instancesofverygreatdisparityarerare，andsupposesomelocalandspecialreasonswhichwecannottrace。Suchdisparitiesseemtopoint，however，toarotationaccordingtotwocourses，becausethefallowofthethreecoursescouldhavebeenleftoutofthereckoningonlyifallthepartsinthefieldswereequal。14*IthinkthatacarefulinspectionofthesurveysfromthispointofviewmayleadtotheconclusionthatthetwocoursesrotationwasveryextensivelyspreadinEnglandinthethirteenthcentury。
Amostimportantfeatureofthemediaevalsystemoftillagewasitscompulsorycharacter。Theseveraltenants，evenwhenfreeholders，couldnotmanagetheirplotsattheirownchoice。15*Theentiresoilofthetownshipformedonewholeinthisrespect，andwassubjectedtothemanagementoftheentirevillage。Thesuperiorrightofthecommunityfoundexpressioninthefactthatthefieldswereopentocommonuseaspastureaftertheharvest，aswellasintheregulationofthemodesoffarmingandorderoftillagebythetownship。Eventhelordhimselfhadtoconformtothecustomsandrulessetupbythecommunity，andattemptstobreakthroughthem，althoughtheybecomefrequentenoughatthecloseofthethirteenthcentury，andespeciallyinthefourteenth，aremetbyaresistancewhichsometimesactuallyleadstolitigation。16*Thefreeholdersalonehaveaccesstothecourts，butinpracticetheentirebodyofthetenantryisequallyconcerned。Thepassagetowardsmoreefficientmodesofcultivationwasverymuchobstructedbythesecustomaryrulesastorotationofcrops，whichflownotfromthewillandinterestofsingleowners，butfromthedecisionofcommunities。
TheseveralplotsandholdingsdonotlieincompactI
patches，butareformedofstripsintermixedwitheachother。Theso-calledopen-fieldsystemhasbeentreatedsoexhaustivelyandwithsuchadmirableclearnessbySeebohm，thatIneednotdetainmyreadersinordertodiscussitatlength。IshallmerelytakefromtheEynshamCartularythegeneraldescriptionofthearableofShifford，Oxon。Itconsistsofseveralfurlongsorareas，moreorlessrectangularinshape；eachfurlongdividedintoacertainnumberofstripsseliones，mostlyhalfanacreoraroodquarteracreinwidth；someofthesestripsgetshortened，howeverselionescurtae，orsharpenedgorae，accordingtotheshapeofthecountry。Atrightangleswiththestripsinthefieldsliethe’headlands’capitales，whichadmittootherstripswhenthereisnospecialroadforthepurpose。17*Whentheareaundertillageabutsagainstsomeobstacles，asagainstahighway，ariver，aneighbouringfurlong，thestripsarestuntedbuttae。Everystripisseparatedfromthenextbybalksonevenground，andlinchesonthesteepslopesofahill。Theholdingofapeasant，freeorvillain，hasbeenappropriatelylikenedtoabundleofthesestripsofdifferentshapes，thecomponentpartsofwhichlieintermixedwiththeelementsofotherholdingsinthedifferentfieldsofthetownship。Thereise。g。intheAlvinghamCartularyadeedbywhichJohnAysterbygrantstothePrioryofAlvinghaminLincolnshirehisvillainRobertandhalfabovateofland。18*Thehalf-bovateisfoundtoconsistoftwelvestripswestofAlvinghamandsixteenstripseastofthevillage；theseveralplotslieamongsimilarplotsownedbytheprioryandbyotherpeasants。Thedemesnelandoftheprioryisalsosituatednotincompactareas，butinstripsintermixedwiththoseofthetenantry，inthe’communalfields’accordingtothephraseologyofourdocuments。
Suchadistributionofthearableseemsoddenough。Itledundoubtedlytoverygreatinconvenienceinmanyways：itwasdifficultfortheownertolookafterhispropertyintheseveralfields，andtomoveconstantlyfromoneplacetoanotherforthepurposesofcultivation。Athriftyhusbandmanwasmoreorlessdependentfortheresultsofhisworkonhisneighbours，whoverylikelywerenotthrifty。Thestripswerenotalwaysmeasuredwithexactness，19*andoursurveysmentioncuriousmisunderstandingsinthisrespect：ithappensthatasmuchasthreeacresbelongingtoaparticularpersongetmislaidsomehowandcannotbeidentified。20*Itisneedlesstosaythatdisputesamongtheneighbourswererenderedespeciallyfrequentbytheroughwayofdividingthestrips，andbythecuttingupoftheholdingsintonarrowstripsinvolvingaverylonglineofboundary。Andstilltheopen-fieldsystem，withtheintermixedstrips，isquiteaprevalentfeatureofmediaevalhusbandryalloverEurope。Itcoversthewholeareaoccupiedbythevillagecommunity；itisfoundinRussiaaswellasinEngland。
Beforewetrytofindanexplanationforit，IshallcalltheattentionofthereadertothefollowingtalepreservedbyanancientsurveyofDunstablePriory。Ithinkthattherecordmaysuggesttheexplanationwiththemoreauthorityasitwillproceedfromwell-establishedfactsandnotfromsuppositions。21*ThestorygoesbacktotheoriginaldivisionofthelandbelongingtotheWahullmanorbythelordsdeWahullanddelaLege。Theformerhadtoreceivetwo-thirdsofthemanorandthelatterone-third：anoteexplainsthistomean，thatonehadtotaketwentyknight-feesandtheotherten。ThelorddeWahulltookalltheparkinSeghehoandtheentiredemesnefarmin’Bechebury’。Asacompensationforthesurrenderofrightsonthepartofhisfellowparcener，heorderedthewoodandpasturecalledNorthwoodtobemeasured，asalsotheneighbouringwoodcalledChurlwood。Heremovedallthepeasantswholivedintheseplaces，andhadalsothearableofSeghehomeasured，anditwasfoundthattherewereeighthidesofvillainland。Oftheseeighthidesone-fourthwastaken，anditwasreckonedthatthisfourthwasanequivalenttotheone-thirdoftheparkandofthedemesnefarm，whichoughtbyrighttohavegonetothelorddelaLege。
Onthebasisofthisestimationanexchangewaseffected。Inthetimeofthewarperhapstherebellionof1173theeighthidesandotherhidesinSeghehowereencroacheduponandappropriatedunrighteouslybymany，andforthisreasonageneralrevisionoftheholdingswasundertakenbeforeWalterdeWahullandHughdelaLegeinfullcourtbysixoldmen；itwasmadeouttowhichofthehidestheseveralacresbelonged。Atthattime，whenallthetenantsinSeghehoknights，freeholders，andothersdidnotknowexactlyaboutthelandofthevillageandthetenements，andwheneachmanwascontendingthathisneighboursheldunrighteouslyandmorethantheyought，allthepeopledecidedbycommonagreementandinthepresenceofthelordsdeWahullanddelaLege，thateverybodyshouldsurrenderhislandtobemeasuredanewwiththeroodbytheoldmenasifthegroundhadbeenoccupiedafresh：everyonehadtoreceivehisduepartonconsiderationofhisrights。AtthattimeR。F。admittedthatheandhispredecessorshadheldtheareanearthecastleunrighteously。Themeninchargeofthedistributiondividedthatareaintosixteenstripsbuttos，andtheseweredividedasfollows：thereareeighthidesofvillainlandinSeghehoandtoeachtwostripswereapportioned。
Thenarrativeiscuriousinmanyrespects。itillustratesbeautifullytheextenttowhichtheintermixtureofplotswascarried，andtheinconveniencesconsequentuponit。AlthoughthelandhadbeenmeasuredanddividedatthetimewhenthelorddeWahulltooktheland，everythinggotintoconfusionatthetimeofthecivilwar，andthedisputesoriginatednotinviolencefromabroadbutinencroachmentsofthevillagepeopleamongthemselves：theownersofconterminousstripswereconstantlyquarrelling。Anewdivisionbecamenecessary，andittookplaceundercircumstancesofgreatsolemnity，asaresultofanagreementeffectedatagreatmeetingofthetenantrybeforebothlords。Thenewdistributionmaystandforallpurposesinlieuoftheoriginalparcellingofthelandonfreshoccupation。Themodeoftreatingoneoftheareasshowsthattheintermixtureofthestripswasadirectconsequenceoftheattempttoequalisetheportions。insteadofputtingthewholeofthisareaintoonelot，theoldmendivideitintostripsandassigntoeverygreatholding，toeveryhide，twostripsofthisarea。Manyinconveniencesfollowforsomeoftheowners，e。g。forthechurchwhich，itiscomplained，cannotputitsplottoanyuseonaccountofitslyingfaraway，andinintermixturewithotherpeople’sland。Buttheguidingprincipleofequalapportionmenthasfoundasuitableexpression。
Wemayturnnowfromtheanalysisofthiscasetogeneralconsiderations。Theimportantpointintheinstancequotedwas，thattheassignmentofscatteredstripstoeveryholdingdependedonthewishtoequalisethesharesofthetenants。IthinkitmaybeshownthatthetreatmentadoptedinSeghehowasthemostnatural，andthereforethemostwidely-spreadone。Tobeginwith，whatotherformofallotmentappearsmorenaturalinacrudestateofsociety？ToemployasimilewhichIhaveusedalready，theterritoryofthetownshipisnotlikeahomogeneoussheetofpaperoutofwhichyoumaycutlotsofeverydesirableshapeandsize：thetilthwillpresentallkindsofaccidentalfeatures，accordingtotheelevationoftheground，thedirectionofthewatercoursesandways，thequalityofthesoil，thesituationofdwellings，thedispositionofwoodandpasture-ground，etc。Thewholemustneedsbedismemberedintocomponentparts，intosmallerareasorfurlongs，eachstretchingoverlandofoneandthesamecondition，andseparatedfromlandofdifferentqualityandsituation。Overtheirregularsquaresofthisroughchess-boardamoreorlessentanglednetworkofrightsandinterestsmustbeextended。Thereseemtobeonlytwowaysofdoingit：ifyouwanttheholdingtolieinonecompactpatchyouwillhavetomakeaverycomplicatedreckoningofallthemanycircumstanceswhichinfluencehusbandry，willhavetofindsomenumericalexpressionforfertility，accessibility，andthelike；
orelseyoumaysimplygiveeveryhouseholderashareineveryoneofthecomponentareas，andsubjecthiminthiswaytoalltheadvantagesanddrawbackswhichbearuponhisneighbours。Ifthegroundcannotbemadetofitthesystemofallotment，thesystemmustconformitselftotheground。Therecanbenoquestionthatthesecondwayofescapingfromthedifficultyismuchtheeasierone，andverysuitabletothepracticeofcommunitiesinanearlystageofdevelopment。Thissecondwayleadsnecessarilytoascatteringandanintermixtureofstrips。
Theexplanationiswideenoughtomeettherequirementsofcasesplacedinentirelydifferentlocalsurroundingsandhistoricalconnexions；thetendencytowardsanequalisingofthesharesofthetenantryisequallynoticeableinEnglandandinRussia，inthefarwestandinthefareastofEurope。InRussiaweneednotevengointohistorytofinditoperatinginthewaydescribed；
thepracticeisaliveevennow。
Thisintermixtureofstripsintheopenfieldsisalsocharacteristicinanotherway：itmanifeststheworkingofaprinciplewhichbecameobliteratedinthecourseofhistory，buthadtoplayaveryimportantpartoriginally。Itwasasystemprimarilyintendedforthepurposeofequalisingshares，anditconsideredeveryman’srightsandpropertyasinterwovenwithotherpeople’srightsandproperty：itwasthereforeasystemparticularlyadaptedtobringhomethesuperiorrightofthecommunityasawhole，andtheinferior，derivativecharacterofindividualrights。Themostcompleteinferencefromsuchageneralconceptionwouldbetotreatindividualoccupationofthelandasashiftingownership，toredistributethelandamongthemembersofthecommunityfromtimetotime，accordingtosomesystemoflotorrotation。Thewesternvillagecommunitydoesnotgosofar，asarule，inregardtothearable，atleastinthetimetowhichourrecordsbelong。Buteveninthewest，andparticularlyinEngland，tracesofshiftingownership，’shiftingseveralty，’maybefoundasscatteredsurvivalsofaconditionwhich，ifnotgeneral，wascertainlymuchmorewidelyspreadinearliertimes。22*Thearableissometimestreatedasmeadowsconstantlyare：everyhouseholder’slotisonlyan’ideal’one，andmaybeassignedoneyearinoneplace，andnextyearinanother。Thestubbornexistenceofintermixedownership，evenasdescribedbyfeudalandlaterrecords，isinitselfastrongtestimonytothecommunalcharacterofearlyproperty。Thestripsoftheseveralholderswerenotdividedbyhedgesorinclosures，andagoodpartofthetime，afterharvestandbeforeseed，individualrightsretreatedbeforecommonuse；everyindividualisingtreatmentofthesoilwasexcludedbythecompulsoryrotationofcropsandthefactthateveryshareconsistedofanumberofnarrowstripswedgedinamongotherpeople’sshares。Thehusbandrycouldnotbeveryenergeticandlucrativeundersuchpressure，andapowerfulconsiderationwhichkeptthesystemworking，againstconvenienceandinterest，wasitsequalisingandasitwerecommunaltendency。Ilaystressonthefact：iftheopen-fieldsystemwithitsintermixturehadbeenmerelyareflectionoftheoriginalallotment，itwouldhavecertainlylostitsregularityverysoon。Peoplecouldnotbeblindtoitsdrawbacksfromthepointofviewofindividualfarming；andifthesinglestripshadbecomeprivatepropertyassoonastheyceasedtobeshifting，exchanges，ifnotsales，wouldhavegreatlydestroyedthe