By C. R. Straton. 307 



manor now stands the Koman vill stood, cultivated in part by free 

 coloni, by semi-servile laeti, and by slaves. The three-field system 

 of cropping was adopted, and as the fields were cultivated by 

 coaration the system was taught to and practised by the natives, 

 who occupied their acre strips in return for the labour they per- 

 formed. But the Roman civilization had its dark side, and within 

 the court-yard of the villa was the ergastulum where the slaves 

 were kept in chains. 



When we come to Saxon times the first influence of Christianity 

 was inidoubtedly the gradual abolition of slavery. The slave was 

 at first a free man on Sunday only, but by degrees the priests 

 prevailed on dying owners to have their slaves manumitted at 

 their graves for their " soul's heal." Yet the labour that the slaves 

 had done was still as essential to the cultivation of the manor as 

 it had been to the cultivation of the vill. The coloni had become 

 " Free Tenants." The mensal lands, that kept the table of the 

 villa supplied, were now cultivated by bordarii, and were called 

 bord lands — bord meaning table, as in our word board. These 

 bord holdings are plentiful in this survey, probably two acres in 

 fifty having originally been mensal lands. The emancipated slaves 

 became villani, and held " yard lands," tcrrcv nativcc, in return for 

 which they did week work for their lord, rode with messages 

 within the county, carried loads to the manor house, and paid their 

 liearth penny, kirkshot, and almsfee : they were, in fact, the 

 copyholders of this survey. 



But we find another class added, to whom were made what are 

 called grants terrce novce nativce. Those new knaves were geburs, 

 beers, or bauers, the land they held was called bower land, and 

 one of the villages in which they lived is still called Bower Chalke. 

 If they held a " whole bower," then they did two days' work a 

 week and three in harvest ; they had to plough, harrow, and sow 

 a certain amount of land for the lord, and every two had to feed 

 one hound. When the lord started a bower tenant in his holding 

 his " setene " consisted of two oxen, one cow, six sheep, seven acres 

 sown in his yardland, tools for his work, and domestic utensils. 

 At the death of a bower tenant he had to leave a full bower just as 



