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Definition
Serf
Medieval serfs (aka villeins) were unfree labourers who worked the land of a landowner (or tenant) in return for physical and legal protection and the right to work a separate piece of land for their own basic needs. Serfs made up 75% of...
Definition
Manorialism
Medieval European Manorialism (Manorial System) was the system where rural society was arranged around a manor house or castle on an estate. The smallest units of these estates were called manors. Free and unfree labourers here worked the...
Definition
Domesday Book
Domesday Book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of medieval Norman England. It was compiled in 1086-7 under the orders of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-87). The record is unique in European...
Definition
Feudalism
Feudalism was the system in 10th-13th century European medieval societies where a social hierarchy was established based on local administrative control and the distribution of land into units (fiefs). A landowner (lord) gave a fief, along...
Definition
Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt, also known as the Great Revolt, was a largely unsuccessful popular uprising in England in June 1381. The rebellion's leaders included Wat Tyler and they wanted massive social changes which included a removal of the poll...
Article
Effects of the Black Death on Europe
The outbreak of plague in Europe between 1347-1352 – known as the Black Death – completely changed the world of medieval Europe. Severe depopulation upset the socio-economic feudal system of the time but the experience of the plague itself...
Article
A Medieval Christmas
Christmas was one of the highlights of the medieval calendar, not only for the rich but also for the peasantry. For the longest holiday of the year, typically the full twelve days of Christmas, people stopped work, homes were decorated and...
Image
Medieval Peasant's Cottage
A typical cottage of a medieval peasant or serf family. 14th century CE (although the chimney, upper story and windows are later additions). St. Mary's Grove cottage, Tilmanstone, Kent, England. Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments...
Image
February, Les Tres Riches Heures
A medieval manuscript illustration depicting the work on an agricultural estate during the month of February. From 'Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry', c. 1412-1440 CE.
(Condé Museum, Château de Chantilly, Oise, France)
Image
Medieval Peasants Threshing
A 14th century CE manuscript illustration showing peasants threshing wheat. (Luttrell Psalter, British Library, London)