man, to perform; as to ſerve under his lord in the wars, to pay a ſum of money, and the like. Baſe ſervices were ſuch as were fit only for peaſants, or perſons of a ſervile rank; as to plough the lord's land, to make his hedges, to carry out his dung, or other mean employments. The certain ſervices, whether free or baſe, were ſuch as were ſtinted in quantity, and could not be exceeded on any pretence; as, to pay a ſtated annual rent, or to plough ſuch a field for three days. The uncertain depended upon unknown contingencies; as to do military ſervice in perſon, or pay an aſſeſſment in lieu of it, when called upon; or to wind a horn whenever the Scots invaded the realm; which are free ſervices: or to do whatever the lord ſhould command; which is a baſe or villein ſervice.
From the various combinations of theſe ſervices have ariſen the four kinds of lay tenure which ſubſiſted in England, till the middle of the laſt century; and three of which ſubſiſt to this day. Of theſe Bracton (who wrote under Henry the third) ſeems to give the cleared and moſt compendious account, of any author antient or modern[1]; of which the following is the outline or abſtract[2]. "Tenements are of two kinds, frank-tenement and villenage. And, of frank-tenements, ſome are held freely in conſideration of homage and knight-ſervice; others in free-ſocage with the ſervice of fealty only. And again[3], "of villenages ſome are pure, and others privileged. He that holds in pure villenage ſhall do whatſoever is commanded him, and always be bound to an uncertain ſervice. The other kind of villenage is called villein-ſocage; and theſe villein-ſocmen do villein ſervices, but ſuch as are certain and determined." Of which the ſenſe ſeems to be as follows: firſt, where the ſervice was free, but uncertain, as military ſervice with homage, that tenure was called
- ↑ l. 4. tr. 1. c. 28.
- ↑ Tenementorum aliud liberum, aliud villenagium. Item, liberorum aliud tenetur libere pro homagio et ſervitio militari; aliud in libero ſocagio cum fidelitate tantum. §. 1.
- ↑ Villenagiorum aliud purum, aliud privilegiatum. Qui tenet in puro villenagio faciet quicquid ei praeceptum fuerit, et ſemper tenebitur ad incerta. Aliud genus villenagii dicitur villanum ſocagium; et hujuſmodi villani ſocmanni — villana faciunt ſervitia, ſed certa et determinata. §. 5.
