Global 9 Name ______

Document 1

Source: Kime and Stich, Global History and Geography, STAReview, N & N Publishing Company

1.  Based on this document, name one economic feature of a medieval manor

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Document 2

Tenants on a manor owed services to their lord. Some of these services are listed below.
. . . To carry manure for two days, with a cart and two oxen, receiving food as before [3 meals
each day];
To find a man to mow for two days receiving food as above; it is estimated that he can mow
1 1/2 acres in the two days;
To gather and lift the hay so mown, receiving 2 meals for one man;
To carry the lord’s hay for one day with a cart and three of the tenant’s own beasts, receiving
3 meals as before;
To carry beans or oats for two days in the autumn, and wood for two days in the summer, in
the same manner and with the same food as before; . . .
Source: S. R. Scargill-Bird, ed., Custumals of Battle Abbey in the Reigns of Edward I and Edward II (1283–1312), The Camden Society (adapted)

2.  Based on the Custumals of Battle Abbey, name one benefit the lords received from the manorial system.

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3.  Based on the Custumals of Battle Abbey, name one benefit the tenants received from the manorial system

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Document 3

. . . Of necessity, the manor was a self-sufficient economic unit in view of the overwhelming
difficulties of transportation in the period. International trade was carried on only to serve the
demands of the wealthy, and it was largely in the hands of aliens [different peoples]—Greeks,
Jews, Moslems. Local society made almost no use of money. To the extent that local exchange
was carried on, it was conducted by barter. The small amount of international trade precluded
[ruled out] the need for gold coinage. The Carolingians minted only silver coins, which were all
that was usually necessary when the smallest silver coin could buy a cow. When gold coins were
needed, Byzantine and Moslem currency was used. . . .
Source: Norman F. Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, Harper Perennial

4.  Based on the document above, name one impact that the manorial system had on the economy of Europe.

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Document 4

The manorial system, widespread in the West from Charlemagne’s time onward, was not at first
favorable to the development of agriculture and commerce. Manors tended to be self-sufficient;
the economy was closed. People lived in their small world, in constant fear of the strange world
beyond, from which came only evil. The best they could hope for was to endure; and they
endured.
In the eleventh and following centuries things took a turn for the better. Life became more
stable; population increased; new lands were brought under cultivation and old lands rendered
[made] more productive. New agricultural techniques were introduced. The power of legumes
[nitrogen-fixing plants] to nourish and revive exhausted soils was recognized, and the science of
manuring developed—marl [lime-rich mud] and ashes being employed in combination with
animal manures. The quality of herds was improved by selection and crossbreeding. Flowing
water was put to work, operating gristmills and providing power for forges. Windmills whirled on
plains and uplands, and men even attempted, with some success, to construct tidal mills. . . .
Source: Morris Bishop, The Middle Ages, Houghton Mifflin World

5.  According to Morris Bishop, what was one way that things improved in the eleventh century and later?

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Global 9

Ms Seim Name ______

Using your manorialism documents and pages 358-363 complete one of the following tasks:

1)  Imagine you are the lord of a manor. You are an educated lord who can read and write. Write a two page letter to your sibling who is away describing the life on your manor. (What are your obligations? What are your duties? What are the privileges you enjoy? What is your life like? How do you make a living? What are your tenants like, etc.)

2)  Imagine you are a tenant farmer on a manor estate. Describe your entire day. (When will you get up? What will you eat? What will you do? What will you see? What are your dreams and hopes? What are your fears? How long is your day? Where do you sleep?)