The Manor
The heart of the medieval economy was the manor, or lord’s estate. Most manors included one or more villages and the surrounding lands. Peasants, who made up the majority of medieval society, lived and worked on the manor.
Peasants and lords. Most of the peasants on a manor were serfs, who were bound to the land. Serfs were not slaves who could be bought and sold. Still, they were not free. They could not leave the manor without the lord’s permission. And if the manor was granted to a new lord, the serfs went along with it.
Peasants and their lords were tied together by mutual rights and responsibilities. Peasants had to work several days a week farming the lord’s domain, or lands. They also had to repair the lord’s roads, bridges, and fences. Peasants paid the lord a fee when they married, when they inherited their father’s acres, or when they used the local mill to grind grain. Other payments fell due at Christmas and Easter. Because money had largely disappeared from medieval Europe, they paid with products such as grain, fruit, honey, eggs, or chickens.
In return for a lifetime of labor, peasants had the right to farm several acres for themselves. They were also entitled to their lord’s protection from Viking raids or feudal warfare. Although they could not leave the manor without permission, they also could not be forced off it. In theory, at least, they were guaranteed food, housing, and land.
A narrow world. The medieval manor was a small, self-sufficient world. Peasants produced almost everything they needed, from food and clothing to simple furniture and tools. Most peasants never ventured more than a few miles from their village. They had no schooling and no knowledge of the larger world.
A typical manor included a few dozen one- room huts clustered close together in a village. (* See Skills for Success, page 206.) Nearby stood a water mill to grind grain, a tiny church, and the manor house. The fields surrounding the village were divided into narrow strips. Each family had strips of land in different fields so that good and bad land was shared fairly. Half the land was left fallow, or unplanted, each year, to allow the soil to regain its fertility.
Daily Life
For most peasants, life was harsh. Men, women, and children worked long hours, from sunup to sundown. During planting season, a man might guide an ox-drawn plow while his wife goaded the ox into motion with a pointed stick. Children helped plant seeds, weeded, and took care of pigs or sheep.
The peasant family ate a simple diet of black bread with vegetables such as peas, cabbage, turnips, or onions. They seldom had meat unless they poached wild game at the risk of harsh punishment. If they lived near a river, a meal might include fish. At night, the family and any cows, chickens, pigs, or sheep slept together in their one-room hut.
Seasons. Like farmers everywhere, European peasants worked according to the season. In spring and autumn, they plowed and harvested. In summer, they hayed. At other times, they weeded, repaired fences, and performed chores. hunger was common, especially in late winter when the harvest was exhausted and new crops had not yet ripened. Disease took a heavy toll, and few peasants lived beyond the age of 35.
Celebrations. Despite life’s grimness, peasants found occasions to celebrate, such as marriages and births. Welcome breaks came on holidays such as Christmas and Easter, when they had a week off from work.
Dozens of other festivals in the Christian calendar brought days off, too. For these times, people might butcher an animal so that they could feast on meat. There would also be dancing and rough sports, from wrestling to ball games.
Beliefs. On the sabbath, peasants might attend chapel. After services, they gossiped or danced, even though the priest might condemn their racy songs or rowdy behavior.
In medieval Europe, people believed in elves, fairies, and other nature spirits. They had faith in love potions and magic charms. Witches, they thought, could cast spells with a mere look.
Priests tried to “Christianize” these old beliefs and practices. They built churches where temples to ancient gods had once stood. Where villagers had once sacrificed to the gods of the sun and rain to ensure good crops, priests might bless the fields in the name of Christ.
The heart of the medieval economy was the manor, or lord’s estate. Most manors included one or more villages and the surrounding lands. Peasants, who made up the majority of medieval society, lived and worked on the manor.
Peasants and lords. Most of the peasants on a manor were serfs, who were bound to the land. Serfs were not slaves who could be bought and sold. Still, they were not free. They could not leave the manor without the lord’s permission. And if the manor was granted to a new lord, the serfs went along with it.
Peasants and their lords were tied together by mutual rights and responsibilities. Peasants had to work several days a week farming the lord’s domain, or lands. They also had to repair the lord’s roads, bridges, and fences. Peasants paid the lord a fee when they married, when they inherited their father’s acres, or when they used the local mill to grind grain. Other payments fell due at Christmas and Easter. Because money had largely disappeared from medieval Europe, they paid with products such as grain, fruit, honey, eggs, or chickens.
In return for a lifetime of labor, peasants had the right to farm several acres for themselves. They were also entitled to their lord’s protection from Viking raids or feudal warfare. Although they could not leave the manor without permission, they also could not be forced off it. In theory, at least, they were guaranteed food, housing, and land.
A narrow world. The medieval manor was a small, self-sufficient world. Peasants produced almost everything they needed, from food and clothing to simple furniture and tools. Most peasants never ventured more than a few miles from their village. They had no schooling and no knowledge of the larger world.
A typical manor included a few dozen one- room huts clustered close together in a village. (* See Skills for Success, page 206.) Nearby stood a water mill to grind grain, a tiny church, and the manor house. The fields surrounding the village were divided into narrow strips. Each family had strips of land in different fields so that good and bad land was shared fairly. Half the land was left fallow, or unplanted, each year, to allow the soil to regain its fertility.
Daily Life
For most peasants, life was harsh. Men, women, and children worked long hours, from sunup to sundown. During planting season, a man might guide an ox-drawn plow while his wife goaded the ox into motion with a pointed stick. Children helped plant seeds, weeded, and took care of pigs or sheep.
The peasant family ate a simple diet of black bread with vegetables such as peas, cabbage, turnips, or onions. They seldom had meat unless they poached wild game at the risk of harsh punishment. If they lived near a river, a meal might include fish. At night, the family and any cows, chickens, pigs, or sheep slept together in their one-room hut.
Seasons. Like farmers everywhere, European peasants worked according to the season. In spring and autumn, they plowed and harvested. In summer, they hayed. At other times, they weeded, repaired fences, and performed chores. hunger was common, especially in late winter when the harvest was exhausted and new crops had not yet ripened. Disease took a heavy toll, and few peasants lived beyond the age of 35.
Celebrations. Despite life’s grimness, peasants found occasions to celebrate, such as marriages and births. Welcome breaks came on holidays such as Christmas and Easter, when they had a week off from work.
Dozens of other festivals in the Christian calendar brought days off, too. For these times, people might butcher an animal so that they could feast on meat. There would also be dancing and rough sports, from wrestling to ball games.
Beliefs. On the sabbath, peasants might attend chapel. After services, they gossiped or danced, even though the priest might condemn their racy songs or rowdy behavior.
In medieval Europe, people believed in elves, fairies, and other nature spirits. They had faith in love potions and magic charms. Witches, they thought, could cast spells with a mere look.
Priests tried to “Christianize” these old beliefs and practices. They built churches where temples to ancient gods had once stood. Where villagers had once sacrificed to the gods of the sun and rain to ensure good crops, priests might bless the fields in the name of Christ.
For more informations please click on one of the links below
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_peasants.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/medfarmer.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/medfarmer.html