The Manor Life & The Town Life

The Manor Life 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.

The Manor Life 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.

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 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 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 beast 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 Life 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.

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.

Medieval Towns 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.

Guilds  Commercial Monopoly:  Controlled membership apprentice  journeyman  master craftsman  Controlled quality of the product [masterpiece].  Controlled prices

Town Life Towns had markets where food and local goods were bought and sold. Medieval towns were typically small and crowded. 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. Towns people participated in many leisure activities. – Chess, checkers, playing cards, jugglers, dancers, plays, clowns, etc.

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 put two facts for each of the following elements of manor/medieval town: – Manor Fields, manor house, mill, pasture, village (what did it look like), bake house, and church. – Town Market, cathedral, streets, houses, entertainment, guild, and merchants shops.