vill3-第8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！


rs　on　closer　inspection　as　a　result　of　economic　considerations　as　well　as　of　legal　disabilities；　and　for　this　reason　the　tendency　operated　in　the　sphere　of　free　property　as　well　as　among　the　villains；　among　these　last　it　could　not　preclude　the　working　of　the　disruptive　elements；　but　in　many　cases　only　hid　them　from　sight　by　its　artificial　screen　of　rigid　holdings。　　　　　We　have　seen　that　the　size　and　distribution　of　the　holdings　are　connected　with　the　number　of　oxen　necessary　for　the　tillage；　and　its　relation　to　the　full　plough。　The　hide　appears　as　the　ploughland　with　eight　oxen；　the　virgate　corresponds　to　one　yoke　of　oxen；　and　the　bovate　to　the　single　head。　it　need　not　be　added　that　such　figures　are　not　absolutely　settled；　and　are　to　be　accepted　as　approximate　terms；　The　great　heavy　plough　drawn　by　eight　or　ten　oxen　is　certainly　often　mentioned　in　the　records；　especially　on　demesne　land。（59*）　The　dependent　people；　when　they　have　to　help　in　the　cultivation　of　the　demesne；　club　together　in　order　to　make　up　full　plough　teams。（60*）　It　is　also　obvious　that　the　peasantry　had　to　associate　for　the　tilling　of　their　own　land；　as　it　was　very　rare　for　the　single　shareholder　to　possess　a　sufficient　number　of　beasts　to　work　by　himself。　But　it　must　be　noticed　that　alongside　of　the　unwieldy　eight…oxen　plough　we　find　much　lighter　ones。　Even　on　the　demesne　we　may　find　them　drawn　by　six　oxen。　And　as　for　the　peasantry；　they　seem　to　have　very　often　contented　themselves　with　forming　a　plough　team　of　four　heads。（61*）　It　is　commonly　supposed　by　the　surveys　that　the　holder　of　a　yardland　joins　with　one　of　his　fellows　to　make　up　the　team。　This　would　mean　on　the　scale　of　the　hide　of　120　acres　that　the　team　consists　of　four　beasts。（62*）　It　happens　even　that　a　full　plough　is　supposed　to　belong　to　two　or　three　peasants；　of　which　every　one　is　possessed　only　of　five　acres；　in　such　cases　there　can　be　no　talk　of　a　big　plough；　it　is　difficult　to　admit　even　a　four…oxen　team；　and　probably　those　people　only　worked　with　one　yoke　or　pair　of　beasts。（63*）　Altogether　it　would　be　very　wrong　to　assume　in　practice　a　strict　correspondence　between　the　size　of　the　holding　and　the　parts　of　an　eight…oxen　plough。　The　observation　that　the　usual　reckoning　of　the　hide　and　of　its　subdivisions；　according　to　the　pattern　of　the　big　team；　cannot　be　made　to　fit　exactly　with　the　real　arrangement　of　the　teams　owned　by　the　peasantry　　this　firmly　established　observation　leads　us　once　more　to　the　conclusion　that　the　system　of　equal　holdings　had　become　very　artificial　in　process　of　time　and　was　determined　rather　by　the　relation　between　the　peasants　and　the　manorial　administration　than　by　the　actual　conditions　of　peasant　life。　Unhappily　the　artificial　features　of　the　system　have　been　made　by　modern　inquirers　the　starting　point　of　very　far…reaching　theories　and　suppositions。　Seebohm　has　proposed　an　explanation　of　the　intermixture　of　strips　as　originating　in　the　practice　of　coaration。　He　argues　that　it　was　natural　to　divide　the　land　tilled　by　a　mixed　plough…team　among　the　owners　of　the　several　beasts　and　implements。　Every　man　got　a　strip　according　to　a　certain　settled　and　ever…recurring　succession。　I　do　not　pretend　to　judge　of　the　value　of　the　interesting　instances　adduced　by　Seebohm　from　Celtic　practices；　but　whatever　the　arrangement　in　Wales　or　Ireland　may　have　been；　the　explanation　does　not　suit　the　English　case。　A　doubt　is　cast　on　it　already　by　the　fact　that　such　a　universal　feature　as　the　intermixture　of　strips　appears　connected　with　the　occurrence　of　such　a　special　instrument　as　the　eight…oxen　plough；　The　intermixture　is　quite　the　same　in　Central　Russia；　where　they　till　with　one　horse；　and　in　England　where　more　or　less　big　ploughs　were　used。　the　doubt　increases　when　we　reflect　that　if　the　strips　followed　each　other　as　parts　of　the　plough…team；　the　great　owners　would　have　been　possessed　of　compact　plots。　Every　holder　of　an　entire　hide　would　have　been　out　of　the　intermixture；　and　every　virgater　would　have　stood　in　conjunction　with　a　sequence　of　three　other　tenants。　Neither　the　one　nor　the　other　inference　is　supported　by　the　facts。　The　observation　that　the　peasantry　are　commonly　provided　with　small　ploughs　drawn　by　four　beasts　ruins　Seebohm's　hypothesis　entirely。　One　would　have　to　suppose　that　most　fields　were　divided　into　two　parts；　as　the　majority　of　the　tenements　are　yardlands　with　half　a　team。　The　only　adequate　explanation　of　the　open…field　intermixture　has　been　given　above；　it　has　its　roots　in　the　wish　to　equalise　the　holdings　as　to　the　quantity　and　quality　of　the　land　assigned　to　them　in　spite　of　all　differences　in　the　shape；　the　position；　and　the　value　of　the　soil。　　　　　Before　I　leave　the　question　as　to　the　holdings　of　the　feudal　peasantry；　I　must　mention　some　terms　which　occur　in　different　parts　of　England；　although　more　rarely　than　the　usual　hides　and　virgates。（64*）　Of　the　sulung　I　have　spoken　already。　It　is　a　full　ploughland；　and　200　acres　are　commonly　reckoned　to　belong　to　it。　The　name　is　sometimes　found　out　of　Kent；　in　Essex　for　instance。　In　Tillingham；　a　manor　of　St。　Paul's　of　London；　we　come　across　six　hides　'trium　solandarum'。（65*）　The　most　probable　explanation　seems　to　be　that　the　hide　or　unit　of　assessment　is　contrasted　with　the　solanda　or　sulland　（sulung）；　that　is　with　the　actual　ploughland；　and　two　hides　are　reckoned　as　a　single　solanda。　　　　　The　yokes　（juga）　of　Battle　Abbey　（66*）　are　not　virgates；　but　carucates；　full　ploughlands。　This　follows　from　the　fact　that　a　certain　virgate　mentioned　in　the　record　is　equivalent　only　to　one　fourth　of　the　yoke。　In　the　Norfolk　manors　of　Ely　Minster　we　find　tenmanlands　（67*）　of　120　acres　in　the　possession　of　several　copartitioners；　participes。　The　survey　does　not　go　into　a　detailed　description　of　tenements　and　rights；　and　the　reckoning　of　services　starts　from　the　entire　combination；　as　in　the　Kentish　documents。　A　commonly　recurrent　term　is　wista；（68*）　it　corresponds　to　the　virgate：　a　great　wista　is　as　much　as　half…a…hide；　or　two　virgates。（69*）　　　　　The　terms　discussed　hitherto　are　applied　to　the　tenements　in　the　fields　of　the　village；　but　besides　those　there　are　other　names　for　the　plots　occupied　by　a　numerous　population　which　did　not　find　a　place　in　the　regular　holdings。　There　were　craftsmen　and　rural　labourers　working　for　the　lord　and　for　the　tenants；　there　were　people　living　by　gardening　and　the　raising　of　vegetables。　This　class　is　always　contrasted　with　the　tenants　in　the　fields。　The　usual　name　for　their　plots　is　cote；　cotland；　or　cotsetland。　The　so…called　ferdel；　or　fourth　part　of　a　virgate；　is　usually　mentioned　among　them　because　there　are　no　ploughbeasts　on　it。（70*）　Another　name　for　the　ferdel　is　nook。（71*）　Next　come　the　crofters；　whose　gardens　sometimes　extend　to　a　very　fair　size　　as　much　as　ten　acres　in　one　enclosed　patch。（72*）　The　cotters　proper　have　generally　one；　two；　and　sometimes　as　much　as　five　acres　with　their　dwellings；　they　cannot　keep　themselves　on　this；　as　a　rule；　and　have　to　look　out　for　more　on　other　people's　tenements。　A　very　common　name　for　their　plots　is　'lundinaria'（73*）　'Mondaylands；'　because　the　holders　are　bound　to　work　for　the　lord　only　one　day　in　the　week；　usually　on　Monday。　Although　the　absence　of　plough…beasts；　of