第46章
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  Inoppositiontolabourandrentsinkindwefindagreatmanypaymentsinmoney。Someofthesearesaidinasmanywordstohavesteptintotheplaceoflabourservices;ofmowing,carrying,makinghedges,61*etc。Thesamemaybethecaseinregardtoproduce:barlicksilverispaidinsteadofbarley,fish-silverevidentlyinsteadoffish,malt-silverinsteadofmalt;acertainpaymentinsteadofsalt,andsoon。62*Butsometimestheoriginofthemoneyrentismoredifficulttoascertain。Wefind,forinstance,adutyonsheep,whichisalmostcertainlyanoriginalimpositionwhenitappearsasfald-silver。Evensothescythe-pennyfromeveryscythe,thebosing-silverfromeveryhorseandcart,thewood-penny,probablyfortheuseofwoodasfuel,mustberegardedasoriginaltaxesandnotquit-rentsorcommutation-rents。63*Pannageispaidinthesamewayfortheswinegrazinginthewoods。64*Ward-pennyappearsalsoinconnexionwithcattle,butwithsomespecialshadeofmeaningwhichitisdifficulttobringoutdefinitely;

  thenameseemstopointtoprotection,andalsooccursinconnexionwithpolicearrangements。65*

  ImustacknowledgethatinagoodmanycasesIhavebeenunabletofindasatisfactoryexplanationforvarioustermswhichoccurintherecordsforthediverspayments。Anattentivestudyoflocalusageswillprobablyleadtodefiniteconclusionsastomostofthem。66*Fromageneralpointofviewitisinterestingtonotice,thatwefindalreadyinourrecordssomeattemptstobringalltheperplexingvarietyofpaymentstoafewmaindesignations。Annualrentsare,ofcourse,reckonedoutundertheoneheadof’census。’Veryobviousreasonssuggestedtheadvisabilityofcomputingtheentiremoney-proceedyieldedbytheestate。67*Itsometimeshappensthatthegeneralsummadeupinthisway,fixedasitisataconstantamount,isusedalmostasanameforacomplexofland。68*Adivisionofrentsintooldandnewonesdoesnotrequireanyparticularexplanation。69*

  Butseveralothersubdivisionsareworthnotice。Therentpaidfromthelandoftenappearsseparatelyaslandgafolorlandchere。

  Itisnaturallyopposedtopaymentsthatfallonthepersonaspolltaxes。70*Theselastareconsideredguaranteedbytheasareturnforthepersonalprotectionlordtohissubjects。OfthecontrastbetweengafolasacustomaryrentandmalasapaymentincommutationIhavespokenalready,andIhaveonlytoaddnow,thatgildissometimesusedinthesamesenseasmal。71*

  AnothertermindirectoppositiontogafolistheLatindonum。72*Itseemstoindicateaspecialpaymentimposedasakindofvoluntarycontributionontheentirevillage。Tobesure,therewasnotmuchfreewilltobeexercisedinthematter;allthedependentpeopleofthetownshiphadtopayaccordingtotheirmeans。73*Butthetaxmusthavebeenconsideredasasupplementaryoneinthesamesenseassupplementaryboon-work。

  Itmayhavebeenoriginallyintendedinsomecasesasanequivalentforsomerightssurrenderedbythelord,asamalorgild,infact。74*Incloseconnexionwiththedonumwefindtheauxilium,75*alsoanextraordinarytaxpaidonceayear,anddistinguishedfromtheordinaryrent。Itappearsasadirectconsequenceofthepoliticalsubjectionofthetenantry。76*。Itis,infact,merelyanexpressionoftherighttotallage。Ourrecordsmentionitsometimesasapportionedaccordingtothenumberofcattleownedbythepeasant,butthisconcernsonlythemodeofimpositionofthedutyandhardlyitsorigin。77*AsI

  havesaidalready,theauxiliumisineveryrespectlikethedonum。Oneverycharacteristictraitofbothtaxesis,thattheyarelaidprimarilyonthewholevillage,whichismadetopayacertainroundsumasabody。78*Theburdenisdividedafterwardsbetweentheseveralhouseholders,andthenumberofcattle,andmoreparticularlyofthebeastsofploughkeptontheholding,hasofcoursetobetakenintoaccountmorethananythingelse。Butthemanorialadministrationdoesnotmuchconcernitselfwiththesedetails:thetownshipisanswerableforthewholesum。

  Itistobeaddedthatthepaymentissometimesactuallymentionedasapoliticaloneindirectconnexionwith’forinsec’

  dutiestowardstheking。TheburdenswhichlayonthelandinconsequenceoftherequirementsofStateandChurchappearnotunfrequentlyinthedocuments。Amongthosethescutageandhidagearethemostimportant。ThefirstofthesetaxesissowellknownthatIneednotstoptodiscussit。Itmaybenoticedhoweverthatinrelationtothedependentpeoplescutageisnotcommonlyspokenof;thetaxwasleviedunderthisnamefromthebaronsandthearmedgentry,andwasmostlytransmittedbythesetothelowerstrataofsocietyundersomeothername,asanaidoratallage。HidageishistoricallyconnectedwiththeoldEnglishDanegeldsystem,andinsomecasesitsamountissetoutseparatelyfromotherpayments,andthetenantsofamanorhavetopayittothebailiffofthehundredandnottothesteward。A

  smallerpaymentcalledward-pennyisboundupwithit,probablyasasubstituteforthedutyofkeepingwatchandward。79*Inthenorththehidageisreplacedbycornage,80*ataxwhichhasgivenrisetolearnedcontroversyanddoubt;itlookslikeanassessmentaccordingtothenumberofhornsofcattle,pronumeroaveriorum,asourLatinextentswouldsay。TheChurchhasalsoanancientclaimonthehelpofthefaithful;thechurchscotofSaxontimesoftenoccursinthefeudalageunderthenameofchurisetorcheriset。81*Itismostlypaidinkind,butmaybefoundoccasionallyasamoney-rent。

  Asurveyofthechiefaspectsassumedbytheworkandthepaymentsofthedependentpeoplewasabsolutelynecessary,inordertoenableustounderstandthedescriptionsofruralarrangementswhichformthemostinstructivepartoftheso-calledextents。ButeverysurveyoftermsanddistinctionsevenifitweremuchmoredetailedthantheoneIamabletopresent,willgiveonlyaveryimperfectideaoftheobligationsactuallylaidonthepeasantry。Itmustneedstakeupthedifferentspeciesonebyoneandconsiderthemseparately,whereasinrealitytheyweremeanttofittogetherintoawhole。

  Ontheotherhanditmaycreateafalseimpressionbyenumeratinginsystematicorderfactswhichbelongedtodifferentlocalitiesandperhapstodifferentepochs。Tokeepclearofthesedangerswehavetoconsiderthedeviationsofpracticalarrangementsfromtheruleslaiddowninthebooksandtheusualcombinationsoftheelementsdescribed。

  Whenonereadsthecarefulnoticesinthecartulariesastothenumberofdaysandtheparticularoccasionswhenworkhastobeperformedforthelord,asimplequestionissuggestedbytheminutenessofdetail。Whathappenedwhenthisverydefinitearrangementcameintocollisionwithsomeotherequallyexactingorder?Oneofthethreedaysofweek-workmight,forinstance,fallonagreatfeast;orelsetheweathermightbetoobadforout-of-doorswork。Whowastosufferortogainbysuchcasualties?Thequestionisnotauselessone。Themanorialrecordsraiseitoccasionally,andtheirwaysofsettlingitarenotalwaysthesame。Wefindthatinsomecasesthelordtriedtogetridoftheinconveniencesoccasionedbysuchevents,Oratleasttothrowonepartoftheburdenbackonthedependentpopulation;inBarling,forinstance,amanorofSt。Paul’s,London,82*oftwofeastsoccurringinoneweekandevenintwoconsecutiveweeks,oneprofitstothevillainsandtheothertothelord;thatistosay,thelabourerescapesoneday’sworkaltogether。Butthegeneralcourseseemstohavebeentoliberatethepeasantsfromworkbothonoccasionofafestivalandiftheweatherwasexceptionallyinclement。83*Bothfactsarenotwithoutimportance:itmustberememberedthatthenumberofChurchfestivalswasaveryconsiderableoneinthosedays。

  Again,althoughthestewardswerenotlikelytobeverysentimentalastobadweather,theusualtestofcoldincaseofploughingseemstohavebeenthehardnessofthesoil——acertainpercentageoffreedaysmusthaveoccurredduringthewinteratleast。Andwhatisevenmoretobeconsidered——whenthemenwereverystrictlykepttotheirweek-workunderunfavourablecircumstances,thelandlordmusthavegainedverylittlealthoughtheworkingpeoplesufferedmuch。Thereadermayeasilyfancytheeffectsofwhatmusthavebeenaverycommonoccurrence,whenthevillagehouseholderssentouttheirploughsonheavyclayintorrentsofrain。Thesystemofcustomaryworkoncertaindayswasespeciallyclumsyinsuchrespects,anditisworthnoticethatinharvest-timethelandlordsrelychieflyonboon-days。Thesewerenotirrevocablyfixed,andcouldbeshiftedaccordingtothestateoftheweather。Stilltheweek-workwassoimportantaniteminthegeneralarrangementoflabour-servicesthattheinconveniencesdescribedmusthaveactedpowerfullyinfavourofcommutation。

  Ofcourse,thepassagefromonesystemtotheother,howeverdesirableforthepartiesconcerned,wasnottobeeffectedeasilyandatonce:aconsiderableamountofcapitalinthehandsofthepeasantrywasrequiredtomakeitpossible,andanothernecessaryrequirementwasasufficientcirculationofmoney。

  Whilethesewerewantingthepeoplehadtoabidebytheoldlaboursystem。Thefactswehavebeendiscussinggiveindirectproofthattherewasnotmuchroomforarbitrarychangesinthissystem。Everythingseemsruledandsettledforever。Itmayhappen,ofcourse,thatnotwithstandingthesupposedequalitybetweentheeconomicstrengthofthe,differentholdings,sometenantsareunabletofulfilthedutieswhichtheircompanionsperform。84*Asitwasnoticedbefore,thesharescouldnotbemadetocorrespondabsolutelytoeachother,andthedistributionofworkandpaymentsaccordingtoadefinitepatternwasoftenonlyapproximate。85*Again,thelordhadsomelatitudeinselectingoneortheotherkindofservicetobeperformedbyhismen。86*But,speakinggenerally,thesettlementofdutieswasaveryconstantone,andmanorialdocumentstestifythateveryattemptbythelordtodictateachangewasmetbyemphaticprotestsonthepartofthepeasantry。87*Thetenacityofcustommaybegatheredfromthefactthatwhenwechancetopossesstwosetsofextentsfollowingeachotherafteraveryconsiderablelapseoftime,therendersinkindandthelabour-servicesremainunmodifiedinthemain。88*Onehastoguardespeciallyagainsttheassumptionthatsuchexpressionsas’todowhateverheisbid’or’whateverthelordcommands’implyacompleteservilityofthetenantandunrestrictedpoweronthepartofthelordtoexploithissubordinateaccordingtohispleasure。Suchexpressionshavebeenusedasatestofthedegreeofsubjectionofthevillainsatdifferentepochs;ithasbeencontended,thattheearlierourevidenceis,themorecompletethelord’sswayappearstobe。89*Theexpressionsquotedabovemayseematfirstglancetocountenancetheidea,butanattentiveandextendedstudyofthedocumentswilleasilyshowthat,saveinexceptionalcases,theearlierrecordsarebynomeansharderintheirtreatmentofthepeasantrythanthelater。

  Theeleventhcenturyis,ifanything,morefavourabletothesubjectedclassasregardstheimpositionoflabour-servicesthanthethirteenth,andweshallseeby-and-bythattheobservationappliesevenmoretoSaxontimes。Inthelightofsuchageneralcomparison,wehavetoexplaintheabove-mentionedphrasesinadifferentway。’Whateverheisbid’appliestothequalityandnottothequantityofthework。90*Itdoesnotmeanthatthestewardhasarighttoorderthepeasantaboutlikeaslave,totearhimatpleasurefromhisownwork,andtoincreasehisburdenwheneverhelikes。Itmeanssimplythatsuchandsuchavirgaterorcotterhastoappearinpersonorbyproxytoperformhisweekworkofthreedays,ortwodays,orfourdays,accordingtothecase,andthatitisnotsettledbeforehandwhatkindofworkheistoperform。Hemayhavetoplough,ortocarry,ortodigtrenches,ortodoanythingelse,accordingtothebiddingofthesteward。Asimilarinstanceofuncertaintymaybefoundintheexpression’withoutmeasure’91*whichsometimesoccursinextents。Itwouldbepreposteroustoconstrueitasanindicationofworktobeimposedatpleasure。Itismerelyaphraseusedtosuitthecasewhentheworkhadtobedonebythedayandnotbyasetquantity;if,forinstance,amanhadtoploughsomanytimesandthenumberofacrestobeploughedwasnotspecified。

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