English Society in the Later Middle Ages Class, Status and Gender
What was the social structure of England in the period 1200 to 1500? What were the basic forms of social inequality? To what extent did such divisions generate social conflict? How significantly did English society change during this period and what were
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English Society in the Later Middle Ages Class, Status and Gender
s. H. Rigby
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MACMIllAN
© S. H. Rigby 1995 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1995
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, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1995 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndrnills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-0-333-49240-6
ISBN 978-1-349-23969-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-23969-6
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library 10 8 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 I 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 95
Contents
Preface ix Abbreviations
xii
Introduction: Social structure as social closure 1 (i) Marxist social theory 2 (ii) 'Liberal' stratification theory 6 (iii) Closure theory 9
PART I CLASS STRUCTURE AS SOCIAL CLOSURE
1
Agrarian class structure: exclusion and dual closure 17 (i) Relations of production as social exclusion 18 (ii) Feudal relations of production: exclusion by ownership 21 (iii) Feudal relations of production and extra-economic coercion: the manor, villeinage and monopoly rights 25 (iv) Free peasants 34 (v) Lords, labourers and artisans 37 (vi) Manorial variation: by region and by landlord 40 (vii) Agrarian class structure: gradation and dual closure 45 (viii) 'Extra-economic coercion': some problems 49 (ix) Exploitation and surplus labour: some problems 52 (x) Conclusion: closure, structure and agency 57
2
Agrarian class structure and the forces for change I: trade, population and the money supply 60 (i) The rise of a money economy? 61 (ii) Malthus and Ricardo 66 (iii) PopUlation, the manor and economic change, c.1180-1348 69 (iv) Population, the manor and economic change, 1348-1500 80 (v) The 'Malthusian' model: a balance sheet 87 (vi) Prices and the money supply 95 (vii) Conclusion 102
v
vi
Contents
3
Agrarian class structure and the forces for change II: usurpationary closure 104 (i) Rural class conflict in the pre-plague period 104 (ii) The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 110 (iii) Rural class conflict in the post-plague period 124 (iv) Agrarian class structure and economic development: 'the Brenner debate' 127 (v) Conclusion 143
4
Urban class structure and usurpationary closure 145 (i) Urbanisation and its limits 145 (ii) Urban class structure 150 (iii) Borough privileges and town government 160 (iv) Urban social and political conflict: usurpationary closure 165 (v) Conclusion 176
PART II ORDER, GENDER AND STATUS-GROUP AS SOCIAL CLOSURE
5
Order as social closure I: the nobility 181
