The Manor Life & The Town Life

The Manor Life & The Town Life

The Manor House In Medieval Europe, more than 90% of the population lived in rural communities and worked on the land. Farming was a full-time job. The Lord's manor used to consist of a village, the lord's house or castle, a church and the surrounding farmland. The lord governed the community and appointed officials who made sure that the villagers carried out their duties. The lord lived on his estate in his manor house. He also acted as the judge in the manor court and had the power to punish those who broke the law.

Life was far from being comfortable in castles: the wind came in through the window blinds and the people used to sleep on benches or hard mattresses in the dining-room. In many castles, some people used to sleep together in the same bed, although the Lord and the Lady used to have their own room. The Manor Life

Manor Life People in the Middle Ages were far from being clean. The toilet used to be a hole with a stone seat which led the waters into the cesspit; few rooms had running water and bathtubs were a luxury. In fact, only the richest people could afford a hot bath, as they had to pay for the wood used for heating the water and for the bathing oils. King John used to have a bath once a month and it cost him 5 pence each time, while a working man had to work a whole week to earn this money.

Manor Life

Serfs on Manor The village was divided into 2 or 3 large fields, divided then into narrow strips of land. Each peasant had strips in different parts of the field, so that they all shared good and poor land. They used to grow rye, oat, peas and barley. The peasants' lives were linked to the natural cycle, the weather and the seasons. They got up at dawn and went to bed at dusk. So, they used to spend most of the daylight hours working outside. peasants were forced to work for the lord, who allowed them to farm their own piece of land in return. So, most families rented a small piece of land in the huge, open fields which belonged to the lord or the church, paying them a percentage of the yield.

Manor lands were farmed using the three-field system of agriculture. One field was devoted to winter crops, another to summer crops, and a third lying fallow each year. The land was worked by peasants. Manor Field

Pasture Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, or sheep.

Manor Life The tradition of the manor dictated that if a serf died, his son would "inherit his father' s land by paying a fine, of course, and also paying the Death duty. This usually consisted of the best animal or most valuable possession, which would be given to the lord. By paying a fine, a peasant could marry outside his own manor, go on a pilgrimage or educate his son buying him an apprenticeship or having him admitted to the priesthood.

Manor Mill Peasants had to pay the miller to have their corn grounded at the lord's mill and to take wood from the forest. As you can see, most poor people used to work the land, but there were few exceptions, such as the smiths, who forged the metal, shoed horses and repaired tools.

Glebe Land Glebe land or Church land. It was an area of land used to support a parish priest. The word 'glebe' itself is from middle English which is originally from Latin, gleba meaning land or soil'. Glebe land was granted by any lord of the manor.

A bakehouse was more or less a communal place to bake bread. Could be a whole building, or just a room within a building. Landlords often built the bakehouses to avoid adding the feature to every living place. Some survived until the early to 1900's. They worked like the one miller who ground grain for a whole village, or blacksmith that did repair work for the whole village. Bakehouse

Medieval Church The Church dominated everybody s life. All Medieval people be they village peasants or towns people believed that God, Heaven and Hell all existed. From the very earliest of ages, the people were taught that the only way they could get to Heaven was if the Roman Catholic Church let them. The control the Church had over the people was total. Peasants worked for free on Church land. This proved difficult for peasants as the time they spent working on Church land, could have been better spent working on their own plots of land producing food for their families. They paid 10% of what they earned in a year to the Church (this tax was called tithes). Tithes could be paid in either money or in goods produced by the peasant farmers.

Manor Life

Medieval Towns As trade flourished once again, people began to move into the towns. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, towns were part of the land that feudal lords controlled (lords demanded for taxes). As towns grew wealthier, town dwellers resented the lords for demanding taxes and felt that they no longer needed their protection. The Cathedral or church was often the largest building in a medieval town.

Many became powerful and wealthy enough to purchase their independence from their feudal lords. Medieval towns became the centers for trade. Trade and production of goods were overseen by guilds, an organization of people in the same craft or trade. Guilds provided help and protection They maintained high standards. Medieval Towns

Guilds v Commercial Monopoly: Controlled membership apprentice à journeyman à master craftsman Controlled quality of the product [masterpiece]. Controlled prices

Towns had markets where food and local goods were bought and sold. Medieval towns were typically small and crowded. Houses: Most houses were built of wood. They were narrow and could be up to four stories high. As wooden houses aged, they tended to lean. Besides being unhealthy, medieval towns were noisy, crowded and often unsafe. Entertainment: Towns people participated in many leisure activities. Chess, checkers, playing card, jugglers, dancers, plays, clowns, etc. Town Life

Market towns originates in the medieval period. It is a settlement that has the right to host markets distinguishing it from a village. Market towns were often close to fortified places such as castles, to enjoy their protection. Markets were located where transport was easiest, such as at a crossroads or close to a river. Market Town

Town Life

Daily Life in Medieval Europe You will be making a map of a manor and a map of a medieval town. You must include the following elements of manor/medieval town: Manor Fields, manor house or castle, mill, pasture, and church. Town Market, cathedral, streets, houses, entertainment, and merchants.

Warm-Up: Manor Review 1. WHAT IS A GUILD? 2. HOW MANY PEOPLE IN THE MEDIEVAL EUROPE LIVED ON FARMLAND? 3. WHAT MADE TOWNS FLOURISH? 4. WHAT DID A GUILD PROVIDE PEOPLE? 5. DESCRIBE A MEDIEVAL TOWN?