4.1 Life in the countryside

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Chapter 4

4.1 Life in the countryside

Welcome!

At the end of this lesson...

• You can describe how the economy changed in the Early Middle Ages in western Europe and give the reasons for those changes.
  
• You can describe what a medieval manor looked like.
  
• You can explain how the manorial system worked and the place serfs had in that system.

Today

• What do you know already (+- 10 min)
• Explanation (+- 20 min)
• Draw your own manor! (+- 15 min)

Time of Monks and Knights (500 - 1000)

In white you see a helmet, like knights wore. In the background you see part of a monastery. Knighthood and the Christian church belong to the Time of monks and knights.

Feniks, Geschiedenis Werkplaats, Memo, Saga

What do you know about
the Middle Ages?

First the name:

The Middle Ages

The period after the Roman Empire (Ancient Times) and before the Modern Era.

• It lies in the middle of those two periods: intermediate period

• between 500 and 1500

• Early Middle Ages: 500-1000
  
• Late Middle Ages: 1000-1500

Troubled times in Europe

500-800

• After the fall of the Western Roman Empire there were many wars
• Travel was dangerous and most people lived in villages.

• Large cities, such as Rome, were no longer there

An agrarian society emerged. Almost everyone worked as a farmer, except for a small elite of administrators, soldiers and priests.

Manor

• A village with agricultural land was called a manor

• The lord of the manor, for example a knight, was the boss of a manor: all the land was his.

Demesne

Farm holdings

• The lord of the manor lives here.
• His own farm is here. 
• All proceeds go to the lord. 

• The other farmers live here.
• Divided into smaller plots of land, each of which was worked by a farmer and his family.
• The farmers have to give part of their produce to the lord.

• Forests, swamps and rivers
• Provide wood, nuts, game and fish.
• All proceeds go to the lord of the manor. 

Wastelands

Manorial System

Hungry

Poor

Unsafe

Lord of the manor

The lord gives:

• Protection
• Farmland

In exchange, the serfs give:

• A part of their produce
• Servile duties

Serfs

A donjon, or motte-and-bailey castle, was a fortified watchtower. The lord lived here when there was danger.

The area outside the domain consisted of the land of the free farmers and the wastelands, uncultivated areas and forests.

The free farmers had to fight together with the lord during a war. They had to pay for the armor themselves.

The lord's fields were worked by serfs. There were fields where the entire yield went to the lord, and there were fields where part of the yield went to the serf farmers. Incidentally, they also had to pay their rent from this yield.

This was the farm (farmstead) of the lord. The lord lived here when there was no danger. The produce of his fields was stored in barns. In houses next to the lord's farm, the serf farmers lived in case of danger, such as war.

Here were stables for the animals and orchards.

Serfs lived outside the manorial court (the lord's farm) during times of peace

By manorial system we mean the entire system of lords and serfs, including rent and servile duties.

Draw your own manor!

Make sure it has...

• A Demesne
• Farm holdings
• Wasteland
• Serfs
• Free farmers