A Peasant Lessee of Seigniorial Cattle, 1359

This note draws attention to an entry in the unpublished manorial court roll of Great Waltham (Essex) for 1359, now held by The National Archives UK.This names Ralph Warenger as the lessee of a herd of cattle formerly managed by his lord's administration.The first two paragraphs supply historical context for this rare piece of information.The leasing agreement itself is then outlined, before more information on Warenger is provided.It is suggested that this record illustrates the ways in which peasant farmers in the second half of the fourteenth century took advantage of new opportunities for extensive participation in a commercialized rural economy.The seigniorial sector accounted for around a quarter of all agricultural land in England c. 1300. 1 At the turn of the fourteenth century, most landlords managed their estates directly.This meant that their administrations used customary and/or hired labour to farm the manorial demesne, with the produce either used to supply the lord's household or sold at market.After the Black Death (1348-9), and especially from c.1375, it became more common for lords to abandon direct cultivation and instead lease out demesne land or whole manors to peasant farmers.By the midfifteenth century, the direct management of aristocratic estates had been almost wholly abandoned.This shift to peasant rentier agriculture changed who farmed some of the most productive land in England, how this land was farmed, and who accrued the direct profits of commercial farming. 2 After 1350, the cultivation of cattle offered substantial returns as demand for dairy products rose.At the same time, however, cattle husbandry involved substantial costs because it required significant capital investment and expenditure on labour, often live-in female servants, which became more expensive in real terms after the Black Death.