“I, Edward, by the grace of God king of England, sent this decree to the reverend father in Christ William, by the grace of God archbishop of Canterbury, supreme Church leader of all England: Know that, because of the great number of people who died in the recent pestilence, those who survive see that masters need servants, which have become scarce, and so they now refuse to serve as workmen unless they receive excessive wages. That is why, I, considering the grave inconveniences that might come from the lack of such workmen, especially plowmen, and after consultations with the nobles and clergy of the realm, have decided that every man and woman of our realm of England shall be required to serve his or her lord at the wages that were provided five years ago, in the year 1346. The lords are entitled to keep their serfs. If any such serf, man or woman, who is required to serve their lord will not do so, they shall be immediately committed to jail.” King Edward III of England, the Statute of Laborers, royal decree, 1351 The need for legal action to address the “grave inconveniences” that might result from the labor shortages described in the passage most likely resulted from the agrarian nature of medieval European economies and their reliance on coerced labor the agrarian nature of medieval European economies and their reliance on coerced labor A the inability of members of the nobility and other feudal lords to take direct legal action against their workers and serfs the inability of members of the nobility and other feudal lords to take direct legal action against their workers and serfs B the high social rank and economic standing of plowmen in medieval English society the high social rank and economic standing of plowmen in medieval English society C the presence of guild regulations prohibiting agricultural laborers from working more than a certain number of hours each wee