Kitabı oku: «Villainage in England: Essays in English Mediaeval History», sayfa 28

XIV

See p. 302, n. 1

Cotton MS. Galba E. X. f. 19

Hec est firma unius cuiusque uille que reddit plenam firmam duarum ebdomadarum.

Duodecim quarteria farine ad panem monachorum suorumque hospitum que singula faciunt quinque treias Ramesie, et unaqueque treia appreciatur duodecim denariis precium uniuscuiusque quarterii fuit quinque sol. Summa precii 12 quarteriorum, 60 sol. et 2 millia panum uillarum uel 4 quarteria ad usum seruientium. Precium unius mille dimidiam marcam argenti. Summa precii integra marca. Ad potum 24 missa de grut quarum singulas faciunt una treia Ramesii et una ringa. Appreciatur una missa 12 den. Summa precii de brasio 32 sol. sunt et 2 septaria mellis 32 den. sunt summa precii 5 sol. et 4 den.

Ad compadium 4 libre in denariis et decem pense lardi. Precium unius pense 5 sol. sunt. Summa precii 5 obol. Et decem pense casei. Precium unius pense 3 solidi sunt. Summa precii 30 sol. Et decem frenscengie peroptime. Precium uniuscuiusque sunt 6 den.—Et 14 agni. Agnus pro denario—Et 120 galline, 6 pro den.—Et 2000 ovorum. Precium unius mille 2 sol. sunt.—Et 2 tine butiri. Precium unius tine 40 den.—Et 2 treie fabarum. Prec. 1 treie 8 den. sunt. Et 24 misse prebende. Precium unius misse 8 den.—Summa precii totius supradicte firme 12 libre sunt et 15 sol. et 1 den. exceptis 4 libris supradictis, que solummodo debent dari in denariis de unaquaque plena firma duarum ebdomadarum. Et postquam hec omnia reddita fuerunt, firmarius persoluet 5 solidos in denariis, uno denario minus, et sic implebuntur 17 libre plenae in dica cellerarii et unum mille de allic sine dica et firmarius dabit present cellerario ter in anno sine dica.

Villa que reddit firmam plenam unius ebdomade, dimidium omnium supradictorum reddet. Excepto quod unaqueque villa cuiuslibet firme sit, uel duarum ebdomadarum, uel unius plene firme, uel unius lente firme, dabit equaliter ad mandatum pauperum 16 denarios de acra elemosin.

Villa que reddit lente firmam unius ebdomade, omnino sicut plena firma unius ebdomade reddet. Exceptis quinque pensis lardis et 5 pensis casei quas non dat set pro eis 40 solidos in denariis et alios 40 sol. sicut plena firma.

XV

See p. 344, n. 1

Ayllington or Elton, Hunts, is remarkable on account of the contrast between its free and servile holdings, as described in the Hundred Rolls. It would be interesting to know whether the former are to be considered as ancient free tenements, or as the outcome of modern exemptions. The Hundred Rolls point in the first direction (ii. 656). Some of the tenements under discussion are said to be held de conquestu, and it would be impossible to put any other interpretation on this term than that of 'original occupation.' It means the same as the 'de antiquo conquestu' of other surveys (sup. p. 453).

But when we compare the inquisition published in the Ramsey Cartulary (Rolls Ser. i. 487 sqq.) we come upon a difficulty. There the holdings are constantly arranged under the two headings of virgatae operariae and virgatae positae ad censum, the population is divided into operarii and censuarii, and in one case we find even the following passage: 'item quaelibet domus, habens ostium apertum versus vicum, tam de malmannis, quam de cotmannis et operariis, inveniret unum hominem ad lovebone, sine cibo domini, praeter Ricardum Pemdome, Henricum Franceys, Galfridum Blundy, Henricum le Monnier.' And so most of the free people are actually called molmen, and this would seem to imply that they were libere tenentes only in consequence of commutation.

It seems to me that there is no occasion for such an inference. The molmen in the passage quoted are evidently the same as the censuarii of other passages, and although, in a general way, the expression mal was probably employed of quit-rents, still it was wide enough to interchange with gafol, and to designate all kinds of rents, without any regard to their origin. And of course, this is even more the case with census. Upon the whole, I do not see sufficient reason to doubt that we have freeholders before us who held their land and paid rent ever since the original occupation of the soil.