22 THE GREAT PLAGUE AND ITS RESULTS II 



process, it will be hard to choose between the many possible 

 motives by which he may have been urged ; provident self- 

 interest, a desire for a quiet life, human fellow feeling for 

 his dependants, besides his respect for the custom as a 

 custom, may all have pulled one way.' l But whatever 

 were their motives, custom grew, and the position of the 

 villein no longer < depended on the caprice of the lord 

 though it depended theoretically on his will', 2 and if the 

 villein forfeited . his land for non-performance of his 

 duties, the question whether he had so failed was decided 

 by the court where the villeins, and not the lord, were 

 the judges. 



Thus although all that the villeins by blood possessed 

 belonged by law to the lord, in practice we find them enjoy- 

 ing property, and buying and selling at will. 3 Further, 

 the distinction between villein status and villein tenure, 

 though it still existed, was becoming obscured, because 

 many villeins by status held lands on free tenure and 

 many free men held lands on villein tenure. The free- 

 holder often worked by the side of the bondsman on the 

 lord's demesne. They often served on the juries of the 

 court, and in some cases paid the merchet which was 

 considered the especial mark of bondage by blood. 4 / 



Meanwhile uncertainty, which is the especial mark of 

 service by villein tenure, was passing away. First the 

 amount of labour which each villein by tenure owed became 

 fixed, and then the system of commutation of labour services 

 on the demesne for money payments followed. This may 

 have been caused by the fact that with the increase of 

 the number of villeins, more labour was due than the lord 

 required, or, in the case of the boon, or occasional services, 



1 Pollock and Maitland, i. 359. 2 Vinogradoff, Villeinage, p. 176. 

 8 Page, End of Villeinage, p. 15. 

 * Vinogradoff, Villeinage, p. 154. 



