I had only as one lecture this week, as I'm traveling off to give a paper. Since the students are discussing peasants at the end of the week, so I devoted the lecture to matters rural . . . and tried to cover 5 things:
1. Defined manorialism; discussed its murky origins; described how it worked; and considered its relationship to both “those who fight” and “those who pray.” In the process, I hope the students learned to distinguish village from manor from parish. 3. Briefly treated the matter of how elites saw peasants--that is, either as cursed descendants of Cain or Ham . . . or as blessed poor.3. Discussed the first agricultural revolution, covering basically what's in the chapter, but with more oomph, good pictures, and lots of enthusiasm for humble peasants. (I set this up as a counter to the "Great Man Theory of History" I had offered up for Charlemagne.)
4. Reviewed some basic stuff about peasant lives, focusing on household, as well as village, parish, and manor. I emphasized how house and farmyard offered scope for individualized economic activity, which I set up in distinction to the cooperation required in village fields and pastures.
5. Primary Source prep. The students are reading a manorial court session, so I introduced them to the manor (Walsham) and to court rolls generally.
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