BACKGD ON QUIZ # 1 (ECON 120)
 

QUESTION 1-4: WHAT IS MANORIALISM?

= economic/political system of self-sufficient rural estates.
= a series of social/political/economic relationships between lord (usu a knight) and local vollagers (peasants)

=  a typical manorial estate consisted of:

   - a village -- a bunch of clustered peasant (serf) cottages.
   - the manor house -- the residence of the lord of the manor,          usually a knight. Often absent.

   - often occupied by lord's steward or baliff.

   - often contains shows for various tradesmen.

   - water-powered grist mill -- owned by lord, run by miller,   everyone must have their grain ground into flower here.   Pay part of your flour as a fee.

  - baking oven -- owned by lord. villages must use.

  - three large fields -- one for fall planting (winter wheat),   one for spring planting, one fallow.

  - each peasant family owns scattered long strips (300 yds    long) in each field.

  - woodland
  - common meadow -- all can graze their animals here.

  - manorial court -- In main hall of manor house. Dispense local justice here.

  - demesne [do main] -- land in village owned by lord (30 %)and worked by village serfs 2 to 4 days/wk.
 

WHERE, WHEN, AND WHY DID IT DEVELOP?

= after collpase of western roman empire.
= in europe -- territory of former roman empire.
= collapse = disappearance of central government, abandonment of  cities, infrastructure, long distance trade, etc.
= main theme of middle ages = decentralization, local govn =  manorial estates.
= self-sufficient rural manorial estates fill void after collapse  of roman empire.
 
 
 
 

ADVANTAGES TO PEASANT (SERF)?

= protection -- Europe after roman empire is brutal place -- peasant can not make on own. will be pillaged. Manor provides lord's protection.

= freedow from strvation.

= some strips of land to work. cant be thrown off. can pass on to his sons.

= court justice and administration -- by the local lord.
 

DISADVANTAGES TO PEASANT?

= work many hrs on lord's desmesne.
= turn over part of his own crop to lord.
= forced to use lord's mill and oven.
= low social status.
= after Europe no longer threatened by invaders, feudal aristocracy  has no function -- merely an exploitative class.
 

QUESTION 5-8: WHAT IS FEUDALISM?

= manorialism at bottom of social pyramid, feudalism at top.
= manorialism = relationship between local lord (knight) and  peasants of his village.
= feudalism = relationship among noblemen -- knights, barons, counts, duke, etc.  series of mutual obligations.

= basic concept of feudalism = king owns all the land. then distributes big chunks of land (fiefs) to major noblemen (his vassals).

= these major nobles than dispense smaller chucks of land to lesser nobles (their vassels).  Process called subinfeudation.

= But this giving of land has strings attached: higher nobleman says to lower nobleman: " you can use this land and collect crops and services from serfs -- but you must provide 20 armed knights to serve in my army 100 days/yr."  etc.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

LIST SOME FEUDAL TITLES?

From lowest to highest:
squire
knight
seigneur
baron
viscount & ciount
earl
marquess or marquis
duke
 

WHEN & WHY DID FEUDALISM EMERGE?

= charlemagne's empire collapse after 850 ad.
= Europe overrun by barbarians -- Vikings, Muslims, Magyars.
= European villages and toewns and countryside have need for protection.
= the Feudal system is the response -- built as a superstructure on top of the manorial system.
 

USEFUL SERVICES

= protection of society against barbarians.
= protection against starvation.
= justice
= order & local admin.

= system became burdomesome as barbarian threat receeded --what then was the function of feudal nobility?
 
 
 
 

QUESTION 9-12:
 

TRADITION
sons follow in footsteps of father -- same occupations
unvarying from one yr to another.
how do we plow? same way as our forfathers.
what do we grow? same as our forefathers.
 

COMMAND

like ancient Egypt or modern USSR
government decides what will be produced, in what quantities

MARKET

market decides.
how may tractors to be produced? depends on how badly farmers want them at varying price levels.