So what is the difference between a village and a town? Well, the easy answer is that a village must have a church, a town, and a market. However, the villagers themselves saw it much differently. You lived your whole life in a village. You worked, you played, you loved, you fought, you were born, and you died, all in the same community. While it might be necessary to venture to a town to get some supplies not abundant in your village, it was usually a very tight-knit band of people who shared resources. There were some instances of private wells, but it was far more common to have a community well shared by the whole village. Mothers in villages were much more likely to nurse children themselves, rather than hiring a wet nurse as was common in towns, cities, and castles. Nor did they employ the services of a doctor, rarely a barber (who in towns or cities combined the services of "bloodletting" and dentistry with shaving). Almost everyone farmed for sustenance. Occasionally you would find someone who was primarily a baker, a miller, a carpenter, but normally people took on these duties along with farming. In a town it was more likely to have specializations and people who did no farming at all.
Something towns and villages had in common was the Lord who ruled over them. The Lord very rarely stayed in the village. It was more common for a Steward or Bailiff to reside in the manor house full time. The Lord was basically the "consumer of the village surplus". One village might even be shared by multiple Lords. Peasants were offered land in exchange for work on the Lord's demesne or for paying a cash rent. He was also in charge of the manor courts, which was the primary judicial house of the area. The Lord had the privilege of holding monopolies on some activities - such as baking bread or grinding grain - which were resented and evaded, but strictly enforced by the manor court. All the villager's sheep were folded by the Lord so their manure would fertilize his demesne. If a villager's house was in disrepair, the Lord saw to it that it was repaired through the manor court. When house or property switched hands, the new owner must pay the Lord an entry fee proportional to the land acquired. One area of life the Lord stayed out of was peasant marriages.
Villagers were primarily separated into two groups, those who were "free" and those who were "villiens". If the Lord's demesne was small, there would be more free men in the village. If it was large, the village would be primarily composed of villiens. While a villien was virtually a slave to the Lord, the villagers themselves made little distinction. Villiens were able to buy, sell, inherit, etc property just as well as their free counterparts. Where they differed was in service to the Lord. Villiens were required to work a certain amount of days on the demesne (depending on how much land they held themselves - either 117 or 58 1/2 days), had to pay more fees, and owed the Lord his "best beast" upon death. All transfers of land had to be approved by the Lord, and when marriages occurred the villien bride or her father was required to pay a merchet. They usually only had contact with the manor court, rarely dealing with the Church or royal courts as might their free neighbors.
In the manor court the steward presided, but the ruling was left up to a jury. Those who were brought to court were ordered to "be at your law six-handed", which meant he must bring along 5 other men to attest that his account was true, or having not witnessed the act in question, that he was a trustworthy person. They were then ordered to find people to guarantee their appearance in court, called pledges, which was a uniquely medieval process. If the plaintiff or defendant did not show up to court, his or her pledge must pay a fine. The parties were allowed to settle out of court, but still had to pay the Lord a fee for a "license to agree". The most common punishment was a fine. Rarely were villagers sentenced to anything but, unless convicted of a felony which belonged in the realm of the royal courts. Along with the fines villagers could be required to pay an additional fee for damages. This was true in the case of personal injury, property damage, or slander. One of the most common fines concerned the brewing of ale. The frequency of these fines leads us to believe that they were being used in lieu of a licensing fee, since the Lord did not hold a monopoly on brewing.
Villagers lived a simple life. Filled with manual labor, they were not plagued by some of the same problems we are today, or even their city or royal counterparts. Although many of their traditions have been lost, one can definitely see the influence village life has had on humanity. We still live in villages, hamlets, towns, and cities even if their distinction is not as strict. We are still tried by a jury of our peers. We still strive to capture that community atmosphere. Gone are the days of Lords, of free men and villeins, but without them we would not be the people we are today.
