The English Village Community: Examined in its Relations to the Manorial and Tribal Systems and to the Common or Open Field System of Husbandry; An Essay in Economic History (Reprinted from the Fourth Edition)Seebohm, Frederic
History
The English Village Community: Examined in its Relations to the Manorial and Tribal Systems and to the Common or Open Field System of Husbandry; An Essay in Economic History (Reprinted from the Fourth Edition)
Seebohm, Frederic
Village communities -- Great Britain
Comparing these Cambridgeshire examples with those in Hertfordshire,
and others in the Domesday Survey for Middlesex, we may conclude
that for all [p097] practical purposes the _bordarius_ was a
_cottier_--sometimes with no land, sometimes with a garden, sometimes
with one solitary acre strip in the open fields, sometimes with more,
even up to 10 acres, but that the typical bordarius was a cottager
who held, in addition to his cottage, 5 acres in the open fields. His
was, therefore, a subordinate position to that of the villanus proper
in the village hierarchy, and he differed from the villanus probably
most clearly in this, that he put no oxen into the village plough
teams, and took no part in the common ploughing.
His services were no less servile than those of the villanus, but of
a more trivial kind. He was above the _servus_, or slave, but his
was the class which most easily would slide into that of the modern
labourer, and in which the _servus_ himself in his turn might most
easily merge. The word 'bordarius' was noticed in the _Liber Niger_
of Peterborough, but though so universal in the Domesday Survey it
soon slipped out of use; and as 'bord' gave place to 'cottage' in the
common speech, so the whole class below the villani came to be known
as cottagers.
VII. THE DOMESDAY SURVEY OF THE VILLA OF WESTMINSTER.
It may be worth while to test the value of the key which the results
of this inquiry have put into our hand by applying it to the Domesday
description of a particular manor.
«Survey of Westminster.»
For this purpose the survey of the manor of [p098] Westminster may
be chosen as one of great national and historical interest. It is as
follows:[120]--
In the villa where is situated the church of St. Peter [_i.e._
the abbey] the abbot of the same place holds 13½ hides [_i.e._
land rated at so much]. There is land for 11 plough teams.
To the _demesne_ belong 9 hides and 1 virgate, and there are 4
plough teams.
The _villeins_ have 6 plough teams, and one more might be made.
There are 9 villani with a virgate each.
1 villanus with a hide.
9 villani with a half-virgate each.
1 cottier with 5 acres.
41 cottiers rendering a shilling each yearly for their gardens.
There is meadow for 11 plough teams,
Pasture for the cattle of the village,
Wood for 100 pigs.
There are 25 houses of the abbot's soldiers and of other men,
who render 8s. per annum or 10l. in all; when he received them,
the same; in the time of King Edward, 12l.
This manor was and is in the demesne of the Church of St. Peter
of Westminster.
In the same villa _Bainiardus_ holds 3 hides of the abbot.
There is land for 2 plough teams, and they are there, in
demesne, and one cottier. Wood for 100 pigs. Pasture for
cattle. Four arpents of vineyard newly planted. All these are
worth 60s.; when he received them, 20s.; in the time of King
Edward, 6l. This land belonged, and belongs, to the Church of
St. Peter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account