manorial system
nounUK /məˈnɔː.ri.əl ˈsɪs.təm/
US /məˈnɔːr.i.əl ˈsɪs.təm/
A way of living long ago where a lord owned land and peasants worked it for him.
Under the manorial system, peasants farmed the lord's fields in exchange for protection.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. The economic and social organization of medieval European estates centered on a lord's manor.
Historians study the manorial system to understand medieval rural life.
3. A system of landholding in which tenants owe labor and dues to the lord of the manor.
The manorial system tied peasants to the land they worked.
4. The customary rules and practices governing a manor's land and people.
Court records reveal how the manorial system settled local disputes.