Feudalism to Capitalism: Peasant and Landlord in English Agrarian Development

272 Pages·1986·67.62 MB·English

by  John E. Martin (auth.)

FEUDALISM TO CAPITALISM: PEASANT AND LANDLORD
IN ENGLISH AGRARIAN DEVELOPMENT
STUDIES IN HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY
This series was begun by Philip Abrams, whose intent it was to
reconstitute history and sociology and historical sociology. Both
disciplines have a common project: a sustained, diverse attempt to deal
with the problematic of structuring; and the books in the series will
attempt to do this by examining a wide range of issues.
Published titles
John E. Martin FEUDALISM TO CAPITALISM: Peasant and
Landlord in English Agrarian Development
Forthcoming titles
Philip Corrigan STATE FORMATION AND MORAL REGU
LATION: Sociological Investigations into the
British State
Simon Gasquoine LONG-RANGE THEORIZING IN HISTORI
CAL SOCIOLOGY
Bernard Norton BIOLOGY AND SOCIAL CLASS: Science and
Ideology
Derek Sayer THE HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY OF MARX
AND ENGELS
FEUDALISM TO
CAPITALISM
Peasant and Landlord in English Agrarian
Development
John E. Martin
M
MACMILLAN
PRESS
©John E. Martin 1983, 1986
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission
of this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied
or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance
with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended).
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to
this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and
civil claims for damages.
First edition 1983
Reprinted (with corrections) 1986
Published by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
ISBN 978-0-333-40476-8 ISBN 978-1-349-08378-7 (eBook)
DOl 10.1007/978-1-349-08378-7
To my parents
Contents
List of Maps ix
List of Tables X
List of Figures xi
Preface xiii
Introduction XV
PART I FEUDALISM
Feudal Structure: Theoretical Issues 3
Political Theories 3
Economic Theories 7
Critique and Revision 14
2 Feudal England: Economic and Political Structure 27
Economic Structure 27
Feudal Political Conditions of Existence 36
3 Class Struggle and Historical Development 46
Internal Dissolution Theories 46
External Dissolution Theories 51
Class Voluntarism 55
The Structuring of Class Struggle 56
4 The Trajectory of Feudalism and Class Struggle
in England 58
The Rise of Feudalism 58
Crisis 68
The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 73
5 Development in Warwickshire 79
Manorial Structure 80
The Peasantry 82
Open and Freehold Communities 83
vii
viii Contents
PART II TRANSITION TO CAPITALISM 95
6 Transition to Capitalism: Theoretical Issues 97
Linear Succession 97
The Articulation of Feudalism and Capitalism 99
Theories of Absolutism 103
State, Economy and Class Struggle 112
7 The Fifteenth Century: Peasant Landholding
and Struggles 117
The Question of Tenure 117
Peasant Struggles 120
Deserted Villages 122
8 English Development, 1485-1640 128
Agrarian Development 128
The Structural Character of English Absolutism 140
Peasant Struggles in the Sixteenth and
Early Seventeenth Centuries 150
PART III CASE STUDY: THE MIDLANDS REVOLT
OF 1607 159
9 The Midlands Revolt of 1607 161
Precipitating Factors 161
The Pattern of Development 164
Problems of Repression 172
Form of Protest 174
10 Town, Forest and Felden in the Revolt 180
Centres of the Revolt 180
The Towns 191
Forest Villages 197
Felden 203
Concluding Remarks 213
Notes 216
Index 246
List of Maps
l Tlie Midlands Revolt of 1607: the extent of enclosure riots 165
2 Parishes in the Warwickshire felden 204
ix
List of Tables
2.1 Manorial size and land distribution 32
2.2 Manorial size and tenant differentiation 33
2.3 Large manors and labour services 34
2.4 Differentiation of free and villein tenants 35
5.1 Tenant structure in 1279 in Stoneleigh and Kineton
hundreds 83
5.2 Numbers of manors in open and freehold communities 85
5.3 Domesday structure 87
5.4 Structure in the Hundred Rolls of 1279 88
5.5 Tenant differentiation in the Hundred Rolls of 1279 89
5.6 Tenant differentiation and wealth in the Subsidy of 1332 90
7.1 Warwicksqire deserted villages: extent of freehold and
relative size 124
8.1 Freehold and customary tenant differentiation in the
sixteenth century 129
8.2 Enclosure in the Midlands, 1485-1607 135
8.3 Groups involved in enclosure 137
10.1 Leading occupations of Leicester rioters 196
10.2 Occupational structure of rioters and of Leicester town 196
10.3 Occupations of forest rioters 202
10.4 Wealth and occupation of forest rioters 202
10.5 Open and freehold parishes in the Subsidy of 1525 208
10.6 Population growth in open and freehold parishes:
1525-l660s 209
10.7 Open and freehold parishes in the hearth tax of the 1660s 210
10.8 Occupations of felden rioters 212
10.9 Wealth and occupation of felden rioters 213
X