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Life in a medieval village. AIMS: What did a medieval village look like? What was a villeins life like. STARTER: Write down 3 questions AND answers about medieval life, that you learnt last lesson. The village.
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Life in a medieval village • AIMS: • What did a medieval village look like? • What was a villeins life like. STARTER: Write down 3 questions AND answers about medieval life, that you learnt last lesson.
The village The vast majority of people in England at this time lived in the countryside. There were very few towns in England and most people made their living from the land. Most people lived in manors. The manor was an area of land that could sometimes include more than one village. The Normans who invaded England soon became the lords of these manors. The English were the peasants.
Who lived in the village? Not everyone in the village farmed. Some peasants had important jobs such as the miller and the blacksmith. How important you were in the village dependent upon your occupation (job). Some positions in the village were high up. Obviously the lord of the manor was the most important person, but the priest was also important because the church was very influential in all people’s lives.
Growing crops Most of the land in the village belonged to the lord of the manor. The lord kept some of the land for his own crops; this was called his demesne. The rest of his land was let to the villagers. The fields were divided into strips. This was so that everyone had a fair share of the good and bad land.
How the peasants farmed Few farmers could afford the eight oxen needed to pull the plough, so they grouped together and ploughed everything at once. This meant that peasants needed to be very good at working collectively (together) oxen yoke plough
All the sowing and harvesting had to be done at the same time. The corn was cut with sickles and threshed with flails. It was then taken to the lord’s mill to be ground. The hay was cut with scythes. scythe
The peasant’s life As well as the specific chores, peasants also had to dig and maintain drainage ditches, look after their animals, make repairs to their house, tend their gardens and collect firewood all year round. On top of all this, peasants had to do their services to the lord – usually three days a week ploughing and other jobs.
