THE DESIRE FOR FREEDOM 279
any change seemed good; and it is natural enough that some were
for drastic and others for mild methods of relief. But, as I have
said, to leave the manor altogether without the lord's leave was
too drastic for the majority, since it involved leaving wellnigh
everything. Yet, in spite of this risk, every manor in England
knew of so and so who had gone and was now living a free man
in the nearby town, or farming his own acres as a free man in
some distant manor. Every manor could recall how such and
such ran away to marry outside the manor and refused every
order from the Manor Court demanding his return. Every manor
knew how difficult it was to lay hands on one of their number once
he had got a few miles away. All these things must have been
constantly brought forcibly to the notice of manorial lords, and
the majority of them bowed to the necessity of coming to terms
with their natives.1 And, as the serf gathered more and more
control over his own affairs, so the movement gathered momen-
tum, and the fifteenth century saw its rapid consummation. Two
points in particular may be stressed as having contributed most
strongly to the desire for emancipation: the dislike of fixed
services and works to be rendered to the lord, and a hatred of
exactions such as tallage or the fine on marriage—in short a
hatred of all charges which were characteristic of serfdom.
The dislike of fixed works and services is easily understand-
able: as we have seen on many manors they were a heavy burden,
and often made vexatious and inconvenient demands on the serfs
at moments when their own crops most needed their attention.
At the same time it was often the lord who wished to make a
change: "customary servants neglect their work, and it is neces-
sary to guard against their fraud", says Walter of Henley.2 Many
lords saw that the forced work system was injurious to hus-
bandry in the long run, and that they could do better with hired
labour than with forced. The serfs naturally tried to buy off their
more vexatious services, and relief from week-work with its
ploughings, carryings and sowings was bargained for; and, on
many manors, there came a day when all the various kinds of
work were valued in money. This was advantageous to both
parties: the lord knew what the works were worth and could take
cash when it suited his purpose, while the serf knew the penalty
1 For all this see below p. 291. * Op. cit. u.