. A short history of England and the British Empire. of the William II succeeded to the throne than he hadbarons. 1088. j-0 face revolts in several parts of his kingdom. Onthis occasion the Norman king called on the English militia inthe counties near London to assist in fighting the rebellious THE MANORIAL SYSTEM: VILLEINAGE 55 nobles; the English came in force, and the conspiracy wasunsuccessful. 47. The Manorial System: This disposses-sion of the English was the second great change that came withthe conquest. It is not to be supposed that the natives weredriven away from the la
. A short history of England and the British Empire. of the William II succeeded to the throne than he hadbarons. 1088. j-0 face revolts in several parts of his kingdom. Onthis occasion the Norman king called on the English militia inthe counties near London to assist in fighting the rebellious THE MANORIAL SYSTEM: VILLEINAGE 55 nobles; the English came in force, and the conspiracy wasunsuccessful. 47. The Manorial System: This disposses-sion of the English was the second great change that came withthe conquest. It is not to be supposed that the natives weredriven away from the land; the Normans needed them to tillthe soil and permitted them to remain in possession of theirfarms so long as they rendered the services and paid the duesthat the new system demanded. Practically the entire ruralpopulation was in this way forced into villeinage. The EnglishA serf, or villein, was an unfree farmer who tilled become vii-a farm that was assigned to him on condition that einshe should render certain payments in the form of products,. Carts and Ox teamsEleventh Century. labor, and sometimes money. So long as these conditionswere promptly met the villein could not be deprived of hisland ; nor could he surrender the farm, for a villein was regardedas belonging to the soil like a house or a tree. His duty was totill faithfully, and this duty was inherited by his children. Fora long time there was practically no refuge for a dispossessedserf, no place where he might go and find a welcome; conse-quently, he found it expedient to labor at his farm in quietobedience. It is easy, however, to overestimate the servile condition ofthe villein; his rights very soon came to be clearly defined,and it is not likely that the villagers suffered much from arbi- 1 Innes, Industrial Development, 46-56. 56 ENGLAND UNDER NORMAN RULE trary treatment on the part of the lord. Life on the manorwas regulated by time-honored customs; and these the vil-leins would not permit the lord to set a
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