MARMOUTIER AND ITS SERFS IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY
Paul Fouracre
The ‘Book of Serfs Marmoutier’ recorded the dealings monastery had with its serfs in eleventh century. century itself is said to have been a time which there was collapse political authority. Political and judicial institutions are alleged ‘privatised’ as part so-called ‘feudal revolution’ that caused by Carolingian This view has often challenged. Marmoutier material on discussed relation this debate. Do monastery–serf relations reflect privatisation power? Or if power an historical myth, how do we explain highly contested nature space, community, wealth authority revealed Serfs’? It argued indeed fragmented but response conjunction factors apart from state. To contrary, rulers encouraged kind lord–serf see Serfs’. What different about our eleventh-century more it, able details social at local level for first time.(READ 12 March 2004)
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society