introduction of Feudalism

101

pose they served in society, the tenants who normally
held them, and the chief services paid—each of these
three points of view reflecting the same fundamental
idea of the tenure.

England's
Medieval
Land-
tenures1

Feudal      (Purpose—Political
(Knight's < Tenants—Nobles
Service)    [Service—Honourable (usually military)
f Purpose—Mainly economic (some feudal tinge)
Freehold j Tenants—Non-noble freemen {Pnnb^oughs
I Service—Kind, labor, money—relatively definite

Villein
(Servile)

f Purpose—Wholly economic
< Tenants—Villeins
[ Service—Labor, kind, money—relatively indefinite

1 Besides these three tenures there were two others, less important, as
England's medieval tenures are usually reckoned: serjeanty and frank-
almoin. The tenant in serjeanty ordinarily held some kind of office for
his land: honourable or exalted as in most of the grand serjeanties, more
petty or menial in the petty serjeanties. But there was nothing servile
about any of them; they were "free servantships." Though it is impos-
sible to draw a clear line between them, there is a general truth in regard-
ing grand serjeanty as a variety of feudal tenure, and petty serjeanty as a
variety of freehold. Frankalmoin was a distinct variety of tenure, the
tenure by which the church held some of its land. Given to the church
for pious purposes, this land was exempted from ordinary secular serv-
ices, and the church owed for it a rather vague obligation, in prayers or
otherwise, in behalf of the donor's soul. For a discussion of these tenures,
see P. and M. i., pp. 240-251, 282-290.