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  • In the Middle Ages,

  • which cover approximately the period from the Norman invasion of Britain, in 1066,

  • to the end of the Wars of the Roses in 1485,

  • England moved from being an almost exclusively agricultural feudal society

  • to a society on the threshold of creating an empire.

  • Medieval society was based on the feudal system

  • which can be said to have become an age of England under William the Conqueror.

  • He introduced the idea that all land

  • was the property of the Crown

  • to dispose of as the king thought fit .

  • Large tracts of countryside were granted to the king supporters

  • who, in return, were bound to pay rent

  • and offer their services when required.

  • This usually meant supplying a certain number of armed knights

  • in time of war.

  • The lords would then rent their land to tenant famers

  • under similar conditions.

  • These farmers were known as serfs

  • or "villains"

  • and their lives were overshadowed by extreme hardship.

  • A serf was effectively the property of the lord for whom he worked.

  • He was not permitted to leave the land and go where he wished.

  • If he tried to he would be brought back and punished.

  • Neither could he marry without the permission of the lord

  • which was also required should the serf wished to allow his son or daughter to marry.

  • On the death of a serf an heir had to pay a tax to the lord

  • before he could continue to farm

  • besides what was known as a "heriot"often the best animal on the farm.

  • On top of the burden of working his own land to feed his family,

  • the serf had to spend about three days each week working on the land of his lord.

  • A service rendered in lieu of rent

  • plowing, sowing, harvesting, of course,

  • but also repairing the manor house,

  • building barns and running errands to the local villagers,

  • a very time consuming and tiring business.

In the Middle Ages,

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