thedaughterofWilliamleFrend，istakenasatypicalhalf-virgater……Rot。Hundr。470：’villaniquilibetistorumtenetdimidiamvirgatamterredepredictaElenadequibusxxxet1operanturinunoannoetaliixxxijoperanturinalioannoetineodemannoquooperanturdantdomineperannum8d。etaliiquinonoperanturdantperannuquilibetdimidiusvirgatarius2s。10d。etauxiliumVicecomitis1d。obolumetquilibetdatobolum，quadrantemadfestum
reevecomplainsthatRicherJocelin’sSonandRichardReeveandhiswifehaveinsultedhim，bysayingamongotherthings’。quodcepissedebuitmuneradedivitibusneessentcensuariietpauperesadcensumposuissedebuit。’
7Itmightperhapsbeobjectedthatthedifferenceinfavourofthefreepeopleoughttobeexplainedbyadepreciationofmoneywhichinprocessoftimeloweredthevalueofquitrents。ButtheexplanationwouldhardlysuittheageinwhichtheHundredRollswerecompiled。ThephenomenonmentionedinthetextmaybeobservedinalltheCartularies，andthereisnoreasontothinkthatthefreerentswhichoccurinthemarealreadyantquatedsurvivalsofagreementswhichhadlosttheireconomicsense。
f。12：’IdemThomashabetibidem12villanostenentes4virgatasterreetdimidiaminvillenagio，undeJohannesAylindtenetdimidiamvirgatamterrepro5s。8d。faciensfenumdominiperUnumdiemcumunohomine，metensbladaeiusdemdominiper1diemeumUnohomine，etc。IdemThomashabetibidem11liberostenentes11virgatasterreetdimidiam。UndeWillelmusenlaNurnetenetdimidiamvirgatamet4
acrasterrepro4solidisfacienssectamadcuriamdeBathekyntonbisperannumproomnidemanda。’
Bodekesham，Cambs。R。H。ii。487，isprobablyacaseofmolland。Theoften-quotedinstanceofAyllingtonisdoubtful，althoughtheRamseyCartularyspeaksofthelibertenentesasmalmanni。Theexpressionwasprobablyinuseforallrent-payingpeople，althoughproperlyadesignationofthosewhohadcommutedtheirservices。SeeAppendixXV。
R。H。ii。349，350：’InWeston，Bucks，theserviceofthevillainvirgaterisestimatedat5s。2d……ElyasClericustenetdim。virgatametredditJohannidePatishull1d。Willelmusfil。
WillelmideRavenestonetenetdim。virgatamdeeodemfeodoetredditperannum1d。ThomasAcpelardtenetdimidiamvirgatamterreetredditdictoWillelmodeNodaris3d。StephanusElystenetdimidiamvirgatametsolviteodemWillelmo2d。ThomasThebaudtenetdimidiamvirgatametredditeidemWillelmo1d……
ItemRobertusleCobelertenetdimidiamvirgatamterreetsolviteodem1libramcimini。OmnesistiprescriptidantperannumforinsecumetscutagiumdominoWillelmodeNodarisquandocurrit。’CfTorrington，Bucks，R。H。ii。352。
R。H。ii。713Stanton，Oxon。：’adalternacionemcujuslibetdominideStantondebetrecognoscereeundemdominumdeunospervarioetdabitdimidiammarcameidemdomino。’
TheManorialCourtThecommunalorganisationofthevillageismadetosubservetheneedsofmanorialadministration。Wefeelnaturallyinclinedtothinkandtospeakofthevillagecommunityinoppositiontothelordandtonoticeallpointswhichshowitsself-dependentcharacter。Butinpracticetheinstitutionwouldhardlyhavelivedsuchalonglifeandplayedsuchaprominentpartifithadactedonlyorevenchieflyasabulwarkagainstthefeudalowner。
Itsdevelopmenthastobeaccountedfortoagreatextentbythefactthatlordandvillagehadmanyinterestsincommon。Theywerenaturalalliesinregardtothehighermanorialofficers。
Thelordhadtomanagehisestatesbythehelpofapowerfulministerialclass，buttherewasnotmuchlovelostbetweenemployersandadministrators，andoftenthelatentantagonismbetweenthembrokeoutintoopenfeuds。Ifitisalwaysdifficulttoorganiseaserviceableadministration，thetaskbecomesespeciallyarduousinatimeofundevelopedmeansofcommunicationandofweakstatecontrol。Itwasexceedinglydifficulttoauditaccountsandtoremovebadstewards。Thestrengthandself-governmentofthevillagegroupappeared，fromthispointofview，asamostwelcomehelponthesideoftheowner。1*Hehadpracticallytosurrenderhisarbitrarypoweroverthepeasantpopulationandtheirland，hehadtoconformtofixedrulesastocivilusage，manorialclaimsanddistributionofterritory；butthecommonstandardsestablishedbycustomdidnotonlyhamperhisfreedomofdisposition，theycreatedabasisonwhichhecouldtakehisstandaboveandagainsthisstewards。
Hehadprecisearrangementstogobyinhissupervisionofhisministers，andtherewassomethingmorethanhisowninterestandenergytokeepguardoverthemaintenanceoftheseforms：thevillagecommunitiesweresuretofightforthemfrombeneath。Thefacilitiesforjointactionandaccumulationofstrengthderivedfromcommunalself-governmentvouchedindirectlyforthepreservationofthechiefcapitalinvestedbythelordintheland：itwasdifficultforthestewardtodestroytheeconomicstaysofthevillainage。
Therearemanyoccasionswhenthehelprenderedbythevillagecommunitiestothelordmaybeperceiveddirectly。Ineedhardlymentionthefactthatthesurveys，whichformthechiefmaterialofourstudy，werecompiledinsubstancebysworninquests，themembersofwhichwereconsideredasthechiefrepresentativesofthecommunity，andhadtogivewitnesstoitslore。Thegreatmonasticandexchequersurveysdonotgiveanyinsightintothemodeofselectionofthejurors：itmayheguessedwithsomeprobabilitythattheywereappointedforthespecialpurpose，andchosenbythewholecourtofthemanor。Insomecasestheordinaryjurorsofthecourt，orchiefpledges，mayhavebeencalledupontoserveontheinquest。Thereisanotherpointwhichitisimpossibletodecidequiteconclusively，namely，whetherquestionsaboutwhichtherewassomedoubtorthejurorsdisagreedwerereferredtothewholebodyofthecourt。But，althoughwedonothearofsuchinstancesinourgreatsurveys，itissurelyanimportant。indicationthattheextantcourt-rollsconstantlyspeakofthewholecourtdecidingquestionswhentheverdictofordinaryjurorsseemedinsufficient。Andsuchreservedcaseswerebynomeansrestrictedtopointsoflaw；veryoftentheyconcernedfactsofthesamenatureasthoseenrolledinthesurveys。2*
Onaparallelwiththestewardsandservantsappointedbythelord，althoughinsubordinationtothem，appearofficerselectedbythevillage。Aswehaveseen，themanorialbeadlewasmatchedbythecommunalreeve，andalikecontrastissometimesfoundonthelowerdegrees。3*Inexceptionalcasesthelordnominatesthereeve，althoughhestillremainsthechiefrepresentativeofvillageinterestsandthechiefcollectorofservices。Butinthenormalcoursetheofficewaselective，andcuriousintermediateformsmaybefound。Forinstance，thevillageselectsthemessariushayward，andthelordmayappointhimreeve。4*Thisisapoint，again，whichshowsmostclearlytheintimateconnexionbetweentheinterestsofthelordandthoseofthevillage。Thepeasantsbecomeguarantorsforthereevewhomtheychose。AformulawhichcomesfromGloucesterAbbeyrequires，thatonlysuchpersonsbechosenashaveprovedtheircapacitytoservebyagoodconductoftheirownaffairs：allshortcomingsanddefectsaretobemadegoodultimatelybytheruralcommunitythatelectedtheofficer，andnoexcusesaretobeacceptedunlessincasesofexceptionalhardship。5*Theeconomictractsofthethirteenthcenturystatethesameprincipleinevenamoreexplicitmanner。
Fromthemanorialpointofviewthewholevillageisresponsibleforthecollectionofduties。Therearepaymentsexpresslyimposedonthewhole。Suchisthecasewiththeyearlyauxiliumordonum。Thepartitionofthesebetweenthehouseholdersisnaturallyeffectedinameetingofthevillagers。6*Mostservicesarelaidonthevirgatersseparately。Buttheyareallheldanswerablefortheregularityandcompletenesswithwhicheverysinglememberofthecommunityperformshisduties。Astofreeholdings，itissometimesnoticedespeciallytowhatextenttheyaresubjectedtothegeneralarrangement：whethertheyparticipatewiththerestinpayments，andwhetherthetenantshavetoworkinthesamewayasthevillains。7*Veryoftenthedocumentspointoutthatsuchandsuchapersonoughttotakepartincertainobligationsbuthasbeenexemptedorfraudulentlyexemptshimself，andthatthevillagecommunityhastobeararelativeincreaseofitsburdens。8*AGlastonburyformulaordersthestewardtomakeinquiriesaboutpeoplewhohavebeenfreedfromtheperformanceoftheirservicesinsuchawaythattheirresponsibilityhasbeenthrownonthevillage。9*
Butitwouldbeverywrongtoassumethattheruralcommunitycouldactonlyintheinterestofthelord。Itssolidarityisrecognisedinmatterswhichdonotconcernhim，orevenwhichcallforthanoppositionbetweenhimandthepeasantry。
Ihavealreadyspokenofthecuriousfactthatthevillageislegallyrecognisedasaunit，separatedfromthemanoralthoughexistingwithinit。Whenthereeveandthefourmenattendthesheriff’stournortheeyre，theydonotrepresentthelordonly，butalsothevillagecommunity。Partoftheirexpensesarebornebythelordandpartbytheirfellowvillagers。10*Thedocumentstellusofcraftsmenwhohavetoworkforthevillageaswellasforthelord。11*Onaparallelwithservicesduetothelandowner，wefindsometimeskindredservicesreservedforthevillagecommunity。12*Ifapersonhasbeenguiltyofmisdemeanoursandissubjectedtoaspecialsupervision，thissupervisionappliestohisconductinregardbothtothelordandtothefellowvillagers。13*Nodoubttherelationsofthevillagetoitslordaremuchmorefullydescribedinthedocumentsthantheinternalarrangementofthecommunity，butthiscouldnotbeotherwiseinsurveyscompiledfortheuseoflordsandstewards。Eventhechanceindicationswegatherastotheseinternalarrangementsaresufficienttogiveaninsightintothepowerfultiesofthevillagecommunity。
Indeed，theruralsettlementappearsinourrecordsasa’juridicalperson。’TheCourtRollsofBrightwaltham，editedfortheSeldenSocietybyMrMaitland，giveamostbeautifulexampleofthis。ThevillageofBrightwalthamentersintoaformalagreementwiththelordofthemanorastosomecommons。itsurrendersitsrightstothelordinregardtothewoodofHemele，andgetsridinreturnoftherightsclaimedbythelordinEstfieldandinawoodcalledTrendale。14*Nothingcanbemoreexplicit：thevillageactsasanorganisedcommunity；itevidentlyhasfreedispositionastorightsconnectedwiththesoil；itdisposesoftheserightsnotonlyindependentlyofthelord，butinanexchangetowhichheappearsasaparty。Weseenotracesoftherightlessconditionofvillainswhichissupposedtobetheirlegallot，andapowerfulcommunityisrecognisedbythelordinaformwhichbearsallthetraitsoflegaldefinition。inthesamewaytheannalsofDunstablespeakoftheseisinofthetownshipofToddington，15*andofafeoffmentmadebythemonbehalfofthelord。