Manorialism is a term used to describe a social and economic system in which land is divided into large estates, or manors, that are controlled by a lord and worked by tenants. Some historians have used the term to describe the rural conditions that developed in Europe after the Roman Empire ended in the late A.D. 400’s. Other historians believe that even though manors existed during this time, they did not form the basis for a social system. These historians prefer to avoid the term manorialism.
Most medieval manors were divided into a piece of land set aside for the lord’s use and plots of land held by the tenants. The lord lived in a manor house, which was usually surrounded by farm buildings, a garden, and an orchard. Tenants and other laborers lived in houses clustered nearby. Most manors also included a church and a grain mill.
The tenants and laborers depended on the lord for protection from enemies and for justice. They farmed both the lord’s land and their own. The tenants paid the lord rents and taxes of goods, services, or money. Many of them were serfs and, as such, were bound to the soil. This means that they were part of the property, and they remained on the land if a new lord acquired it. There were also some peasants who owned their land.
Manors began to break up in western Europe as early as the 1000’s, as trade and industry grew. Payment with money for goods and services became more common. A labor shortage caused by the plague in the mid-1300’s also helped many rural workers in western Europe to gain more freedom. Large manors survived until the 1800’s in parts of central and eastern Europe.
See also Feudalism; Middle Ages; Serf; Villein.
