Feudalism and Manorialism
What is Feudalism?
What two groups made up the Manorial System
and what role did they do?
a.
b.
How did it begin?
How did Manors become economically successful?
What was the Manorial System?
How did Manor system help the environment?
Feudalism and Manorialism
What is Feudalism?
What two groups made up the Manorial System
and what role did they do?
a.
b.
How did it begin?
How did Manors become economically successful?
What was the Manorial System?
How did Manor system help the environment?
Social Structure of Manorialism
The manor was the economic side of feudalism. The manor was a largely self-sufficient system in
which the lord’s land (granted by the king) was farmed by his serfs (essentially slaves bound to the
land). The manor included not just farmers, but also artisans who provided for the needs of the manor, a
chapel, forest for hunting, and pastureland for farm animals.
Village Life in the Middle Ages
The peasants, including serfs, freeman and villains, on a manor lived close together in one or more
villages. Their small, thatch-roofed, and one-roomed houses would be grouped about an open space
(the "green"), or on both sides of a single, narrow street. The only important buildings were the parish
church, the parsonage, a mill, if a stream ran through the manor, and possibly a blacksmith's shop. The
population of one of these villages often did not often exceed one hundred people.
Village Life in the Middle Ages: The Peasants and the Lords
Life in a medieval village was rude and rough. The peasants labored from sunrise to sunset, ate rough
and coarse food, lived in huts, and suffered from frequent epidemics. They were often the helpless prey
of the feudal nobles. If their lord happened to be a violent man, given to fighting with his neighbors,
they might see their lands ravaged, their cattle driven off, their village burned, and might themselves be
slain. Even under peaceful conditions the narrow, shut-in life of the manor could not be otherwise than
degrading. Under feudalism the lords and nobles of the land had certain rights over Medieval Serfs and
Peasants which included the right of jurisdiction, which gave judicial power to the nobles and lords and
the right of hunting.
Social Structure of Manorialism
The manor was the economic side of feudalism. The manor was a largely self-sufficient system in
which the lord’s land (granted by the king) was farmed by his serfs (essentially slaves bound to the
land). The manor included not just farmers, but also artisans who provided for the needs of the manor, a
chapel, forest for hunting, and pastureland for farm animals.
Village Life in the Middle Ages
The peasants, including serfs, freeman and villains, on a manor lived close together in one or more
villages. Their small, thatch-roofed, and one-roomed houses would be grouped about an open space
(the "green"), or on both sides of a single, narrow street. The only important buildings were the parish
church, the parsonage, a mill, if a stream ran through the manor, and possibly a blacksmith's shop. The
population of one of these villages often did not often exceed one hundred people.
Village Life in the Middle Ages: The Peasants and the Lords
Life in a medieval village was rude and rough. The peasants labored from sunrise to sunset, ate rough
and coarse food, lived in huts, and suffered from frequent epidemics. They were often the helpless prey
of the feudal nobles. If their lord happened to be a violent man, given to fighting with his neighbors,
they might see their lands ravaged, their cattle driven off, their village burned, and might themselves be
slain. Even under peaceful conditions the narrow, shut-in life of the manor could not be otherwise than
degrading. Under feudalism the lords and nobles of the land had certain rights over Medieval Serfs and
Peasants which included the right of jurisdiction, which gave judicial power to the nobles and lords and
the right of hunting.