vill3-第5章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


sh　a　normal　reckoning　of　the　holdings　will　not　only　seem　hazardous；　but　will　actually　stand　in　contradiction　with　patent　facts。　　　　　Another　circumstance　seems　of　yet　greater　import：　even　within　the　boundaries　of　one　and　the　same　community　the　equality　was　an　agrarian　one　and　did　not　amount　to　a　strict　correspondence　in　figures。　It　was　obviously　impossible　to　cut　up　the　land　among　the　holdings　in　such　a　way　as　to　make　every　one　contain　quite　the　same　number　of　acres　as　the　rest。　In　the　Cartulary　of　Ramsey　it　is　stated；　that　in　one　of　the　manors　the　virgate　contains　sometimes　forty…eight　acres　and　sometimes　less。（32*）　The　Huntingdon　Hundred　Rolls　mentions　a　locality　where　some　of　the　half…virgates　have　got　houses　on　their　plots　and　some　have　not。（33*）　In　the　Dorsetshire　manor　of　Newton；　belonging　to　Glastonbury；　we　find　a　reduction　of　the　duties　of　one　of　the　virgates　because　it　is　a　small　one。（34*）　A　curious　instance　is　supplied　by　the　same　Glastonbury　survey　as　to　the　Wiltshire　manor　of　Christian　Malford：　one　of　the　virgates　was　formed　out　of　two　former　virgates；　which　were　found　insufficient　to　support　two　separate　households。（35*）　　　　　This　last　case　makes　it　especially　clear　that　the　object　was　to　make　the　shares　on　the　same　pattern　in　point　of　quality；　and　not　of　mere　quantity。　It　is　only　to　be　regretted　that　manorial　surveys；　hundred　rolls；　and　other　documents　of　the　same　kind　take　too　little　heed　of　such　variations；　and　consider　the　whole　arrangement　merely　in　regard　to　the　interests　of　the　landlord。　For　this　purpose　a　rough　quantitative　statement　was　sufficient。　They　give　very　sparing　indications　as　to　the　facts　underlying　the　system　of　holdings；　their　aim　is　to　reduce　all　relations　to　artificial　uniformity　in　order　to　make　them　a　fitter　basis　for　the　distribution　of　rents　and　labour　services。　But　very　little　attention　is　required　to　notice　a　very　great　difference　between　such　figures　and　reality。　In　most　of　the　cases；　when　the　virgate　is　described　in　its　component　parts；　we　come　across　irregularities。　Again；　each　component　part　is　more　or　less　irregular；　because　instead　of　the　acres　and　half…acres　the　real　ground　presents　strips　of　a　very　capricious　shape。　And　so　we　must　come　to　the　conclusion；　that　the　hide；　the　virgate；　the　bovate；　in　short　every　holding　mentioned　in　the　surveys；　appears　primarily　as　an　artificial；　administrative；　and　fiscal　unit　which　corresponds　only　in　a　very　rough　way　to　the　agrarian　reality。　　　　　This　conclusion　coincides　with　the　most　important　fact；　that　the　reckoning　of　acres　in　regard　to　the　plough…team　is　entirely　different　in　the　treatises　on　husbandry　from　what　it　is　in　the　manorial　records　drawn　up　for　the　purpose　of　an　assessment　of　duties　and　payments。　Walter　of　Henley　and　Fleta　reckon　180　acres　to　the　plough　in　a　three…field　system；　and　160　in　a　two…field　system。　Now　these　figures　are　quite　exceptional　in　surveys；　whereas　120　acres　is　most　usual　without　any　distinction　as　to　the　course　of　rotation　of　crops。　The　relation　between　the　three…field　ploughland　of　180　acres　and　the　hide　of　120　suggests　the　inference　that　the　official　assessment　started　from　the　prevalence　of　the　three…field　rotation；　and　disregarded　the　fallow。　But　the　inference　is　hardly　sufficient　to　explain　the　facts　of　the　case。　The　way　towards　a　solution　of　the　problem　is　indicated　by　the　terminology　of　the　Ely　surveys　in　the　British　Museum。　These　documents　very　often　mention　virgates　and　full　yardlands　of　twelve　acres　de　ware；　on　the　other　hand；　the　Court　Rolls　from　Edward　I's　time　till　Elizabeth's；　and　a　survey　of　the　reign　of　Edward　III；　show　the　virgate　to　consist　of　twenty…four　acres。（36*）　The　virgate　de　ware　corresponds　usually　to　one…half　of　the　real　virgate；　I　say　usually；　because　in　one　case　it　is　reckoned　to　contain　eighteen　acres　in　the　place　of　twenty…four　mentioned　in　the　rolls　and　the　later　survey。（37*）　Such　'acre　ware'　are　to　be　found；　though　rarely；　in　other　manors　besides　those　of　Ely　minster。（38*）　The　contradiction　between　the　documents　may　be　taken　at　first　glance　to　originate　in　a　difference　between　the　number　of　acres　under　actual　tillage　and　the　number　of　acres　comprised　in　the　holding：　perhaps　the　first　reckoning　leaves　out　the　fallow。　This　explanation　has　been　tried　by　Mr　O。　Pell；　the　present　owner　of　one　of　the　Ely　manors　he　started　it　in　connexion　with　an　etymology　which　brought　together　'ware'　and　'warectum'：　on　this　assumption　twelve　acres　appeared　instead　of　twenty…four；　because　the　fallow　of　the　two…field　system　was　left　out　of　the　reckoning。　But　this　reading　of　the　evidence　does　not　seem　satisfactory。　It　is　one…sided　at　the　least。　Why　should　the　holding　from　which　the　'warectum'　has　been　left　out　get　its　name　from　the　'warectum'？　How　is　one　to　explain　either　from　the　two…field　or　from　the　three…field　system　the　case　when　eighteen　'acre　ware'　correspond　to　twenty…four　common　acres；　or　the　even　more　perplexing　case　when　eighteen　acres　of　'ware'　go　to　the　full　land　and　twelve　to　half…a…full　land？（39*）　In　fact；　this　last　instance　does　not　admit　of　any　explanation　from　natural　conditions；　because　in　the　natural　course　of　things　twelve　will　never　come　to　be　one…half　of　eighteen。　Thus　we　are　driven　to　assume　that　the　'ware'　reckoning　is　an　artificial　one：　as　such　it　could；　of　course；　treat　the　half…holdings　in　a　different　way　from　the　full　holdings。　Now　the　only　possible　basis　for　an　artificial　distribution　seems　to　be　the　assessment　of　rents　and　labour。　Starting　from　this　assumption　we　shall　have　to　say　that　the　virgate　'de　wara'　represents　a　unit　of　assessment　in　which　twelve　really　existing　acres　have　been　left　out　of　the　reckoning。　The　assessment　stretches　only　over　half　the　area　occupied　by　the　real　holding。　　　　　The　conclusion　we　have　come　to　is　corroborated　by　the　meaning　of　the　word　'wara。'　The　etymological　connexion　with　warectum　is　not　sound；　the　meaning　may　be　best　brought　out　by　a　comparison　with　those　instances　where　the　word　is　used　without　a　direct　reference　to　the　number　of　acres。　We　often　find　the　expression　'ad　inwaram'　in　Domesday；　and　it　corresponds　to　the　plain　'ad　gildam　Regis'。　If　a　manor　is　said　to　contain　seven　hides　ad　inwaram；　it　is　meant　that　it　pays　to　the　king　for　seven　hides；　although　there　may　have　been　more　than　seven　ploughteams　and　ploughlands。　Another　expression　of　like　import　is；　'pro　sextem　hidis　se　defendit　erga　Regem。'　The　Burton　Cartulary；　the　earliest　survey　after　Domesday；　employed　the　word　'wara'　in　the　same　sense。（40*）　It　is　not　difficult　to　draw　the　inference　from　the　above…mentioned　facts：　the　etymological　connexion　for　'wara'　is　to　be　sought　in　the　German　word　for　defence　　'wehre。'　The　manor　defends　itself　or　answers　to　the　king　for　seven　hides。　The　expression　could　get　other　special　significations　besides　the　one　discussed：　we　find　it　for　the　poll…tax；　by　which　a　freeman　defends　himself　in　regard　to　the　state；（41*）　and　for　the　weir；　which　prevents　the　fish　from　escaping　into　the　river。（42*）　　　　　This　origin　and　use　of　the　term　is　of　considerable。　importance；　because　it　shows　the　artificial　character　of　the　system　and　its　close　connexion　with　the　taxation　by　the　State。　This　is　a　disturbing　element　which　ought　to　be　taken　into　account　by　the　side　of　the　agra