THE MANOR AND THE VILLAGE 35 



for both the bondsmen and the lord, and also perhaps for 

 the independent farmers, if there were any in the manor. 



There were also craftsmen in the village, for a 

 community of this character, which had to be largely 

 self-supporting, could not progress without workers 

 able to make the ploughs and carts and other agri- 

 cultural implements, the shoes and articles in leather, 

 and to weave materials for the clothes. There were 

 therefore in the village communities blacksmiths, 

 workers in wood, leatherworkers, and weavers. These 

 craftsmen then, as ever since, appear to have taken a 

 leading position in village life. 



From early times there were also to be found in 

 many villages a few landless labourers, a small class 

 that persistently increased generation after generation. 



Although there might be men among the herdsmen 

 and the artisans who were free, and others who were 

 slaves, this was probably exceptional ; the mass of the 

 village population usually belonged to the intermediate 

 class, the bondsmen. 



In addition to the men of the village community 

 there were, in most manors, some servants of the lord, 

 amongst whom were perhaps ploughmen, carters, and 

 herdsmen who worked for the lord alone, and in some 

 places there were slaves a diminishing class. These 

 servants and slaves usually lived in the precincts of the 

 manorial hall. 



Before dealing with the general character of the 

 life in the manor, it is convenient to give a short 

 account of the government of the manorial 

 government. estate and tne underlying community. 



The village community, the vill, still 

 continued in these centuries as a definite public body. 



