50 ENGLISH RURAL LIFE 



between the lord's bailiff on the one side and the 

 village community on the other. As an outcome of 

 such negotiations, in return either for cash down, 

 urgently needed for war expenses, or for settled annual 

 payments, arrangements were made for freeing the 

 peasants from obligations, whether week-work, or 

 boon-work, or fines paid on the sale of stock, on 

 marriage of daughters or on leaving a manor. With 

 the wars, unsuccessful as they were, came also dis- 

 satisfaction and general disorder throughout the 

 kingdom, with a gradual weakening of the discipline on 

 which the manor depended. 



Several very serious epidemics spread throughout the 

 country in the XlVth century, but by far the worst 

 was the Black Death, which attacked Britain in the 

 years 1348-1350. Coming from Asia, it swept across 

 Europe from east to west, devastating the countries 

 through which it passed. Crossing the Channel, it 

 spread throughout England. Perhaps half the people 

 died. When the plague had passed away, a new 

 problem had arisen. Instead of men wanting work, 

 everywhere there was work wanting men, and land 

 wanting labour. 



In the history of the religious and social reform 

 agitations, which took place in the latter half of the 

 century, two persons stand out as conspicuous figures 

 Wycliffe and John Ball : the former stood for religious, 

 the latter for personal and economic freedom. Not 

 very much is known about either of them. Wycliffe, 

 who lived from about 1325 to 1384, was probably first 

 a Fellow and later Master of Balliol College, Oxford. 

 He was a man of considerable personal charm, of 

 independent views and of strength of character, who 

 attained great prominence in both the religious and 



