Village Life in Norman England

This section explains Village Life in Norman England. In Norman England, the majority of people lived in rural villages, with most not being further than a day's walk from a large church or castle. The influence of both the king and the church was immense, as these institutions controlled much of daily life. Around eight out of ten people were bound to the land, working as villeins or peasants, and they were often required to seek their lord's permission for even the simplest matters, such as marriage.

The Difference in Lifestyles Between Lords and Villeins

The stark contrast between the lives of the Norman lords and the villeins they ruled over highlights the deep social and economic divide in medieval England. While the lords lived in relative comfort and had significant power over the land and its people, the villeins faced hard labour and limited personal freedom. Their lives were largely defined by the seasons, the needs of their lords, and the demands of farming.

What Was Life Like for a Villein?

The villeins were tied to the land they worked on, and their lives were heavily influenced by the agricultural cycle. Their work was physically demanding, and they could not leave the manor without their lord's consent. They were also bound to give a portion of their time and harvest to their lord, working his land in addition to cultivating their own small plots.

• Seasonal Work: The work of a villein revolved around the changing seasons. The most intense period of the year was the harvest, when they were expected to work on both their own land and their lord's demesne (the land directly controlled by the lord). During harvest time, both men and women worked in the fields, reaping crops like wheat and barley. Winter was particularly hard for villeins, as the cold months often meant relying on food that had been stored during the harvest, such as grain, salted meat, and preserved vegetables.
• Daily Life: A typical day for a villein began early in the morning. For breakfast, they would often eat bread and drink ale, followed by a simple lunch of bread and cheese, washed down with more ale. Supper was usually similar, with bread and milk being the main staples. Meat was a luxury that most villeins could not afford, and they mainly ate what they could produce or grow themselves.
• Women’s Role: Women in the village played an essential role, particularly when it came to looking after the animals such as chickens, pigs, and cattle. They also took responsibility for food preparation and preservation. This included tasks like baking bread, making cheese, and preserving food through salting or pickling, which allowed the family to survive the winter months when fresh food was scarce.

What Was Life Like for a Wealthy Lord?

In stark contrast to the struggles of the villeins, the life of a Norman lord was one of relative luxury and power. Lords had vast estates and often controlled multiple manors, each worked by peasants, including villeins.

• Role of the Lord: A lord’s main responsibilities were to manage the land, collect taxes, and ensure the smooth running of the manor. Wealthy lords could collect taxes from their wealthier tenants and required the poorer tenants (such as villeins) to work on their land for a set number of days each year. This work was often known as labour services. While they did not work the land themselves, lords had to ensure that their estates were properly managed and protected.
• Training and Warfare: Because lords did not have to farm, they could devote their time to learning how to rule or to training for war. Many lords were educated in Latin, which was the language of the Church and governance, and spent their time reading manuscripts and documents. As military leaders, they also trained in the art of warfare, learning to fight with swords, practice archery, and ride destrier horses (large, powerful warhorses used in battle). Lords also had to maintain their estates’ defences, including overseeing the construction and repair of castles that acted as both homes and fortresses.
• Hunting: One of the most favoured pastimes of any wealthy lord was hunting. Hunting was not only a way of acquiring meat for the household, but it also served as a status symbol. The larger the estate, the more extensive the hunt could be, with the lord often hunting deer, boar, or other game. King William I, in particular, used hunting as a method of consolidating his power. To create the Royal Forest near Winchester, he evicted hundreds of families from their homes to clear the land for game. The forest stretched over nearly 30 miles, and it became a place reserved for royal hunting. If anyone was caught hunting within these protected forests, the punishment was severe, often leading to blinding or other forms of brutal punishment, highlighting the power and privilege of the king and his nobility.

The Contrast Between Lords and Villeins

While the lords of Norman England enjoyed a life of luxury and power, the villeins lived in poverty and worked tirelessly to maintain the estate. The contrast between their lives was marked by significant differences in status, freedom, and responsibility.

• Social Hierarchy: Lords were at the top of the social pyramid, commanding the labour of those beneath them. Villeins were at the bottom of this pyramid, bound to the land and forced to work for the lords without much hope of improving their social standing.
• Wealth: Lords enjoyed substantial wealth from their landholdings, while villeins lived with little beyond what they could grow, hunt, or produce. The lord could afford luxuries, such as finely made clothes, horses, and lavish feasts, whereas the villein’s diet consisted mainly of bread, ale, and cheese, and they rarely, if ever, ate meat.
• Power: The lords wielded considerable power, not only over the land but also over the people who lived and worked on it. They could impose taxes, enforce justice, and demand military service. In contrast, the villeins had very little autonomy and were entirely reliant on their lord’s decisions for their survival and livelihood.

Conclusion

Life in Norman England was shaped by a deeply entrenched social structure that kept the majority of the population at the mercy of a small, powerful elite. While the villeins worked hard in the fields and faced a life of poverty, the Norman lords enjoyed lives of privilege and power, focused on warfare, hunting, and the management of their estates. The stark differences in their lives serve as a reminder of the inequalities that defined medieval society in England.