40 Decay of the Manor 



because of all this levelling, this approach to equality in certain 

 directions, there was more harmony among all classes than ever 

 before. 



By the end of Henry VIII's reign the form in which English 

 agriculture was to be organized had been decided. The landlord- 

 tenant system had taken shape, and this system has had great 

 influence on English agriculture. The manorial system in this 

 country was never abruptly or violently ended as it was in other 

 countries. It gradually developed into the organization which 

 has continued to serve the demands of the industry to the present 

 time. Great Britain differs in this respect from other nations, 

 and there have always been people who have said that she differs 

 for the worse. Nothing is more important for a proper under- 

 standing of the history of agriculture than to get a clear view of 

 the changes which had taken place between the Norman Conquest 

 and the reign of Edward VI. The landlord- tenant system is 

 an expression of a peculiar element in the English character. 

 Parliamentary government is another expression of this element, 

 and thus the two institutions are related to each other. The same 

 changes did not take place during the same period in countries like 

 France, Germany, and Denmark. There the serfs had accepted 

 defeat and remained subject to feudal burdens for centuries. 



In England in 1550 the orders into which the people were 

 divided were (i) the King, (2) the nobility and large landlords, 

 (3) the clergy, (4) the burgesses of the towns, including manufac- 

 turers, merchants, and traders, (5) the yeoman farmers, or occupy- 

 ing owners, and the large tenant-farmers, (6) the small farmers or 

 copyholders who still held their share of the common land on the 

 manors, (7) the free, landless labourers. All those orders worked 

 together, and showed some respect for each other, sometimes 

 willingly, but more often by necessity. The King spent so much 

 money that he had to come to Parliament for supplies, and the^ 

 Lords and Commons shared in the legislation and administration 



