Open-field system
Prevalent ownership and land use structure in medieval agriculture
Open-field system
The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Each manor or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acres each, which were divided into many narrow strips of land. The strips, or selions, were cultivated by peasants, who were either tenants or serfs. The holdings of a manor also included woodland and pasture areas for common usage and fields belonging to the lord of the manor and the religious authorities, usually Roman Catholics in medieval Western Europe. The farmers customarily lived in separate houses in a nucleated village with a much larger manor house and church nearby. The open-field system necessitated co-operation among the residents of the manor. The lord of the manor, his officials, and a manorial court administered the manor and exercised jurisdiction over the peasantry. The Lord levied rents and required the peasantry to work on his personal...
Read on Wikipedia · Image William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1923, Public domain
Open boosters, collect cards and trade them. Free to play.
Play for free