SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY tomary tenants, fourteen of whom were half virgators ; each of these had to give three days' ploughing and three days' harrowing in the year. Fourteen had the fourth part of a virgate as a holding, and each of these gave in the year a day's weeding and tossed hay for another day. In autumn twenty- eight of the thirty-seven had to reap for three days, six for two days, and one for one day, and ' two out of the aforesaid thirty-seven do not reap at all.'" Thus, even allowing for the different sizes of holdings, we have a varietv of development within one manor. Thirdly, at Greetham there were 24virgates in villeinage, for which each virgator paid a rent of 20s., and it is definitely stated that these did no work.^* Thus, in the same year commutation has scarcely begun at Luffenham, it is fairly advanced in Hardwick, and at Greetham the process is fully completed. In the year 1336, if not before, the tenants in the manor of Whissendine were quite free from the performance of compulsory services. There ten neifs with a reeve held 14J virgates, the rent of each virgate being 24J. The cottagers paid among them i 5j-., ' and the jurors say that these neifs and cottagers do not give works at any time of the year.' **' At Oakham'" in 1320 each virgate of native land was worth 20^., at Egleton '^ 26s. Sc/., and at Langham'*^ 20J., so we may infer that very little labour was supplied by the tenants in those places. The above-mentioned cases, however, are not sufficiently numerous to allow of much generalization as regards the county as a whole. The tenants in various manors gave other payments besides rent ; for instance, each free tenant in Ashwell gave a half- penny a year for ' gressilver.' '^ ' Scorfe ' was a payment made by neifs, for which they were responsible as a whole, whatever the number of neifs might be. At Oakham and Egleton the amount paid was ^13 6s. Sd.^* Cheva- gium, the payment given by certain of the neifs {nativi de sanguine) for licence to live outside the lord's dominion, was fairly high at Langham ; there Roger Gode paid bs. %d., and Simon Bury paid y. 4^., that he might stay at Coventry. Two men do not pay 2J., as that year they are living within the manor. '^ The date of the manuscript from which these items have been taken is the year 1373, twenty-four years after the Black Death, when labour was still scarce. We also find references to the well-known customs of tnerchet^^ heriot, and wardship of heirs. That merchet was sometimes paid by tenants of estates of considerable size may be seen by the following state- ments taken from an inquisition post mortem of the year 1331 : — " Simon de Hereford held in Ketton a messuage and two parts of a dovecot of the yearly value of 2f., 80 acres of arable land, of which 40 acres are worth 13;. d. per annum, and the residue 35. i^d. ; C) acres of meadow, each acre being worth u. bd. per annum. This estate was purchased by Simon de Hereford of William de Moldestone, who held it of Hasculph de Whitewelle in villeinage, paying 14/. bd. per annum and doing suit of Court every 3 weeks, and by further service yearly (here follow ploughing and reaping services) . . . and giving to the lord 51. for mercheta, if his daughter should marry . . . and upon the death of the tenant or the alienation of the land a heriot of i6j., according to the custom of the manor. " Inq. p.m. 9 Edw. II, file 48, no. 6. " Ibid, file 49, no. 29.
- ' Ibid. 10 Edw. Ill (ist nos.), no. 33.
'» Ibid. 14 Edw. Ill (2nd nos.), no. 67. " Ibid. " Ibid. " Rentals and Surv. R. (P.R.O.), 806. " Mins. Accts. bdle. 964, no. 4 ; Inq. p.m. 14 Edw. Ill (2nd nos.), no. Sj. ' " Mins. Accts. bdle. 964, no. 4. " Payment for licence to marry one's daughter. " Inq. p.m. 5 Edw. Ill (2nd nos.), no. 103. 215
