Medieval and modern times : an introduction to the history of western Europe form the dissolution of the Roman empire to the present time . easons we do not know. When a slave wasfreed he was called , but he was by no means in theposition of one who had been born free. It was true that hewas no longer a mere thing that could be bought and sold, buthe had still to serve his former master,—who had now becomehis patron, — for a certain number of days in the year. Hewas obliged to pay him a part of his earnings and could notmarry without his patrons consent. But, as the condition of the
Medieval and modern times : an introduction to the history of western Europe form the dissolution of the Roman empire to the present time . easons we do not know. When a slave wasfreed he was called , but he was by no means in theposition of one who had been born free. It was true that hewas no longer a mere thing that could be bought and sold, buthe had still to serve his former master,—who had now becomehis patron, — for a certain number of days in the year. Hewas obliged to pay him a part of his earnings and could notmarry without his patrons consent. But, as the condition of the slaves improved, and many ofthem became freedmen, the state of the poor free man onlybecame worse. In the towns, if he tried to earn his living, hewas forced to mingle with those slaves who were permitted towork for wages and with the freedmen, and he naturally tendedto sink to their level. In the country the free agricultural laborers became coloni,a curious intermediate class, neither slave nor really free. Theywere bound to the particular bit of land which some greatproprietor permitted them to cultivate, and remained attached.
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Keywords: ., bookauthorrobinson, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1919
