Let's set out the issue in terms of the facts. (uh-oh, LMP's in loyer mode, now we're
reeeeelly in trouble)
1. Anglo-Saxon and therefore (we are implying) Rohirric codes are what we're dealing with.
2. Both farmers A and B are tenants, not owners.
3. Until a month ago, the land was leased of the King.
4. Now by order of the King it is leased of the Eorl of the Middle Emnet, all rights and responsibilities adhering thereto. (snicker)
5. Rights of ownership adhering to the Eorl include: (1) rent, paid quarterly, in fee or kind, depending on the agreement formerly made between king and tenant; (2) upon the death of the primary tenant, the land may be handed down to the tenant's heir, which is most likely in normal situations, or to another freeholder depending upon circumstances (criminal activity, the former family line running out or dwindling, etc.).
6. Rights of tenancy: (1) use of all crops harvested (after rent is paid); (2) tenancy for the life of the tenant.
There are probably more rights, but this will do for now.
Now for the case at hand:
1. Farmer B wrongfully sowed and seeks to harvest crops on land not in his tenancy.
2. Farmer A was negligent in not notifying the proper authority (a shire reave for example) of the wrongful activity.
3. Farmer A must pay rent to King or Eorl for the fallow land whether or not he uses it for crops; he is expected to use it for crops, but in the
semi-feudal Anglo-Saxon society, is not required to. (In post William the Conqueror Britain, by contrast, tenants were more strictly regulated.)
In fact, Farmer A may be letting the field lie fallow so that it can be transformed into a horse pasture, something that is not at all uncommon in Rohan. I have half a mind to use this particular twist for the sake of our little disagreement.
As for "the best use of the land", that would be more of a concern in a more tightly regulated feudal society, which Rohan (as understood as a developed Anglo-Saxon culture) is not.
Farmer B should have gotten permission from our nameless Shire Reave, or else directly from the King, as there was no Eorl of the Middle Emnet when all of this happened.
Formy, the feudal structure you outline is actually more in keeping with post-Williamite Britain. In the pre-Williamite there would be a King, his Earls, freeholders, then peasants. Four levels, tops.
My next post is going to be an attempt at the exchange between Eodwine and the two farmers. I have a writers' group meeting starting in 1 hour, so I don't know how far I'll get.