从口头记忆到书面文件——中世纪中期英国庄园管理变革

From Verbal Memory to Written Document:The Manorial Revolution in Mid-Medieval England

中世纪中期,受庄园地产管理难度加大、农产品收益不断上涨、受教育群体规模扩大,以及王室司法行政书面化等因素的影响,英国庄园管理开始从依赖口头记忆,转向书面文件。在此过程中,庄园调查簿、土地估价册、地籍册、租税清册、惯例簿、账簿、法庭案卷等一系列庄园文件得以编纂,它们成为庄园社会治理的主要凭借。然而这一转变并非是一帆风顺的,其中充斥着领主和农民相互间的博弈与妥协,虽然偶尔会爆发严重冲突,但双方大多数时候能够借助书面文件平抑矛盾,维护彼此的权益。在庄园管理变革的影响下,民众的“文件意识”加强,并以前所未有的方式与之发生联系。此外,变革中将维兰劳役地租固定并折算为货币的做法,使维兰的人身依附关系进一步削弱,推动了社会生产力的解放。

In mid-Medieval England,influenced by the increasing difficulty of manorial estate management,the rising income of agricultural products,the expansion of educated groups,and the written administration of royal judicial administration,the management of England manors changed from relying on oral memory to relying on written documents.In this process,a series of manorial documents such as manorial survey,extent,terrier,rental,custumal,account and court rolls were compiled.Such a transition did not go smoothly.In the interest conflicts and games,the lords and peasants both used the written documents to safeguard their rights and interests.As a result,the substratum developed their"document consciousness".In addition,the management revolution fixed the villein labor rent and converted it into monetary rent,which further weakened the personal attachment of villein to the loads and eventually promoted social productivity.