129 The Manor System
Learning Objective
- Illustrate the hierarchy of the manor system by describing the roles of lords, villeins, and serfs
Key Points
- The lord of a manor was supported by his land holdings and contributions from the peasant population. Serfs who occupied land belonging to the lord were required to work the land, and in return received certain entitlements.
- Serfdom was the status of peasants in the manor system, and villeins were the most common type of serf in the Middle Ages.
- Villeins rented small homes with or without land; as part of their contract with the lord they were expected to spend some time working the land.
- Villeins could not move away without the lord’s consent and the acceptance of the new lord whose manor they were to move to. Because of the protection villeins received from the lord’s manor, it was generally not favorable to move away unless the landlord proved to be especially tyrannical.
- The manor system was made up of three types of land: demesne, dependent, and free peasant land.
- Manorial structures could be found throughout medieval Western and Eastern Europe: in Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Baltic nations, Holland, Prussia, England, France, and the Germanic kingdoms.
Terms
demesne
All the land, not necessarily all physically connected to the manor house, that was retained by the lord of a manor for his own use and support, under his own management.
serfs
Peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism. It was a condition of bondage that developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe.
villein
The most common type of serf in the Middle Ages. They had more rights and a higher status than the lowest serf, but existed under a number of legal restrictions that differentiated them from freemen.
freemen
Men who were not serfs in the feudal system.
Manorialism was an essential element of feudal society and was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire. Manorialism was widely practiced in medieval Western Europe and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market economy and new forms of agrarian contract.
Manorialism was characterized by the vesting of legal and economic power in the lord of a manor. The lord was supported economically from his own direct landholding in a manor (sometimes called a fief), and from the obligatory contributions of the peasant population who fell under the jurisdiction of the lord and his court. These obligations could be payable in several ways: in labor, in kind, or, on rare occasions, in coin. Manorial structures could be found throughout medieval Western and Eastern Europe: in Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Baltic nations, Holland, Prussia, England, France, and the Germanic kingdoms.
The main reason for the development of the system was perhaps also its greatest strength: the stabilization of society during the destruction of Roman imperial order. With a