王超华：13—15世纪英国农业劳动者工资与领主经济研究

内容摘要

　　在中世纪，自营地是领主收入的重要来源，领主对其甚为重视。在自营地生产中，领主很早就开始使用工资劳动者，并向其支付以实物和货币为主要内容的工资。黑死病前后，工资上涨造成生产成本增加，导致了领主对自营地的政策从直营转向出租。本报告试图描述并解释这个过程。作为中世纪较大的农业生产单位，庄园自营地及领主对其的政策为我们了解传统经济社会运行规律提供了一个重要窗口。18世纪中叶，英国开始了工业革命的进程，但如果没有此前的“农业革命”为基础，工业化就是空谈。“农业革命”为何会发生,又是如何发生的？农业结构调整和生产组织的变革无疑是十分重要的因素。这种调整和变革源于中世纪晚期领主退出生产领域，将自营地整体出租给富裕农民、乡绅等，造就了租地农场的兴起。考察这一切发生的过程及原因对社会转型和农业资本主义起源研 究无疑有很高的价值。

　　本文认为，农业劳动者的供给及工资变化对领主经济的命运产生了很大影响。对于这个问题的论证，需要分三步进行：第一，工资劳动者在中世纪领主自营地生产中的地位如何？第二，农业劳动者的工资水平发生了怎样的变化，原因是什么？第三，劳动力成本的变化是如何影响自营地生产利润的，领主的政策又发生了怎样的变化？

　　对上述三个问题的回答，构成了本报告的主体内容：

　　第2章，主要论述领主经济中的农业工资劳动者的使用问题。中世纪英国领主自营地生产同时依靠工资劳动和强制性的劳役，但前者的价值远远超过后者。个中原因，除了自营地自身面积的大小、对劳动力的需求之外，还包括乡村劳动力市场发育、劳动效率等影响因素。本章还追溯了工资劳动者（庄仆和季节性雇工）的起源、发展、性质及基本特征，并指出它是商品货币关系发展到一定程度的产物。

　　第3章，主要描述13—15世纪农业劳动者工资的变化情况及其影响因素。由于庄仆和雇工的获取工资方式不同，本章将对他们分开论述：前者的工资长期保持稳定，真正的增长发生在黑死病、尤其是14世纪70年代之后；后者工资的增长则是从14世纪初开始，持续到15世纪。不过，和庄仆一样，雇工实际工资的增长也是在14世纪末才实现的。造成工资变化的首要原因是人口变动造成的劳动力供给状况，除此之外，劳资双方力量对比、劳工法令的颁布和执行、生活标准、劳动力的流动与谈判能力等也是重要的影响因素。很明显，西方学者过于专注某一经济因素的决定作用，忽视了非经济因素的影响，因此，他们对于中世纪的工资变化问题难以提出令人满意的答案。

　　第4章，通过对庄园账簿中工资支出的情况的分析，指出劳动力成本在总支出中所占比例的变化，及其对生产利润造成的影响，并论述领主经济从盛到衰的发展历程。本文认为，13世纪到14世纪初，劳动力的充裕和价格低廉保证了自营地经济的繁荣；黑死病之后，虽然工资急剧上涨，但谷物价格却居高不下，农业生产仍然有利可图，领主经济出现了三十年的“印第安小阳春时期”。14 世纪末以后，谷物价格开始持续走低，而工资依然维持上涨态势，进一步压缩了农业生产的利润空间，于是领主选择退出生产领域，将自营地出租，造成租地农场主的兴起，为近代的“农业革命”打下了基础。

　　与博士学位论文相比较，本报告取得的新成果体现在：（1）加深了对工资劳动者起源、性质问题的认识。报告明确地指出，工资劳动者是货币经济发展到一定程度和乡村社会商业化程度不断加深的产物。在对庄仆和雇工的论述中，通过对他们在与土地的依附关系、受制于国家法令的制约等方面的考察，强调以他们为代表的工资劳动者身份还并不自由，与资本主义的雇佣工人还有诸多差异。这种理论上的提升还将被用于对生命周期仆从的研究之中。（2）深入论证了工资劳动在经济转型中的影响。笔者对此问题已经有所涉及，但由于此前材料不足，论述并不充分。本报告在更广泛搜集材料的基础上，继续理清思路，对工资劳动、劳动力成本与领主经济盛衰的关系做系统论述，并全面考察自营地出租的时间、租金水平、年限、承租人等问题，希望可以对英国“农业革命”前夕的农业产权 关系、产业结构调整等课题的研究有所裨益。

　　关键词： 英国；工资；领主经济 

　　Abstract

　　In the Middle Ages, the demesnes were important revenue sources of feudal landlords, who paid much attention to estates management. Wage-earners had been used in the demesne agricultural production for a long time, and the main contents of their payment were in kind and coins together. Around the time of Black Death, due to the cost of production increased which was resulted from the rise of wages, lords’ policy for demesnes altered from direct management to rent them out. This dissertation intends to describe and explain this process. As a large unit of agricultural production, the demesnes offered us a window to learn the condition of the medieval economy. Without the fundamental preparation of Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain in 1750s would not come to true. Why and how did the Agricultural Revolution happen? Undoubtedly, the transition and change of agricultural structure and production organization, in which the lords gave up producing themselves, and they were to rent the demesnes to rich peasants and squires who basically formed the farmer class in late Middle Ages, were the key points. Tracing back and studying this process has a high theoretical value.

　　The author intends to prove that wage changes greatly influenced demesnes’ destinies. What was the position of the wage-earners in the medieval seignorial production? What changes had taken place on the wages and why did those occur? How did the changes of labor costs made the production profit decline, and how did the lords alter their policies on demesnes?

　　The answers to these questions will be deeply presented in three main chapters. The chapter 2 deals with wage-earners in the seignorial economy. Medieval

　　seignorial production in England relied more on wage labor than on forced labor. In addition to the size of demesnes and their demand modes for labor, the rural labor market development, wages level and labor efficiency should be considered as well.

　　The chapter 3 mainly describes the changes and their reasons of agricultural wages between the 13th and 15th centuries. Due to the different payment pattern between famuli and seasonal workers, and since the former kept stable constantly, the author will deal with them separately. Wages of famuli kept stable, however, increase of their money wages took place later than the seasonal workers, of which was during

　　the early 14th and 15th century, contrast to the former’s aftermath of Black Death, almost to the end of 14th century, though their factual rise was simultaneously fulfilled at the end of 14th century. The primary reason for wages’ changes in this period was the floating supply of labor, moreover, the balance of power between employers and

　　employees, the promulgation and implementation of the labor law, the changes of living standards, the laborers’ mobility and negotiation ability should also be set in consideration. Unfortunately, western scholars paid much more attention on certain economic factor than non-economic ones, so that they could not provide satisfactory explanations to the question.

　　Basing on the analysis of expenditure in the account rolls, the chapter 4 points out the proportion of wages spending change in the total cost, its impact on profits and on seignorial economy. During 13th century and early 14th century, number of labor increased, while their wages kept low, thus agricultural production on demesnes went to prosperity. After the Black Death, although the wages rose sharply, the grain price remained high, agricultural production was still profitable, seigniorial economy came into a period of so-called "Indian Summer" lasted about thirty years. From the late

　　14th century on, grain prices fell and wages maintained rising which further

　　compressed the profit space of agriculture production, lords had to retreat from the production areas and rented out the demesnes, which led to the emergence of the farmer class and laid a foundation for the Agricultural Revolution developed in the early modern times.

　　Two main points can be concluded. First, the wage labor was the product of monetary economic development and the deepening commercialization of rural society. As for the famuli and seasonal laborers, the author adds the discussion on their attachment to land, the restriction of national law, etc., in order to emphasize that wage-earners were not free, and they had many different aspects from the capitalistic hire workers. This view could also be used to the study of the life-cycle servants. The second point relates to the relation between wage-earners and the economic transformation. Applying more numerous resources, the author systematically clarifies influences of labor cost on seignorial economy, in addition to deal with such issues as time of rent-out-demesnes, land-rent level, the lessees, etc., in order to advance the

　　study of property relations and industrial structure adjustments on the eve of

　　Agricultural Revolution.

　　Keywords: England; Wages; Seignorial Economy