The Rural Classes of England. 229 



services, similar to those of tlie consuetudinarii, but far less 

 burdensome. Lastly the the cotsetel, who appear to correspond 

 with the cot&rii of the thirteenth century. Now the word neti 

 is evidently the Latinized form of geneat, which we have 

 found to be the Anglo Saxon equivalent for villani This class 

 therefore forms another link between the villani and the 

 consuetudinarii. 



We have now seen : 1. That the villani of the eleventh 

 century are identified with Anglo-Saxon geneat; and that the 

 term is applied to the highest class of peasantry, the body of 

 the Anglo-Saxon ceorls, who held considerable amounts of 

 land by the tenure of predial services of a respectable charac- 

 ter, moderate and fixed in amount. There is nothing to show 

 the size of their individual estates at this period. 2. That in 

 the twelfth century the villani, and in the south of England 

 the 7ieit, — whose name is obviously the Latinized form of 

 geneat {villanus), held equal estates of a very respectable size 

 on the tenure of predial services of a respectable character, 

 moderate and fixed in amount. But they are no longer the 

 highest class of peasantry. There is, above the neti, body of 

 free tenants, whose estates are irregular in amount, often 

 quite inconsiderable, although under a privileged tenure. 

 3. In the thirteenth century, that there was a class of con- 

 suetudinarii, who in like manner held equal amounts of land 

 in respectable quantities, but on the tenure of predial services 

 of a very multitudinous and burdensome character. There is 

 above these two a body of free tenants, precisely correspond- 

 ing to those of the twelfth century. Each of these classes 

 appears to embrace the main body of the peasantry at their 

 respective epochs ; and to have been a compact and organized 

 body. 



We find then that the class which makes up the substance 

 of the peasantry, is called by different names at these three 

 epochs, — villani, neti and consuetudinarii. Further, we find 

 that its position has deteriorated in two respects ; first, by the 



