149. Divisions of Society.
The divisions of society remained after the Conquest very nearly as before, but the Saxon orders of nobility, with a few very rare exceptions, were deprived of their rank and their estates given to the Normans.
It is important to notice here the marked difference between the new or Norman nobility and that of France.
In England a man was considered a noble because, under William and his successors, he was a member of the Great or National Council (S80), or, in the case of an earl, because he represented the King in the government of a county or earldom.
His position did not exempt him from taxation, nor did his rank descend to more than one of his children. In France, on the contrary, the aristocracy were noble by birth, not office; they were generally exempt from taxation, thus throwing the whole of that burden on the people, and their rank descended to all their children.
During the Norman period a change was going on among the slaves, whose condition gradually improved. On the other hand, many who had been free now sank into that state of villeinage (S150) which, as it bound them to the soil, was but one remove from actual slavery.
The small, free landholders who still existed were mostly in the old Danish territory north of Watling Street (see map facing p. 32), and in the county of Kent on the southeast coast of England.
150. Tenure of Land in the Norman Period; Military Service, Feudal Dues, National Militia, Manors and Manor Houses.
All land was held directly or indirectly from the King on condition of military or other service. The number of chief tenants who derived their title from the Crown, including ecclesiastical dignitaries, was probably about fifteen hundred. These constituted the Norman barons. The undertenants were about eight thousand, and consisted chiefly of the English who had been driven out from their estates.
Every holder of land was obliged to furnish the King a fully armed and mounted soldier, to serve for forty days during the year for each piece of land bringing 20 pounds annually, or about $2000 in modern money[1] (the pound of that day probably representing twenty times that sum now). All the chief tenants were also bound to attend the King's Great or National Council three times a year,—at Christman, Easter, and Whitsuntide.