Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • 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,

Subtitles and vocabulary

B2 land lord rent feudal society wished

Life in Medieval Britain

  • 51 0
    Why Why posted on 2013/03/26
Video vocabulary

Keywords

time

US /taɪm/

UK /taɪm/

  • noun
  • Speed at which music is played; tempo
  • Point as shown on a clock, e.g. 3 p.m
  • Number of hours, minutes needed to do something
  • Occasion when something happens
  • Period or occasion that something occurred
  • Period in history or the past
  • Something measured in minutes, hours, days, etc.
  • How long an event takes; duration
  • verb
  • To check speed at which music is performed
  • To choose a specific moment to do something
  • To measure how long an event takes, e.g. a race
  • To schedule something to occur at a specific moment
society

US /səˈsaɪɪti/

UK /sə'saɪətɪ/

  • noun
  • A group who meet to share values or interests
  • Group of people living together
  • Upper class of a community
  • other
  • A community of people living in a particular country or region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations.
  • An organization or club formed for a particular purpose or activity.
  • other
  • The wealthy and influential people in a community or country.
require

US /rɪˈkwaɪr/

UK /rɪ'kwaɪə(r)/

  • other
  • To order or demand something
  • To demand something
  • To need something; to make something necessary.
  • To need something
  • To order or demand something.
  • verb
  • To demand that someone does something
  • To need to do something, to make it necessary
property

US /ˈprɑpəti/

UK /'prɒpətɪ/

  • noun
  • Particular quality that someone or something has
  • A quality or characteristic of something.
  • A building or area of land.
  • A rule or fact in mathematics.
  • Buildings or piece of land owned by someone
  • A quality or characteristic of something.
  • An object used on stage or in a film.
  • An object used on the stage in a play or film; a prop.
  • other
  • Land and buildings.
  • The legal right to own something.
  • Something that is owned by a person or organization.
land

US /lænd/

UK /lænd/

  • noun
  • Region or country
  • Earth; the ground
  • verb
  • To arrive or cause a boat to arrive at the shore
  • To obtain or get something that you wanted
  • To (cause to) come down to the ground safely
  • To cause to arrive in a specific place or state
pay

US /pe/

UK /peɪ/

  • noun
  • Money you receive from your job, work, etc.
  • verb
  • To give money for goods or work done
  • To give (attention, respect, etc.) to
  • To be punished or suffer for something you did
  • To make (a visit) to a person or place
supply

US /səˈplaɪ/

UK /sə'plaɪ/

  • noun
  • An amount of something available for use.
  • Availability of products and services for use
  • Specific things needed to perform a certain task
  • verb
  • To give or sell goods to others for their use
  • To provide something that is needed or wanted.
lord

US /lɔrd/

UK /lɔ:d/

  • noun
  • (Name used to refer to god in some religions)
  • Man with power and authority; a nobleman
  • verb
  • To act as though you can tell people what to do
rent

US /rɛnt/

UK /rent/

  • verb
  • To give the use of something in return for payment
  • To cut a piece of cloth by tearing it
working

US /ˈwə:kɪŋ/

UK /'wɜ:kɪŋ/

  • verb
  • To bring into a specific state of success
  • To be functioning properly, e.g. a car
  • Engaged in activity or labor.
  • To do your job in your company or workplace
  • To make an effort to do something
  • To operate a machine or device
  • adjective
  • Doing your job

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it