The effect of circumstances on manorial economy is complex and at times contradictory : upland conditions have been seen as tending to preserve peasant freedoms ( livestock husbandry in particular being less labour-intensive and therefore less demanding of villein services ) ; on the other hand , some such areas of Europe have been said to show some of the most oppressive manorial conditions , while lowland eastern England is credited with an exceptionally large free peasantry , in part a legacy of Scandinavian settlement . The effect of circumstances on manorial economy is complex and at times contradictory : upland conditions tended to preserve peasant freedoms ( livestock husbandry in particular being less labour-intensive and therefore less demanding of villein services ) ; on the other hand , some upland areas of Europe showed some of the most oppressive manorial conditions , while lowland eastern England is credited with an exceptionally large free peasantry , in part a legacy of Scandinavian settlement .