Manors in the Middle Ages Educational Resources K12 Learning, People and Their Environment, World, History Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

In today's world, leaders of countries typically get help ruling the country from elected officials. However, this has not always been the case.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, there was a monarchy. This means that people were ruled by kings and queens. The person who took on this role was usually born into a royal family and elections were not held.

The people who helped the monarchs (the king or queen) rule were called nobles. The monarch went about gathering political allies in a very different way than most countries would imagine doing today.

Imagine that the king has chosen you to help him rule over the kingdom.

Congratulations!

The king has given you a sizable piece of land to manage. He says that if you will serve as his lord, you can choose the piece of land that you want! He just needs you to give him a list of things to be included in the property.

What do you want your property to include?

Before creating your list, watch The Manor System from Miss Roe:

Now, you are ready!

Brainstorm a list of what you want to be included.
Mention features that you are looking for that will make your property self-sufficient, which means able to function without help from others.

Remember, you don't have modern-day technologies, so really think about your list.

Did you include features on your list that would have allowed you to have the most basic items?
You will need to grow food, so did you include land for growing crops?
Did you think to include a water source, such as a river or stream?
Did you include a wooded area nearby for timber?

The land can provide valuable resources like the ones mentioned above. In the Middle Ages, the wealthiest people owned large amounts of land, although they most likely did not get to be so choosy about what their land included.

Move on to the Got It? section to learn more about what these pieces of land, called manors, typically included.