EDWARD P. CHEYNEY. University of Pennsylvania, January, 1901. CONTENTS CHAPTER I Growth Of The Nation To The Middle Of The Fourteenth Century Page 1. The Geography of England................................. 1 2. Prehistoric Britain...................................... 4 3. Roman Britain............................................ 5 4. Early Saxon England...................................... 8 5. Danish and Late Saxon England........................... 12 6. The Period following the Norman Conquest................ 15 7. The Period of the Early Angevin Kings, 1154-1338........ 22 CHAPTER II Rural Life and Organization 8. The Mediaeval Village.................................... 31 9. The Vill as an Agricultural System...................... 33 10. Classes of People on the Manor.......................... 39 11. The Manor Courts........................................ 45 12. The Manor as an Estate of a Lord........................ 49 13. Bibliography............................................ 52 CHAPTER III Town Life And Organization 14. The Town Government..................................... 57 15. The Gild Merchant....................................... 59 16. The Craft Gilds......................................... 64 17. Non-industrial Gilds.................................... 71 18. Bibliography............................................ 73 CHAPTER IV Mediaeval Trade And Commerce 19. Markets and Fairs....................................... 75 20. Trade Relations between Towns........................... 79 21. Foreign Trading Relations............................... 81 22. The Italian and Eastern Trade........................... 84 23. The Flanders Trade and the Staple....................... 87 24. The Hanse Trade......................................... 89 25. Foreigners settled in England........................... 90 26. Bibliography............................................ 94 CHAPTER V The Black Death And The Peasants' Rebellion _Economic Changes of the Later Fourteenth and Early Fifteenth Centuries_ 27. National Affairs from 1338 to 1461...................... 96 28. The Black Death and its Effects......................... 99 29. The Statutes of Laborers............................... 106 30. The Peasants' Rebellion of 1381........................ 111 31. Commutation of Services................................ 125 32. The Abandonment of Demesne Farming..................... 128 33. The Decay of Serfdom................................... 129 34. Changes in Town Life and Foreign Trade................. 133 35. Bibliography........................................... 134 CHAPTER VI The Breaking Up Of The Mediaeval System