Feudalism and the Manor System

Europe was a dangerous place to live in during the Middle Ages because of the constant threat of Viking attacks. In order to protect themselves, the people developed a type of government called feudalism. In this system of government, land owned by a lord was controlled by a vassal in return for great royalty. A lord would give the vassal a fief, or a share of land and he would treat his vassal with honor. In return the vassal give his lord advise, raise and lead armies to fight for his lord and would pay taxes in the forms of crops for their lords as well.

The manor system was the way that the economy was organized. A large estate contained farm fields, a manor house and a village. The lord of the manor was usually a vassal and the manor was part of the fief. The manors had to produce everything they needed since they were usually located far away from towns or other manors. A lord depended on the wealth the manor produced and he ruled over the manor and the people that lived there. He made all the decisions and collected taxes from the peasants and serfs that lived there.The peasants were the ones that did all the work on the manors, and they were the ones that farmed their own land and the land of the lords. Serfs were peasants who were tied down to the manors and needed the permission of the lords for anything they did.

The majority of people of the Medieval Ages were peasants, the poor people that did all the hard work. They lived in small, cramped huts and had to do all the hard work on the farm lands. They were given small strips of land that they could farm for themselves, but they had to give part of the harvest to their lord. They earned just enough to survive, and because of this, they would remain poor. They lived a hard life and this affected their beliefs. They did not see a purpose in life and because of this, they probably would not care much about religion, or have any beliefs.