Knights Journal Part 5

5 th Page

You MUST have a TITLE for EACH of the Journal entries.

Your Knight has arrived at their new Lord’s Manor. You have many tasks ahead of you.

Introduce yourself to your Lord; be sure to describe how your Knight would exhibit the proper use of Chivalry during this meeting.

Describe the Manor be sure to include the Castle (you MUST have at least FOUR defense features) also describe two other areas such as: Manor House, Solar, Church, Serf House, and any defense features that will help make the Manor a safe location.

Describe at least TWO people that your Knight might encounter in his Lord’s Manor. This could include but is not limited to: knights, priests, serfs, or servants

Explain about the farming that would take place on a medieval manor. Be sure to describe the crops grown and the jobs of the people involved.

YOU DECEIDE…You Lord’s castle comes under attack will the castle win or lose?

A king (or lord) ruled large areas of land. To protect his land from invasion, the king gave parts of it to local lords, who were called vassals. In return, his vassals promised to fight to defend the king's land.

Vassals ruled lands granted to them by their king. Those lands were called fiefs. Within a fiefs, a vassal acted as a local lord and could give portions of it to vassals of his own. Someone might be the vassal of one person, but the lord of another.

Knights were warriors who fought on horseback. In return for land, they pledged themselves as vassals to the king. Only the sons of lords could become knights. Candidates for knighthood began training as pages at the age of 7, learning social graces and skills such as fencing and hunting. At 13 or 14 they became squires and began to practice fighting on horseback. Squires served as assistants to knights both in the castle and on the battlefield. At 21 a squire could become a knight himself, kneeling before the lord of the manor to be "dubbed" on the shoulder with a sword. Kings, local lords, and knights were all part-of a ruling class that called itself noblemen.

Noblewomen were the wives and daughters of noblemen. They were in charge of the household servants and supervised the upbringing of children. They also helped take care of the sick and the poor. In certain cases, noblewomen themselves could own land. They could inherit it from their parents or from their husbands. When a nobleman was away, his wife ruled the manor. This meant that the noblewoman, if called upon by her lord, could send knights into battle, just as a man would.

Bishops were the leaders of the church, serving under the pope, the bishop of Rome. Most bishops were noblemen. Bishops supervised the church's priests, monks and nuns and administered its business. In many parts of Europe the church owned vast areas of land and commanded a large number of knights. In the early Middle Ages, it was not unusual for a bishop to lead his own knights into battle.

Priests provided spiritual instruction and conducted religious ceremonies in local, or parish, churches.

Monks and nuns were men and women who gave up their possessions and left ordinary life to live in monasteries and convents. They lived very simply, could not marry and devoted themselves to prayer, study, and helping the poor. They also served as doctors.

Serfs lived in small communities called manors that were ruled by a local lord or vassal. Most peasants were serfs. They were bound to the manor and could not leave it or marry without the manor lord's permission. Serfs did all the work on the manor farm: they worked the fields, cared for the livestock, built and maintained the buildings, made the clothing, and cut firewood. Men, women, and children worked side by side. Serfs had small plots of land they could work for themselves; sometimes a serf saved enough money to buy his freedom and became a freeman.

Servants were peasants who worked in the lord's manor house, doing the cooking, cleaning, laundering, and other household chores.

Merchants set up businesses in the towns that began to grow in the later Middle Ages. The most commonly traded items were salt, iron, and textiles. There were also rarer items, such as silk and spices, that came from the trade with China and the Middle East. As trade grew, a new class of highly skilled crafts- people developed. These artisans produced cloth, shoes, beer, glass and other goods that required more expertise than was available on many manor farms.

Medieval Farming

Interesting history, facts and information about the life of the peoplewho lived in England during the Medieval times

Medieval Farming - Feudalism and Rural LifeThe introduction of feudalism fostered the movement from town to country, for feudalism, rested on the soil as its basis. The lord, his family, his servants, and his retainers were supported by the income from landed property. The country estate of a lord was known as a manor.

Medieval Farming - The ManorA manor varied in size, according to the wealth of its lord. In England perhaps six hundred acres represented the extent of an average estate. Every noble had at least one manor; great nobles might have several manors, usually scattered throughout the country; and even the king depended on his many manors for the food supply of the court. England, during the period following the Norman Conquest, contained more than nine thousand of these manorial estates.

Medieval Farming - Common Cultivation of the Arable LandOf the arable land of the manor the lord reserved as much as he needed for his own use. The lord's land was called his "demesne," or domain. The rest of the land he allotted to the peasants who were his tenants. They cultivated their holdings in common. A peasant, instead of having his land in one compact mass, had it split up into a large number of small strips (usually about half an acre each) scattered over the manor, and separated, not by fences or hedges, but by banks of unploughed turf. The appearance of a manor, when under cultivation, has been likened to a vast checkerboard or a patchwork quilt. The reason for the intermixture of strips seems to have been to make sure that each peasant had a portion both of the good land and of the bad. It is obvious that this arrangement compelled all the peasants to labor according to a common plan. A man had to sow the same kinds of crops as his neighbors, and to till and reap them at the same time.

Medieval Farming - Farming Methods Medieval Farming was very backward. Farmers did not know how to enrich the soil by the use of fertilizers or how to provide for a proper rotation of crops. Hence each year they cultivated only two-thirds of the land, letting the other third lie "fallow" (uncultivated), that it might recover its fertility. It is said that eight or nine bushels of grain represented the average yield of an acre. Farm animals were small, for scientific breeding had not yet begun. A full-grown ox reached a size scarcely larger than a calf of to-day, and the fleece of a sheep often weighed less than two ounces.

Medieval Farming - Three field system of AgricultureManor lands were therefore farmed using the three-field system of agriculture. One field was devoted to winter crops, another to summer crops, and a third lying fallow each year. The land was worked by peasants.

Medieval Farming - Farm Tools Farm tools and implements were few and clumsy. The wooden ploughs only scratched the ground. Farrowing was done with a hand implement little better than a large rake. Grain was cut with a sickle, and grass was mown with a scythe. It took five men a day to reap and bind the harvest of two acres.

Medieval Farming - Common Land Common Land - the common use of the non-arable land. Besides his holding of farm land, which in England averaged about thirty acres, each peasant had certain rights over the non-arable land of the

manor. He could cut a limited amount of hay from the meadow. He could turn so many farm animals such as cattle, geese, and swine on the waste ground. He also enjoyed the privilege of taking so much wood from the forest for fuel and building purposes. A peasant's holding, which also included a house in the village, thus formed a complete self-sufficient unit.

Medieval FarmingThe Medieval Times website provides interesting facts, history and information about these great people and important historical events which scatter the Medieval History books including Medieval Farming. The Medieval Times Sitemap provides full details of all of the information and facts about the fascinating subject of the lives of the people who lived during the historical period of the Middle Ages. The content of this article on Medieval life and times provides free educational details, facts and information for reference and research for schools, colleges and homework for history courses and history coursework.

Castle DefensesA castle was built to withstand attack from enemy. Castle builders added many defensive features to make their castles difficult to attack. Many castles were built on high ground with clear views of the surrounding land.

Starting with timber castles, castles evolved throughout the centuries to build better-elaborated strongholds. Before the XII century, most castles were made of timber and wood; by the end of the XII century, however, there was a much higher need of protection, hence stone castles.

Besieging a castle was a very difficult task and very frequently, a failed attempt. As castles evolved, so did their defense. When moats were introduced, invading a castle through force was a much harder task. Instead, besieging it was very common. Castle's walls were very effective in halting the invaders. Some walls were wider than 30 feet; thus destroying them was very hard, even after gunpowder was invented.

Even when the moat and the first line of defense were breached, most castles still had another two lines of

defense including the keep, which was the last defensible spot. Castles with more than two lines of defense are known today as concentric castles. Archers were situated on top of the walls, firing at their victims who took shelter behind trees or anything they could find in order to save their own lives. After bows, crossbows were introduced; severely improving the efficiency of a castle's defense.

Most castles used siege weapons to defend themselves. The most common was the catapult which was placed on a square or round tower to fire at the invaders who would also use siege weapons to destroy walls and launch dead animals to spread diseases to the defenders. Even though huge walls were needed to stop projectiles, there was even a bigger problem to worry about. Food was the biggest problem for the defenders for too much food meant spoilage whilst too few meant death. Most bigger castles had farming land in the interior, but the smaller ones had a very serious problem to worry about.

When there was not enough food, defenders would normally surrender or find another way out. Many castles had secret passageways which led to the exterior. They were normally used after the situation was critical due to the very big risk of leaving their only defense.

If, instead, support arrived when a castle was being besieged; the invaders would be in a very serious problem because of a double-front battle. Normally, the defender's army would attack at the same time as their relievers. Making the invaders in a serious disadvantage.

It is important to note that castles were normally built on top of a hill, near a river or on a very defensible position. They were additionally frequently built near an important town because of the castle's advantage of having an ongoing trade route and military support.

Castles were gradually useless when gunpowder was introduced. A very strong castle could last no more than a week when being subject to such devastating weapons. Still, we can see today the wonders of our ancestors and what they did to defend themselves.

Archer loopsArcher loops were small holes placed on a wall giving an archer a very good advantage. They were normally placed on towers since the height also influenced the effectiveness of an archer. Different shapes were made to help the defenders have a better angle when shooting at their victims; additionally, the attackers could only fire arrows back because no other projectile could fit in the hole.

TowersTowers were very important in defending a castle. Their taller height helped the archers tremendously, they could fire easily at their targets; but their targets couldn't fire back.

Many different shapes existed. The most common ones were:

Round towers:They were the stronger kind of towers. Their height averaged 80-120 feet; much bigger than a normal wall. Even though they were more expensive to build, they were stronger; thus their enormous use.

Square towers:Square towers were somewhat cheaper to build. Nevertheless, they were considered to be much more decorative. Though strong, they were somewhat weaker than round towers because of their design.

Against ladders:When attackers would attempt to climb a wall, they would be met with all sorts of creative ways to stop them.

Boiling water:Defenders would throw boiling water at their victims; making the fall. This was a very deadly way to stop the invaders' progression; the only downside was that getting boiling water was not very easy. Fire was used and it took a while. If the invaders attacked continuously, the boiling water wouldn't last and other ways to stop them were used.

Sand:Allures usually contained great amounts of sand within them. When boiling water was over, defenders would throw sand at the invaders. Even though unbelievable, sand seldom made the attackers fall to their death. The effect of sand on an armor was incredible since it made it very uncomfortable.

Rocks:Rocks would be thrown at attackers. Though not very useful, they could knock down an invader--or two.

Other:When the attackers were still climbing the wall, and there were no other resources left; defenders would throw at them whatever they could find. This includes furniture, water, weapons, helmets, stones, animals and everything at the defenders' disposal.

As an additional resource, most castles had an enormous array of traps available to make the invader's job even harder. Such traps often inspired fear into the attackers who were skeptical about attempting to enter the castle itself.

What happened after a castle's fall?Normally, if the defenders surrendered, the invaders would either take them prisoners, let them go to another province or simply kill them.

There are many records of invaders accepting to let the defenders go, just to kill them right after they leave the castle. Nevertheless, most of the time, invaders were nice by taking prisoners to be released after the battle was completely won.

The castle itself could be taken over by another lord, or it could be pillaged and abandoned. It was up to the army's commander to decide if the castle was suitable for his cause--or not. Normally, word would reach the country's king in a matter of days, and he'd send an army to take back the castle just before the invaders had a chance to strengthen it.