The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-05-18


oats and rvs. ne latter esasins sitossshsr
aftsr . time 70 b cultivated II southern
and central ENGLAND. He makes. how
ever. two money payments. . half.psnny on
Nov. II. and penny whenever he brews. He
10 TO DAY quarter Of seed wheat ct Aichasl.
mas. peck Of wheat. four bushels OF oats. and
three hens on Nov II. and At Christmas cock
and two hens and two pAnnyworth Of bread.
He 10 to plough. SOW. and till half An aors OF
his lords land. and give his services for that
purpose. ~ he u bidden By the baiii6. EXCEPT
on Sundays and feast dsya. He 10 10 resp three
days with one man ct his own charges IN haf-
vest time. He 10 not To marry son or daughter.
to sell OF. calf horse. or colt without the lords
consent but the only purpose Of this provision
Was to secure small foe. and tho reference to
domestic animals shows that the serf was rich
enough to keep Thorn. He had the right Of pas-
turing bis cattle on the common pasture per-
tanning 10 the manor. and every sorf had his
piQ In the sty - we'll - his fowl In the pot. He
had tho right OF taking from tho forest OF tho
manor timber for repairing his house and max
ing Implements. and wood for fuel when.
moreover. he reAped for his lord he had certain
allowances OF food and drink. and the riaht 10
carry homo every evening a. largo . sheaf Of
corn - he could lit upon Ills sickle. But what
did his payments and services amount 70 In
money Of the tlmei Mr.. Rogers computes that
they amounted to near nine shillinss. Of which
thres must b cot down for the cottage and
ourtilage aboutit Tho rent paid for tho ara.
bic land was therefore about sixpcnce an aero
In money value. Tho soil at Cuxham. Il ap.
pears. was very good wheat land. yielding in
good harvests thirteen bushels to the acre.
Now let Us strike the serrs balance sheet II
no cultivated his own land as we'll - the ballin
did his lords demesne-and the chances arc
he would do bstter-he would draw from his
holding which would on an average bo larger
than at Cuxham. or say 20 acres about Is los.
profit. out Of which he would have to pay about
los. for rent and dues. II. In addition to his
labor on tho homestead. he. his wlfo. and his
boys do some extra work at harvest time. hs
would easily bring his net revenue up to "a.
Tho distribution Of this income would be a.
follows: Taking the average price OF the best
wheat (which In tho thirteenth century fell .
little short Of IS. the Quartsr). and assuming
that four quarters year would amply sufflce
to nourish the farmer and his family. the Arst
and heaviest charge on his resources was
FL 81. Cd. for bread. But this would b. the
best bread made Of the fnest whest In market.
and he might save as per cont. By retaining for
home consumption the inferior produce. Two
quarters Of second quality malt are allowed by
Mr.. Rogers for tho home manufacture Of beer.
This would give four gallons Of tolerably sound
ale weekly. The cost Of malt. then. will be
7s. I'd. II next We allow 800 pounds Of meat
ut the current thirteenth century rate OF Q
farthing a pound. further sum will be ex-
pended on beei. mutton. and bacon Of 1Gs Sd.
This puts tho cost OF subsistence on q some-
what liberal scale at "a IL. 81. year. Tho
residue Of his charges would 30 for clothing.
but this was almost entirely manufactured ut
home. and the whole outlay on this score would
not exceed 12s 3d.. the sum needed to raise tho
annual expenditure to e. The sert farmer.
therefore. could supply himself pientifully
from the produce OF his farm. debhing himself
with Its cost and yet lay aside one fourth Of his
not earnings. or 40 shillings year. Moreover.
In this computation Of profits Mr. Rogers has
passed over an item Of some moment. for thers
is certain. he says to have been some produce
OF cheese. milk. and butter which was con-
sumed BY the family besides poultry aud eggs.
Turning from agricultural laborers to handi-
craftsmen In tho town-the urban population.
including all towns Of more than 1000 inhabl-
tants did not form flfteenth part Of the two
and a half millions Of Engllshmen-we learn
that In tho thirteenth century there was no
such thing as the capitalist artisan. who sup
plies materials IS we'll as labor. Accordingly
the wages OF the artisan are almost always
rockoned by the day. seldom By tho piece. The
best carpenters labor. for example. II paid al
the ratio OF SID. . day. the ordinary at Sd.
Masons got about the same A pair OF sawysrs
will recsive I'd. day together. These are the
wages given In tho smaller cities and towns
In London tho rates are from 20 to 60 per cent.
higher. From 3l2 to asa Or 235 days were
reokoned In q msson's year. That Of tho car
penter. who 10 Independent Of tho weather. was
IS long as the first OF these quantities. At Sd.
per diem. tho latter would earn then. from his
trade. q trifle less than "a. But this would not
represent the limit OF his gains At this date and
during the two subsequent centuries. work.
ing day Was manifestly but eight hours long
and II extra hours were needed for pressing
work. they were separately paid for. In the
absence OF such calls the artisan. In the long
days Of the English summer. would have much
| time for agricultural labor. and there Is evi.
dence that their spare time was thus employed
On the other hand the wages paid to clerks
| and scribes In the thirteenth century were very
small A clerk OF works was not so we'll paid
as an artisan. The labor OF copying and Il.
Illuminating was very poorly enumerated. The
three chaplains whom tho pious King. Henry
I'LL. maintained at Woodstock. had to content
themselves with "a los. u year for all purposes
including food and clothing. The fees Of at.
| torneys also were refreshingly meagre. Ar
amply com pc nsated for all his services BY Is. Sd
Mr. Rogers has found another instance where
the same honorarlum Of 6s 81. was given to q
barrister for conducting q litigated case. W.
| should also mention that tho average gross re
| ceiDts from immortal estate at this epoch were
but E36 = year. out OF which tho baiin ant
other servants had to he paid. taxes to be met
and various expenditures to be betrayed. in
Guiding the continual rsplenishment OF farm
tools. Tho average gross receipts OF the pnrsoI
were but Els. On the whole. 1t Is evident tha
the condition Of tho agricultural laborer. at al
events. was . most happy one In the thirteenth
century. compared with that which he has oc
cupied at any timo since the reign of Henri!
Will The artisan. too. was far better on thar
he was from 1910 mp to about half q centur.
ago. whom he began to sensibly improve his 10
BY those combinations for mutual aid which ar,
known a. trades unions or labor partnerships
THE GOLDEN AGE OF LABOR.
It was during tho fourteenth and hiteentl
centuries that the agricultural laborsr and tn,
| artisan attained Q measure of prosperity II