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Feudalism. Feudum = Contract. Provides In return for Great Lord (Suzerain) Land & Military service & Protection Dues Local Lord (Vassal). Provides In return for Local Lord (Vassal) Protection Work on lord’s field Land Make roads
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Feudalism Feudum = Contract
Provides In return for Great Lord (Suzerain) Land & Military service & Protection Dues Local Lord (Vassal)
Provides In return for Local Lord (Vassal) Protection Work on lord’s field Land Make roads Common grazing Give produce of land Forest Pay rent and taxes Mill, forge, oven Using lord’s mill, forge, & oven Freemen & Serfs (90% of pop.) Rights Responsibilities
The Manor • Demesne = Lord’s private land • Open fields = divided into long narrow strips • Common pasture = for grazing cattle and sheep • Meadow = produce hay • Forest = Supplied wood for fuel and timber
Problems of the medieval manor The situation: Food was often scarce. Land was unproductive. Poor weather could result in disaster. Why?
The soil was not fertile. Primitive wooden plows and simple mattocks don’t mix the lower and the top layers together to enrich the land. Few farm animals = manure was scarce.
Long narrow strips of land were redistributed from time to time. Discouraging improvements (rocks, weeds, manure)
Crop rotation on the manor • No crop was sown on fallow land. 2-field system 3-field system 1/2 to 1/3 of the land was left unproductive!
Technological improvement in the late Middle Ages • Iron became more plentiful. Some iron tools were invented which made farming easier.
Oxen were gradually replaced by horses. The shoulder collar made it possible for horses to pull the plow with all their strength. Horseshoes allowed horses to work for longer periods.
All of these technological improvements made the manor more productive.