Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Medieval Life
How did the institution of the manor shape the world and daily activities of medieval peasants?
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22 comments:
During the High Middle Ages, Europe was dominated by an agricultural society. There were no factories or other such modern institutions; instead, there were manors. Therefore, agricultural production played a major role in the economy. Manors, headed by members of the nobility, were essentially economic units, in which money was made from the sales of the crops produced. The nobles appointed peasants to tend to the lands, which had been divided up into three sections (crop rotation/"three-field system"), by growing and harvesting crops. In return for cultivating the land, peasants were given a fair share of the crops they grew. In addition, if sales were good enough due to their hard labor, peasants were awarded compensation. As a result, many peasants worked in manors. Consequently, the peasants became the largest and most economically productive group in society. The wealth of noblemen and noblewomen relied heavily upon the work of these peasants.
Jackie, I think you did a good job in covering all the facts. However, I don't see anything about the hardships of peasants, and how difficult the manor system could be- they were on the bottom of the proverbial pyramid after all.
Life on a manor was often all a young peasant knew; families usually stayed on a manor because they were bound to the land, and didn’t have enough money to buy their own, or move with an owner if the land changed hands. They still had to obey whoever owned the land, even if it changed owners. Landlords would decide what and when would be planted or harvested without doing any of the actual work himself. In this way, the lords of the manor had almost complete control over a peasant's life- what they did one day to the next, how much money they had- to an extent- or even how big their plot of land they could live on was. Peasants mainly worked the land, and in exchange got a share of crops, sometimes a fair share, other times not.
I think you did a really good job at responding to the question but maybe you should have talked more about what the lord of the manor made a peasant do and also talked about "week work.” Not all lords controlled what a peasant did from way day to the next but you still did good.
Respone to Tasha g:
I thought that your comment was very good. You explained a lot of the main ideas associated with the manor. I thought that you could have included that the other serfs or peasants owed the landlord “boon works”, or rent. You could also have explained more about how hard it was for them to work on the manors. But overall I thought that it was very good.
tasha-your responce was great, i understood it the first time i read it. i liked the part about land owners jobs, it made me understand a little bit more about the lords and nobles. Next time, i suggest you told us more on how the peasants dealt with the living conditions at the manor. good job!
In response to Tasha:
I think you did a great job of explaining how the peasants worked for the landlord but they had land that they had to take care of also. I think that you could have talked about where they lived and what jobs they did on their own part of the manor. You could have mentioned how they had to work for the landlords and themselves.
Jackie-
I like how you explained about how peasants and lords worked together. You pretty much went over everything. I think you could of added details about the manor life of women and children, but besides that, it was really good.
peasants were poor and were not kings
i agree
In medieval peasant families, everyone had their own job to keep the house up and running. The women did most of the cleaning and cooking, and they also tended to the garden. When the harvest was ripe, they would help bring it in. Another one of the women's biggest jobs was taking care of the children. The children did little jobs around the house and in the fields like scaring the birds away and collecting eggs from the chicken. The older children usually helped their fathers in the fields. While the women and the children were doing all of the little jobs, the men were out in the fields doing all of the "dirty" work, like harrowing, plowing, weeding, and harvesting.
Peasants living on or around manor estates worked for the owner, who had the right to order work from them. The peasants were also often forced to use ovens and mills, but even then they were charged a fee. Peasants performed one of two types of work. Week work required them to do whatever the lord asked, while boon work specified either the type of work or amount of time required.
Sarah, your response was correct concerning a peasant's household, but it doesn't talk about life on a manor. I agreed with what you said about peasants' households, though. Every member of the family performed work and contributed to the family's income.
With regards to Sarah's comment. I think you did a good job of describing some of the household duties of a Medieval Age peasant. You can improve a lot by trying to be more succinct in the future. Good job though =)
Jackie!well done. I thought you did a good job at explaining how the manor played a huge role in medieval life. It helped me better understand its affect on the people and economy.
The institution of the manor was a definite turning point in the lives of medieval peasants. Men, women, and children worked incredibly hard and were given a small diet with a few coins in return. They had to live through the harsh winter with a light dress or an itchy pair of trousers. In addition, the peasants had to pay the lords for using machines that were necessary for completion of their daily tasks. Many peasants believed that their life was unfair, resulting in numerous peasant revolts and showing that there was a great need for a new social system.
During the medieval ages the peasants lived on a manor. The peasants were usually not free. Most of the peasants were bound to the land called serfs and could buy themselves out of it. Some of the serfs and the other free peasants owned “boon works” which was like rent. Boon work was considered horrible labor. The lords forced the peasant to use the mills and the ovens for pay.
Nicely done with a cherry on top, Margot, but I personally think that you could have added a bit more detail into your answer. For example, I didn't get many details of how they coped with the manorial duties as well as taking care of their own families. Otherwise, a short, sweet, and nice response. Money in the bank.
(Shorty watcha drank?)
Molly, I think you did a nice job explaining the peasant’s life style. It helped for that you explained the life style in different aspects. I thought you could have gone into a little more detail about how the peasant’s life was unfair. But besides that, I thought you did a really good job.
Jackie, I think that you described the manorial life very well. The only thing that should be in your description that is not is the quality of peasant life. In your description you said that “peasants were given a fair share of the crops they grew” and “the peasants became the largest and most economically productive group in society” which can lead people to believe that peasants were well off even though they were far from it.
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