324
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book I.
Easter one young sheep or two pence ; and he shall
lie out from Martinmas till Easter at the lord’s
fold 1 ; and from the time when the plough is first
put in till Martinmas, he shall plough one acre
every week, and make ready the seed in the lord’s
barn : moreover three acres on request, and two of
grass-ploughing2. If he require more grass, let him
earn it on such conditions as he may. For his
rent-ploughing [gafolyr¾] he shall plough three
acres and sow them from his own barn ; and pay his
1 The fold was often distant from the homestead, and required care-
ful watching, especially during the dark winter months. Sheep alone
were not folded, but oxen, cows, and particularly mares : hry⅛rafald,
Ciiafald, Stodfald. This system may be still seen in full force in Hun-
gary ; and we may add that, in the article of horse and cattle stealing,
the Hungarian presents a very marked likeness to the Anglosaxon.
While reading these services, one can hardly get rid of the notion that
one is studying the description of a Hungarian Session.
2 “ Tres acras precum et duas de herbagio : freo æeeras to béne q
twa to gærsytSe.” If requested he shall do three acres ; but only two
if a meadow is to be broken up ? This is always much harder work
than ploughing on old arable. But it is difficult to reconcile this with
the next sentence. The Saxonsays, “Gif he marangærses bet>yrfe, ear-
nige ‰es swa him man J>afige : ” the Latin, “ Si plus indigent herbagio,
arabit proinde sicut ei permittatur.” From the word arabit, Thorpe
suggests erige instead of earnige. The two readings are however
consistent if we consider the expression gærsyrKe as having no con-
nection with the gærs of the following sentence. I suppose the meaning
to be this : on extraordinary occasions, he might be called upon by the
lord to plough three acres instead of one, or in old meadow-land, two
acres. If now he himself should want more grass-land than he already
possessed, he might make a bargain with the lord, and earn it by this
labour with the plough. He was bound to give one day’s ploughing
every week from the commencement of the ploughing season till the
Ilth of November : but on pressing emergency, and on request of the
lord, he must give three days (for an acre a day was the just calculation)
or in old meadow two. If his services at the plough were still further
required, he was to make a bargain with his lord ; and a common case
is supposed, viz. that he required more grass-land than he had. In this
way all seems intelligible.
сн. xi.]
LÆ’NLAND.
325
hearth-penny ; and two and two shall feed one stag-
hound ; and each gebur shall give six loaves to the
inswan [that is, the swain or swineherd of the de-
mesne] when he drives his herds to the mast. In
the same land where these conditions prevail, the
gebur has a right, towards first stocking his land,
to receive two oxen, one cow and six sheep, and
seven acres in his yard of land, ready sown. After
the first year let him do all the customs which be-
long to him ; and he is to be supplied with tools for
his work, and furniture for his house. When he
dies, let his lord look after what he leaves.
“ This land-law prevails in some lands ; but, as I
have said, in some places it is heavier, in others
lighter ; seeing that the customs of all lands are
not alike. In some places the gebur must pay
honey-gafol, in some meat-gafol, in some ale-
gafol. Let him that holds the shire take heed to
know always what is the old arrangement about
the land, and what the custom of the country ! ”
I can only add the expression of my opinion, that
a careful study of the condition of the peasantry in
the eastern parts of Europe will assist in throwing
much light upon these ancient social arrangements
in this country. Hard as in some respects the con-
dition of the dependent freeman appears, it must
be borne in mind that the possession of land was
indispensably necessary to life, unless he was to be-
come an absolute serf. In a country that has little
more manufacture than the simple necessities of
individual households require, no wealth of raw
material and consequently little commerce,—where