InthefieldofhistoricalresearchthefermentationofpoliticalthoughtofwhichIhavebeenspeakinghasbeenpowerfullysecondedbyagrowingdistrustamongscholarsforpreconceivedtheories，andbythewishtoreconsidersolutionswhichhadbeentooeasilytakenforgranted。Thecombinedactionoftheseforceshasbeencuriouslyexperiencedintheparticularsubjectofourstudy。TheGermanistschoolhadheldveryhightheprincipleofindividualliberty，hadtriedtoconnectitwiththeTeutonicelementinhistory，hadexplaineditsworkinginthesocietydescribedbyTacitus，andhadregretfullyfolloweditsdecayinlatertimes。FortherepresentativesoftheNewSchoolthis’originalTeutonicfreedom’hasentirelylostitssignificance，andtheyregardtheprocessofsocialdevelopmentasstartingwiththedominationofthefewandtheserfdomofthemany。ThevotariesofthefreevillagecommunityhavebeenstudyingwithinterestepochsandethnographicalvariationsunacquaintedwiththeeconomicindividualismofmodernEurope，theyhavebeenattentiveintracingouteventhesecondarydetailsoftheagrarianassociationswhichhavedirectedthehusbandryofsomanycenturies，buttheNewSchoolsubordinatescommunalpracticetoprivatepropertyandconnectsitwithserfdom。WemayalreadynoticethenewtendencyinInamasternegg’sWirthschaftsgeschichte：heentersthelistsagainstMaurer，deniesthattheMarkeverhadanythingtodowithpoliticalwork，reducesitsinfluenceonhusbandry，andenhancesthatofgreatproperty。ThemostremarkableofFrenchmedievalists——FusteldeCoulanges——hasbeenfightingallalongagainsttheTeutonicvillagecommunity，andforanearlydevelopmentofprivatepropertyinconnexionwithRomaninfluence。EnglishscholarshiphastoreckonwithsimilarviewsinSeebohm’swell-knownwork。
Letusrecalltomindthechiefpointsofhistheory。ThevillagecommunityofmedievalEnglandisfoundedontheequalityoftheholdingsintheopenfieldsofthevillage。Thenormalboldingofapeasantfamilyisnotonlyequalineachseparatevillage，butitissubstantiallythesamealloverEngland。
Variationsthereare，butinmostcasesbyfaritconsistsofthevirgateofthirtyacres，whichmakesthefourthpartofthehideofahundredandtwentyacres，becausethepeasantholderownsonlythefourthpartoftheploughteamofeightoxencorrespondingtothehide。Theholdersofvirgatesoryardlandsarenottheonlypeopleinthevillage；theirneighboursmayhavemoreorlessland，buttherearenotmanyclassesasarule，allthepeopleinthesameclassareequalised，andthevirgateremainsthechiefmanifestationofthesystem。Itisplainthatsuchequalitycouldbemaintainedonlyontheprinciplethateachplotwasaunitwhichwasneithertobedividednorthrowntogetherwithotherplots。WhydidsuchasystemspreadalloverEurope？Itcouldnotdevelopoutofafreevillagecommunity，ashasbeencommonlysupposed，becausetheGermaniclawregulatingfreelanddoesnotpreventitsbeingdivided；indeed，wherethislawapplies，holdingsgetbrokenupintoirregularplots。IfthesystemdoesnotformitselfoutofGermanicelements，itmustcomefromRomaninfluence；onehasonlythechoicebetweenthetwoastofactswhichprevaileverywhereinWesternEurope。
Indeed，theRomanvillapresentsallthechieffeaturesofthemedievalmanor。Thelord’sdemesneactedasacentre，roundwhichcoloniclustered-cultivatorswhodidnotdividetheirtenanciesbecausetheydidnotownthem。TheRomansystemwasthemorereadilytakenupbytheGermans，astheirownhusbandry，describedbyTacitus，hadkindredelementstoshow-theconditionoftheirslaves，forinstance，wasverylikethatofRomancoloni。Itmustbeadded，thatwemaytraceinRomanauthoritiesnotonlytheorganisationoftheholdings，butsuchfeaturesasthethree-fieldpartitionofthearableandtheintermixedpositionofthestripsbelongingtoasingleholding。
Theimportanceoftheseobservationstakenasawholebecomesespeciallyapparent，ifwecomparemedievalEnglandwithWalesorIreland，withcountriessettledbytheCeltsontheprincipleofthetribalcommunity：nofixedholdingsthere；itisnotthepopulationthathastoconformitselftofixeddivisionsofland，butthedivisionsoflandhavetochangeaccordingtothemovementofthepopulation。SuchusagewasprevalentinGermanyitselfforatime，andwouldhavebeenprevalentthereaslongasinCelticcountries，iftheGermanshadnotcomeunderRomaninfluence。AndsothecontinuousdevelopmentofsocietyinEnglandstartsfromthepositionofRomanprovincialsoil。