Peasants 3

Managing Your Peasants III of V

Farming and feudalism Making it work as a lord How can you supervise all these people?

• Steward or seneschale – overseer of all the lords manors, holds manor court in place of the

lord..

• Bailiff – supervises one or more manors, should keep an eye on the peasants as they work to

ensure work is done well. Provides an accounting of all on the manor just after Michaelmas (maybe with the reeve, or the reeve alone may provide the lord with an account of the years activities and produce). Lodged in the manor house and fed.

• Reeve – you might not have a steward or a bailiff, but you certainly have a Reeve. The reeve is

selected from the non-free tenants. He is local, and usually holds more land than most. Term of office is for a year, but may be extended for many years. Duties as the bailiff – oversight, but also managing the other peasants. May require travel to buy or sell for the lord. Paid cash and usually partial or complete remission of rents and certain duties, also given prime grazing and hay, sometimes food.

• Hayward or messor – oversees meadows, gathering and sowing of all crops. Oversees

ploughmen, harrowers, mowers, gathering hay, reapers etc.

• Beadle or constable – collects rents, make summonses, seize cattle found straying into the

lord’s meadows, Chores you might ask your serfs to perform for their day or week works:

• Carrying services – food or materials, near or far, on their backs or by horse or by cart

• Agricultural services – plow, harrow, harvest, thresh, winnow

• Dig ditches

• Repair the Manor house

• Repair or create fences

• Trim hedges

• Haul and spread manure or other fertilizer

• Gather reeds

Things you can do to piss off your peasants:

• Keep doves – they will eat the peasants crops. Peasants not allowed to hunt or harm them.

• Many “boon works”, that is extra work for your serfs above the usual day or week works

required by custom. Especially “Dry boons” – that is when you provide only water. At “Wet Boons” you will provide ale or cider. A boon is an “all hands” work day.

• Tallage – rent or tax whenever you need cash.

• Try to appoint a free man as Reeve. Or pick a bad reeve.

Brought to you because history is where peasants had a hard life

This piece from the late Mahala de Sorbonne

Another History is neat Project