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he dwelt , in order that he might have no excuse to quit the ground to which he was attached , or to interrupt the duties to which he was bound by his condition : this was afterwards altered , and the bishops were forbidden to ordain any colonus without the consent of his
proprietor ; but this was finally overruled , and a colonus permitted to be ordained at will , without the proprietor ' s consent , provided that he continued , after ordination , to execute all the duties of his original condition . In certain cases ( though much less commonly than the slaves ) the coloni were subject to chastisement by flogging , a punishment never inflicted on a free man ; this is what the Anglo-Saxon
and Prankish laws term , paying with the hide . The coloni were entirely subjected to the judgment of their masters , and were permitted neither appeal from the latter ' s decision , nor of action against them , except in two cases—that wherein the proprietor exacted a greater rent than had been fixed by ancient usage , and that of a criminal action of public interest committed against them by their patron ; under either of these circumstances , the colonus could lay
his complaint before a magistrate . The colonus might possess property , and transmit it to his family , but he could not alienate it without his lord ' s consent . It appears , as before observed , that the colonus could not be affranchised—such at least , is the opinion of Savigny . Certain guarantees , nevertheless , protected his security , for he could by no means be separated , by the will of his owner , from the domain to which he was attached ; if sold , he must be sold with
the land , not the land without him , the proprietor not even possessing the liberty of removing him from one domain to another . Also in the partition of lands , it was strictly forbidden to separate the different members of a family , while the tax on rent due from the coloni to their masters , could never be legally increased . The former were amenable to the capitation taxes ordered by the state , the proprietor being held responsible for the payment .
"With the German serfs , aKs with the Roman coloni , we find trace of no laws fixing or restricting the power of the proprietors over their agricultural dependents before the introduction of Christianity , which constantly exerted itself for their protection . The early codes of barbarian laws must be regarded as imperfect attempts , originating with the influence of the clergy , to reduce to some standard of justice ,
customs which had been before capriciously neglected or enforced , or to check others which had been in themselves oppressive or unjust . Our first code of Anglo-Saxon laws was made under the influence of St . Augustine ; and the few regulations relating to the serfs , which are contained in it , and in the various codes which followed , must probably be regarded as being contrary to the customs by which the
law between proprietor and serf was then regulated , until by degrees the old customs were superseded by the new laws . This explains why , as the power of the clergy became gradually extended , and people were more accustomed to their interference in such matters , in each succeeding code of laws , the articles relating to the condition of the serfs are more numerous , and more minute . We also observe
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
he dwelt , in order that he might have no excuse to quit the ground to which he was attached , or to interrupt the duties to which he was bound by his condition : this was afterwards altered , and the bishops were forbidden to ordain any colonus without the consent of his
proprietor ; but this was finally overruled , and a colonus permitted to be ordained at will , without the proprietor ' s consent , provided that he continued , after ordination , to execute all the duties of his original condition . In certain cases ( though much less commonly than the slaves ) the coloni were subject to chastisement by flogging , a punishment never inflicted on a free man ; this is what the Anglo-Saxon
and Prankish laws term , paying with the hide . The coloni were entirely subjected to the judgment of their masters , and were permitted neither appeal from the latter ' s decision , nor of action against them , except in two cases—that wherein the proprietor exacted a greater rent than had been fixed by ancient usage , and that of a criminal action of public interest committed against them by their patron ; under either of these circumstances , the colonus could lay
his complaint before a magistrate . The colonus might possess property , and transmit it to his family , but he could not alienate it without his lord ' s consent . It appears , as before observed , that the colonus could not be affranchised—such at least , is the opinion of Savigny . Certain guarantees , nevertheless , protected his security , for he could by no means be separated , by the will of his owner , from the domain to which he was attached ; if sold , he must be sold with
the land , not the land without him , the proprietor not even possessing the liberty of removing him from one domain to another . Also in the partition of lands , it was strictly forbidden to separate the different members of a family , while the tax on rent due from the coloni to their masters , could never be legally increased . The former were amenable to the capitation taxes ordered by the state , the proprietor being held responsible for the payment .
"With the German serfs , aKs with the Roman coloni , we find trace of no laws fixing or restricting the power of the proprietors over their agricultural dependents before the introduction of Christianity , which constantly exerted itself for their protection . The early codes of barbarian laws must be regarded as imperfect attempts , originating with the influence of the clergy , to reduce to some standard of justice ,
customs which had been before capriciously neglected or enforced , or to check others which had been in themselves oppressive or unjust . Our first code of Anglo-Saxon laws was made under the influence of St . Augustine ; and the few regulations relating to the serfs , which are contained in it , and in the various codes which followed , must probably be regarded as being contrary to the customs by which the
law between proprietor and serf was then regulated , until by degrees the old customs were superseded by the new laws . This explains why , as the power of the clergy became gradually extended , and people were more accustomed to their interference in such matters , in each succeeding code of laws , the articles relating to the condition of the serfs are more numerous , and more minute . We also observe