What was daily life for people on a manor?

Answer 1

Most common folk were serfs - this means that they could not own land but worked the land of someone who did, who was usually a noble, a noble who owned land was a "lord". This land was referred to as a "manor", hence "manorialism".

Besides land, a serf also did not own any money or possessions in the earlier medieval age, every thing on the land, including the house he lived in, was property of his lord. A serf was born into serfdom if his parents were serfs, and had to work the land of his lord. In a sense it was like slavery, the serfs themselves were basically property, and most of the resources they harvested from the land were paid in tax to the lord. What ever was left over was just enough so they could survive. But, unlike slaves, serfs could not be bought or sold - a serf was responsible to his lord and a lord responsible to his serf.

Serfs did have certain special legal rights and lords had certain legal responsibilities to their serf. Violence and instability was a very real and commonly occuring threat, and the poor and defenseless folk and their homes could be easy prey to bandits and foreign raiders (such as Vikings). A lord was expected to provide protection to his serfs from this danger, providing law on the manor and defense from outsiders. Failing to do so could result in punishment from his lord. This is why most noblemen back then were also trained as knights. Serfs certainly did not have much going for them, but only nobles were expected to bravely put themselves in harm's way.

That's something else that should be mentioned, most lords had a lord of their own in which they paid some of their resources to, their piece of land owned was given to them so they could protect and manage it for the higher lord. Basic Knight Protectors served Barons, whom served Counts or Earls, who served Dukes, it was a hierarchy going all the way up to the King himself.

Serfdom and manorialsm began to fade away just before the renaissance, partially due to an increase in trade routes, causing greater distribution of coin between everybody, allowing serfs to buy partial freedom if they desired, and partially due to a decrease in Viking raids, allowing for less need in armed protection for many villages. more and more serfs became "freemen", which was still a type of peasant, albeit one with far fewer restrictions in their life.

Answer 2

It depends on your social status. For example, the lowest ranking serfs ate vegetables because they came from the ground, while the lords ate birds because they fly in the sky.