After the Black Death, many villages were too small to be functional. You needed a cobbler, smith, cooper, farmers, bakers etc. So Lords just moved peasants aro

After the Black Death, many villages were too small to be functional. You needed a cobbler, smith, cooper, farmers, bakers etc. So Lords just moved peasants around like pawns and consolidated villages. Also they changed from farmholds to large grazing areas and obsoleted some villages. Obsolete villagers were just 'let go' meaning "Load up the wagon and leave! Good luck finding another home!" The Scottish Highland Clearances resulted in the wholesale exportation of entire populations to Nova Scotia. At least they had a chance of finding some land to homestead. These kind of arbitrary actions served more to sculpt the landscape of villages and towns, than all the Villager's efforts ever did.