Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/330

 318 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE A bell shall be rung to call them to the house of the bailiff, when a piper shall conduct them to the field, who in the evening shall lead them back.' The same 4 Manor- right Law ' requires that ' when the fishermen bring fish to the manor house the wife of the bailiff shall give him a good loaf, and when he has done his work extraordinarily well she shall be very good to him, and give him a roast. Besides the taxes which were brought, there were others, so called ' collectable,' which were collected by the manor lord. The precision of the laws shows remarkable consideration ; for instance, the baby in the cradle must not be wakened, nor shall the fowl on the nest be frightened. Should the wife of the tenant be in child-bed, the collector must be content with the head of a fowl, leaving the body for the strengthening of the invalid. When the collector took lodgings at the tenant's he was obliged to leave his sword and spurs at the' door, ' so as not to frighten the wife.' A sentence taken from the ' Manor Laws ' of the manor of Walmersheim, which belonged to the Abbey of Prtim, may serve to show us with what care the rights of all were respected : ' Besides the other taxes, each quarter of land shall pay the manor lord seven eggs. The eighth egg shall be placed by the wife on the threshold and broken ; the part that falls inside shall belong to the tenant, that on the outside to the lord.' The laws with regard to the punishment of those backward in their payments give us much information about the condition of the tenants. Generally the penalty consisted of a small money fine or some slight compensation in the shape of bread or wine.