Medieval Manor House description

A noble who swore an oath of loyalty to his King was often given some land to live on. The property was called a manor, and the lord would live in a manor house on the land and oversee the farming and productivity of this property. The main feature of a manor house was its great hall. The Lord of the Manor would hold legal trials or sessions of his manor court in the great hall. The manor house was not typically built with strong fortifications like a castle, but many did have walls or ditches enclosing the house and farm buildings for protection against robbers and thieves. Some even had moats with drawbridges, gatehouses and watchtowers.

“This description of a manor house at Chingford, Essex in England was recorded in a document for the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral when it was granted to Robert Le Moyne in 1265: 

He received also a sufficient and handsome hall well ceiled with oak. On the western side is a worthy bed, on the ground, a stone chimney, a wardrobe and a certain other small chamber; at the eastern end is a pantry and a buttery. Between the hall and the chapel is a sideroom. There is a decent chapel covered with tiles, a portable altar, and a small cross. In the hall are four tables on trestles. There are likewise a good kitchen covered with tiles, with a furnace and ovens, one large, the other small, for cakes, two tables, and alongside the kitchen a small house for baking. Also a new granary covered with oak shingles, and a building in which the dairy is contained, though it is divided. Likewise a chamber suited for clergymen and a necessary chamber. Also a hen-house. These are within the inner gate. Likewise outside of that gate are an old house for the servants, a good table, long and divided, and to the east of the principal building, beyond the smaller stable, a solar for the use of the servants. Also a building in which is contained a bed, also two barns, one for wheat and one for oats. These buildings are enclosed with a moat, a wall, and a hedge. Also beyond the middle gate is a good barn, and a stable of cows, and another for oxen, these old and ruinous. Also beyond the outer gate is a pigstye.”

Source: http://www.castlesandmanorhouses.com/

Medieval Manor

                          
                                  

"Manorial Court Records are one of the few items of documentary evidence which have helped historians understand more about this way of life. The most important lords held regular courts at their manors as a way of ensuring and administering justice. Each manor had its own laws, which varied depending upon area and local custom. The proceedings of each court were recorded on manor rolls, some of which still survive today to give historians an idea of justice in the Middle Ages."

Quote from Medieval History @ suite 101

 

I bid thee welcome, young historians!

                                                  

Last week we listened to Knight Karl Kindt talk about the importance of finding ways to live a good and honorable life today, in the year 2012. He spoke about how a medieval knight lived by a set of rules called a Code of Chivalry. How do people today know about knights that lived hundreds of years ago? Who's job is it to research people, places, things, and events that happened in the past?

Today begins our year long study of all things Medieval...today you begin a quest to learn as much as you can about this historical period, to think about how studying the past can help us in the present, and in what ways looking back can help us prepare for the future...