2. Economics
Manorialism
What is the manor system?
• An economic system of obligations
(promises) that govern the
relationships between lords and
peasants (serfs) in medieval
Europe.
• The manor system is about who
works the land, and how the fruit
of that labor is divided up.
3. Economics
A manor on the fief
What is a fief?
What is a manor?
• When a lord gave something to a
vassal it was often called a fief. A
fief was usually a piece of land
that the vassal would become
responsible for.
• This fief would have a manor on it.
A manor is a self-sustaining
community.
4. Economics
Trade
What was feudalism and
manorialism a response to?
What was trade like during the
early part of Medieval Europe.
• Remember, feudalism was a political
solution to the dangerous conditions
in Western Europe.
• Manorialism was the economic
response to that danger.
• Trade was far to dangerous;
communities could not trust that
trade would ever make it to them.
As a result, communities had to
produce everything they needed. A
manor served this function.
5. Economics
Serfs
What did a serf receive from
the lord?
What was the serf required to
do with some of the produce
from their lands?
• Serfs were given small parcels of
land to grow crops for their family
and to sell – but the land still
belonged to the lord, so they could
not sell it.
• Some of this produce also had to be
paid to the lord of the land as taxes.
Also, if a serf wanted to use any of
the lords resources (like a mill for
grinding grain) then they would pay
a fee with some of their produce.
6. Economics
Produce
Before a serf could work their
own land, what did the serf
have to do?
What would a serf have to do if
they wanted to leave the
manor?
• Before a serf was able to work in
their fields, they were required to
work the fields that belonged only to
the lord.
• Everything that grows on the lord’s
fields goes to the lord. The serf is not
allowed to keep anything they grow
on that land.
• A serf was tied to the land. Even
though a serf was considered a free
person, they needed to receive the
lords permission to leave the manor.
7. Economics
The Lords
What did the lord do on the
manor?
What did many lords and
vassals train to be?
• Serfs did most of the work on the
manor, which freed up much of
the lord’s time.
• The lord spent most of their time
protecting the land and providing
justice.
• Lords and vassals were also free to
train and become professional
warriors called knights.
8. I, John of Toul, make known that I am
the liege man of the [count and
countess of Champagne].... I will aid
the count of Champagne in my own
person, and will send to the count and
countess of Champagne the knights
whose service l owe to them for the
fief which I hold of them....")
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10.
What is a fief?
What is a manor?
What was feudalism and manorialism a response to?
What was trade like during the early part of Medieval Europe.
What did a serf receive from the lord?
What was the serf required to do with some of the produce
from their lands?
Before a serf could work their own land, what did the serf
have to do?
What would a serf have to do if they wanted to leave the
manor?
What did the lord do on the manor?
What did many lords and vassals train to be?
