Mamecestre (Volume 2); Being Chapters from the Early Recorded History of the Barony; The Lordship or Manor; The VILL, Borough, or Town, of

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1861 Excerpt: ...in their deeds. (Bracton) In the chapter of villeinage and niefty in the Mirrour of Justices, it is stated that villeins (or copyholders) are tillers of land dwelling in upland villages; and of these mention is made in Magna Carta, which enacts that a villein be not so grievously amerced that his tillage bo not saved to him. Of this class were doubtless the villeins of Gorton. The tillage tenure of villeins is called villenage. Villenage (villenagium) was a servile kind of tenure of lands and tenements, whereby the tenant was bound to do all such services as the lord commanded, or were fit for a villein to perform. Villenage was divided into villeins of blood, and villeins of tenure. Bracton also distinguishes between pure villenage and socage villenage, the services of which latter were to carry the lord's dung into his fields, to plough his ground at certain days, to sow and reap his corn, &c., and even to empty his jakes, as the inhabitants of Bicton were bound to do to those of Chin Castle in Shropshire, which was afterwards commuted into a rent called Bicton silver, and the vile or villenage service excused.--(Blount.) 39 (Page 310.) Henry the Reeve which hero means the bailiff is called a nalivus Domini carnis et sanguinis. Spelman in his Glossary distinguishes between three kinds of servants or serviles, --the nalivus being he who is born a servant, differing from him who suffers himself to be sold; bondmen were those who bound themselves by covenant to serve, and took their namo from the word bond; and villeins were such as belonged to the land, tilled the lord's demesnes, and could not depart thence without the lord's license. A nalivus was therefore what the Saxons would name a born thrall; and there can be no doubt tha...