 Manorialism

 Reached its complete form in the HMA  A medieval manor was a unit of land consisting of one or more villages that was governed by a noble, who was called a lord  an estate held by a lord, comprised of a demesne directly exploited by the lord, and peasant holdings from which he collected rents and fees

Manorial Governance  Lord  StewardAPPOINTED  Bailiff ReeveELECTED Other Manorial Officials Aletaster, hayward, woodward etc

Status of Peasants ECONOMIC Virgater Half-virgater cotters LEGAL Freeman Only taxes and possibly boonwork Half-villein Taxes and some week and boon work Villein (serf) Taxes, boonwork and weekwork

A Typical Manorial Village  Groups of tofts and crofts  Fields in outlying area  Fields divided intro strips  Three field system  Demesne= lord’s land  Pastureland  Woodland  Manor house  church

Some Dues Owed to Lord  Heriot (death tax)  Merchet (marriage tax)  Multure (tax to grind wheat into flour)  Pannage (tax to allow pigs in forest)  Occasionally special items at certain times of the year ie; eggs at Easter

Some Dues Owed to Priest  Plough-alms: tax on each plough team due at Easter  Soul-Scot: tax for funeral mass  Church-scot: paid by freemen at Martinmas  Tithes  (Glebe)

Why on Earth?  Manorial relationship generally not exploitative, rather symbiotic  Protection/safety for a fee  Peasants elected those officials who had the most influence on their lives  Peasants had recourse to tradition

Key Terns  Lord  Steward  Bailiff  Reeve

Key Terms  Demesne  Virgate  Toft and croft  Wattle and daub  Weekwork  boonwork

Key Terms  Heriot  Merchet  Tithe  Hallmote  Frankenpledge