Ihaveonlytosayinadditiontothissummingupofthesubject，thatthequasi-legalstandingofthevillainsinregardtothelordappearswithspecialclearnesswhentheystandarrayedagainsthimasagroupandnotassingleindividuals。Wecouldguessasmuchongeneralgrounds，buttheself-dependentpositionassumedbythe’communitasvillanorum’ofBrightwalthamisthemoreinteresting，thatitfindsexpressioninaformalandrecordedagreement。
Wecatchaglimpseofthesamephenomenonfromyetanotherpointofview。Itisquitecommontofindentireestateslettofarmtotheruralcommunitysettleduponthem。16*Insuchcasesthemediationofthebailiffmightbedispensedwith；thevillageenteredintoadirectagreementwiththelordorhischiefstewardandundertookacertainsetofservicesandpayments，orpromisedtogivearoundsum。Suchanarrangementwasprofitabletobothparties。Thevillainswerewillingtopaydearlyinordertofreethemselvesfromthebailiff’sinterferencewiththeiraffairs；thelandownergotridofanumerousandinconvenientstaffofstewardsandservants；therurallifewasorganisedonthebasisofself-governmentwithaveryslightcontrolonthepartofthelord。Suchagreementsconcernthegeneralmanagementofmanorsaswellasthelettingofdomainlandorofparticularplotsandrights。17*Ofcoursetherewasthisgreatdisadvantageforthelord，thatthetiebetweenhimandhissubjectswasverymuchloosenedbysucharrangements，andsometimeshehadtocomplainthattheconditionsunderwhichthelandwasheldweremateriallydisturbedunderthefarmershipofthevillage。Itiscertain，thatinageneralwaythismodeofadministrationledtoagradualimprovementinthesocialstatusofthepeasantry。
Onegreatdrawbackofinvestigationsintothehistoryofmedievalinstitutionsconsistsintheveryincompletemannerinwhichthesubjectisusuallyreflectedinthedocuments。Wehavetopickupbitsofevidenceastoveryimportantquestionsinthemidstofavastmassofuninterestingmaterial，andsometimeswholesidesofthesubjectareleftintheshade，notbythefaultoftheinquirer，butinconsequenceofdisappointinggapsinthecontemporaryrecords。Evenconveyancingentries，surrenders，admittances，areofrareoccurrenceonsomeofthemoreancientrolls，andtheprobablereasonis，thattheywerenotthoughtworthyofenrolment。18*Asforparticularsofhusbandrytheyarealmostentirelyabsentfromthemedievaldocuments，anditisonlyontherecordsofthesixteenthandyetlatercenturiesthatwehavetorelywhenwelookforsomedirectevidenceofthefactthatthemanorialcommunitieshadtodealwithsuchquestions。19*
Andsoourknowledgeoftheseinstitutionsmustbebasedlargelyoninference。Butevengrantingalltheseimperfectionsofthematerial，itmustbeallowedthattheonesideofmanoriallifewhichiswellreflectedinthedocuments——thejuridicalorganisationofthemanor——affordsveryinterestingcluestowardsanunderstandingofthesystemandofitsorigins。
Letusrepeatagain，thatthemanagementofthemanorisbynomeansdependentoncapriciousandone-sidedexpressionsofthelord’swill。Onthecontrary，everyknownactofitslifeisconnectedwithcollegiatedecisions。Notwithstandingtheabsolutecharacterofthelordwithregardtohisvillainstakenseparately，heisintruthbutthecentreofacommunityrepresentedbymeetingsorcourts。Notonlythefree，butalsotheserviletenantryareruledinaccordancewiththeviewsandcustomsofacongregationofthetenantsintheirdiversclasses。