第21章
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  Nosigitursuperpremissispleniuscertiorariuolentesassignavimusvosunacumhis,quosvobisassociaveritis,adinquirendumquisokemannihuiusmoditerrasettenementaibidemalienauerunthuiusmodiforinsecisautextrinsecisetquibus,’

  etc。CftheStatuteofIRichardII,Stat。I。cap。6。Itwasaltogetheradangeroustransactionforthesocmen,becausetheywereriskingtheirprivilegesthereby。Itmusthavebeenlucrative。

  100。PlacitorumAbbrev。,p。270CoramRege,Mich。7/8Edw。I:

  ’EteciamcompertoinlibrodeDomesdayquodnonfitaliquamenciodesokemannissettantummododevillanisetserviseteciamcompertoperinquisicionemquodmultieorumsuntadventiciiquibustenementasuatraditafueruntadvoluntatemdominorumsuorum。consideraveruntquodpredictusGalfriduseatindesinedieetquodpredictihominesteneanttenementapredictainpredictomanerioperserviliaserviciasivoluerint,salvostatucorporumsuorum,etquoddeceterononpossuntclamarealiquodcertumstatumetsintinmisericordiaprofalsoclameo。’

  103。DialogusdeScaccario,i。10:’Postregniconquisitionem,postjustamrebelliumsubversionem,cumrexipseregisqueprocereslocanovaperlustrarent,factaestinquisitiodiligens,quifuerintquicontraregeminbellodimicantesperfugamSesalvaverint。Hisomnibusetitemhaeredibuseorumquiinbellooccubuerunt,spesomnisterrarumetfundorumatqueredituum,quosantepossederant,praeclusaest;magnumnamquereputabantfruivitaebeneficiosubinimicis。Verumquivocatiadbellumnecdumconvenerant,velfamiliaribusvelquibuslibetnecessariisoccupatinegotiisnoninterfuerant,cumtractutemporisdevotisobsequiisgratiamdominorumpossedissent,sinespesuccessionis,sibitantumprovoluptatevoluntate?tamendominorumpossiderecoeperunt。Succedenteverotemporecumdominissuisodiosipassimapossessionibuspellerentur,necessetquiablatarestitueret,communisindigenarumadregempervenitquerimonia,quasisicomnibusexosietrebusspoliatiadalienigenastransirecogerentur。Communicatotandemsuperhisconsilio,decretumest,utquodadominissuisexigentibusmeritisintervenientepactionelegitimapoterantobtinere,illisinviolabilijureconcederentur;

  ceterumautemnominesuccessionisatemporibussubactaegentisnihilsibivendicarent。’

  104。StoneleighReg。,4a:’QuequidemmaneriaexistenciainpossessioneetmanudominiregisEdwardiperuniversumregnumvocanturantiquumndominicumcoroneregisAnglieproutinlibrodeDomesdavcontinetur。’

  105。’LoquebanturdetemporeStiEdwardiRegiscoramW。deWilton。’

  106。ThemenofKing’sRipton。

  107。IdonotthinkthereisanygroundforthesuggestionthrownoutbyM。KovalevskyintheLawQuarterly,iv。p。271,namely,thatthelawofancientdemesnewasimportedfromNormandy。

  WhateverthepositionofthevillainswasintheDuchy,NormaninfluenceinEnglandmadeforsubjection,becauseitwastheinfluenceofconquest。ItmustberememberedthatinasensethefeudallawofEnglandwasthehardestofallinWesternEurope,andthisonaccountoftheinvasion。

  108。Stubbs,Const。Hist。I。454:’Inthoseestates,which,whentheyhadbeenheldbythecrownsincethereignofEdwardtheConfessor,borethetitleofmanorsinancientdemesne,verymuchoftheancientpopularprocesshadbeenpreservedwithoutanychange,andtothepresentdaysomecustomsaremaintainedinthemwhichrecallthemostprimitiveinstitutions。’Ishallhavetospeakaboutthemodeofholdingthecourtsinanotherchapter。

  LegalAspectofVillainage。ConclusionsIhavebeentryingtomakeoutwhatthetheoriesofthelawyerswerewithregardtovillainageinitsdiversramifications。Werewetoconsiderthislegalpartofthesubjectmerelyasasortofcrustsuperposedartificiallyovertherealityofsocialfacts,weshouldhavetobreakthroughthecrustinordertogetatthereality。But,ofcourse,thelawregulatingsocialconditionsisnotmerelyanexternalsuperstructure,butastosocialfactsisbothaninfluenceandaconsequence。Inonesenseitisamostvaluableproductoftheforcesatplayinthehistoryofsociety,mostvaluablejustbyreasonoftherequirementsofitsformalismandofthosetheoreticaltendencieswhichgiveaverydefiniteevenifasomewhatdistortedshapetothesocialprocesseswhichcomewithinitssphereofaction。

  Theformalcharacteroflegaltheoryisnotonlyimportantbecauseitputsthingsintoorderandshape;itsuggestsapeculiarandefficientmethodoftreatingthehistoricalquestionsconnectedwithlaw。Thelegalintellectisbyitscallingandnaturealwaysengagedinanalysingcomplexcasesintoconstitutiveelements,andbringingtheseelementsunderthedirectionofprinciples。Itisconstantlystrugglingwiththeconfusingvarietyoflife,andfromthehistorian’spointofviewitismostinterestingwhenitsuccumbsinthestruggle。Thereisnolaw,howeversubtleandcomprehensive,whichdoesnotexhibitonitslogicalsurfaceseamsandscars,testifyingtotheincompletefusingtogetherofdoctrinesthatcannotbebroughtunderthecoverofoneprinciple。Andsoadialecticexaminationoflegalformswhichmakesmanifestthecontradictionsandconfusednotionstheycontainactuallyhelpsustoaninsightintothehistoricalstratificationofideasandfacts,astratificationwhichcannotbeabolishedhowevermuchlawyersmaycraveforunityandlogic。

  Intheparticularcaseunderdiscussionmedievallawisespeciallyrichinsuchhistoricalclues。ThelawwritersaretryinghardtogiveaconstructionofvillainageonthebasisoftheRomandoctrineofslavery,buttheirfabricgiveswayateverypoint。Itwouldbehardlyafairdescriptiontosaythatwefindmanysurvivalsofanolderstateofthingsandmanyindicationsofanewdevelopment。Everythingseemsinastateofvacillationandfermentationduringthethirteenthcentury。Astotheoriginoftheservilestatusthelawofbastardsgetsinverted;inthecaseofmatrimonythefather-ruleisdrivingthemother-rulefromtheground;theinfluenceofprescriptionisadmittedbysomelawyersandrejectedbyothers。Astothemeanswherebypersonsmayissueoutofthatcondition,theviewsofGlanvilleandBractonarediametricallyopposed,andtherearestilltracesinpracticeofthenotionthatavillaincannotbuyhisfreedomandthathecannotbemanumittedbythelordhimselfinregardtothirdpersons。Intheirtreatmentofservicesintheirreferencetostatusthecourtsapplythetwodifferenttestsofcertaintyandofkind。Intheirtreatmentoftenuretheystillhesitatebetweenacompletedenialofprotectiontovillainageandtherecognitionofitasamodeofholdingwhichisprotectedbylegalremedies。Andevenwhenthechieflinesaredefinitelydrawntheyonlydisclosefundamentalcontradictionsinalltheircrudeness。

  Incivillaw,villainsaredisabledagainsttheirlordsbutevenlywatchedagainststrangers;evenagainstalordlegalprotectionislingeringintheformofanactionuponcovenantandinthenotionthatthevillain’swainageshouldbesecure。Incriminalandinpolicelawvillainsaretreatedsubstantiallyasfreepersons:theyhaveevenashare,althoughasubordinateone,intheorganisationofjustice。Theprocedureinquestionsofstatusischaracterisedbyoutrageousprivilegesgiventothelordagainstamanin’avillainnest,’andbydistinctfavourshowntothoseoutoftheimmediaterangeofactionofthelord。

  Thelawisquiteasmuchagainstgivingfacilitiestoproveaman’sservitudeasitisagainstgrantingthatmananyrightswhenoncehisservitudehasbeenestablished。Thereconciliationofallthesecontradictionsandanomaliescannotbeattemptedondogmaticgrounds。Thelawofvillainagemustnotbeconstructedeitherontheassumptionofslavery,Oronthatofliberty,oronthatofcolonatusorascription。Itcontainselementsfromeachofthesethreeconditions,anditmustbeexplainedhistorically。

  Thematerialhithertocollectedanddiscussedenablesustodistinguishdifferentlayersinitsformation。Tobeginwith,theinfluenceoflawyersmustbetakenintoaccount。Thisisatoncetobeseeninthetreatmentofdistinctionsanddivisions。TheCommonLaw,asitwasformingitselfintheKing’sCourt,certainlywentfartosmoothedownthepeculiaritiesoflocalcustom。Evenwhensuchpeculiaritieswerelegallyrecognised,asinthecaseofancientdemesne,thecontrolandstillmoretheexampleoftheCommonLawCourtswasmakingforsimplificationandreducingthemworeorlesstoagenerallyacceptedstandard。

  TheinfluenceofthelawyerswasexactlysimilarinregardtosubdivisionsontheverticalplaneifImayusetheexpression:

  forthesevarietiesofdependencegetfusedintogeneralservitude,andinthiswayclasseswidelydifferentintheirhistoricaldevelopmentarebroughttogetherunderthesamename。

  Theothersideofthisprocessofsimplificationisshownwherelegaltheoryhardensanddeepensthedivisionsitacknowledges。

  Inthiswaythechasmbetweenlibertyandservitudeincreasesasthenotionofservitudegetsbroader。Inordertogetsharpboundariesandcleardefinitionstogoby,thelawyersareactuallydriventodropsuchtraitsoflegalrelationsasaredifficulttomanagewithprecision,howevergreattheirmaterialimportance,andtogivetheirwholeattentiontofactscapableofbeingtreatedclearly。Thistendencymayaccountfortheultimatevictoryofthequantitativetestofservitudeoverthequalitativeone,ortoputitmoreplainly,ofthetestofcertaintyofservicesoverthediscussionofkindofservices。

  Altogetherthetendencytowardsanartificialcrystallisationofthelawcannotbeoverlooked。

  Intheworkofsimplifyingconditionsartificiallythelawyershadseveralstrongreagentsattheirdisposal。ThemightyinfluenceofRomanlawhasbeenoftennoticed,andtherecanbenodoubtthatitwasbroughttobearonoursubjecttotheprejudiceofthepeasantryandtotheextinctionoftheirindependentrights。Itwouldnothavebeensostrongifmanyfeaturesofthevernacularlawhadnotbeenbroughthalfwaytomeetit。Normanrules,itiswellknown,exercisedaverypotentactionontheformsofprocedure;1*butthesubstantivelawofstatuswastreatedverydifferentlyinNormandyandinEngland,anditisnottheinfluxofNormannotionswhichisimportantinourcase,buttheimpetusgivenbythemtothedevelopmentoftheKing’sCourts。Thisdevelopment,thoughconnectedwiththepracticeoftheDuchy,cannotbedescribedsimplyorprimarilyasNorman。Oncetheleavenhadbeencommunicated,Englishlawyersdidtheirownworkwithgreatindependenceaswellasingenuityofthought,andthedecisionoftheKing’sCourtwascertainlyagreatforce。Ineednotpointoutagaintowhatextentthelawwasfashionedbythewritprocedure,butIwouldhererecalltoattentionthemainfact,thattheoppositionbetween’free’and’unfree’restedchieflyonthepointofbeingprotectedornotbeingprotectedbythejurisdictionoftheKing’sCourt。

  Ifweexaminetheactionoflawyersasawhole,inordertotraceout,asitwere,itssocialbias,wemustcometotheconclusionthatitwasexercisedfirstinonedirectionandthenintheoppositeone。Therefusalofjurisdictionmaystandasthecentralfactinthemovementinfavourofservitude,althoughthatmovementmaybeillustratedalmostineverydepartment,evenifoneomitstotakeintoaccountwhatmaybemereinstancesofbadtemperorgrosspartiality。Butthewavebeginstorisehighinfavouroflibertyeveninthethirteenthcentury。Itdoesnotneedgreatperspicuitytonoticethat,apartfromanyprogressinmoralsorideas,apartfromanygrowthofhumanitariannotions,thelawwascarriedinthisdirectionbythatdevelopmentoftheStatewhichlaysaclaimtoanduponitscitizens,andbythatdevelopmentofsocialintercoursewhichsubstitutesagreementforbondage。Isitstrangethatthesocialevolution,asobservedinthisparticularcurve,doesnotappearasacontinuouscrescendo,butasawavymotion?Idonotthinkitcanbestrange,ifonereflectsthattheperiodunderdiscussionembracesboththegrowthandthedecayoffeudalism,embraces,thatis,thegrowthoftheprincipleofterritorialpowerontheruinsofthetribalsystemandalsothedisappearanceofthatprinciplebeforethegrowinginfluenceoftheState。

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