Life in a Manor

Life in a manor, in the medieval ages, was tough. All the peasants in the Middle Ages  surrounded the manor.  A manor is an area of land that was owned by the feudal lord. The lords either lived in manor houses or castles. Other than the village, there were forest/woods that were used for hunting, fields, owned by lords, used for crops, a church, grain mills and a barn. The Manor was usually defended by a surrounding wall. There were 3 types of fields that were divided into long strips of land. One field was planted with wheat, which was usually planted in Autumn, another with barley, which was usually planted in Spring, and the other was left unplanted. From this, the three fields kept rotating every year. The unplanted one was kept like that, so that the soil could get its goodness back after being planted with different crops. Peasants lived in small houses that had holes in it, so that the house doesn’t get filled with smoke when they’re using fire.

Serfs were peasants that were bound under the feudal system to work on his lord’s estate. Serfs were given work like slaves but they were not slaves. They couldn’t be bought or sold, but they could not leave the manor without permission. They had to do jobs they were assigned to they would be punished. Nobles were rich people or knights in the medieval ages. They usually ate different food from the peasants. Meat was considered food for the rich, as they could afford spices to disguise odd flavors in the meat. Vegetables were usually eaten by peasants.

Feudalism was created by William the Conqueror as he was not necessarily liked, though he needed people’s service and loyalty to him.  Feudalism played an important role in the society of the medieval ages. It was where the overlord provides a portion of land for a vassal in exchange for his service and loyalty. There often is a ceremony where the vassal knelt in front of the lord and put his hands on the lord’s hands. He then swore an oath of fealty, a solemn promise of faithful service to the lord, promising to serve the lord for life. The lord then kissed the vassal and lifted him to his feet. Everyone knew their obligations and rights. Usually it was better if you were a king/lord rather than a serf or vassal. In the thirteenth century, feudalism started to fall as more towns appeared. If serfs ran away and were not found in one year they were free. Serfs could also buy their freedom. Black Death also contributed to the fall of feudalism as the serfs could negotiate better terms with their lords.

Children growing up on the manor didn’t go to school, but instead they followed what their parents did. If they wanted to become a knight, they would be sent to training at the age of seven up until the age of 21 where it was the official age to become a knight. During his time in training, he would learn to do many things, such as singing, playing chess, playing the harp, learn the different ways to cut meat, ride a horse, be a personal assistant to a knight and take care of his armour. His duties increased as he got older. As a girl, life on a manor was following everything her mother did. As they grew older and was old enough for marriage, she could not choose her companion. Though, women in those times did have the choice to divorce their husband and take their property.

This is our diorama

Bibliography
– Humanities Alive 2
– http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/life/Villageworksheet.pdf
– History notes from classes
Other group members – Ashwini, Jade
By David Ong 8B

Life on a Manor

Life on the Manor – Feudal System and Farming Techniques

In the medieval ages, there is a system called the Feudal System. Under the feudal system, Peasants, who were the workers and the lowest of the classes in the medieval ages. If they needed some land or protection they would come to the lords. The lords would give them a small amount of land and protection and in return the peasants would give taxes to the lords, which was usually a portion of their crops. They would also have to promise the lords to serve them for life. They had to do this by having a ceremony, where the peasant had to perform an act of homage by kneeling in front of the lord and putting his/her hands in the lord’s hands. The peasant then swore an oath of fealty, promising to serve the lord for all his/her life. The lord would then kiss the peasant and lift him/her to his/her feet. After this the men/women became what is know as the lord’s vassals or tenants.

Since the life of being a lord is very busy, they don’t have time to be chasing up taxes etc. They had other people to do this for them and they were know as the Sub-Tenants and were usually knights. They would guard the property of the Lords and they would also protect the lord. Another job was they had to collect taxes and give the majority of it to the lord. The lords though, received their land from the Monarch (King) and pledged their loyalty, money and prayers to him.

One of the inventions that helped the peasants when they were working on the land, back then was to use a three-field rotation system. The system worked by having crops grown in two fields with the third left empty so they soil could recover its nutrients. Fields being used were divided into strips with different peasants working on each strip. Crops were rotated between the fields to preserve the soil so it could recover all its nutrients for the next load of crops. Another important tool for the peasants was the heavy wheeled plough, which helped them to plant their crops by using the power of an animal.

In medieval ages, the miller would operate the mill, where the grain such as wheat was ground into flour.

Serfs lived in simple wattle and daub huts with thatched roofs. A hole in the roof allowed some to escape from cooking fires. Windows had rough wooden shutters.

Artist Impression of Life on the Manor Credit: Humanities Alive 2

Credit: Michael Magrath

Bibliography

http://www.Google.com.au

http://www.historyonthenet.com

http://www.middleages.pppst.com

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk

Humanities Alive 2 Book

Everyday Life: The Middle Ages – Life on a Manor Handout

The Witch Hunt

If your crops were not growing, children had died, or if you
were sick. You would accuse someone of being a witch. They were said to have obeyed the Devil and were extremely feared. witches were recognised as people
who had a physical disability, lived alone or had a weird habit. Within the
early years of 1450 and 1750 there were about 110 000 witch trials. The witches
were especially hated by the Christians and the church. Their reasons were they
said to worship Satan, bring harm to the society and cast spells. It was the
Christians who started the campaign to get rid of the witches! This BIG hunt
went on for 75 years! When the so called witches were caught they were tortured
to confess or killed. An example is Joan of Arc who was believed to be chosen
by God to lead the French to victory. She was captured and accused of witchcraft.
Because of this she was burned. If you were accused as a witch, you would sometimes even killed straight away. In other situations they would test you. 1. Way they would test you was to drown you in water if you floated and lived you were a witch, if you drowned you were proved innocent. BUT DEAD! It is disappointing that so many people died while being accused as witch’s. Did you know that Villages had been completely wiped out by witch hunters. It was not just the women who were accused of being “witches”. Men were accused about 5% of the time, this means that women were at the top 95% of people being accused.  Women were seen as easier targets for the devil and they said to fall easier to temptation. So it was mainly women who were accused of having “magic” with them. If you were a really nice women you could still be considered a witch. Another reason this happened is due to people accusing other people of worshiping satan. Many people literally guesed where you were and where you might have been. This is how many people were accused of being with’s in those days.

Ryan Moran 8C

Life on the Manor

Life on the Manor

life of a squire

Life of a squire

 You would be about 14 years old when
you became a squire.

The duty of a squire was to learn
about…

• Chivalry
• The rules of heraldry
• Practise the use of weapons and skills of a knight
• Horsemanship

It was also there job to enter the
life of the castle and learn…

• Jousting
• Music
• Etiquette
• Dancing

A Squire would serve for about 7
years and would become a Knight at the age of 21, sometimes they would become a
knight earlier for bravery in the battle.

Tournaments

The Knights practised their knightly skills
at the tournaments of the Middle Ages. lots
different types  of combat were practised
at the tournaments including jousting, archery and hand to hand combat using
swords and other weapons. There
were different types of Tournaments,

• Jousting
  of days, an elimination tournament over several of days.
• Melee a pied Tournament, a tournament
  that knights fight on foot.
• Melee a pied Tournament, a tournament
  that knights fight on horseback.

On your way to becoming a knight (Squire)

Before
becoming a knight you had to be a page and then a squire. Being a squire was a
hard job, you had to do all the things that the knight needed you to do.

The squire
had many jobs to do such as dressing the knight for battles or tournaments,

keeping his armour clean and looking after the pages.

A squire had
to be skilled in handling armour and weapons

Medieval townships – Jessica Liemantara 8B

The village, Manor and City village

MEDIEVAL TOWNSHIPS

Medieval village:

The villagers houses are much different from people in the manor. The walls  are made out of Wattle and Daub. If you are wandering what are they made out of or how they are made is, it’s thin branches of wood wovened and covered with Daub. Daub is a mix of clay, ox hair and dung. Some villagers have two rooms and some has only got one room. Their houses are often crowded, mostly in winter. Their houses are mostly crowded is because their cow sleeps at the end of the room. The floor is nothing but a flat surface. They’ve got a wooden chest where they keep all their items. In the middle is a fire to keep them warm during winter it’s  like what we’ve got at home except it’s a heater and smoke doesn’t come out of it. The most important thing or item they’ve got at home is a Skillet a Skillet is a pot made out of Bronze they use it to cook Pottage that’s basically what they eat. They’re usually hungry mostly in winter when their foods starts to finish. Marriage is not up to the women but it’s up to their fathers decision. Women were asked to help out in the fields and cook for their family. Villagers don’t live as large as the people in the manor but they are sure to be grateful for what they’ve got. In the diorama shown there are poop on the floor it is because in medieval times villagers throw out their rubbish, waste and poop out the windows. The rain usually washes away the rubbish to a certain area. In the city village there’s a church and shops, the area is often very busy.

The Manor:

For a banquet they serve foods such as oxen, pigs, sheep, geese, swans and peacocks. The foods served are spicy. The spicy things used are from the east. The things used are very expensive. For drinks there are Ale and wine fromFrance. Plates and bowls are made out of Pewter. They eat mostly with there fingers instead of using a knife, spoon or a fork. As you can imagine People who live in a manor have more rooms than a villager and the manors bedrooms are much nicer than a villagers room. People who live in the manor are living large.The manor is the opposite of a villagers house. Just because manor people are living large doesn’t mean there weren’t any problems for example keeping warm was hard because the manor is made out of stone and not much light came into the house.

Clothing:

A villeins clothing is a tunic an leggings. In winter villeins wear a hood that covers their head and shoulders so they would be warm. The cloth used is called a coarse wool it’s an itchy cloth. Some wear wooden shoes and some wear a cloth that cover their feets. Wealthy people just buy’s leather shoes. Some children’s don’t wear shoes at all. Some villeins wear sheepskin and some use sheepskin as a bed cover if they’ve got one. Some villeins carry with them is a spindle which is used to make yarn.

Wealthy people:

Wealthy people wear fine wool made by professional weavers in Malmerbury in Wiltshire. Wealthy people can also afford other fabric such as silk, velvet and linen. Some the fabrics are woven by Belgian craftsmen who are good at what they do. Wealthy people wear bright coloured clothes the colours are made from fruits and bugs, and are very expensive. Women wore long dresses. When they go to a banquet they wear tall hats. Men wore short tunics with cool sleeves and tights. Wealthy people have more clothes than others.

Bibliography:

http://website.lineone.net/~colin.beswick/WPercyPP_files/frame.htm

By: Jessica Liemantara 8B.

King Richard The lionheart – Luke Phillips

King Richard the Lionheart

Richard was born on the 8^th of September 1157 in Oxford. He was the third son of King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was thought to be his mother’s favourite son and in his early years Richard spent most of his time in her court in Poitiers. Richard spoke no English yet he composed poetry and wrote in French and Limousin. When he was eleven he received the Duchy of Aquitaine but was formerly stated in 1172. By the age of 16 he was commanding his own army and put down rebellions against his father in Poitou. But Queen Eleanor was constantly plotting against Henry II.

And eventually encouraged Richard and his brothers to campaign against their father in 1173, but were unsuccessful. But Richard was soon pardoned and reinstated as Duchy of Aquitaine where he proved himself by crushing a large revolt in Toulouse, 1175. Richards’s older brother Henry saw that Richard was becoming more powerful and demanded, as heir apparent that Richard should pay homage for Aquitaine. Richard passionately denied Henrys demand and civil war broke out between the two brothers. Henry II marched to Richards’s aid, but the war came to a sudden halt when the elder prince died in 1183.

Later Henry II died at Chinon castle, Anjou in France; with Richards’s older brother dead he was the rightful heir to the throne and was crowned in 1189. Prior to Richards coronation at Westminster abbey Richard ordered all the Jews and women to be absent at the banquet and coronation as to protect them from the violence of the people. At the time Jewish people were persecuted for their stands against the crusades. Although Richard commanded for there to be no Jews present, a few wealthy Jewish merchants and priest’s had snuck in and were recognised. Immediately a riot broke out and the Jews were attacked first with fists then clubs and stones.

As word spread of the riot in London the kings request got twisted and people interpreted it as the kings will on the all the Jewish subjects. And for the rest of the day mobs went through the city and burnt down Jewish homes whilst butchering their inhabitants.

As king, Richards’s greatest ambition was to join the crusade which was prompted by Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem in 1187, as he had already taken the crusaders vow. Richard started to sell Sheriffdoms and their offices in an effort to raise the funds for the third Crusade. And he departed in 1190 for the “Holy Land”.

Medieval Townships 3D diorama-Hannah Yin

The Church and It’s Influence – Joseph Chang

In the Middle Ages, the dominating religion was Christianity. However, it was not the Christianity as we know today, instead, it was the church’s interpretation of the laws and teachings of Jesus, passed on from the Roman Empire. As it was, the church had superstitious beliefs, beliefs which we would consider nonsense today. Such as, you could purify yourself of sin before you died by the fires of purgatory, which is torturing yourself with fire. Another similar belief was giving money to the church as well as repenting to clear away your sins. The Church held more influence than kings or queens. That was the church in the Middle Ages was the gateway to heaven or hell. The Church told people the horrors of hell and because it was so evil and frightening, the people wanted to be ensured a place in heaven, thus they gave offerings and obeyed the teachings. Because of the offerings and the tithes that the people had to give to the Church, the Church was very wealthy. And unlike the people, the Church didn’t have to pay taxes thus they were richer than many kings and queens. Cathedrals are an example of their wealth.

As you can see in the diorama, this is a Cathedral in construction. Many people worked on Cathedral because of their wealth. Because of their wealth, many people worked on the Cathedrals, as they were their grandest buildings.

Diorama of a Cathedral in construction

Medieval Townships-Hannah Yin

Large and solid walls were built around the towns. Near the walls was where the poor built their own houses.  Those houses were made of wood since they did not have much money, but the houses had many storeys. These houses were coated with a high flammable paint made of pitch and linseed oil. The wealthier people would live in the centre of town. The towns were limited in spaces so the apartments or the houses were very close to each other. People could even reach each other by put their hands out of the windows.

Different types of houses:

Peasants’ Cottages:  A peasant’s cottage could be made of stones with straw covered on the roof and ‘wattle’ fence around the cottage. Other type of cottage was made of stable wooden frame which the gaps were filled with wattle. The outside of the house walls were covered with “daub”: a special mud mixture, and were painted with lime-wash.

Village House:  The village house was the same as the cottage house that was covered with “daub” and painted in lime-wash. Beside this, the other part of the house was completely different. It had another storey with the rooms and the roof was covered with tiles.

Small Manor House:  The person who was in charge of a village lived in this house. It was a bit bigger than the village house and had two or more storeys.

Cruck Framed House: This type of house was a little different to the Small Manor house. Carefully selected tree trunks that had been split along their length, were used for made the large black shapes at the front of the house which made the house more firm.

Town House:  Houses in towns looked very small but could extend back quite far. Spaces in towns were very limited; therefore, houses were often built very closely.

Large Town House:  Large town house was much bigger than the cottages, village houses, small manor houses, cruck framed houses and town houses. It had 3 floors and lots of windows. People lived in this house were very wealthy and could be the rich merchants.

Two Medieval Shops: This building was in town or city where trade was very significant. The ground floor was 2 shops where the owners of the houses sold their goods. The upper floors were where the owners, owners’ families and their servants lived.

Sanitation

The medieval towns may not had as many pollutions as we do now, but to lived in the medieval towns in the Middle Ages really means that you has to be able to endured the level of dirtiness and stinkiness in the towns. Can you be able to live in a place where the lanes are narrow and only lit by the people’s lanterns and candles and had no footpaths?  Where rubbish, food scraps, bones and sewage are everywhere and rat- infested and blood of slaughtered animals flow on the ground. Definitely not! However, the medieval people had to live in this kind of environment in their whole entire lives. It is not surprised that you would get hit by a bag of wastes as you walk along the street. You can’t go up to thrower and express your displeasure as they had already warn you “look out below!” Then it is your fault for not having jumped out of the way quickly enough. Due to the unsanitary condition, disease such as Black Death happened in the fourteenth century and almost killed everyone.

Town Square

People would crowd in the central marketplace of the towns everyday where most things happened in that area. Basically, people (merchants and traders) sold all sort of things except technology during the Middle Ages. They sold their own goods mainly in the towns and cities. The merchants lived in apartments where it had the ground floors and several other floors above it. The ground floors that were right underneath their apartments were where they sold their merchandise. The villages did not have any markets or permanent shops. Thus fairs were often held outside the villages in fields at the crossroads or road traffics. Things they sold included: food (such as seafood, fruit and breads), pottery, weapons, armours, jewellery, clothes, arts and etc.  There were also some actors for entertainments. The Church was also there for people to participate but the services were in Latin. The Medieval people believed in Heaven and Hell. It was important for them to come to confession each week and ask God for forgiveness. The priest would also read stories from the Bible and explain the association between the paintings in the church and stories. Priest were not allowed to drink too many wines and lived with women. The good thing for them were that the people had to give tenth of all their crops to them once a year, which is called a tithe.

Life on a Manor

Hunts and shops of the serfs and freedmen who worked for the lord were clustered near the castle or manor house where their lord lived. It made up a small village with chapel and mill. The lord’s fields pasture land and woods for hunting were beside the village. There were two types of peasants: the freedmen and the serfs. The freedmen were much better than serfs because they were not bound to anyone.  The peasants seek safety inside the walls of the lord’s castle or manor house when the bandits and invaders were tried to loot or kill them. They would become the serfs and worked for their lord and also agreed to give certain amount of crops they grew on land they rented as tenant farmers and livestock they raised. The farmers used three-field method of farming. The first one was planted in wheat or rye in autumn; the second one was planted in spring could either be in beans, peas and oats or for barley (for making beer). Serfs also had to agree to give extra feast days. Their wives and daughters also helped out in the manor house. If a lord sold his estate to another lord, the serfs were part of the deal as well, which means they belong to their new owner. There were some consequences if serfs tried to run away from their lord. As they captured by their lord, they would need to face the cruellest punishments. Even they didn’t captured by their lord; they would still have the high risk of being killed by the invaders and bandits without under their lord’s protection.

Bibliography:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_did_the_people_in_the_medieval_times_call_a_market

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_towns.htm

http://www.conisbroughcastle.org.uk/Education/Pupilsinfo/KS1/MedievalHomes.aspx

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_stores_were_in_the_Medieval_ages

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080410154105AA1H7uI

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Changes&cv=question:What_did_they_sell_at_medieval_markets

http://website.lineone.net/~colin.beswick/WPercyPP_files/frame.htm