Big Idea Manors support Feudalism. Essential Question What was Manorialism? Words To Know Feudalism - a loosely organized system of rules based on land ownership. Manorialism – the most important element of feudal society and the name for the organization of the economy during the Middle Ages. Manor – a lord’s estate which included one or more villages and the surrounding lands. Self-sufficient – producing or making what is needed to survive independently, without help from anyone. Let’s Set The Stage… The heart of the feudal economy was the manor or lord’s estate. Most manors included one or more villages and the surrounding lands. Peasants, who made up the majority of the population in medieval society, lived and worked on the manor. Most peasants on a manor were serfs, bound to the land. Serfs were not slaves who could be bought and sold. Still, they were not free and could not leave the manor without the lord’s permission. Manorialism Feudalism created stability through the manor system which established a clear social and economic structure called manorialism. Most peasants were serfs, or people bound to the land. Serfs were not allowed to leave the manor without permission. Serfs made repairs and farmed the land. In exchange for farming and repairs, serfs were protected by their lord in the event of a war or raid. Feudal Manor For most peasants, life was harsh. Men, women, and children worked long hours, from sunup to sundown. Disease took a heavy toll on the peasants, as few lived beyond the age of 35. The manor was self-sufficient which meant that the peasants produced most of everything they needed including food, clothing, tools and furniture. They did not need to trade with others for their basic needs. Most peasants never ventured more than a few miles from their village. They had no schooling and no knowledge of a larger world outside. Feudal Manor A typical manor included cottages and huts clustered close together in a village. Nearby stood a water mill to grind grain, a church and the lord’s manor house. The fields surrounding the village were divided into narrow strips. Each family had strips of land in different fields so that good land and bad land were shared evenly. Beyond the fields for growing crops, there were pastures for animals and meadows that provided hay. Essential Question Answered What was Manorialism? Manorialism was the name for the organization of the economy during the Middle Ages. Manorialism was built around the feudal manor, or the lord’s estate. This estate included the lord’s landholding, farming lands and peasant villages. Essential Question Answered What was Manorialism? During the early Middle Ages lords granted land to the peasants in return for working the land. Lords also provided protection to the peasants. Peasant labor on farms made the manor self-sufficient during the early Middle Ages. .