1. Medieval farming

2. Growing Crops
Most of the land in the village belonged to the Lord. He kept some of the land for his own crops, this was called his Demesne. The rest of his land was let to the villagers.
The fields were divided into strips. This was so that everyone had a fair share of the good and bad land.

3. How may a typical village may have been divided up ?
What problems are there likely to be with lots of strips in ONE field?
think about range of crops which can be grown
weeds
use of land

4. Farming
There were three main fields - one growing wheat, one growing barley and one fallow.
Few farmers could afford the 8 oxen needed to pull the plough, so they grouped together and ploughed everything at once.
Oxen Yoke
Plough

5. All the sowing and harvesting had to be done at the same time
All the sowing and harvesting had to be done at the same time. The corn was cut with sickles and threshed with flails. It was then taken to the Lord’s mill to be ground. The hay was cut with scythes.
A Scythe

6. The Open Field System
Most Manorial estates were divided into three large fields. These were then divided into strips for the villagers.
Between the strips was raised unploughed land.
The villagers had to decide what to grow in each field. This was usually fixed by tradition or the manorial court.
One field would always be left empty (fallow) to allow the soil to recover.
Crop rotation was usually practised.

7. The Peasant’s Year January February March April Work Ploughing Seeds
Weeding
done
sown,
round the
weeding,
house
chasing
away
birds

8. May
June
July
August
Weeding,
Sheep
Fallow
Men
doing jobs
sheared,
field
scythed
around
hay
ploughed,
the crop,
the farm
harvested,
hemp and
women
and house
cattle let in
flax
tied up the
to clear
gathered
sheaf
stubble
for
spinning

9. September
October
November
December
Harvest
The field
Some of
Collecting
continued,
was sown
the
firewood,
the grain
with
animals
working
was
winter
were
around the
winnowed.
corn
butchered
house
The Lord
and the
provided a
meat
feast at the
salted and
end
smoked

10. Look back over the farming year.
Make a list of all the words you are not sure about - discuss them with a neighbour to see if you can work out what they are
In what ways did farming then differ from today?
Why do you think the Lord gave a feast after harvest?
Create a cartoon to show the main events of the year.

11. AS well as the specific chores, peasants also had to dig and maintain drainage ditches, look after their animals, make repairs to their house, tend their gardens and collect firewood all year round.
On top of all this, peasants had to do their services to the Lord - usually three days a week ploughing and other jobs.

12. 1. Who owned most of the land in the village?
A) the villagers
B) the Church
C) the Lord
D) the King
Answer: C

13. 2. Why was there a system of strip farming?
A) to give an equal share of land across different fields
B) cattle could only walk forwards
C) the Lord of the Manor had all the square fields
D) It prevented any land being wasted
Answer: A

14. 3. Why was one field left fallow (empty)?
A) as an offering to God
B) as an offering to the Lord of the Manor
C) to allow the land to recover its fertility
D) to allow wild animals to survive
Answer: C

15. C) it required many oxen
4. Which of the following is not true of using sickles, flails and scythes in the harvest?
A) it was a slow process
B) it was tiring work
C) it required many oxen
D) it required lots of manpower to make it effective
Answer: C

16. 5. Which reason is not correct?
A) winter corn was sown…..to provide extra food for the people
B) Collecting firewood went on all year round…..because there was no other fuel for cooking
C) The harvest took place in August and September……because it was warm enough to work outside all the time
D) weeding took place in the spring……because that was when growth was fastest, and the crop was not fully grown
Answer: C