72 SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS, AND THE 



part of the steward or seneschal, and it is even found that 

 this official was elected by them*. 



I fully admit that the terms of the villain's tenure were 

 hard, and that he was liable to great restraints, and to liabili- 

 ties which in our eyes must appear outrageous invasions of 

 personal freedom. But I submit that these services and 

 incidents were determined, and in no case precarious. The 

 reader will find a specimen of the services demanded from 

 the villains in the rentals annexed to the second volume, and 

 he will see instances of the tenants' liabilities in the 'Poli- 

 tical and Social Notes' contained in the same volume. 



The Cuxham serf has half a virgate of land with a house. 

 He pays a corn-rent of one quarter of seed-wheat at Michael- 

 mas, a peck at Martinmas, four bushels of oats, three fowls, 

 and two pennyworth of bread. Taken at an average, the 

 value of his annual rent is seven shillings and sixpence. His 

 labour rent is the cultivation of a rood of land, worth about 

 sixpence, and six days' harvest-labour, worth say two shillings 

 more. If we conclude that half a virgate of land contained 

 twenty acres, he held his tenement at an annual rent of six- 

 pence an acre, a rate which, considering the general goodness 

 of the land in Cuxham, as is evident from the comparative 

 rate of production in that parish, cannot be considered ex- 

 cessive. 



The Ibstone serf holds the same quantity of land as the 

 Cuxham tenant. His rent is partly in money, partly in 

 produce, and partly in labour. The first of these amounts 

 to two shillings and tenpence three-farthings. The produce 

 mit to about fourpence. It is not quite so easy to estimate 

 the average value of his labour rent, but it may be taken 

 0,1 a liberal estimate at about six shillings, and his total 

 annual charge at about nine shillings and threepence. There 

 are ten such tenants at Cuxham, and four at Ibstone. 



The services exacted from the tenants in villenage at 

 Fa 4ey are all commutable for specified sums of money. 



a Vol. ii. pp. 609. ii. 613. i. 



