InthefieldofhistoricalresearchthefermentationofpoliticalthoughtofwhichIhavebeenspeakinghasbeenpowerfullysecondedbyagrowingdistrustamongscholarsforpreconceivedtheories，andbythewishtoreconsidersolutionswhichhadbeentooeasilytakenforgranted。Thecombinedactionoftheseforceshasbeencuriouslyexperiencedintheparticularsubjectofourstudy。TheGermanistschoolhadheldveryhightheprincipleofindividualliberty，hadtriedtoconnectitwiththeTeutonicelementinhistory，hadexplaineditsworkinginthesocietydescribedbyTacitus，andhadregretfullyfolloweditsdecayinlatertimes。FortherepresentativesoftheNewSchoolthis’originalTeutonicfreedom’hasentirelylostitssignificance，andtheyregardtheprocessofsocialdevelopmentasstartingwiththedominationofthefewandtheserfdomofthemany。ThevotariesofthefreevillagecommunityhavebeenstudyingwithinterestepochsandethnographicalvariationsunacquaintedwiththeeconomicindividualismofmodernEurope，theyhavebeenattentiveintracingouteventhesecondarydetailsoftheagrarianassociationswhichhavedirectedthehusbandryofsomanycenturies，buttheNewSchoolsubordinatescommunalpracticetoprivatepropertyandconnectsitwithserfdom。WemayalreadynoticethenewtendencyinInamasternegg’sWirthschaftsgeschichte：heentersthelistsagainstMaurer，deniesthattheMarkeverhadanythingtodowithpoliticalwork，reducesitsinfluenceonhusbandry，andenhancesthatofgreatproperty。ThemostremarkableofFrenchmedievalists——FusteldeCoulanges——hasbeenfightingallalongagainsttheTeutonicvillagecommunity，andforanearlydevelopmentofprivatepropertyinconnexionwithRomaninfluence。EnglishscholarshiphastoreckonwithsimilarviewsinSeebohm’swell-knownwork。
Letusrecalltomindthechiefpointsofhistheory。ThevillagecommunityofmedievalEnglandisfoundedontheequalityoftheholdingsintheopenfieldsofthevillage。Thenormalboldingofapeasantfamilyisnotonlyequalineachseparatevillage，butitissubstantiallythesamealloverEngland。
Variationsthereare，butinmostcasesbyfaritconsistsofthevirgateofthirtyacres，whichmakesthefourthpartofthehideofahundredandtwentyacres，becausethepeasantholderownsonlythefourthpartoftheploughteamofeightoxencorrespondingtothehide。Theholdersofvirgatesoryardlandsarenottheonlypeopleinthevillage；theirneighboursmayhavemoreorlessland，buttherearenotmanyclassesasarule，allthepeopleinthesameclassareequalised，andthevirgateremainsthechiefmanifestationofthesystem。Itisplainthatsuchequalitycouldbemaintainedonlyontheprinciplethateachplotwasaunitwhichwasneithertobedividednorthrowntogetherwithotherplots。WhydidsuchasystemspreadalloverEurope？Itcouldnotdevelopoutofafreevillagecommunity，ashasbeencommonlysupposed，becausetheGermaniclawregulatingfreelanddoesnotpreventitsbeingdivided；indeed，wherethislawapplies，holdingsgetbrokenupintoirregularplots。IfthesystemdoesnotformitselfoutofGermanicelements，itmustcomefromRomaninfluence；onehasonlythechoicebetweenthetwoastofactswhichprevaileverywhereinWesternEurope。
Indeed，theRomanvillapresentsallthechieffeaturesofthemedievalmanor。Thelord’sdemesneactedasacentre，roundwhichcoloniclustered-cultivatorswhodidnotdividetheirtenanciesbecausetheydidnotownthem。TheRomansystemwasthemorereadilytakenupbytheGermans，astheirownhusbandry，describedbyTacitus，hadkindredelementstoshow-theconditionoftheirslaves，forinstance，wasverylikethatofRomancoloni。Itmustbeadded，thatwemaytraceinRomanauthoritiesnotonlytheorganisationoftheholdings，butsuchfeaturesasthethree-fieldpartitionofthearableandtheintermixedpositionofthestripsbelongingtoasingleholding。
Theimportanceoftheseobservationstakenasawholebecomesespeciallyapparent，ifwecomparemedievalEnglandwithWalesorIreland，withcountriessettledbytheCeltsontheprincipleofthetribalcommunity：nofixedholdingsthere；itisnotthepopulationthathastoconformitselftofixeddivisionsofland，butthedivisionsoflandhavetochangeaccordingtothemovementofthepopulation。SuchusagewasprevalentinGermanyitselfforatime，andwouldhavebeenprevalentthereaslongasinCelticcountries，iftheGermanshadnotcomeunderRomaninfluence。AndsothecontinuousdevelopmentofsocietyinEnglandstartsfromthepositionofRomanprovincialsoil。
TheSaxoninvasiondidnotdestroywhatitfoundintheisland。Romanvillasandtheirlabourerspassedfromonelordtotheother——thatisall。TheceorlsofSaxontimesarethedirectdescendantsofRomanslavesandcoloni，someofthempersonallyfree，butallinagrariansubjection。indeed，socialdevelopmentisamovementfromserfdomtofreedom，andthevillagecommunityofitsearlystagesisconnectednotwithfreedom，butwithserfdom。
Seebohm’sresultshaveamarkedresemblancetosomeoftheviewsheldbytheeighteenth-centurylawyers，andalsotothoseheldbyPalgraveandbyCoote，buthistheoryisneverthelessoriginal，bothintheconnexionofthepartswiththewhole，andinitsarguments：heknowshowtoplaceinanewlightevidencewhichhasbeenknownanddiscussedforalongtime，andforthisreasonhisworkwillbesuggestivereadingeventothosewhodonotagreewiththeresults。Thechiefstrengthofhisworkliesinthechaptersdevotedtohusbandry；butifoneacceptshisconclusions，whatistobedonewiththesocialpartofthequestion？Bothsides，theeconomicandthesocial，areindissolublyallied，andatthesametimetheextremeconsequencesdrawnfromthemgivetheliedirecttoeverythingthathashithertobeentakenforgrantedandacceptedasprovedastothisperiod。Canitreallybetruethatthegreatbulkoffreemenwasoriginallyinterritorialsubjection，orratherthatthereneverwassuchathingasagreatnumberoffreemenofGermanblood，andthattheGermanconquestintroducedonlyaclusterofprivilegedpeoplewhichmergedintothehabitsandrightsofRomanpossessors？IfthisbenottrueandEnglishhistorytestifiesoneverypointtoadeeperinfluenceexercisedbytheGermanconquerors，doesnotthecollapseofthesocialconclusioncallinquestiontheeconomicalpremises？DoesnotalogicaldevelopmentofSeebohm’sviewsleadtoconclusionsthatwecannotaccept？Theseareallperplexingquestions，butonethingiscertain；thislastreviewofthesubjecthasbeenpowerfulenoughtonecessitateareconsiderationofallitschiefpoints。
Happily，thisdoesnotmeanthatformerworkhasbeenlost。I
havenotbeentryingthepatienceofmyreadersbyarepetitionofwell-knownviewswithoutsomecogentreasons。Thesubjectisfartoowideandimportanttoadmitofabrilliantlyunexpectedsolutionbyonemindorevenonegenerationofworkers。A
superficialobservermaybesomuchstruckbythevariationsandcontradictions，thathewillfailtorealisetheintimatedependenceofeverynewinvestigatoronhispredecessors。’Thesubjectivesideofhistory，’astheGermanswouldsay，hasbeennoticedbeforenowandthetaunthasbeenadministeredwithgreatforce：’WasihrdenGeistderZeitenheisst，dasistimGrundderHerreneigenerGeist，indemdieZeitensichbespiegeln，’ThosewhodonotcaretofallapreytoFaust’sscepticism，willeasilyperceivethatindividualpeculiaritiesandpoliticalornationalpretensionswillnotaccountforthewholeoftheprocess。Theiractionispowerfulindeed：thewishtoputone’sownstamponatheoryandthereactionofpresentlifeonthepastaremightyincitementstowork。Butnewschoolsdonotriseinordertopulldowneverythingthathasbeenraisedbyformerschools，newtheoriesalwaysabsorboldnotionsbothintreatmentofdetailsandintheconstructionofthewhole。Wemaytry，asconclusionofourreviewofhistoricalliterature，tonoticethepermanentgainsofconsecutivegenerationsintheforwardmovementofourstudies。Theprogresswillstrikeus，notonlyifwecomparethestateoflearningatbothendsofthedevelopment，butevenifwetakeupthelinksofthechainonebyone。
ThegreatestscholarsofthetimebeforetheFrenchRevolutionfailedintwoimportantrespects：theywerenotsufficientlyawareofthedifferencesbetweenepochs；theyweretooreadywithexplanationsdrawnfromconsciousplansandarrangements。TheshockofRevolutionandReactiontaughtpeopletolookdeeperforthelawsofthesocialandpoliticalorganism。
Thematerialforstudywasnotexactlyenlarged，butinsteadofbeingthrowntogetherwithoutdiscrimination，itwassiftedandtried。Preliminarycriticismcameinasanimprovementinmethodandledatoncetoimportantresults。Speakingbroadly，thefieldofconsciouschangewasnarrowed，thefieldoforganicdevelopmentandunconscioustraditionwidened。OnthisbasisSavigny’sschooldemonstratedtheinfluenceofRomancivilisationintheMiddleAges，startedtheinquiryastonationalcharacteristics，andshiftedtheattentionofhistoriansfromtheplayofeventsonthesurfacetothegreatmoralandintellectualcurrentswhichdirectthestream。Palgrave’sbookbearsthemarkofalltheseideas，anditmaybenoticedespeciallythathischiefeffortwastogiveaproperbackgroundtoEnglishhistorybythrowinglightontheabidinginstitutionsofthelaw。
Noneoftheseachievementswaslostbythenextgenerationofworkers。Butithadtostartfromanewbasis，andhadagooddealtoaddandtocorrect。Modernlifewasbusywithtwoproblemsafterthecollapseofreactionhadgivenwaytonewaspirations：Europewastryingtostrikeaduebalancebetweenorderandlibertyintheconstitutionalsystem；nationalitiesthathadbeenrentbycasualandartificialinfluenceswerestrugglingforindependenceandunity。TheGermanistSchoolarosetoshowtheextenttowhichmodernconstitutionalideaswereconnectedwithmedievalfacts，andthesharethattheGermanelementhashadinthedevelopmentofinstitutionsandclasses。
Astomaterial，KembleopenedanewfieldbythepublicationoftheSaxoncharters，andthegainwasfeltatonceintheturngiventowardstheinvestigationofprivatelaw，whichtooktheplaceofPalgrave’svagueleaningtowardslegalhistory。ThemethodsofcarefulandcautiousinquiryastoparticularfactstookshapeinthehandsofK。MaurerandStubbs，andtheschoolreallysucceeded，itseemstome，inestablishingthecharacteristicallyGermanicgeneralaspectofEnglishhistory，aresultwhichdoesnotexcludeRomaninfluence，buthastobereckonedwithinallattemptstoestimatedefinitelyitsbearingandstrength。
Theriseofthesocialquestionaboutthemiddleofourcenturyhad，asitsnecessaryconsequence，toimpressuponthemindofintelligentpeoplethevastimportanceofsocialconditions，ofthoseprimaryconditionsofhusbandry，distributionofwealthanddistributionofclasses，whichever，asitwere，loomupbehindthepageantofpoliticalinstitutionsandparties。Nassefollowsupthethreadofinvestigationfromthestudyofprivatelawtowardsthestudyofeconomicconditions。G。F。v。MaurerandMaineenlargeitinscope，material，andmeansbytheircomparativeinquiry，takingintoview，first，allvarietiesoftheTeutonicrace，andthenthedevelopmentofotherethnographicalbranches。Thevillagecommunitycomesoutoftheinquiryastheconstitutivecellofsocietyduringanageoftheworld，quiteascharacteristicofmedievalstructure，asthetowncommunityor’civitas’wasofancientpolity。
Theconsciousnessthatpoliticalandscientificconstructionhasbeenratherhastyinitswork，thatithasoftenbeenbasedupondoctrinesinsteadofbuildingonthefirmfoundationoffacts——thewidelyspreadperceptionofthesedefectshasbeenoflateincitingstatesmenandthinkerstoputtousesomeofthoseveryelementswhichwereformerlyignoredorrejected。ThemanorialSchool——ifImaybeallowedtousethisexpression——
hasbroughtforwardtheinfluenceofgreatlandedestatesagainstthedemocraticalconceptionofthevillagecommunity。Theworkspentuponthislastphenomenonisbynomeansundone；onthecontrary，itwasreceivedinmostofitsparts。Butnewmaterialwasfoundinthemanorialdocumentsofthelatermiddleages，themethodofinvestigation’fromtheknowntotheunknown’wasusedbothopenlyandunconsciously，comparativeinquirywashandledformoredefinite，evenifmorelimitedpurposes。Greatresultscannotbecontested：tonameone——theorganisingforceofaristocraticpropertyhasbeenacknowledgedandhascometoitsrights。