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theows so fcold could not be redeemed , urged the seller to buy an equal number of theows and restore them to liberty . Violence was another cause of theowdom ; by betraying or forcing men into servitude ; selling them to , or exchanging them with foreigners . Theow-wealas , or foreign slaves , were perhaps the remnants of the subjugated Britons , who were at first looked upon as inferior to the Anglo-Saxon theows .
No direct tax was paid by the theows to the king , but a toll or duty was levied on their sale , and perhaps on their manumission . We know not the services or contributions which the Saxon theows owed to their lords . The Colloquium of Afric , published early in the eleventh century , has the following dialogue between a ploughman and his teacher : — " What sayest thou , ploughman , how dost thou perform thy work ?"— " Oh my lord , I labour excessively ; I go out at dawn of day , driving my oxen to the field , and yoke them to the
plough ; there is no weather so severe that I dare rest at home , for fear of my Lord ; but having yoked my oxen , and fastened the share and culter to the plough , every day I must plough a whole field ( acre ?) or more . " /' Hast thou no companion ?"— " I have a boy , who urges the oxen with a goad , and who is now hoarse with cold and shouting . " " What more doest thou in the day ? "— " Truly , still I do more . I must fill the mangers of the oxen with hay , and water them , and carry out their dung . Oh ! oh ! it is great tribulation . Yea , it is great tribulation , because I am not free . "
The Anglo-Saxon clergy appear to have sympathised with the serfs , and encouraged the practice of gratuitous manumission , as praiseworthy in the eye of the church . It is recorded that Athelstan Manessone manumitted thirteen in every thirty through all his lands , for the salvation of his soul , by lot ; " that being placed in the open road , they were at liberty to go whither they would . "
After the tenth century , and more immediately after the entrance of the Norman , testimonies of manumission were common , consisting of brief notices in the books of the church where manumission was performed , with the names of witnesses . Many of these are preserved . " William , Bishop of Exeter , proclaimed Walfric Rig free and sac-less of the land at Teigtune ; and freed him for the love of Grod and of St . Mary , and of all Christ ' s saints , and for
redemption of the bishop ' s soul and his own ; " and others for similar motives of piety . Sometimes tJwows were bought in order to be manumitted . AlfHc , canon of Exeter , redeemed Remold of Heberdi , his children , and all their offspring , for two shillings , proclaiming him free and sacless , in town and out of town , for the love of Grod .
Theows often saved sufficient money to buy their own and children ' s liberty . At Bath , Alfric the Red , one of the theows of the abbey , bought himself of the Abbot Alfrige and the convent for one pound . At Exeter , Hurcave redeemed himself for forty pennies , and is afterwards found a witness to other acts of manumission . Leofwin , son of Eealu * bought li himself and his offspring , " of Wolfwood , son of Alfric , in St . James ' s church , for half a pound ; he and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
theows so fcold could not be redeemed , urged the seller to buy an equal number of theows and restore them to liberty . Violence was another cause of theowdom ; by betraying or forcing men into servitude ; selling them to , or exchanging them with foreigners . Theow-wealas , or foreign slaves , were perhaps the remnants of the subjugated Britons , who were at first looked upon as inferior to the Anglo-Saxon theows .
No direct tax was paid by the theows to the king , but a toll or duty was levied on their sale , and perhaps on their manumission . We know not the services or contributions which the Saxon theows owed to their lords . The Colloquium of Afric , published early in the eleventh century , has the following dialogue between a ploughman and his teacher : — " What sayest thou , ploughman , how dost thou perform thy work ?"— " Oh my lord , I labour excessively ; I go out at dawn of day , driving my oxen to the field , and yoke them to the
plough ; there is no weather so severe that I dare rest at home , for fear of my Lord ; but having yoked my oxen , and fastened the share and culter to the plough , every day I must plough a whole field ( acre ?) or more . " /' Hast thou no companion ?"— " I have a boy , who urges the oxen with a goad , and who is now hoarse with cold and shouting . " " What more doest thou in the day ? "— " Truly , still I do more . I must fill the mangers of the oxen with hay , and water them , and carry out their dung . Oh ! oh ! it is great tribulation . Yea , it is great tribulation , because I am not free . "
The Anglo-Saxon clergy appear to have sympathised with the serfs , and encouraged the practice of gratuitous manumission , as praiseworthy in the eye of the church . It is recorded that Athelstan Manessone manumitted thirteen in every thirty through all his lands , for the salvation of his soul , by lot ; " that being placed in the open road , they were at liberty to go whither they would . "
After the tenth century , and more immediately after the entrance of the Norman , testimonies of manumission were common , consisting of brief notices in the books of the church where manumission was performed , with the names of witnesses . Many of these are preserved . " William , Bishop of Exeter , proclaimed Walfric Rig free and sac-less of the land at Teigtune ; and freed him for the love of Grod and of St . Mary , and of all Christ ' s saints , and for
redemption of the bishop ' s soul and his own ; " and others for similar motives of piety . Sometimes tJwows were bought in order to be manumitted . AlfHc , canon of Exeter , redeemed Remold of Heberdi , his children , and all their offspring , for two shillings , proclaiming him free and sacless , in town and out of town , for the love of Grod .
Theows often saved sufficient money to buy their own and children ' s liberty . At Bath , Alfric the Red , one of the theows of the abbey , bought himself of the Abbot Alfrige and the convent for one pound . At Exeter , Hurcave redeemed himself for forty pennies , and is afterwards found a witness to other acts of manumission . Leofwin , son of Eealu * bought li himself and his offspring , " of Wolfwood , son of Alfric , in St . James ' s church , for half a pound ; he and