| Land is the most important agricultural economy era of production,in this sense the land reserve system is the foundation of the feudal system in medieval England,it through the sealing land grant established lords and protect the rights and obligations between the relationship,and covers all aspects of the feudal society,and then a series of legislative activities by Kings make themselves perfect feudal land tenure system.But in the kingdom of reach law of the manor,there are a large number of villein group,as they are common law lords of attachment,it is not free.Accordingly,the land tenure between them and their Lord was also known as villein land tenure or villeinage,or unfreehold tenure.Villein land tenure was formed at the end of the 12 th century and the beginning of the 13 th century.It began to change into the copyhold tenure in the 15 th century and existed for more than 300 years.On the one hand,it is the artificial product under the background of the development of common law.After the Norman conquest,the Doomsday book first classified the farmers at that time in the legal level.In the subsequent social development,villein gradually became the nickname of non free farmers;On the other hand,it is the result of the separation of power between the king of England and the local aristocratic Lords.The rising feudal manor annexed the original villages in England,and established its own manor court and management system,just like a new set of complete feudal hierarchy in the manor.This has exacerbated the solidification of villein group identity and the distinctive characteristics of villein land tenure different from free land tenure,That is,villein’s uncertainty about the Lord’s service,In addition,compared with free land tenure,it is not protected by the common law of the Kingdom,but according to different customary laws in different places.Similarly,as a land tenure system,the land tenure system of villein still takes the rights and obligations between villein and the Lord as the main content.However,different from the free land tenure system,villein’s obligation to the Lord is mainly "labor",and reflects a strong will of the Lord,Therefore,villein was firmly bound to the Lord’s land of the manor,and was controlled by the Lord in economy,honor,personal and other aspects;the rights of villein are not taken for granted "serf" rights,especially leaving aside the Lord,this seemingly unequal relationship has also surprisingly formed a clever balance in Medieval English manors.In addition,the land tenure system of villein is not regulated by the laws of the Kingdom since its birth,and the relationship between villein and the Lord is regulated by custom.Manors,village communities and commons were the most concentrated embodiment of customary factors at that time.The corresponding institutional framework jointly promoted the culture of customary law and the emergence and development of villein land tenure,It was also in this institutional environment that the villein group,which accounted for the largest number in Medieval England,survived and developed under the exploitation and oppression of the Lord,because they are not only the Lord’s villein,but also members of the village community and the commons,and are more likely to hold important positions in the manor.Finally,the demise of villein land tenure is first manifested in the transformation of villein identity and the nature of villein land,when villein can fulfill most of their obligations to the Lord by using money,and they have a certain amount of money,their personal dependence on the Lord will be greatly reduced,and their awareness of freedom and land rights will be more awakened.Villein land tenure was gradually replaced by copyhold tenure,but on the eve of England’s modernization,it soon moved towards the road of re transformation.It can be seen that villein land tenure and free land tenure,customary law and common law,manor court and ordinary court,lower lords and kings just form a corresponding relationship,which is not accidental,but manifested in strong human factors.The study of villein land tenure can not only form a good complementary relationship with free land tenure and enrich the content of land tenure,but also get a glimpse of the most real rural appearance of medieval England. |
