Fishing and hunting were reserved for the nobility rather than
just the King.
As many lords became less wealthy because of the cost of war, some
peasants, villein and free, became prosperous, especially those
who also worked at a craft, e.g. butchers, bakers, smiths,
shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, and clothworkers.
An agricultural slump caused poorer soils to fall back into waste.
The better soils were leased by peasants, who, with their
families, were in a better position to farm it than a great lord,
who found it hard to hire laborers at a reasonable cost. Further,
peasants' sheep, hens, pigs, ducks, goats, cattle, bees, and crop
made them almost self-sufficient in foodstuffs. They lived in a
huddle of cottages, pastured their animals on common land, and
used common meadows for hay-making. They subsisted mainly on
boiled bacon, an occasional chicken, worts and beans grown in the
cottage garden, and cereals. They wore fine wool cloth in all
their apparel. Brimless hats were replacing hoods. They had an
abundance of bed coverings in their houses. And they had more free
time. Village entertainment included traveling jesters, acrobats,
musicians, and bear-baiters. Playing games and gambling were
popular pastimes.
Most villeins were now being called "customary tenants" or "copy-
holders" of land because they held their acres by a copy of the
court-roll of the manor, which listed the number of teams, the
fines, the reliefs, and the services due to the lord for each
landholder.
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