The Nobility

ESTATE LIFE

Lords, or men of high standing and the holder of large amounts of land called estates, were the descendants of Frankish warriors and wealthy Roman landowners. Most of their wealth came from goods grown or made on their estates. Some lords owned only one manor; others owned many. Each estate was self-sufficient and took care of its own needs. The local lord of each manor lived in a manor house or a castle. Nearby stood a small village containing wood and dirt cottages with thatched roofs. A forest, meadows, pastures, and fields surrounded the village. Most villages had a church, mill, bread oven, and winepress. Craftspeople who lived on the estates made weapons, cooking tools, and jewelry. Shoemakers, carpenters, and blacksmiths lived and worked on the estates, too.

The nobles, a name given to a wealthy citizen in Middle Age society, lived in stone farmhouses on the lords’ estates. Wooden stockades, or fences, often surrounded the houses. Each farmhouse had a banquet hall, sleeping quarters, cellars, stables, storage places, and a small chapel.

Farmers lived in simple wooden houses in small villages on the estates. They worked in the fields, vineyards, orchards, and forests that surrounded their villages. The nobles owned the fields, but the farmers worked them three days a week. The rest of the time they worked small plots of land the nobles had given them as their own.

The farmers divided the land into three sections. One section did not get used at all. On the other two sections, they used heavy metal plows suitable for the hard soil. In the autumn, farmers planted wheat or rye in one section. In the spring, they planted oats or barley in the other section. Each year, the farmers rotated the type of crops they grew in each section. This helped to make better use of the soil. Each section got a rest every three years and important nutrients were naturally replaced.

By the 1200’s, peasants began to learn better farming techniques. They made better use of the three-field system of farming. They started to use a heavy iron plow rather than the lightweight wooden plow. The horse collar was invented allowing peasants to use horses instead of slow-moving oxen to plow their fields. All of this allowed the peasants to grow more food

In addition to working the land, farmers had to give nobles food and animals as taxes. They had to perform many services for the nobles, too. The men repaired buildings on the estates, cut down trees, carried loads, gathered fruits, and served in the army when needed. The women worked as hard as the men did. They looked after the children and the small animals, wove cloth, and sewed clothing. The farmers gradually did more for the nobles and less for themselves. They were becoming land-working servants called serfs.

FREEMEN AND SERFS

Two groups of peasants worked on a manor. One group was the freemen. These peasants paid a lord for the right to farm the land. They worked only on their own strips of land and had rights under the law. They moved wherever and whenever they wished. The lord, however, had the right to throw them off the manor without warning.

The other group of peasants was the serfs. They were poor peasants who were bound to work on the land owned by a lord or vassal. The serfs and their descendants were lord’s property. They could not move to another area, own their own property, or marry without the lord’s permission. Serfs, however, could not be driven off the land and did not have to serve in the army. The serfs worked long hours in the fields and performed many services for the nobles. Serfs spent three days of the week working the lord’s strips of land and the rest of the week caring for their own strips. They gave part of their own harvest to the lord.

It was not easy for serfs to gain their freedom, however once in awhile it did happen. One way was to escape to the towns. If a serf remained in town for more than a year, they were considered free.

In spite of the difficulties, a serf’s life had a few bright moments. Both the rich and the poor sang, danced, and feasted on religious holidays. They listened to traveling musicians called minstrels. Sunday was a day of rest from work. At Christmas, the lord paid for a great feast and entertainment. Certain holidays were celebrated with singing and dancing on the village green. When they could, the serfs took part in such sports as wrestling, archery, and soccer. The end of the Middle Ages allowed serfs to buy their own freedom.

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