Cornwall Middle Ages

During the middle ages in England the economic system was manorialism with manors covering most of the land. They supplied food, clothing, shelter and nearly everything else needed by the lords and peasants or serfs.

Most manors were made up of the lord’s land and small plots held by the peasants. The lord lived in a manor house, which was usually surrounded by a garden, an orchard, and farm buildings. Most manors also included a church, a mill for grinding grain into flour, and a press for making wine.

The peasants depended on the lord for protection from enemies, for justice, and for what little government there was.

The peasants farmed both the lord’s land and their own. They were bound to the soil. This means they were part of the property, and they remained on the land if a new lord acquired it. Unlike slaves, they could not be sold apart from the land. Peasants rarely travel far from the manor.

A serf’s holding usually included a crude house, the adjoining plot of ground, a share of the surrounding fields, and a few animals. Part of his crops went to the lord of the manor as rent payment.

The serf also worked on the lord’s land and made special payments to him. The land they held was often handed down from father to son until the family acquired a right to it from long use. The serf’s sole title to the land was a copy of the entries on the manor court roll.

The manorial system began to decline when trade and industry revived. This revival brought back an economic system based on payment with money for goods and services. Many serfs escaped to towns. Others rose in revolt against the lords.

In some cases, landlords found it more profitable to give the serfs money for their labour. In the process, the serfs obtained their freedom. Other serfs began to sell their holdings and leave the estates. In time, their liberty was recognised by English law which ended serfdom in the 1600’s. Manorialism ended first in Western Europe. It remained as late as the 1800’s in some parts of central and Eastern Europe. Large family estates in Great Britain still exist as remainders of manorialaism.