FEUDAL ECONOMY

•Organisation of the manor

-Medieval Europe was an agrarian world where wealth was based on land ownership.

-Fiefds or manors; where the centre of economic activity.

-Manors consisted of two parts:

•The demense: Was the territory exploited directly for the lord.
•Dependent holdings: Were small plots of land granted or leased by the lord to the peasants.
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In return they had to give him part of their harvest and work the land of the demesne a certain number
of days per year.
They also had to provide the land with certain services.
•Work on the manor.
-Manors were self sufficent, all the agricultural tasks were carried out on them and all the necessary articles for everyday life were crafted there.

-Rudimentary tools were used to work the land. In order to maintain soil fertility, biennial crop rotation was practised:every year, half of the land was left fallow. As a consequence, crop yields were very low.

-Items necessary for daily life were crafted in the manor workshops: ex, thr forge, carpenter, cooperage, etc. Certain facilities were owned by the land lord, who collected taxes from the peasants for their use.

-As a result, there was little trade, which tended to be handled by a few intenerant merchants who travelled between the manors.