Village Life In Norman England Flashcards
What are the four jobs people in villages would have?
- Reeve
- Bailiff
- Priest
- Miller
How many villages were there in England in 1086?
13,400
How many of the English population were living in villages?
90%
Who controlled the villages?
Lord of the manner
What was peasant housing like?
- around the lords manor
- one room with a floor made of compacted mud
- walls made from wattle and daub
- roof made from straw
- damp/dark
What was the main occupation?
Farming
What were manors?
A specific area within the village owned by the Lord, known as the demesne . In medieval times the manor was the nucleus of English rural life. It was an administrative unit of an extensive area of land.
Included the Manor House as well as the homes of the freemen
Contained barns, church and mill
What was the role of the reeve?
- chosen by lord/peasant vote, job was to manage day-to-day running of the manor and ensure the peasants were all working
What was the role of the bailiff?
- responsible for collecting taxes for the king and ensuring crops were gathered and debts repaid
What was the role of the priest?
Responsible for marriages and wills, as well as running the local church and conducting services
What was the role of the miller?
Produced grain to make bread for the whole village
How many key leaders were there in the church?
3
Who did the key leaders of the church consist of?
- the Archbishop of Canterbury
- the king
- The pope
When did the church bells ring?
At the beginning and end of every working day
When were church services held?
- Sundays
- feast days
- holy days “holidays”
What were 3 weapons used to attack castles?
- battering ram
- siege tower
- trebouchet and mangonel
By 1086, how many castles had William’s barons built?
Over 100
What was a problem of wooden motte and bailey castles?
They burned and rotted easily
By ____, wood had been replaced by stone for most new castles
1070
Castles were a centre of ________ for an area, they protected Norman _______ and especially new _____, they intimidated locals and showed ______ (moving so much earth and stone and clearing _____ to build castles showed Norman strength)
Administration, settlers, lords, power, forests
Castles were also built to establish _____ (especially in the North and the Welsh border) and to show the Norman ____ structure - Norman rulers lived in castles on _____, while A-S subjects were at the _____. A castle was a highly visible ____ which everyone understood.
Control, social, hills, bottom, symbol
The reasons for castle building can be summarised using APICS - what does this stand for?
Administration, protection, intimidation, control, symbolism
Where were castles built? (5)
- Areas of strategic importance (eg old Roman roads, river crossings)
- On high ground to spot attackers
- Near towns
- Near water or resources
- Near natural defences (eg the coast)
The outer _____ wall was very high and had plenty of _____ posts. Slightly _____ ground leading up to it made it hard to attack
Bailey, lookout, raised
Most _____ were dry ditches but some contained water
Moats
The inner ______ was the area within the inner wall that protects the ______. Last line of ______.
Bailey, keep, defence
The _____ was a mound of earth with a ______ on top. Sometimes very steep.
Motte, keep
______ and _______ were entrances to the outer and inner baileys, guarded by soldiers to protect the castles most valuable points. Some castles had drawbridges.
Gateways, gatehouses
The _____ was initially built of wood but later _____ and was built on top of the _____. High, straight walls made it hard to ____. Soldiers were positioned to spot and stop an attack early. A steep, narrow staircase and _______ helped make it the most secure part of the castle.
Keep, stone, motte, climb, battlements
How big were villages?
Villages varied in size, but many would only have a few handful of families. A village of 67 families was large, while some only had five or six households.
Who were the peasants in Norman England?
- Freemen paid the Lord rent for their land. Also carried out “boon work”- unpaid extra work on the Lord’s demesne
- Villeins were unfree peasants who worked on the lord’s land for no pay. They had a little land to farm for themselves. They could not leave the land without the lord’s permission
- Bordars and cottars were poorer villeins, who rarely had enough land of their own to live on
- Around 10% of the population were slaves, who had no freedom and no land.
The Normans gradually got rid of slavery, but it took time.
