85. Duties of Freemen.
Every freeman was obliged to do three things: 1. He must assist in the maintenance of roads and bridges. 2. He must aid in the repair of forts. 3. He must serve in case of war. Whoever neglected or refused to perform this last and most important of all duties was dclard to be a "nithing," or infamous coward.[4]
[4] Also written Niding. The English, as a rule, were more afraid of this name than of death itself.
86. The Feudal System (see, too, the Constitutional Summary in the Appendix, p. iii, S5).
The essential principle of the feudal system was the holding of land on condition of military or other service. It appears to have gradually grown up in England from grants made by the King. In addition to the Eorls (earls)[1] or nobles by birth, there gradually grew up a class known as Thanes (companions or servants of the King), who in time outranked those who were noble by birth. He would frequently have occasion to give rewards to the nobles and chief men for faithful service and for deeds of valor. As nearly all his wealth consisted in land, he would naturally give that. To this gift, however, he would attach a condition. On making such a grant the King required the receiver to agree to furnish a certain number of fully equipped soldiers to fight for him. These grants were originally made for life only, and on death of the recipient they returned to the Crown.
[1] The Saxons, or Early English, were divided into three classes: Eorls (they must nut be confounded with the Danish jarls or earls), who were noble by birth; Ceorls (churls), or simple freemen; and slaves. The slaves were either the absolute property of the master, or were bound to the soil and sold with it. This latter class, under the Norman name of villeins, became numerous after the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century. The chieftains of the first Saxon settlers were called either Ealdormen (aldermen) or Heretogas, the first being civil or magisterial, the latter military officers. The Thanes were a later class, who, from serving the King or some powerful leader, became noble by military service.
Next, the nobles and other great landholders, following the example of the King, granted portions of their estates to tenants on similar conditions, and these again might grant portions to those below them in return for satisfactory military or other service.
In time it came to be an established principle, that every freeman below the rank of a noble must be attached to some superior whom he was bound to serve, and who, on the other hand, was his legal protector and responsible for his good behavior. The man who refused to acknowledge his duty to serve a lord or superior was looked upon as an outlaw, and might be seized like a robber. In that respect, therefore, he would be worse off than the slave, who had a master to whom he was accountable and who was accountable for him.
Eventually it became common for the small landholders, especially during the Danish invasions, to seek the protection of some neighboring lord who had a large band of followers at his command. In such cases the freeman gave up his land and received it again on certain conditions. The usual form was for him to kneel and, placing his hands within those of the lord, to swear an oath of homage, saing, "I BECOME YOUR MAN for the lands which I hold to you, and I will be faithful to you against all men, saving only the service which I owe to my lord the King." On his side the lord solemnly promised to defend his tenant or vassal in the possession of his property, for which he was to perform some service to the lord.
In these two ways, first, by grant of lands from the King or a superior, and, secondly, by the act of homage (known as commendation) on the part of the recipient when he had given up lands on condition of protection and had received them back again, the feudal system (a name derived from feodum, meaning land or property) grew up in England. Its growth, however, was irregular and incomplete; and it should be distinctly understood that it was not until after the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century that it became fully establised. It should also be distinctly understood that William the Conqueror made a most important change in this system by requiring the tenants of all the great landholders, as well as their masters, to swear direct obedience to him (S121).
87. Advantages of Feudalism.
This system had at that time many advantages. 1. The old method of holding land in common was a wasteful one, since the way in which the possessor of a field might cultivate it would perhaps spoil it for the one who received it at the next allotment. 2. In an age of constant warfare, feudalism protected all classes better than if they had stood apart, and it often enabled the King to raise a powerful and well-armed force in the easiest and quickest manner. 3. It cultivated two important virtues—fidelity on the part of the vassal, protection on that of the lord. It had something of the spirit of the Golden Rule in it. Its corner stone was the faithfulness of man to man. Society had outgrown the outward forms of feudalism, which like every system had its drawbacks, but it would seem as though it could never wholly outgrow the feudal principle.
88. Political Divisions; the Sheriff.
Politically the kingdom was divided into townships, hundreds (districts furnishing a hundred warriors, or supporting a hundred families), and shires or counties, the shire having been originally, in some cases, the section settled by an independent tribe, as Sussex, Essex, etc.
In each shire the King had an officer, called a shire reeve or sherrif,[1] who represented him, collected the taxes due the Crown, and saw to the execution of the laws. In like manner, the town and the hundred had a headman of its own choosing to see to matters of general interest.
[1] Reeve: a man in authority, or having charge of something
89. The Courts.
As the nation had its assembly of wise men acting as a high court, so each shire, hundred, and town had its court, which all freemen might attend. There, without any special judge, jury, or lawyers, cases of all kinds were tried and settled by the voice of the entire body, who were both judge and jury in themselves.
90. Methods of Procedure; Compurgation.
In these courts there were two methods of procedure; first, the accused might clear himself of the charge brought against him by compurgations[1]; that is, by swearing that he was not guilty and getting a number of reputable neighbors to swear that they believed his oath.
If their oaths were not satisfactory, witnesses might be brought to swear to some particular fact. In ever case the value of the oath was graduated according to the rank of the person, that of a man of high rank being worth as much as that of twelve common men.
91. The Ordeal.
Secondly, if the accused could not clear himself in this way, he was obliged to submit to the ordeal.[2] This usually consisted in carrying a piece of hot iron a certain distance, or in plunging the arm up to the elbow in boiling water.
[2] Ordeal: a severe test or judgment
The person who underwent the ordeal appealed to God to prove his innocence by protecting him from harm. Rude as both these methods were, they were better than the old tribal method, which permitted every man or every man's family to be the avenger of his wrongs.
92. The Common Law.
The laws by which these cases were tried were almost always ancient customs, few of which had been reduced to writing. They formed that body of Common Law[3] which is the foundation of the modern system of justice both in England and America.
[3] So called, in distinction from the statute laws made by Parliament.
93. Penalties.
The penalties inflicted by these courts consisted chiefly of fines. Each man's life had a certain "wergild" or money value. The fine for the murder of a man of very high rank was 2400 shillings; that of a simple freeman was only one twelfth as much.
A slave could neither testify in court nor be punished by the court; for the man in that day who held no land had no rights. If a slave was convicted of crime, his master paid the fine, and then flogged him until he had got his money's worth out of him. Treason was punished with death, and common scolds were ducked in a pond until they were glad to hold their tongues. These methods of administering