All sections of medieval English society were liable to render various payments and services to a superior lord, which either marked key moments in the life cycle of an individual or were associated with the terms of their landholding. The nobility and gentry paid aid upon the marriage of their lord's eldest daughter, and were liable for military service; freemen paid relief upon entry to a landholding; and all but the poorest paid mortuary (a death duty) to the church. Villeins and villein tenures were also liable for a range of incidents, dues and services, but these differed from those owed by the rest of society in two ways: they were generally more onerous and demeaning, and the lord could – in strict legal theory – impose them arbitrarily. In reality, by c.1300 the arbitrary imposition of servile dues was exceptionally rare, and instead their frequency and duration were determined and largely fixed by local custom. However, there still remained some elements of uncertainty and unpredictability, in the sense that the precise package of dues, and the way in which they were levied, varied from manor to manor; the lord could determine how much was charged for some dues; and the lord might challenge or ignore custom.

This chapter surveys each of the main dues and incidents associated with villeinage in England in c.1300; briefly explains their character, origin and prevalence; and then constructs as tight a chronology of their decline as the current historical literature permits.