Onemoresubjectremainstobediscussed。Isthereinthesurveysanymarkeddifferencebetweendifferentclassesofthepeasantryinpointofruralduties？
Anexaminationofthesurveyswillshowatoncethatthefreeandtheservileholdingsdifferverymateriallyastoservices，quiteapartfromtheircontrast，inpointoflegalprotectionandofcasualexactionssuchasmarriagefines，heriots，andthelike。Thedifferencemaybeeitherinthekindofdutiesorintheirquantity。Bothmaybetracedintherecords。Ifwetakefirstthediversitiesinpointofqualityweshallnoticethatonmanyoccasionsthefreetenantsaresubjectedtoanimpositiononthesameoccasionastheunfree，buttheirmodeofacquittingthemselvesofitisslightlydifferent——theyhave，forinstance，tobringeggswhenthevillainsbringhens。Theobjectcannotbetomaketheburdenlighter；itamountstomuchthesame，andsotheaimmusthavebeentokeepupthedistinctionsbetweenthetwoclasses。Itisverycommontorequirethefreetenantstoactasoverseersofworktobeperformedbytherestofthepeasantry。Theyhavetogoaboutorrideaboutwithrodsandtokeepthevillainsinorder。Suchanobligationisespeciallyfrequentontheboon-daysprecariae，whenalmostallthepopulationofthevillageisdriventoworkonthefieldofthelord。Sometimesfreehouseholders，whohavedependentpeopleresidentunderthem，areliberatedfromcertainpayments；anditmaybeconjecturedthatthereasonistobefoundinthefactthattheyhavetosuperintendworkperformedbytheirlabourersorinferiortenants。104*Allsuchpointsareofsmallimportance，however，whencomparedwiththegeneraloppositionofwhichIhavebeenspeakingseveraltimes。Thefreeandtheservileholdingsarechieflydistinguishedbythefactthatthefirstpayrentandthelastperformlabour。
Wheneverwecometoexaminecloselythereasonunderlyingthecaseswhentheclassificationintoservileandfreeisadopted，wefindthatitgenerallyresolvesitselfintoacontrastbetweenthosewhohavetoserve，intheoriginalsenseoftheterm，andthosewhoareexemptedfromactuallabour-service。Beingdependentnevertheless，theselasthavetopayrent。IneednotrepeatthatIamspeakingofmaindistinctionsandnotofthevariousdetailsboundupwiththem。Inordertounderstandthoroughlythenatureofsuchdiversities，letustakeupaveryelaboratedescriptionofdutiestobeperformedbythepeasantsinthemanorofWye，Kent，belongingtotheAbbeyofBattle。105*Ofthesixty-oneyokesitcontainsthirtyareservile，twenty-ninearefree，andtwooccupyanintermediateposition。Thedutiesofthetwochiefclassesoftenantsdifferinmanyrespects。Theservilepeoplehavetopayrentandsohavethefree，butwhilethefirstcontributetomakeupageneralpaymentofsixpounds，eachyokebeingassessedatsevenshillingsandfive-pence，thefreepeoplehavetopayasmuchastwenty-threeshillingsandseven-penceperyoke。Bothsetshavetoperformploughings，reapings，andcarriageduties，buttheburdenoftheservileportionissomuchgreaterinregardtothecarriage-work，thatthecorrespondingyokessometimesgettheirverynamefromit，theyarejugaaveragiantia，whilethefreehouseholdsaremerelyboundtohelpafewtimesduringthesummer。Everyservileholdinghasacertainnumberofacresofwoodassignedtoit，orelsecorrespondingrightsinthecommonwood，whilethefreetenantshavetosettleseparatelywiththelordofthemanor。Andlastly，thereliefforeveryunfreeyokeisfixedatfortypence，andforeveryfreeoneisequaltotheannualrent。Thiscomparisonofdutiesshowsthatthepeasantscalledfreewerebynomeanssubjectedtoverylightburdens：infactitlooksalmostasiftheyweremoreheavilytaxedthantherest。Stilltheywereexemptedfromthemostunpopularandinconvenientlabourservices。
Altogether，thestudyofruralworkandrentsleadstothesameconclusionastheanalysisofthelegalcharacteristicsofvillainage。TheperiodfromtheConquestonwardsmaybedividedintotwostages。Inlatertimes，thatisfromthecloseofthethirteenthcenturydownwards，thedivisionbetweenthetwogreatclassesoftenantsandtenements，acontraststrictlylegal，isregulatedbythematerialtestofthecertaintyoruncertaintyoftheservicedue，andtheformaltestofthemodeofconveyance。
Inearliertimestheclassificationdependsprimarilyontheeconomicrelationbetweenthemanorialcentreandthetributaryhousehold，labourisdeemedservile，rentheldtobefree。Itisonlybykeepingthesetwoperiodsclearlydistinct，thatoneisenabledtocombinetheseeminglyconflictingfactsinoursurveys。Ifwelookatthemostancientofthesedocuments，weshallhavetoadmitthatarent-payingholdingisfree，neverthelessitwouldbewrongtoinferthatwhencommutationbecamemoreorlessgeneral，classificationwassettledinthesameway。Aserviletenementnolongerbecamefreebecauserentwastakeninsteadoflabour；itwasstillheld’atthewillofthelord，’andconveyedbysurrenderandadmittance。Whenallholdingswerefastexchanginglabourforrent，theoldnotionshadbeensurrenderedandanewbasisforclassificationfoundinthoselegalincidentsjustmentioned。Thedevelopmentofcopyholdbelongstothelaterperiod，copyholdbeingmostlyarent-payingserviletenure。Again，ifweturntotheearlierepochweshallhavetorememberthatthecontrastbetweenlabourandrentisnottobetakenmerelyasaresultofcommutation。Localdistinctionsarefittedontoitinawaywhichcannotbeexplainedbythemereassumptionthateverysettlementofarentappearedintheplaceofanoriginallabourobligation。Thecontrastisprimordial，asonemaysay，andbasedonthefactthatthelabourofasubjectappearsdirectlysubservienttothewantsandarrangementsofthesuperiorhousehold，whilethepaymentofrentsevers。theconnexionforatimeandleaveseachbodytomove。Initsowndirectiontillthedaywhenthetributaryhastopayagain。