Villainage in England: Essays in English Mediaeval History. Paul Vinogradoff
contra voluntatem suam ejici non debet, dum tamen facere voluerit consuetudines quae pertinent ad villenagium, et quae praestantur ratione villenagii, et non ratione personae.'
114
Cf. Blackstone's characteristic of copyholds: 'But it is the very condition of the tenure in question that the lands be holden only so long as the stipulated service is performed, quamdiu velint et possint facere debitum servitium et solvere debitas pensiones.' (Law Tracts, ii. 153.)
115
Bract, f. 200.
116
Bract. Note-book, pl. 1103: 'Et ideo consideratum est quod Willelmus conuictus est de uilenagio et si facere uoluerit predictas consuetudines teneat illam bouatam terre per easdem consuetudines, sin autem faciat Bartholomeus de terra et de ipso Willelmo uoluntatem suam ut de uillano suo et ei liberatur. Cf. Mr. Maitland's note.
117
I should like to draw attention to one more case which completes the picture from another side. Bract. Note-book, pl. 784: 'Symon de T. petit versus Adam de H. et Thomam P. quod faciant ei consuetudines et recta seruicia que ei facere debent de tenemento quod de eo tenent in uillenagio in T. Et ipsi ueniunt et cognoscunt quod uillani sunt. Et Symon concedit eis quod teneant tenementa sua faciendo inde seruicia quae pertinent ad uillenagium, ita tamen quod non dent plus in auxilium ad festum St. Mich. nec per annum quam duodecim denarios scilicet quilibet ipsorum et hoc nomine tallagii.'—The writ of customs and services was out of place between lord and villain. The usual course was distraint. The case is clearly one of privileged villainage, but it is well to note that although the services are in one respect certain, the persons remain unfree.
118
Bracton, f. 208 b.
119
Ibid., f. 200.
120
Bract. Note-book, pl. 63: 'Dicunt quod idem W. nullum habuit liberum tenementum quia ipse uillanus fuit et fecit omnimoda uilenagia quia non potuit filiam suam maritare nec bouem suum uendere. 1819: R. de M. posuit se in magnam assisam Dom. Reg. in comitatu de consuetudinibus et seruiciis que Th. B. petit uersus eum, unde idem Th. exigebat ab eodem R. quod redderet ei de uillenagio per annum 19 den. et aruram trium dierum et messuram trium dierum … et gersumam pro filia sua maritanda et unam gallinam ad Natale et tot oua ad Pascha et tallagium et quod sit prepositus suus. Set quia illa sunt servilia et ad uillenagium spectancia et non ad liberum tenementum, consideratum est quod magna assisa non iacet inter eos, set fiat inquisicio per xii,' etc. Cf. 794, 1005, 1225, 1661.
121
Bract. Note-book, 281: 'Et Prior dicit quod in parte bene recordantur set in parte parum dicunt quia iuratores dixerunt quod debuit dare xii. den. pro filia sua maritanda, et debuit plures alias consuetudines et petierunt respectum ut assensum habere possent a domino Roberto de Lexintona utrum hoc esset liberum tenementum ex quo sciunt quid debuit facere et quid non et nullum respectum habere potuerunt.'
122
Example—Bract. Note-book, pl. 1887. Fitzherbert, Abr. Villen. 38 (13 Ed. I): 'Quia predictus J. nullam probacionem producit neque sectam et cognoscit quod ille est in seisina … de patre predicti W. quem potuit produxisse ad probacionem, consideratum est quod predicti W. et R. liberi maneant.'
123
Bracton, f. 199. The jury came in only by consent of the parties.
124
Britton, i. 207; Fitzherbert, Abr. Villen. 37.
125
Court Rolls of Havering atte Bower, Essex, Augment. Off. Rolls, xiv. 38. (Curia—die Jovis proxima ante festum St. Bartholomaei Apostoli anno r. r. Ricardi II, 21mo.) 'Inquisicio … dicit … quod non est aliquis homo natiuus de sanguine ingressus feodum domini, set dicunt quod est quidam Johannes Shillyng qui Sepius dictus fuerat natiuus. Et dicunt ultra quod quidam Johannes Shillyng pater predicti Johannis fuit alienigena et quod predictus Johannes Shillyng quod ad eorum cognitionem est liber et libere condicionis et non natiuus.'
126
Fitzherbert, Abr. Villen. 32 (H. 19 Edw. II).
127
Ibid. 5 (13 Edw. I).
128
Fitzherbert, l. c.: 'E ce issu fuit trie par gents de paiis ou le maner est e nemi ou il nasquist par touts les justices.'
129
Rotuli Parliam. ii. 192. Hargrave's argument in the Negro Somerset's case is very good on all these points. Howell, State Trials, xx. 38, 39.
130
Bracton, 201; Britton, i. 202 sq.
131
Bracton, f. 6, and on many other occasions.
132
Co. Lit. 137, b. Cf. King Henry I's writ in favour of the Monastery of Abingdon. Bigelow, Placita Anglo-Normannica, 96: 'Facias habere F. abbati omnes homines suos qui de terra sua exierunt propter herberiam curie mee.' Henry II puts it the other way, p. 220: 'Nisi sunt in dominio meo.'
133
A most curious pleading based on the conceptions of Glanville occurs in a Cor. Rege case of 10 Henry III, which was pointed out to me by F. Maitland. See App. IV. Mr. York Powell suggests that the limitation may have originated in the fact, that in early times a man could no more give away a slave from his family estate without the consent of the family than he could give away the estate itself or part of it. There was no reason for such limitation in the case of a slave that had been bought with one's private money. Hence the necessity of selling a slave in order to emancipate him. The conjecture seems a very probable one, but the question remains, how such ancient practice could have left a trace in the feudal period. The explanation in the text may possibly account for the tenacity of the notion.
134
Note-book, pl. 31, 343.
135
Bracton, f. 194, 195. Bracton's text has been rendered almost unintelligible here by the careless punctuation of his editors, and Sir Travers Twiss' translation is as wrong and misleading as usual. I will just give the passage in accordance with the reading of Digby, 222 (Bodleian Libr.), which is the best of all the MSS. I have seen: 'Quia esto quod seruus uelit manumitti et cum nichil habeat proprium eligat fidem alicuius qui eum emat quasi pro denariis suis, per talem emptionem non consequitur emptus aliquam libertatem nisi tantum quod mutat dominum. In re empta in primis solui debet pretium, postea sequitur traditio rei: soluitur hic pretium pro natiuo, set nulla subsequitur traditio, sed semper manet in uillenagio quo prius. Si tenementum adquirat tenendum libere et heres manumissoris uel alius successor eum eiciat, si petat per assisam et heres opponat uillenagium, et villanus replicet de manumissione et emptione, heres triplicare poterit, quod imperfecta fuit emptio siue manumissio eo quod nunquam in uita uenditoris subsecuta fuit traditio, et ita talis semper remanebit sub potestate heredis.'
136
Note-book, pl. 1749: 'Iudicatum est quod liber sit quantum ad heredem manumittentis et non quantum ad alios, quod iudicium non est uerum.'
137
Bracton, 209; cf. 7 and 200. Britton, ii. 13.
138
Bracton, 209: 'Villenagium privilegiatum … tenetur de Rege a Conquestu Angliae.' Cf. Blackstone, Law Tracts, ii. 128.
139
Madox, History of the Exchequer, i. 704: 'Tallagium dominiorum et escaetarum et custodiarum.'
140
Bract. Note-book, 1237 (the prior of St. Swithin denies a manor to be ancient demesne): '… per cc annos ante conquestum Anglie [terre] date fuerunt priori et conventui et ab aliis quam regibus.'
141
Y.B. Trin. 49 Edw. III, pl. 8 (Fitzherbert, Abr. Monstraver. 4): '… touts les demesnes qui fuerent en la maine Seint E. sont aunciens demesne, mesque ils fuerent aliens a estraunge mains quant le liver de Domesday se fist, come il avient del manor de Totenham qui fut en autre maine a temps de Domesday fait, come en le dit livers fait mencion, que il fuit adonques al Counte de Cestre.'
142
Very curious pleadings occurred in 1323. Y.B. 15 Edw. II, p. 455: '