eep or swine, or any other of the forms of
agricultural labor as local custom on each manor had established his
burdens. Combining the week-work, the regular boon-works, and the
extra specified services, it will be seen that the labor required from
the customary tenant was burdensome in the extreme. Taken on the
average, much more than half of the ordinary villain's time must have
been given in services to the lord of the manor.

The cotters made similar payments and performed similar labors, though
less in amount. A widespread custom required them to work for the lord
one day a week throughout the year, with certain regular payments, and
certain additional special services.

Besides the possession of their land and rights of common pasture,
however, there were some other compensations and alleviations of the
burdens of the villains and cotters. At the boon-works and other
special services performed by the tenants, it was a matter of custom
that the lord of the manor provide food for one or two meals a day,
and custom frequently defined the kind, amount, and value of the food
for each separate meal; as where it is said in a statement of
services: "It is to be known that all the above customary tenants
ought to reap one day in autumn at one boon-work of wheat, and they
shall have among them six bushels of wheat for their bread, baked in
the manor, and broth and meat, that is to say, two men have one
portion of beef and cheese, and beer for drinking. And the aforesaid
customary tenants ought to work in autumn at two boon-works of oats.
And they shall have six bushels of rye for their bread as described
above, broth as before, and herrings, viz. six herrings for each man,
and cheese as before, and water for drinking."

Thus the payments and services of the free tenants were principally of
money, and apparently not burdensome; those of the villains were
largely in corporal service and extremely heavy; while those of the
cotters were smaller, in correspondence with their smaller holdings of
land and in accordance with the necessity that they have their time in
order to make their living by earning wages.

The villains and cotters were in bondage to the lord of the manor.
This was a matter of legal status quite independent of the amount of
land which the tenant held or of the services which he performed,
though, generally speaking, the great body of the smaller tenants and
of the laborers were of servile condition. In gen