History of
EnglandLords and Peasants: The Structure of Medieval Society
I. Lords A. The F Word: The Tyranny of a Construct 1. History of the F-word a. 18th-century Enlightenment thinkers developed abstract concepts of feudal government and feudal society that were taken up and further developed by 20th-century historians b. they utilized ideas that had been tossed around by 16th and 17th- century English and French legal scholars c. a "law of fiefs" in the form of the Libri Feudorum had been attached to Roman law texts in the late 12th and early 13th centuries (feudum is Latin for fief) d. the Libri Feudorum did not distinguish between fiefs and allodial land e. thus, the 16th and 17th-century English and French legal scholars mistakenly assumed that all noble lands were fiefs f. and the 18th-century Enlightenment thinkers abstracted from this the idea of a feudal government 2. Fiefs and vassals (traditional view) a. fief: a piece of land that a lord held from the king or another lord in return for loyalty and various kinds of service b. vassal: refers to a lord who held a fief from another lord c. homage and oath of fealty: ceremony to mark this reciprocal relationship 3. Actual European interpersonal and property relations a. most nobles and other free people held allodial land before the 12th century b. very little evidence for homage and contracts between lords and vassals c. and no rituals were specific to vassals; peasants underwent similar rituals to show their loyalty to their lords B. Aristocratic interpersonal and property relations in medieval France 1. Early and High Middle Ages a. most land was allodial b. vassals were people who were loyal to their lord, not people who owed service for land c. people were loyal to the king because he was the king and he rewarded their loyalty 2. Later Middle Ages a. allodial land survived, but by the 13th century most noble land was called fiefs b. but military service was not tied to land, it was tied to the political status of the landholder c. the term vassal did not survive into the 11th c. d. homage not only performed for fief-holding C. Aristocratic interpersonal and property relations in medieval England 1. Before 1066 a. nothing really resembling feudalism b. no fiefs, vassals, homage, oaths of fealty 2. After 1066 a. William divided up much of England amongst his followers b. individual pieces of land were called knight's fees, not fiefs - in theory, one knight's fee was supposed to provide sufficient income for the knight to buy and maintain a horse, armor, weapons, etc. c. but military service was an obligation of land-holders in general - no specific service connected with a specific piece of land d. homage was performed for political subordination, not really for an individual piece of land e. the role of money 1. from the outset, you could pay money instead of giving military service 2. within a century, this is institutionalized in the form of the scutage 3. also had to pay relief and other fees 4. some land was simply held for a money rent, not military service
II. Peasants A. Definition 1. about 80 percent of the population 2. lived in the countryside 3. engaged in small-scale farming - held anywhere from half an acre to 50 acres of land; but usually held less than 10 acres 4. occupied a relatively subordinate social position 5. had relatively low incomes 6. different types of peasants a. free: didn't owe any services to their lord b. unfree (villeins or serfs): held their land by customary tenure and owed various services to their lord c. unfree tenants also owed various fines 1. merchet 2. chevage B. Village and Manor 1. hamlets and farms: more prevalent than once thought 2. manor: administrative unit that included the lands of a lord in a certain area 3. Running the manor a. DOC 12: Manorial Account Roll b. Images: 1. plowing 2. sowing seeds and harrowing 3. reaping 4. harvesting grapes 5. shearing sheep and reaping 6. tending pigs 4. village a. the typical layout [Medieval Village Plan] b. communal life 5. hue and cry: English substitute for an organized police force 6. manorial court: e.g., view of frankpledge a. met once or twice a year b. presided over by the lord's steward c. village members were the jurors d. frankpledge system: tithings, chief pledges e. DOC 13: Manorial Court Roll C. Agriculture 1. open-field farming [Medieval Village Plan] a. narrow strips b. this divided the good and bad land c. risk avoidance 2. Two course rotation: half planted, half fallow 3. Three course rotation: 2/3 planted, 1/3 fallow 4. keeping the soil healthy a. manure from grazing animals b. legumes 5. planting of certain crops was a communal decision D. Housing 1. advent of stone walls in the 13th century 2. wattle and daub walls [image] [Peasant Buildings] 3. cruck house construction [image] 4. often twice as wide as they were long 5. windows with shutters 6. people and animals often lived together in houses 7. hearth in the center of the house E. Diet 1. grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats) - bread, porridge, ale 2. dairy produce - cheese: mainly from ewe's milk 3. fruits and vegetables a. mainly root vegetables such as beets, turnips, carrots and leeks b. also cabbage and legumes c. possibly apples and pears from fruit trees 4. meat and eggs a. mainly eggs b. very little meat, especially beef and mutton
