Wemaystartfromthislastobservationinourgeneralestimateoftheterminology。OnemightexpecttofindtracesofverystrongFrenchinfluenceinthisrespect，ifinany。EvenifthetraditionoffactshadnotbeeninterruptedbytheConquest，nameswerelikelytobealteredfortheconvenienceofthenewupperclass。AndtheDomesdaySurveyreallybeginsanewepochinterminologybyitsuseofvillaniandbordarii。But，curiouslyenough，onlythefirstofthesetermstakesrootonEnglishsoil。
NowitisnotawordtransplantedbytheConquest；itwasinusebeforetheConquestastheLatinequivalentofceorl，geneat，andprobablygebur。ItssuccessinthethirteenthandfourteenthcenturiesisasuccessofLatin，andnotofFrench，ofthehalf-literaryrecordlanguageoverconversationalidioms，andnotofforeignoververnacularnotions。ThepeculiarlyFrench’bordier’ontheotherhand，getsmisunderstoodandeliminated。
LookingtoSaxonandDanishterms，wefindthattheyholdtheirgroundtenaciouslyenough；butstilltheonemostprevalentbeforetheConquest-ceorl-disappearsentirely，andalltheotherstakentogethercannotbalancethediffusionofthe’villains。’Thedisappearanceofceorlmaybeaccountedforbytheimportantfactthatitwasprimarilythedesignationofafreeman，andhadnotquitelostthissenseeveninthetimeimmediatelybeforetheConquest。ThespreadoftheLatintermischaracteristicenoughinanycase。Itiswellinkeepingwithahistoricaldevelopmentwhich，thoughitcannotbereducedtoanimportationofforeignmanners，wasbynomeansameresequeltoSaxonhistory。45*Anewturnhadbeengiventowardscentralisationandorganisationfromabove，andvillanus，theLatinrecordterm，illustratesveryaptlytheremodellingofthelowerstratumofsocietybytheinfluenceofthecuriouslycentralisedEnglishfeudalism。
Thepositionofthepeasantrygetsconsideredchieflyfromthepointofviewofthelord’sinterests，andtheclassificationonthebasisofservicescomesnaturallytothefore。Thedistributionofholdingsisalsonoticed，becauseservicesandrentsarearrangedaccordingtothem。Butthemostimportantfactremains，thatthewholesystem，thoughadmittingtheoreticallythedifferencebetweenpersonalfreedomandpersonalsubjection，worksitselfoutintoUniformityonthegroundofunfreetenure。
Freemenholdinginvillainageandbornvillainsgetmixedupunderthesamenames。Thefacthasitstwosides。Ontheonehanditdetractsfromtheoriginalrightsoffreeorigin，ontheotheritstrengthenstheelementoforderandlegalityintherelationsbetweenlordandpeasant。Thepeasantsarecustumariiattheworst——theyworkbycustom，evenifcustomisregulatedbythelord’spower。Inanycase，evenamereanalysisofterminologicaldistinctionsleadstotheconclusionthatthesimplicityandrigidityoflegalcontrastswaslargelymodifiedbytheinfluenceofhistoricaltraditionandpracticallife。