Table of Contents
How did lords earn money?
Most nobles’ wealth derived from one or more estates, large or small, that might include fields, pasture, orchards, timberland, hunting grounds, streams, etc. It also included infrastructure such as castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price.
Did lords pay peasants?
To maintain their estates and ways of living the lords needed peasants to farm their lands, and so, faced with a labour shortage, the lords were forced to pay peasants more for their work and enter into agreements that were more beneficial to the peasants.
How did lords in England make money?
Before the industrial revolution money was made from farming, collecting rents, mining and trading goods from overseas. Fortunes were also made from military service and showing allegiance to king and country during military campaigns.
Why were cathedrals built so large?
Cathedrals were far larger than castles – symbolic of their huge importance to medieval society where religion dominated the lives of all – be they rich or peasants. As the photo above of Canterbury Cathedral shows, cathedrals were huge buildings – they were major long term building projects and their cost was huge.
How the Black Death helped Europe?
The great population loss brought favorable results to the surviving peasants in England and Western Europe. There was increased social mobility, as depopulation further eroded the peasants’ already weakened obligations to remain on their traditional holdings.
How did people make money in medieval times?
Early medieval nobles saw nothing wrong in commerce, but you had to have cash to invest to make money. Long-distance trades were risky but profitable. Others have said such things as land rents and taxes. In addition owning land had other opportunities to make money. Harvesting and milling timber which was then sold.
How was a Lord’s wealth measured in the Middle Ages?
Until high medieval times, money income was not a good measure of wealth, except for the small merchant class. Most income was in kind, in goods and services. So a lord’s wealth was measured in numbers of followers – both direct and under his influence.
How did kings pay for their soldiers in the Middle Ages?
Otherwise, the lord would have to pay him actual money to stay longer than his feudal service period — eight pence a day was the going rate in Henry II Plantagenet’s day. Eventually, kings found it more efficient to just tax their nobles and use the money to hire paid soldiers ( milites solidarii) or mercenaries.
What was the life of a medieval lord like?
The lives of medieval lords during the Middle Ages was a mix of splendour, war and administration. Being the most privileged in society, they also bore the responsibility to govern over parcels of land for the monarch and fought for them in wars.