisarrangethenaturalconnexionbetweenthesoilandtheforcesthatmakeitproductive。Thesocietyofthosedaysappearsasanagriculturalmassconsistingnotofindividualpersonsornaturalfamilies，butofgroupspossessedoftheimplementsfortillingtheland。Itsunitofreckoningisnottheman，buttheplough-beast。Asthemodelplough-teamhappenstobeaverylargeone，thelargeunitofthehideisadopted。Lesserquantitiesmaybeformedalso，butstilltheycorrespondtoaliquotpartsofthefullteamofeightoxen。Thusthepossiblegradationsarenotsomanyorsogentleasinourowntime，butareinthemainthehalfplough-land，thevirgate，andtheoxgang。Whatelsethereiscanbeonlyregardedassubsidiarytothemainarrangement：thecottersandcroftersarenottenantsinthefields，butgardeners，labourers，craftsmen，herdsmen，andthelike。Ifthecountryhadnotbeenmainlycultivatedasploughland，buthadbornevinesorolivesorcropsthatrequirednocumbersomeimplements，butintenseandindividualisticlabour，onemayreadilybelievethattheholdingswouldhavebeenmorecompact，andalsomoreirregular。

TheprinciplesofcoarationgiveaninsightintothenatureoftheseEnglishvillagecommunities。Theydidnotaimatabsoluteequality；theysubordinatedthepersonalelementtotheagriculturalone，ifwemayusethatexpression。Notsomuchanapportionmentofindividualclaimswaseffectedasanapportionmentofthelandtotheforcesatworkuponit。Thisobservationhelpsustogetridoftheanomalieswithwhichwestarted：theholdingwasunitedbecauseanoxcouldnotbedivided；theplotsmightbesmallerorlarger，buteverywheretheywereconnectedwithaschemeofwhichtheplough-teamwastheunit。Anincreasingpopulationhadtotakecareofitself，andtotrytofititselfintotheexistingdivisionsbyfamilyarrangements，marriage，adoption，reclaimingofnewland，employmentforhire，by-professions，andemigration。ThemanorialfactorcomesintomakeeverYthingartificiallyregularandrigid。

Ifweexaminetheopen-fieldsystemanditsrelationtotheholdingsofindividualpeasants，wesee，asitwere，theframeworkofapeasantcommunitythathasswervedfromthepathofitsoriginaldevelopment。Thegatheringofscatteredandintermixedstripsintoholdingspointstopracticesofdivisionorallotment：thesepracticesaretheveryessenceofthewhole，andtheyalonecanexplaintheglaringinconvenienciesofscatteredownershipcoupledwithartificialconcentration。Butredivisionofthearableisnotseeninthedocumentsofourperiod。Thereisnoshiftingofstrips，nochangesinthequantitiesallottedtoeachfamily。Everythinggoesbyheredityandsettledrulesoffamilyproperty，asifthehusbandrywasnotarrangedforcommunalownershipandre-allotment。Ishouldliketocomparethewholetotheiceboundsurfaceofanorthernsea：

itisnotsmooth，althoughhardandimmoveable，andthehillsandhollowsoftheunevenplainremindoneofthebillowsthatrolledwhenitwasyetunfrozen。

Thetreatmentofthearablegivesthecluetoallothersidesofthesubject。Therightsofcommonusageofmeadowandpasturecarryusbacktopracticeswhichmusthavebeenoriginallyappliedtoarablealso。Whenonereadsofameadowbeingcutupintostripsandpartitionedforayearamongthemembersofthecommunitybyregularrotationorbylot，onedoesnotseewhyonlythegrasslandshouldbethustreatedwhilethereisnoreallotmentofthearableplots。Asforthewaste，itdoesnotevenadmitofsetboundaries，andtheonlypossiblemeansofapportioningitsuseistoprescribewhatandhowmanyheadsofcattleeachholdingmaysendoutuponit。Thecloseaffinitybetweenthedifferentpartsofthevillagesoilisespeciallyillustratedbythefact，thattheopen-fieldarableistreatedascommonthroughthegreaterpartoftheyear。Suchfactsaremorethansurvivals，morethanstrayrelicsofabygonetime。ThecommunalelementofEnglishmediaevalhusbandrybecomesconspicuousintheindividualisticelementsthatgrowoutofit。

Thequestionhasbeenaskedwhetherweoughtnottoregardthesecommunalarr