3.20 Villages

Question 1

What percentage of people lived in the countryside?

Answer 1

90%

Question 2

How many villages were there by 1086?

Answer 2

13,400

Question 3

Did lives of peasants change a lot under the Norman Conquest?

Answer 3

Apart from now having a Norman lord, not particularly.

Question 4

What are some key characteristics of villages/ peasants lives in villages? (5)

Answer 4

• Peasants lived in cottages, grew crops on strips of land and grazed animals on common land.
• Ploughs used for farming were made by metal + pulled by oxen.
• Villages organised around common areas of land.
• Houses built along roads and were clustered together.
• Clear division between land for housing, farm land, pasture for animals, and woodland located near village.

Question 5

Why was land farmed in strips?

Answer 5

Because it was easier for the oxen to pull the plough in a straight line.

Question 6

What were the main crops farmed? (7)

Answer 6

• Wheat
• Oats
• Barley
• Rye
• Grain
• Vegetables
• Herbs

Question 7

What was the most important building in the village?

Answer 7

The church made of stone in centre of village.

Question 8

What were the key characteristics/ elements of importance of the church in villages? (2)

Answer 8

• Had a bell that rung to tell villagers when to start and finish work.
• Peasants spent most free time in Church => services on Sundays, feast days and holy days.

Question 9

Why did holy days become known as holidays?

Answer 9

Because people didn’t work on them.

Question 10

Why did the Church building have to be sturdy?

Answer 10

As it was used to store goods, to serve as a prison, and act as a fortress in times of danger.

Question 11

How was the farmland around and within a village divided?

Answer 11

Divided into fields and surrounded by hedges.

Question 12

What were the 2 uses of fields?

Answer 12

For grazing cattle or for growing crops.

Question 13

How were fields for growing crops divided?

Answer 13

Divided into individual strips of land, but strips weren’t separated => open field system.

Question 14

How was land divided up amongst the people in the village? (2)

Answer 14

• 25-30% for Lord.
• Rest for peasants, who were responsible for farming a number of strips and paid the lord rent in form of money or share of crops.

Question 15

What does it mean if a field was left to fallow?

Answer 15

The field was left empty for a year or two, giving soil time to recover so it would produce better crops when it was planted again.

Question 16

What is an example of a village in Norman England?

Answer 16

Wharram percy => no longer exists.

Question 17

What are some key facts about Wharram Percy? (7)

Answer 17

• Lay 29km north-east of York.
• Had south manor with meeting room.
• Had the Church of St Martin and living quarters of the priest.
• Had a mill and mill pond => used as drinking water for animals.
• Parallel plots of houses built on raised areas of land => around 40 houses.
• Agricultural outbuildings to store crops.
• North manor house was larger than south and had large barn next to it.

Question 18

What happened to lots of freemen at this time?

Answer 18

They became villeins => lost their freedom, became tied to the land.

Question 19

What was a reeve?

Answer 19

Senior official who worked on behalf of crown in local areas, e.g. as a chief magistrate. After conquest, reeve’s job was reduced to day-to-day management of a manor and its peasants. The reeve was a peasant chose by lord or through vote by other peasants.

Question 20

What was a bailiff?

Answer 20

In charge of collecting taxes for the crown and ensuring that crops were gathered + debts repaid.

Question 21

What was a priest?

Answer 21

Ran local church, responsible for ensuring marriages and wills were legal.

Question 22

What was a miller?

Answer 22

Produced grain to make bread for the area. Bread had to be baked in the ovens of the lord of the manor and the lord decided how much money the miller paid for this.

Question 23

What was a brewer?

Answer 23

Made beer from crops but could not sell it until their lords decided on a price.

Question 24

What work did peasants do?

Answer 24

• Nearly all farmers.
• Worked long hours in field with almost everything being done by hand no machines except plough.
• Usually agreed which crops to grow in each fields.
• Some woods reserved for collecting firewood.

Question 25

Why were some crops destroyed? (3)

Answer 25

• Disease.
• Bad weather.
• Winter => different seasons.

Question 26

What jobs did peasants have other than farmers? (4)

Answer 26

• Blacksmith
• Miller
• Carpenter
• Weavers

Question 27

What were the key things done by the farmer peasants? (6)

Answer 27

• Ploughed the land
• Sowed/planted crops
• Carried out reaping
• Haymaking
• Binding and thatching
• Threshing

Question 28

When did peasants have time off work?

Answer 28

• Worked 6 days a week.
• Only time off being during a Holy Day or Sundays

Question 29

What happened during a Holy Day? (3)

Answer 29

• Started with church service, followed by entertainment.
• Men took part in wrestling, shin-kicking, or cock-fighting.
• Sometimes village would be visited by travelling musician or someone with bear to entertain crowds.

Question 30

What were peasant’s houses/homes like? (7)

Answer 30

• Dark, damp and smoky.
• Floors made of earth covered with straw.
• Small windows => keep heat it, prevent break-ins.
• Single room.
• Thatched roofs => easily destroyed by the fire.
• Fire in middle of room, smoke escaped through hole in roof.
• Animals brought into house at night.

Question 31

What were manors?

Answer 31

Specific areas within villages that included the manor house, barns, churches, villagers’ houses, grazing land and mills. Many roads running through them.

Question 32

What where the Rich’s manors like?

Answer 32

• Made from stone.
• Warmer.
• More secure.

Question 33

What was the collective term for all land owned by a lord?

Answer 33

Demesne

Question 34

What was the diet of peasants like? (6)

Answer 34

• Bread, oat porridge, and vegetable stew = staples.
• Meat = special treat and usually smoked as salt, expensive.
• Some ate fish.
• Pottage
• Brewed own weak beer + drank mill => water not safe.
• Fruit and honey => only sweet things.

Question 35

What was the diet of the rich like? (5)

Answer 35

• White bread => made from wheat.
• Meat.
• Fish on lent and Fridays.
• Veg and dairy seen as for poor.
• Fruit in pies or honey.

Question 36

How much work did freemen do for lords?

Answer 36

Bornwork => when required. Ploughing, bringing in Lord’s harvest isntead of own.

Question 37

How much work did villeins do for lords?

Answer 37

• At least 1 day a week, every week, working for lord.
• During harvest time => 5 days a week.

Question 38

What did all peasants pay? (2)

Answer 38

• Taxes to Lord.
• Tithes.

Question 39

What were tithes?

Answer 39

• Tax for church.
• 10% of income (money or seed/ equipment)
• Stored in tithe barns

Question 40

Did peasants work on Church land?

Answer 40

Yes, for free.

Question 41

What did peasants do with their money after all taxes were paid? (3)

Answer 41

• Could keep what was left after all taxes paid.
• Had to pay for seeds for next season.
• Sometimes didn’t have enough money left to do this.