1. Lein and Hannah

2. Manor - lord’s estate included one or more villages. Usually included a church. Serfs - peasants who worked the land. Manorialism represented the economic part of feudalism. All aspects of life were centered on the lords manor.

3. This system granted the lord economic and legal power over his serfs and tenants. His land was called his demesne or domain. This was required to support his way of life. He split the land into separate strips for the peasants. The peasants were also allowed to use wood from the forest, the common area, and had a house in the village.

4. The middle ages were violent times. The majority of the population were peasants. Only a small number of them owned their own land. And very few people were artisans, blacksmiths, or crafts people. There was a desperate need for security.

5. They were bound to the land and if the manor was granted to a new lord the serfs went along with the land. Serfs had little money. Their lord protected them. Much of their produce went to the lord, but they were given some land to farm for themselves.

6. Serfs produced food, clothing, furniture, and tools. They had to pay the lord when they inherited land from their fathers. Even thought they were not free, they were also not slaves. Serfs rarely ventured outside their lord’s estate and had no knowledge of the world.

7. Serfs rarely lived past the age of 35. Disease was common. They had a simple diet. Rarely ate meat, which was reserved for the lord. Serfs who illegally killed wild game on their lords manor risked harsh punishment. If they lived by a river fish might be added into their diet.

8. All the members of the family and livestock slept together in their hut. Peasants had a harsh life, working from sunup to sundown. Everyone participated, doing different tasks. Despite their hard lives peasants also had occasion to celebrate. They also had time off at Christmas and Easter.

9. Had judicial power. Could claim the goods of a person who died on the lord’s land and had no direct heir. Could claim tax when property/domain changed hands.

10. Based on this picture what is the one main job of peasants?

11. What are the three different fields?