Sword and Sorcery Social Classes
Medieval lifestyles work as a springboard for writing
sword and sorcery or high fantasy.
Social classes in medieval times were clearly drawn
and hard to change. For this article we'll take a look at
medieval life within the manor setting: a perfect study in
not only how people lived, but also how social classes
related to one another. High fantasy writers weave such
medieval historical bits with imaginative threads to
create new, unique and fantastic realities. Here magical
swords sing, knights fight ogres, evil sorcerers cast
spells, and dragons with many heads haunt the land. The
magic also allows a poor man with integrity to change
his world. However, before we get to the magic, it's
important to know the history.
During King Richard's reign, every man's goal was to own
land. The strongest warrior became lord of conquered land
and reigned over the manor in service to the king. A great
lord might have several manors under his charge.
A Self-sufficient Manor
A manor functioned like a self-sufficient country. It
usually incorporated open lands like meadows, woods,
fields, rivers, and pastures for livestock and farming as
well as a mill (sometimes small enough to be run by one
person) to grind grain into flour, an oven, wine press,
and church.
The castle where the lord of the manor lived worked like
the capital of the self-contained manor. Within his castle
walls, skilled craftsmen worked as paid servants. This
included bakers, carpenters, millers, smiths, leather
workers, etc. For their services, this skilled labor force
received payment. Pay included money, food and lodging.
For writers of fantasy, this scenario opens the door to a
variety of plots as the mixture of families and social
classes lived under one roof.
Villeins
Poorer peasants worked the lord's farms. In return for
their hard work, they received strips of land on which
they raised crops to feed their own families. Under the
feudal system, these poor peasants lived as members of a
class of partially-free persons known as villeins.
Villeins held positions as serfs with respect to their
lord. However, they maintained rights and privileges of
freemen in their dealings with others.
Villeins lived in huts made of mud and wattle. These huts
more often than not consisted of two rooms. Thatched roofs
protected occupants from the elements and one window
(known as the wind's eye) lit the typical villein's hut.
Fire burned on a stone slab situated in the middle of the
earthen floor for warmth and cooking.
Onions, dried herbs, and strips of meat hung from rafters,
while tools used in service to the lord perched along the
walls. Villeins paid taxes in the form of produce raised
on the strip of land provided by the lord, while also
working in service to the lord at jobs such as repairing
bridges and roads about two or three days a week.
Villeins lived under a set of strict rules, one being the
fact they could not leave the manor without the lord's
permission. This restriction may seem unfair by today's
standards, but remember the lord allowed the peasants to
live on his land as a way to provide for the family. It
was an agreement. Villeins lived on this strip of land,
and had a garden, house, livestock and tools. The harder a
villein worked, the better off his situation would be.
However, social class and structure many times trapped
worthy people in a mundane existence, while raising others
less deserving to a life of opulence.
Manor Life Under the Feudal System
Manor life under the feudal system provides a rich
history for the
fantasy writer to tap into. Consider the wealth of
possibilities. A young villein who hates farming may
escape life in the manor and strike out on his own, or he
may work hard and buy his freedom. He could even join a
band of outlaws that live in the forest, such as in Robin
Hood.
In Howard Pyle's Men of Iron a lord is accused of
treason and lives in refuge in the sanctuary of a church
for years. His son becomes a page and squire and redeems
the family name. On the other hand, consider the footloose
hooligan pulling a prank in Robert E. Howard's Gates of
the Empire who flees to the Holy Land to avoid the
consequences. Fantasy stories based on life in the manor
are fraught with interesting characters and provide a
variety of plot choices set in a unique social structure
and quaint locale. Add a daub of magic and ta-da, you've
created sword and sorcery high fantasy
