196
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book I.
however of such cases fall under the next following
head, viz.—
The serfs by surrender, the sua datione servus of
Henry’s law, the serυus dedititius, and giafjn`æl of
the Norse law. Among these Grimm numbers the
serfs whose voluntary submission so much surprised
the Roman philosopher. Even the law of the Ger-
mans, so generally favourable to liberty, contem-
plates and provides for the case of such a voluntary
servitude ɪ. This might arise in various ways. For
example, a time of severe scarcity, such as are only
too often recorded in our ancient annals, unques-
tionably drove even the free to the cruel alternative
of either starvation or servitude : “ Subdebant se
pauperes servitio, ut quantulumcunque de alimento
porrigerent,” says Gregory of Tours2; Gildas tells
us a similar tale of the Britons3 ; and even as late
as the Norman conquest we find Geatflaed, a lady,
directing by her will the manumission of all those
who had bent their heads in the evil days for food4.
* “ Si liber homo spontanea voluntate vel forte necessitate coactus,
nobili, sen libero, seu etiaɪn lito, in personam et in servitium Iiti se
subdiderit.” Lex Free. xi. 1. “ Ut nullum liberum Iiceat inservire. .. .
quamvis pauper sit, tamen Iibertatem suam non perdat nec hereditatem
suam, nisi ex spontanea Voluntate se alicui tradere voluerit, hoc potes-
tatem habeat faciendi.” Lex Bajuv, vi. 3. The Anglosaxon law gave
this power of voluntary surrender to a boy of thirteen. See Theod.
Poenit. xxix. Thorpe, ii. 19.
2 Gregor. Turon, vii. 46.
3 “ Interea fames dira ас famosissima vagis ас nutabundis haeret,
quae multos eorum cruentis Compellit praedonibus sine dilatione victae
dare manus, ut pauxillum ad refocillandam animam cibi caperent.”
Hist. Brit. cap. xvii.
4 “ Ealle ‰ men ,δe heonon heora heafod for hyra mete on ⅛'Λm
yflum dagum.” Cod. Dip. No. 925. The instance is, I believe, a soli-
tary one in our records, but the cases must have been numerous.
CH. VIΠ∙]
THE UNFREE. THE SERF.
197
Another was, no doubt, debt, incurred either through
poverty or crime ; and when the days of fierce and
cruel warfare had passed away, this must have been
the most fertile source of servitude. I have not
found among the Anglosaxon remains any exam-
ple of slavery voluntarily incurred by the insolvent
debtor, but the whole course of analogy is in favour
of its existence, and Marculf supplies us with the
formulary by which, among the Franks, the debtor
surrendered his freedom to the creditor. It may be
presumed that this servitude had a term, and that
a certain period of servile labour was considered
equivalent to the debt. The case of crime was un-
doubtedly a very common one, especially as those
whose necessities were the most likely to bring
them in collision with the law were those also who
were least able to fulfil its. requirements, by pay-
ment of the fines attached to their offences. The
criminal whose own means were insufficient, and
whose relatives or lord would not assist him to make
up the legal fine he had incurred, was either com-
pelled to surrender himself to the plaintiff, or to
some third party who paid the sum for him, by
agreement with the aggrieved party. This was
technically called Jnngian1, and such a serf was
ɪ “And eac heo hafa*5 gefreod ‰ men ‰ heo )>ingede æt Cwass-
patrike ; ” And she hath also freed the men whom she interceded for
with Cospatrick. Cod. Dip. No. 925. MarcuIf gives the Frankish
formulary, as follows ; it is the case of one who has been redeemed
from capital punishment : “ Et ego de rebus meis, unde vestra béné-
ficia rependere debuissem, non habeo ; ideo pro hoc statum ingenuɪtatis ∙
ɪneae vobis visus sum obnoɪiasse, ita ut ab hac die de vestro servitio
penitus non discedam.” Form. Marculf. ii. 28.