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Shepherds Manor

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What shepherds produced supported the manor with its economy. Animals had a big part in the manor, and produced a lot of goods thanks to the shepherds. Pigs were the most numerous of livestock and they could mainly support themselves by foraging in the woods. Cows were kept to breed oxen for the plow team. Sheep and goats were used for milk and cheese and sheep was also used for wool (Gies and J Gies 22). Landowners had trading links with traders abroad, but peasants dealt with travelling merchants. Large numbers of sheep were bred and taken care of to produce a lot of wool and enough wool was made for families and abroad, and families in little cottages turned it from rough wool to cloth (Johnson). A lot of cheese was produced from female …show more content…

During these times, wool was praised for its fineness, and was the most sought after fiber. Although sheep were clumsy, fragile, and vulnerable, they were easy to feed, easy to handle, and produced fleece reliably each year and they soon became England's national treasure (Gies and J Gies 65). Wool was a big business in medieval England and there was a big demand. Because of this peasants to major land owners raised sheep. The English people used the cloth for their own use, and rarely was it sold for trade. The raw wool from the English sheep was required to feed the looms for foreign people. People in rich towns who made clothes, such as Bruges and Ghent were willing to pay top dollar (Johnson). All of these things contributed to the manor because it was a good money maker for the manor and provided people with goods. The sheep, pigs and cows the shepherds raised provided cheese, butter, and milk to feed families within the manor. They also provided animals for other people to raise to make these and other things to feed and provide for themselves, and maybe make money …show more content…

Shepherd's produced many different goods for feudalism. Livestock grazed in tofts, this livestock being cows, oxen, pigs, and chickens. Villagers owned sheep, but they were not kept in tofts. In the summer and fall, they went to the marsh to graze and in the winter, they went to pens in the manor fold so the lord could profit from the manure (it was very valuable because it was used as fertilizer) (Gies and J Gies 35). Wool became a backbone to medieval economy, and even lords, abbots and bishops started to count wealth in terms of sheep (Johnson). Wool became taxed and this helped the King fund his military endeavors (Johnson). These goods helped support the different ranks of feudalism. The goods shepherds provided helped out the lord and the king especially. Wool was a very popular product that was produced by shepherds, and was bought and sold constantly. The king got all tax on this, so he got a lot of money. This helped him to fund the military, which supported him for protection, but also the lords and peasants. The lords benefited from the manure produced from the sheep shepherds raised. They got money from this and could have used it for many reasons, personally or for the people of feudalism. Feudalism and manorialism gave people ranks, economy, and military that helped people live their lives in the dark times of medieval ages. The shepherds

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