Besides handing over part of their harvest, what else did peasants owe the lord?

Nothing else, because the harvest share was enough

Paid work as servants in the castle

Why did peasants have to pay the lord each time they ground grain or baked bread?

Because the miller and the baker were the lord's servants and needed wages

Because the mill and the oven belonged to the lord

Because the king had a tax on all bread

How was the farmland shared out among peasant families on a lord's estate?

As long, narrow strips of land given to different families

As one big field farmed only by the lord's servants

As square gardens next to each family's house

Life on a Lord’s Estate

Age 12 · History

Open to everyone until Friday, October 30

To keep it, print it while it is open.

In the Middle Ages, much of the countryside was divided into estates owned by a lord, who lived in a castle or manor house. The peasants farmed the land, but they owed the lord work, a share of their harvest, and fees for using his mill and oven.

In the picture

The castle: home of the lord who owns the estate and rules the people on it
Strip fields: long, narrow plots shared out among the peasant families
A sack of grain: part of the harvest handed over to the lord’s steward as dues
The water mill: belongs to the lord, and peasants must pay to grind their grain here
The bread oven: also the lord’s, and every loaf baked in it costs a fee

Examples

Paying rent to a landlord for the flat you live in is a bit like the dues peasants owed their lord.
Paying a fee to use a laundrette’s machines is like paying to use the lord’s mill or oven.

Key takeaways

Peasants owed the lord unpaid labour on his land as well as a share of their crops.
The lord controlled the mill and the oven, so peasants paid him every time they used them.

Quiz: Life on a Lord’s Estate (Age 12)

1
Besides handing over part of their harvest, what else did peasants owe the lord?
- Nothing else, because the harvest share was enough
- Unpaid work on the lord’s land
- Paid work as servants in the castle
2
Why did peasants have to pay the lord each time they ground grain or baked bread?
- Because the miller and the baker were the lord’s servants and needed wages
- Because the mill and the oven belonged to the lord
- Because the king had a tax on all bread
3
How was the farmland shared out among peasant families on a lord’s estate?
- As long, narrow strips of land given to different families
- As one big field farmed only by the lord’s servants
- As square gardens next to each family’s house

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History, Age 12