"the home farm." The villein paid the land tax, and sometimes even commuted his personal service for rent. A female villein was called a "niefe"—a word derived from the Latin for "native," "because for the most part niefes are bond by nativitie"—that is, are born unfree.
That the villein was not a slave is proved by the fact that he could bring an action against any person, except his lord.[1] And in certain cases, he even had an appeal against his lord, and if his appeal succeeded, he was enfranchised for ever. The rights of the lord over him were strictly limited by law. If a villein sued his lord, and the lord answered, the villein could demand a trial. This became of great importance to the villeins, when they were attempting to obtain freedom to go where they would.
"Freedom," in the classes above the servi, was not quite what the word means to us. There were two great features of freedom—freedom to go where he would and to sell his land as he would. These two constituted complete freedom, and there was a sort of sliding scale of freedom, down to the actual serf whose body could be sold. Sometimes this serf was called a "villein in gross.'" Most villains were villeins regardant—they could not be removed from the land. Many were considerable farmers. At Fulham, we find a villein with half-a-hide—which must have been at least 30 acres, or anything above that up to 60 acres. He paid 4s. "for his house." Another, with the same quantity of land, paid 8s. Thirty-four others had each half-a-virgate; 5 had each 1 hide. In Hampshire, 4 villems had 1 carucate. At Basingstoke, 20 villeins and 41 bordars had 11 carucates, and 20 villeins and 8 bordars had 12. Here there were but 6 servi.
The Normans were not Frenchmen, and the Anglo-Saxons were not Teutons. Both were of kindred Gothic stock. But for the two hundred years after the Conquest, the kings of England had as great a stake in France as in England. They lived half their lives in France; the wars they made were more often with France than with the Scots. In Saxon times a tenant in "common soccage" paid in money, not in person. But with these perpetual wars, men were wanted as much or more than money, and
- ↑ The villein is called a freeman in the Laws of Henry I. (c. 70-76). These laws are the Confirmation of the Laws of the Confessor.
