Lords and Peasants in a Changing Society The Estates of the Bishopric of Worcester, 680-1540

Lords and Peasants in a Changing Society is a history of the large church estate of Worcester from its foundation until the Reformation.

Lords and Peasants in a Changing Society is a history of the large Church estate of Worcester from its foundation until the Reformation, and is a full-length study of an estate centred in the West Midlands. The medieval bishops of Worcester were landed magnates with manors scattered over three counties, from the outskirts of Bristol to north Worcestershire. This study uses the plentiful records of the bishopric to define and explain long-term social and economic changes in this section of the medieval countryside. Attention is divided equally between the economy of the lords and developments among the peasantry of the estate. In dealing with the lords, consideration is given to the political and social pressures that led to the increase and subsequent loss of land in the estate during the early Middle Ages; the formulation of management policies, particularly in the difficult years after the setbacks of the fourteenth century; and the relationship between income and expenditure.

1. Origins, 680–1086; 2. Feudalism and the bishopric; 3. The seignorial economy, 1086–1350; 4. The peasantry, 1086–1350; 5. The lord's economy: the last phase of direct management, 1350–1400; 6. The lord's economy: administration and income, 1400–1540; 7. Real income and expenditure, 1375–1540; 8. Demesne leases and lessees, 1370–1540; 9. Population change, 1348–1540; 10. The tenant population, 1348–1544; 11. Deserted villages; 12. The relationship between lord and tenants, 1350–1540; 13. Lord and tenant relationships: rents and tenures, 1350–1540; 14. The land-market and peasant landholding; 15. The peasant holding: agriculture; 16. The peasant economy: the market, getting and spending; 17. The village community.

Lords and Peasants in a Changing Society is a history of the large Church estate of Worcester from its foundation until the Reformation, and is a full-length study of an estate centred in the West Midlands.