Before you analyze the document, recall what you know about feudalism. Also, make sure that you have looked at the study questions for the assignment.
As you read the court document, you will come across some terms that you are probably unfamiliar with. As a historian, that happens all the time, and that is why we have dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference materials. You will find these three websites helpful for your work on this assignment.
The document reveals many different traits/characteristics of feudal/manorial society, and after reading this short document, you might be surprised at how orderly medieval life was structured. There were clear legal and social obligations for all elements of the population. Here are two features clearly seen in the document excerpts that you are reading (if we identified any more, then you wouldn't have any work yourself to do on the assignment):
- Justice was administered regularly and frequently at the local level; usually by the nobles who lived in the area.
- Most court disputes involved property ownership.
You should read the document and see what you can discover about medieval life. Find two or three traits/characteristics, explain each of those, and illustrate each of them with a short quote taken directly from the feudal document itself.
Contributions from Rebecca Linford, Charlie Evans