Medieval Farming Systems

Feudalism and Rural Life People moved from town to country. Soil was important The lord, his family, his servants, and his retainers were supported The country estate of a lord was known as a manor.

Manorial System : the serfs (not a slave, but bound to the land--lived in a village and farmed the land communally , giving a share of their labour and the crop to the knight the knight and his family lived in the castle and had responsibility to protect the serfs and to fight when called up by the king the farmers had some opportunity to better themselves by improving farming practices

The Manor varied in size, according to the wealth of its lord. six hundred acres average estate every noble had at least one manor great nobles might have several manors, even the king depended on his many manors for the food supply of the court.

Common Cultivation of the Arable Land the lord reserved as much as he needed for his own use. The lord's land was called his "demesne," or domain. The rest of the land he allotted to the peasants who were his tenants, separated, not by fences or hedges, but by banks of unploughed turf. The appearance of a manor, when under cultivation, has been likened to a vast checkerboard or a patchwork quilt. A man had to sow the same kinds of crops as his neighbours, and to till and reap them at the same time.

Farming Methods very backward. Farmers did not know how to enrich the soil by the use of fertilizers each year they cultivated only two-thirds of the land, letting the other third lie "fallow" (uncultivated), the average yield was small Farm animals were small. A full-grown ox reached a size scarcely larger than a calf of today, and the fleece of a sheep often weighed less than 50 grams

The Mouldboard Plough (8th century) required 6 to 8 oxen to pull led to cooperative farming

Three field system of Agriculture Manor lands were therefore 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. Three field crop rotation winter wheat or rye spring oats, beans, or barley fallow

Farm Tools were few and clumsy. wooden ploughs only scratched the ground. Farrowing was done with a hand implement little better than a large rake. Grain was cut with a sickle, and grass was mown with a scythe. It took five men a day to reap and bind the harvest of two acres.

Horsepower replaces oxen (widespread by 12th century) WHY WAS THIS GOOD?

A horse could work for more hours a day and moved 50% faster! the horse collar (8th-9th century)--allows a horse to pull 4 or 5 times more weight. iron horseshoes (common by 11th century) allowed horses to work on wet ground the stirrup made possible the mounted knight, creating a demand for more and better horses One negative oats (oxen can work on grass alone)

Work that needed to be done Weather the farmer wanted January Month Work that needed to be done Weather the farmer wanted   January mending and making tools, repairing fences showers February carting manure and marl March ploughing and spreading manure dry, no severe frosts April spring sowing of seeds, harrowing showers and sunshine May digging ditches, first ploughing of fallow fields June hay making, second ploughing of fallow field, sheep-shearing dry weather  July hay making, sheep-shearing, weeding of crops dry early, showers later

threshing, ploughing and pruning fruit trees showers   August Harvesting warm, dry weather September threshing, ploughing and pruning fruit trees showers October Last ploughing of the year dry, no severe frosts November collecting acorns for pigs showers and sunshine December Mending and making tools, killing animals