Feudal England

Any discussion of the importance of the ancient world and its connection to modern European and American cultures has to include Alfred the Great.  He was crowned King of Wessex, England, in 871 AD and became famous for his defeats of the Danish Viking invaders.

Alfred was also famous for re-writing Anglo-Saxon law.  At this point, most of the law in Wessex was a jumble of different rules laid down by various kings and chieftains.  Since most noblemen and judges were illiterate, this code of laws was basically useless, and ended up favoring the powerful and influential.  Alfred set about making his own law book, which was largely based on quotations of Old Testament law.

Alfred's government saw the rise of Medieval feudal society in England.  Since his rule united a great majority of the British isles into what we now understand to be called, "English," his law also became the standard for the majority of those people.  Following the Norman conquest of 1066, the manors of England had three main classes of caretakers for about 250 years.  The first were a small percentage of free tenants.  These were mostly of Norman descent and paid rent to their lords.  They had to serve in the lord's army, but didn't have to work the lord's land.  They had their own rights and weren't bound to a particular manor.

The largest percentage of English medieval freeman were villeins, who were mostly of Anglo-Saxon or Danish descent.  The term "villein" comes from the Old French word vilein, meaning serf.  Villeins were born into their class and lived in cottages on the lord's land.  They could not leave the lord's manor without permission and had to work his land two-thirds of the days of the year.  They were subject to taxation and had to render services to the lord of the manor.  Their small congregations of dwellings became "villages."

The last, and smallest, class of medieval manor-dwellers were the bondsmen.  These were basically indentured servants who had to work for the lord without pay in exchange for room and board.  This was slavery, but for a definite period of time, usually to pay off debts.

However, the Black Death arrived in the 14th century, which changed the make-up of feudalism dramatically.  The plague killed half the population of England alone, which le to a massive labor shortage.  The land still needed to be farmed to feed the survivors, so after 1350, most of the medieval villeins became full tenants of the lord's property and paid him rent.  The villeins were freed up of their obligations to the lord himself, and opened the process for their children to become free tenants as well.  This quickly-growing class became the Yeomen.