18 AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH RURAL HISTORY 



Residing near the manor house, and usually appointed 

 by the lord of the manor, was the parish priest, whose duty 

 it was to conduct the services in the church and act as 

 chaplain in the manor house. The rent or produce of 

 Church-lands or " glebe " was frequently sufficient to 

 maintain the priest. In addition he sometimes received 

 burial and other dues as well as tithes. At first the pay- 

 ment of tithes was a voluntary contribution. In course 

 of time, however, the payment of tithes became compul- 

 sory ; and, although the lot of the parson was improved 

 thereby, a heavy tax was thus imposed on the land. As 

 the Church was originally not only a religious, but also a 

 social centre, meetings, plays, and even markets were 

 frequently held in the " sacred edifice." 



Domesday Book. 



At first the Norman barons who held land of the king 

 paid no taxes of any kind. In 1083, however, the Con- 

 queror resolved that all must contribute to the expenses 

 of the government. A tax of six silver shillings per hide 

 of land was, therefore, imposed throughout the kingdom. 

 The Norman lords thereupon adopted numerous devices 

 for evading payment. In order to make quite clear what 

 each estate should contribute the king ordered a complete 

 survey of the kingdom to be made in 1086 : the size of each 

 manor and the number of villeins, cottars, slaves, freemen, 

 ploughs, and animals contained therein were thus made 

 known. As a result of this survey, the royal coffers rapidly 

 filled ; and William I was reputed to be the richest prince 

 in Christendom. 



The Domesday Survey not only affected the lords of the 

 manors. It exerted considerable influence over the lives 

 of the humbler folk. When disputes arose about manors 

 or the customs of manors the Domesday Book was referred 

 to. It was difficult to evade what was written : hence the 

 custom of the manor became more rigid. The Saxons felt 

 that their lot had indeed become hard. They said it was 

 a shame for the king to set down every yard of land, and 

 every cow and pig they owned. 



The Self-supporting Village. 



For about two hundred years after the Domesday Survey 

 (1086), the Manorial System continued to operate in 

 England. Its outstanding features may be thus summar- 



