Serfdom - Serfdom

Japanese: 農奴制 - のうどせい

A system in which local authorities such as manor lords and daimyo used extra-economic coercion, such as military or political power, to deprive the residents (especially peasants) of their freedom and impose high rents.

[Ichiro Tochigawa]

Western

In Western Europe, around the 10th century, peasants who belonged to classical manors and rented farmland from the manorial lord (perpetual tenancy) were often given servile titles such as colonus (semi-free person) or slave, and many were required to perform three days of corvée every week. For this reason, the prevailing view is that classical manorial peasants were "serfs" and that serfdom was established during this period. It is also said that serfdom continued to exist widely in various countries for rent manors from around the 13th century onwards, because the land rent burden in terms of produce and money was too heavy. However, historical documents do not necessarily support this prevailing view.

(1) In both France and Germany, the standard peasant on a classical manor was the class that owned a wheat field of one Huve (10 to 15 hectares) or half a Huve. However, according to the Statutes of the Manorial Estate of Worms (J. Grimm, ed., Weisthümer, Vol. 1), these Huve-owning peasants were clearly wealthy peasants who owned slaves and belonged to the same ruling class as the feudal lord. Therefore, although the corvée of three days per week per Huve may seem excessive at first glance, it was actually not so heavy, and in many cases the wealthy peasants only provided about one-tenth of the slave labor of their own households.

(2) In France, rented manors were established around the 11th century, and their greatest feature was the widespread formation of a small peasant class. In other words, a typical manorial peasant owned only a quarter of the old houffée (about 3 hectares), which he cultivated with the labor of a small family alone. On the other hand, until around the 12th century, feudal lords continued to own a large number of slaves, some of which were armed, and used them as the basis of their military power. As a result, the feudal lords oppressed the powerless small peasants, imposing harsh rents such as "arbitrary taille" (arbitrary rent), poll taxes, and tithes, and the total rents reached more than one-third of the total production. The feudal lords further strengthened their jurisdiction over the peasants, depriving them of their freedom and trying to collect higher rents. Thus, although many of the manorial peasants were legally recognized as free persons known as vilains, they were in fact considered unfree perpetual tenants, and came to be known generally as serfs.

(3) In Germany, even in the so-called rent manors from the 13th century onwards, the Hufe-owning peasants continued to form the core. According to Grimm's and the "Villages" compiled by the Austrian Academy, these wealthy peasants, as heads of large families, controlled their collateral relatives and, at the same time, exercised disciplinary power over their own servants and mistreated them, making them truly patriarchal slave owners. They also restricted the judicial power of the feudal lords, and often fought against murderers, with the principle of revenge. Furthermore, wealthy peasants had the right to kill on the spot anyone who invaded their home, or, conversely, the right of asyl to protect anyone who sought refuge in their home. Therefore, it is by no means possible to consider the German manorial peasants of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period as serfs.

It is said that after the 16th century, Gutsherrschaft, similar to classical manors, were established in northeastern Germany, and serfdom spread. However, there were also wealthy peasants there, and in East Prussia in particular there were many wealthy German peasants who were granted privileges such as the right to punish servants under the Kulm Law. On the other hand, there were also many poor Slavic peasants, who were subjected to excessive labor by their lords and found themselves in an even more miserable position than the serfs in France. Southwestern Germany was a bit of an exception, as between the 12th and 17th centuries, patriarchal wealthy peasants disappeared and serfdom gradually took hold.

(4) In England, according to the Domesday Book, which was compiled as a result of a nationwide land survey in 1086, there were peasants of various ranks, including freemen and slaves, in each manor, but they were gradually unified into the rank of villain (meaning manor resident). In the southeast, corvée was the predominant form of land rent, while in the central and northwest, money rent was the predominant form, and both increased by around the 13th century. It is said that this is how a serf class, represented by villain peasants, was formed, and serfdom was established. However, among the villains in the 13th century, there were still wealthy peasants who owned large wheat fields called virgates (around 10 hectares) and were the heads of large families. Therefore, it is problematic to consider all villains as serfs, and the view that serfdom was established in the 14th century is also valid.

(5) It is said that by the 16th century in Russia, peasants were prohibited from moving from their respective estates and became unfree, which resulted in the establishment of serfdom throughout the country. However, since the Middle Ages, there have been many wealthy peasants among the peasants, who were heads of large families, as described by Pierre, the main character in Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. Therefore, it is a mistake for Lenin to regard all wealthy peasants of the 19th century as newly emerging agricultural capitalists in his book The Development of Capitalism in Russia, and the commonly held belief that all Russian peasants prior to that time were serfs needs to be reconsidered.

[Ichiro Tochigawa]

Emancipation of the Serfs

There are two types of emancipation of serfs: emancipation from below (the French and British type) and emancipation from above (the Northeast German and Russian type).

In France, around the 13th century, the "arbitrary taille" was fixed and the poll tax was abolished for a fee. The latter in particular is sometimes called the emancipation of the serfs, but in reality it was only a partial relaxation of serfdom, and with the start of the Hundred Years' War, rents increased again. In response to this, a major peasant revolt, the "Jaqueline Rebellion," occurred in 1358, and although the feudal class suppressed the rebellion, they refrained from increasing rents thereafter. Furthermore, in response to the sharp decline in the rural population caused by the plague, measures were taken to reduce rents, and from the 16th century onwards, the number of de facto free peasants, laboureurs, increased, and even agricultural capitalists emerged from among them. Thus, due to the rebellions of the serfs and socio-economic changes, "liberation from below" progressed by the mid-18th century, and was almost completed by the French Revolution.

In England, a great peasant revolt led by Wat Tyler occurred in 1381. After the revolt was suppressed, the status of peasants also gradually improved, and in the 16th century, many yeomen, who were de facto free peasants, appeared, due in particular to the fixed amount of silver payment for corvee labor, the subsequent decline in the value of silver coins due to the influx of silver from the New World, and the resulting effective reduction in land rent. Furthermore, from among these emerged industrial capitalists who operated sheep farms and woolen textile manufactures, and capitalism spread widely to rural areas. Thus, by the first half of the 17th century, the emancipation of serfs had progressed, laying the groundwork for the Puritan Revolution.

In the Kingdom of Prussia in northeastern Germany, the government carried out agricultural reforms in the first half of the 19th century, turning peasant-owned land into private property and abolishing corvée in an attempt to "emancipate the serfs from above." However, among the so-called serfs, the wealthy peasants did not change their patriarchal nature before or after the reforms, while the poor peasants, on the other hand, lost part of their land to their former lords as compensation for the abolition of corvée. As a result, the poor peasants were forced to do low-wage labor on the Junker farms, which were formerly directly managed by the former lords, the Junkers, and continued to be placed in a position close to that of slaves.

In Russia, Emperor Alexander II issued the Emancipation Edict in 1861, giving peasants the freedom to move and recognizing the ownership of farmland. However, in exchange for emancipation, the former feudal lords restricted the peasants' ability to acquire land and expanded their own holdings. As a result, the lives of poor peasants did not improve, and they subsequently participated in the Russian Revolution. On the other hand, the wealthy peasants effectively controlled the rural communities that were the implementing agencies for emancipation, and maintained their influence even after the Russian Revolution, forcing Lenin to revise socialist policies and introduce the NEP.

[Ichiro Tochigawa]

Japan

Serfdom is considered to be a system in which feudal rulers in the Middle Ages enslaved peasants, tied them to the land, and then collected labor and taxes from them. It is a category of history that is abstracted and idealized as a general concept based on the specific existence of serfs in medieval European society. After the Second World War, there were active attempts in scientific history to reexamine the history of Japanese feudal society on an internationally common scale by applying the concept of serfdom as a historical category to Japanese history. At that time, there was almost no disagreement that it was appropriate to consider the average peasant in the Edo period as a serf in the broad sense, since he was a self-employed farmer of a small direct lineage family and was tied to the land by the feudal lord of the feudal domain, and to define him as a slave in the narrow sense, since he was required to pay rent for his products.

In contrast, in the Middle Ages before the Edo Period, the existence of peasants was complex, so various different theories have been put forward and debates have been repeated regarding the application of the concept of serfdom. In other words, in the case of the headman class, who was the core peasant under the medieval manor system, the members of his household were often expressed as "relatives and servants", and included collateral relatives and servants who were not related by blood. Some commentators call this a patriarchal large family, while others define it as patriarchal slavery, and believe that it should be distinguished from serfs, who were based on small families of direct lineage. Moreover, the servants in question in this case ranged from slaves who were not allowed to form families and were subject to trade, to those who formed families and had huts outside the master's house and operated semi-independently, so the theory has been put forward that it is these servants with families who should be considered serfs. On the other hand, there is also a theory that says that as long as the headman's direct family itself, including some collateral relatives and servants, was engaged in agricultural labor, the headman's family itself, including collateral relatives and servants, could be considered a form of serfdom in a broad sense, and as of today, no consensus has been reached on this issue.

[Keiji Nagahara]

"A Comparative Historical Study of Western Feudal Society, Revised and Enlarged Edition, by Tochikawa Ichiro (1984, Aoki Shoten)" ▽ "A Theory of the History of the Establishment of Modern Society, by Takahashi Kohachiro (1947, Ochanomizu Shobo)" ▽ "The Formation of English Feudalism, by Tanaka Masayoshi (1959, Ochanomizu Shobo)" ▽ "The Establishment and Structure of the Bakufu-han System of Society, by Arashiro Moriaki (1959, Ochanomizu Shobo)" ▽ "A Theory of the History of the Establishment of Japanese Feudal Society, by Arashiro Moriaki (1984, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "A Study of the Process of the Establishment of Japanese Feudalism, by Nagahara Keiji (1961, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "A Study of the Social Structure of Medieval Japan, by Nagahara Keiji (1973, Iwanami Shoten)"

[Reference] | Gutsherrschaft | Manor | Emancipation of the Serfs

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

荘園(しょうえん)領主・大名など地域的権力者が、経済外的強制すなわち軍事力や政治権力によって、住民（とくに農民）の自由を奪い、高率の地代を課する体制。

［橡川一朗］

西洋

西ヨーロッパで10世紀前後の古典荘園に所属し、荘園領主から農地を借りて保有（永代小作）した農民は、コロヌス（半自由人）、奴隷など隷属的な身分称呼を付された者が多く、毎週3日の賦役を課された者も少なくない。そのため古典荘園農民を「農奴」とし、この時代に農奴制が確立したとする見解が、通説となっている。またほぼ13世紀以後の地代荘園についても、生産物、貨幣の地代負担が過重だったという理由から、各国に広く農奴制が存続した、といわれる。しかし史料からは、この通説はかならずしも支持できない。

（1）古典荘園の標準的農民は、フランス、ドイツとも1フーフェ（10～15ヘクタール）または半フーフェの麦畑を保有する階層であった。しかし彼らフーフェ保有農は、ウォルムス司教領荘民団規則（グリムJ. Grimm編『村法類』Weisthümer第1巻）によれば、明らかに奴隷を所有する富農で、領主と同じ支配階級に属した。したがって1フーフェ当り毎週3日の賦役も、一見過重のようで、実はそれほどではなく、多くの場合、富農は自家の奴隷労働力の10分の1程度を提供したにすぎなかった。

（2）フランスでは11世紀ごろから地代荘園が成立したが、その最大の特色は、小農民階層の広範な形成である。すなわち標準的な荘園農民は旧フーフェの4分の1（約3ヘクタール）を保有したにすぎず、これを小家族の家族労働のみによって耕作した。他方、領主は、12世紀ごろまでは従来どおり多数の奴隷を所有し、かつその一部に武装させて、これを軍事力の基盤とした。そのため領主は、無力な小農民を抑圧し、過酷な「恣意(しい)タイユ」（恣意地代）をはじめ、人頭税、十分の一税などの地代を課し、地代の合計は全生産物の3分の1以上に達した。領主はさらに農民に対する裁判権を強化し、農民の自由を奪って、地代の増徴を図った。かくて荘園農民は、法律上、多くは荘民（ビランvilain）という自由人身分を認められたにもかかわらず、事実上、不自由な永代小作人とされ、一般には農奴（セルフserf）とよばれるに至った。

（3）ドイツでは、13世紀以降の、いわゆる地代荘園においても、依然としてフーフェ保有農が中核をなした。グリム編およびオーストリア共和国学士院編の『村法類』によれば、彼ら富農は、大家族の家長として傍系血族を支配するとともに、自家の下人(げにん)に懲罰権を振るってこれを酷使し、まさしく家父長的奴隷所有者であった。富農はまた領主の裁判権に制約を加え、殺人犯には仇討(あだうち)を原則として、しばしば被害者、犯人双方の親族団が交戦した。さらに富農は、自家への侵入者をその場で殺す権利をもち、あるいは逆に自家に避難してきたものを保護するアジールAsyl権を有した。それゆえ中世および近世のドイツ荘園農民を農奴とみるのは、とうてい無理である。

　東北ドイツでは16世紀以後、古典荘園に似たグーツヘルシャフトが成立して農奴制が広まったといわれる。しかしそこにも富農が存在し、とくに東プロイセンにはクルムKulm法によって下人懲罰権などの特権を認められたドイツ系の富農が多かった。他方スラブ系の貧農も多く、彼らは領主から過重な賦役を課せられ、フランスの農奴よりさらに惨めな地位にあった。西南ドイツはやや例外で、12世紀から17世紀までの間に、家父長的な富農が姿を消し、しだいに農奴制が成立した。

（4）イギリスでは1086年の全国的土地調査の結果作成された『ドゥームズデー・ブック』（Domesday Book最後の審判日の書の意味）によれば、各荘園には自由人、奴隷などさまざまな身分の農民がいたが、その後しだいにビレインvillain（荘民の意味）という身分に統一された。地代は、南東部では賦役が、中部・北西部では貨幣地代が、それぞれ優勢で、いずれも13世紀ごろまでに増額された。こうしてビレイン身分農民に代表される農奴階級が形成され、農奴制が成立した、といわれる。ただし13世紀のビレインのなかには、なお一バーゲートvirgate（10ヘクタール前後）という広い麦畑を保有し大家族の家長である富農も、各地に残存した。したがってビレインを一様に農奴とみるのは問題で、農奴制の確立期を14世紀とする見解も成り立つ。

（5）ロシアでは、16世紀までに、農民は各所属荘園からの移動を禁ぜられて不自由身分となり、その結果全国的に農奴制が成立した、といわれる。しかし農民のなかには、トルストイの小説『戦争と平和』の主要人物ピエールのいうような大家族制を背景として、その家長たる富農も、中世以来広く存在した。それゆえ、レーニンがその著『ロシアにおける資本主義の発達』で、19世紀の富農を一様に新興の農業資本家とみたのは誤りであり、またそれ以前のロシア農民をすべて農奴とする通説も、再検討の必要がある。

［橡川一朗］

農奴解放

農奴の解放には、下からの解放（フランス・イギリス型）と上からの解放（東北ドイツ・ロシア型）との二類型がある。

　フランスでは13世紀ごろ、「恣意タイユ」の定額化、人頭税の有償廃棄が実現した。とくに後者は農奴解放とよばれることもあるが、実態は農奴制の部分的緩和にすぎず、百年戦争の開始とともに地代はふたたび増大した。これに対して1358年大農民反乱「ジャクリーの乱」が起こり、領主階級は、反乱を鎮圧したが、その後は地代の増徴を手控えた。さらにペストの流行による農村人口の激減に対応して地代軽減策がとられたので、16世紀以後、事実上の自由農民ラブルールlaboureurが数を増し、そのなかから農業資本家さえ現れた。こうして農奴の反抗と社会経済上の変化とによって、18世紀中ごろまでに「下からの解放」が進み、それはフランス革命によってほぼ完成された。

　イギリスでも1381年ワット・タイラーWat Tylerの率いる大農民反乱が起こった。反乱鎮圧後やはり農民の地位はしだいに改善され、とくに賦役の定額銀納化、ついで新大陸からの銀の流入による銀貨価値の低下、したがって地代の実質的軽減のため、16世紀には事実上の自由農民ヨーマンyeomanが多数出現した。さらにそのなかから牧羊業や毛織物マニュファクチュアを経営する産業資本家が生まれ、農村に広く資本主義がおこった。こうして17世紀前半までに農奴解放が進み、ピューリタン革命の素地をつくった。

　東北ドイツのプロイセン王国では、19世紀前半、政府が農業改革を行い、農民の保有地を所有地に変え、賦役を廃止して、「上からの農奴解放」を試みた。しかし、いわゆる農奴のうち、富農は、改革の前後を通じて家父長的な性格を変えず、貧農は逆に、賦役廃止の代償として、自己の所有地の一部を旧領主に奪われた。そのため貧農は、旧領主ユンカーJunkerの旧直営地ユンカー農場で、低賃銀労働を強制され、依然として奴隷に近い地位に置かれた。

　ロシアでも1861年皇帝アレクサンドル2世が農奴解放令を発布し、農民に移動の自由を与え、農地の所有権を認めた。しかし旧領主は、解放の代償として、農民の所有地取得を制限し、自己の所有地を拡大した。そのため貧農の生活は改善されず、彼らはその後ロシア革命に参加するに至った。他方、富農は、解放の実施機関となった農村共同体を事実上支配して、ロシア革命後も勢力を保ち、レーニンをして社会主義政策の修正、ネップを余儀なくさせた。

［橡川一朗］

日本

農奴制は、中世の封建支配者が農民を身分的に隷属させ、土地に緊縛して、それから夫役や年貢を収取する制度と考えられ、ヨーロッパの中世社会に具体的に存在した農奴のあり方を基準としつつ、一般概念として抽象化・理念化された歴史学の範疇(はんちゅう)である。このような歴史学的範疇としての農奴制概念を日本歴史に適用することによって、日本封建社会の歴史を国際的に共通の尺度で見直そうという試みは、第二次世界大戦後の科学的歴史学において活発に行われた。その際、江戸時代の平均的農民が、直系小家族の自営農で、かつ幕藩領主によって土地緊縛されているところから、これを広義における農奴とみ、かつ生産物地代負担という点から、狭くは隷属と規定するのが妥当とする点ではほとんど異論がなかった。

　これに対して江戸以前の中世については、農民の存在形態が複雑なため、農奴制概念の適用をめぐってはさまざまの異説が提起され、論争が繰り返されている。すなわち中世の荘園(しょうえん)制下の中核的農民である名主(みょうしゅ)層では、多くの場合、しばしばその家の構成員が「親類・下人(げにん)」と表現されるように、傍系親族や非血縁の下人を含んでおり、論者によってはこれを家父長制大家族といい、他の論者は家父長的奴隷制と規定し、直系家族の小家族を基本とする農奴とは区別すべきであると考えた。しかも、そこでの問題となる下人も、現実には家族の構成を許されず売買の対象になる奴隷から、家族を構成し、主家の外部に小屋をもって半独立の経営をもつ者までを含むため、そうした家族もち下人こそ農奴とみるべきだという説も提起された。また一方、多少の傍系親族や下人を含んでも名主の直系家族自体が農業労働に従事している限り、傍系家族・下人も含め名主家族そのものを広義の農奴の一存在形態とみてよいという説も出されており、今日のところ共通見解に到達していないのが現状である。

［永原慶二］

『橡川一朗著『西欧封建社会の比較史的研究　増補改訂版』（1984・青木書店）』▽『高橋幸八郎著『近代社会成立史論』（1947・御茶の水書房）』▽『田中正義著『イングランド封建制の形成』（1959・御茶の水書房）』▽『安良城盛昭著『幕藩体制社会の成立と構造』（1959・御茶の水書房）』▽『安良城盛昭著『日本封建社会成立史論』（1984・岩波書店）』▽『永原慶二著『日本封建制成立過程の研究』（1961・岩波書店）』▽『永原慶二著『日本中世社会構造の研究』（1973・岩波書店）』

[参照項目] | グーツヘルシャフト | 荘園 | 農奴解放令

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