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Book of the Manor

By Greg Stafford

Book of the Manor

Manorial Economics for

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King Arthur Pendragon, 5th Edition By Greg Stafford

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Author of King Arthur Pendragon and The Great Pendragon Campaign Editing by Roderick Robertson Layout by David Zeeman

With special thanks to David Zeeman, for significant contributions especially to the “Complete Landholding System,” and to Darren Hill for extensive comments and detailed criticism, Criticism and comments from Suzanne Courteau, Jeff Kyer, Matt Morich and Roderick Robertson. Thanks, too, to the players in my Berkeley campaign: Wayne Coburn, Suzanne Courteau, Dave “Fergie” Ferguson, Aaron Gorfein, Tom Salas, David Zeeman. All pictures, photos, and illustrations are either original or from royalty-free sources, such as ClipArt.com (http: www.clipart.com) or from Liam’s Pictures from Old Books (http:// www.fromoldbooks.org/). This book is published by Greg Stafford Pendragon, under license from Nocturnal Media, LLC.. © 2nd edition © 2008 by Greg Stafford. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written permission of the author is expressly forbidden, except for the purpose of reviews, and for any record sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. All rights reserved.

Foreword: Money in Pendragon Money is not a trope in the Arthurian legends. Economics are not heroic. Nonetheless, economics are a part of medieval society, which is a part of the Pendragon game. Furthermore, its dominance in modern mentality requires it to be addressed. Besides, it is always fun to spend the money gained by knights through wise land use or plunder. Pendragon economics are not intended to make the player knights rich. Pendragon is not an economics game—it is about knightly character, heroism and adventure. Money is secondary, at best providing the resources necessary to express largesse. It adds complexity and difficulty to being a knight.

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Warning! This book has a lot of material in it! It is intended to be a reference book for those individuals interested in pursuing the details, and not a rule book of required options. Be sure not to become trapped by its intricacies and potentials. If it’s not fun, don’t do it. Using Money for Glory

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The object of the game in Pendragon is to get Glory. The object of the economics is thus to spend money to get Glory. This is done through Conspicuous Consumption, which nets 1 Glory per £1 spent, and Manorial Improvements (See: “Manorial Improvements” on pg. 16).

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A Few Guidelines Be appropriate to the time and genre. Try not to think like modern people concerning money. Things were different in the Middle Ages. • • •

Money is for Conspicuous Consumption Savings Don’t Exist Financial Speculation is Unknown

In King Arthur Pendragon, economics are a way of expressing character and getting Glory.

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Treasure Knights may accumulate goods and keep them in storage. This is called Treasure. This includes any chattel goods such as clothing, furniture, jewelry, plates of precious metals, art objects and so on. These goods can be used as if they are money, though of course they are bartered instead of sold and bought. Treasure does not generate Glory. Note Where information in this book conflicts with previously published materials, in every case this one takes precedence. In particular, note that the components of the Standard Manor have been redefined (though not the value), thanks to my latest research. This definition supersedes the one in the rule book.

Table of Contents Banditry ......................................................... 38

Religious Donations ............................. 39-40

The Roman & British Churches .................... 39 Pagan Cults .................................................... 40 Other Glorious Expenses ................... 41-42 Manorial Record Pages ...................... 43-46 The Treasure Record........................................44 The Manor Income Worksheet ...................... 45 The Land Record ........................................... 46 The Narrative Economic System ............47 The Complete Landholding System .48-54 REVENUE .................................................... 48 FORTUNE ..................................................... 48 HARVEST ..................................................... 52 Who is Your Steward? ................................... 52 TALLY ........................................................... 53 After the Harvest ........................................... 53 Appendices ............................................ 55-62 A. Borrowing Money ..................................... 55 B. Money You Never See .............................. 57 C. Landholding & the Winter Phase .............. 58 D. Tables of Things to Build .......................... 59 Index .............................................................. 63

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Using Money for Glory .................................... i Table of Contents ............................................. 2 Introduction ................................................. 3 Definitions ..................................................... 4 Your Manor.............................................. 5-11 The Standard Manor ........................................ 5 Nonstandard Manors ....................................... 5 Manorial Charters ............................................ 6 Sample Charters ............................................... 6 Types of Settlements .........................................7 Population Distribution .....................................7 Gaining Glory for Land ................................... 8 Manorial Expenses .......................................... 8 Hospitality........................................................ 8 Manor Personnel .............................................. 9 Commoners ...................................................... 9 Steward .......................................................... 11 Holy Folk ....................................................... 11 Your Retinue ......................................... 12-17 Finding & Hiring Retinue .............................. 12 A Knight’s Retinue ........................................ 12 Wandering Bards ........................................... 14 A Lady’s Retinue ........................................... 15 Healers ........................................................... 16 Soldiery .......................................................... 16 Your Peasants ....................................... 18-20 New Passion: Concern (my Commoners) ...... 18 New Passion: Hate (Landlord) ...................... 18 Manorial Improvements .................... 21-38 Types of Improvements ................................. 21 Common Structures ....................................... 22 Developments ................................................ 24 Manorial Buildings ........................................ 25 Fortifications .................................................. 27 Enhancements ............................................... 28 Floriography .................................................. 30 Investments .................................................... 34 A Note on Horses .......................................... 35 Natural Population Growth ............................ 38

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Forward .......................................................... i

List of Tables Table 1: How Much Hate?..............................19 Table 2: Animal Enclosure Costs ...................33 Table 3: Narrative Economic System .............47 Table 4: Manorial Luck ..................................49 Table 5: Conflict Results ................................50 Table 6: Property Destruction ..........................5 Table 7. Harvest Results .................................54

Introduction Think of personal expression.

A manor is a self-sustaining landholding of a size and income sufficient to support a knight. It is also his home; the house where his family lives. But it can be much more than that too, and this book is about what else it can be: A way for a knight to reveal and reinforce his personality. Family estates bear monuments and structures that characterize that family.

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A method to prioritize personal issues. What’s more important: a garden for your lover or a fancy caparison for your charger?

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A toy for players. Players can shape manors to suit their characters. Players will establish a piece of personal Arthurian landscape. So don’t think of money.

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Furthermore, the core King Arthur Pendragon rule book classifies all manors as having £6 of income. This book provides variations from the standard, ways to change that standard, and things that will involuntarily affect the standard. In other words, all manors are not the same. This book is crammed with anachronisms. Knights can add improvements from prehistoric times (trilithons, stone circles), the Roman era (baths, mosaic tile floors, fountains) and Medieval periods (chimneys, hedge mazes). Gamemasters may reject whatever they wish. The purpose is to add color and individuality to the game, not for historical accuracy or verisimilitude.

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Just have fun.

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come goes to the fief holder, not to the lord. If a knight has multiple manors which require knight’s service (i.e., not demesne manors), then he may give these to knights who use the £6 to support themselves. He loses the income from these manors.

Definitions Here are some old and new definitions to keep in mind.

Officer. A leader among his contemporaries. Officers can be nobles or commoners. An Officer of the Court (steward, butler, constable, etc.) has major responsibilities for his liege lord. An Officer of a Manor (bailiff, falconer, reeve, etc.) has major responsibilities for the running of the manor.

Demesne. That which “belongs to the landholder.” The fields whose income goes directly to the knight, not to the farmers who do the work (i.e., those fields which produce the £6 income of the manor). Esquire. A nobleman who is not knighted. He has undergone the training of a squire, but due to his status as younger son (or many other reasons), he has not become a knight by age of 21. This is the fate of many, if not most, younger sons. They will work for their elder brother or another noble as an officer (steward, master of the hunt, etc.) or find other gainful employment.

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Gift. Land that is held by the vassal knight only for the duration of his life. Upon his death, the land reverts to the lord.

Service. Payment through physical presence to do the work that is required for something. Tenants owe a knight service—field labor—in return for his protection. In turn, a knight owes his lord service in return for holding a manor. A knight’s service is “aid and counsel”. Aid is military aid in the defense of the lord’s lands (including the knight’s own holdings) and 60 days active service at the knight’s own expense. Counsel is advice, given whenever asked. Your knight may be summoned to his liege's court at any time. It’s possible to serve more than one liege but these duties frequently conflict, to the knight’s detriment (See: King Arthur Pendragon, pg. 18).

Holding. An award of one or more manors, regarded as a single unit by the liege who gives or grants the land. In return for the holding, the knight is expected to give service to the lord. The person who holds this is called the landholder, or vassal.

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Tenant. Anyone who holds land or service from another. Commoners on a manor are the tenants of the knight, and sometimes a vassal knight is called a knight-in-tenant, while his holding can be called a knightly tenancy. Commoners can be tenants of other commoners as well.

Kind. Payment through goods. Commoners on a manor owe payment-in-kind to the knight. This takes the form of a portion of their harvest. Most of the manor’s £6 income is payment-in-kind (i.e. food).

Tenant-in-chief. A vassal of the king who holds one of the larger territories of the land (i.e., a baron). Vassal. One who swears fealty to a liege lord. All knights and nobles (except the king) are the vassal of someone else. All nobles, and many knights, are also the liege of those knights whom they have enfoeffed with manors. Note that peasants do not swear fealty, so are not vassals (though they may be tenants).

Liege. The lord from whom the vassal gains his Holding. Manor. The physical building where a knight lives, called the manor house or hall, and the farm lands surrounding it, plus other nearby resources. A manor is an economic unit whose income equals the cost to support a vassal knight in the Boy King Period, which is £6. Demesne Manor. A manor that is held of the liege lord, but for which a knight’s service is not required. Thus the £6 income goes entirely to the knight holding it. These are often given to a knight banneret to pay for the extra expenses required for his upkeep. Enfoeffed M anor. A manor that is held as a fief by a knight. This might be held as a gift or a grant, but its in-

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Your Manor Manors come in many sizes and with many different components. herding. Along a coast or on a large river a village might be a fishing village. In the mountains a knight could be assigned a portion of income from a mine. The money could come from a toll station or ferry. Many regions, not just in the mountains, have quarries that are reliable sources of income. Timber rights near a large forest are another possible source. Finally, manorial income could be granted to a knight without any land or kind whatsoever, but as a stipend paid by a lord to the knight for his services. Additional income to reward a knight and let him live more richly than a mere vassal knight, might be assigned as a part of a gift or grant to a knight. It might be a small amount to cover the costs of being a banneret, for instance; or to maintain his stature as an officer of the court. These could be from any of the sources listed above. It could even be a portion of the income from an agricultural manor, so that someone has half of a manor, or a third of one.

The Standard Manor

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a village with 500 commoners a small church a mill a communal bakery a pack of dogs (for herding and hunting) a herd of about 20 horses a herd of cattle, a flock of sheep, a herd of pigs, a flock of chickens, a gaggle of geese and other animals (some owned by the manor, and many more owned by the peasants).

Nonstandard manors

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The manor house is surrounded by plowed fields, meadows (used for hay), pastures (used for grazing), and wastes (land not used for other purposes).

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Logres, a land rich in rivers and alluvial valleys, is mostly populated with standard manors. The standard manor typically provides £6 of income, and contains the following:

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A manor is the most common holding for a knight. For simplicity’s sake these are standardized as the £6 agricultural manor. But in actuality, the situation may be far more complex. Gamemasters may play with this as much as they wish. Remember, though, that the general rule is that a lord keeps his income sources as much as he can, and gives out treasure to prove his largesse. Gamemasters who wish to vary some of their manors can use some of these common variants. Since lords are capricious, it is quite possible that a liege will give a manor that is worth more or less than the standard £6. A manor may have been damaged and be worth less, or improved to be worth more. It might have larger fields, or smaller. It may already have some Enhancements or Improvements from previous tenants. Knights might get a portion of the income from a particularly large village or a town. They might get part from several villages, or some from a village and some from a town. The land may have several small hamlets instead of a village. In lands that are less richly endowed than Logres other sources of income may prevail. Thus in mountainous Cambria or the Pennines, a manor is likely to consist of a hamlet with a small amount of farm and a lot of territory for sheep

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Manorial Charters

 or his outstanding courage on the bloody an d glorious battlefield of Bed egraine, I gladly give to my loyal vassa l, Sir Ambrut of th e Green Tower, the manor of the Gr een Tower as a grant, to be held for his life and that of his heirs in return for a knight’s service to me, the Earl of Clarence, and my legal heirs + Furthermore, I inclu de in this same grant the manor of Cador’s Mill in Clarence, and the manor called Th e House of the Pilla r, in Salisbury nig h unto the Wylie River, to provide for the upkeep of sa id tower, and the appurtenances of his station +

Holdings are formalized with written documents, even though most knights cannot read. The wording of the charter defines the terms, such as how many knight services are owed, the names or descriptions of the manors assigned to the knight, and so on. Importantly, the charter always states whether a holding is granted or gifted. The document is official when stamped with the lord’s signet and/or signed.



Some sample charters are provided on the next page. The terms of the charter are written out in descriptive words and in game terms. When Gamemasters assign manors to player knights, they can write the manorial charter details directly on the Land Record, a work sheet that players use to keep track of their manor’s progress. For more information on the Land Record, go to “Manorial Records” on pg. 34.

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In Ga me Te rms: 1 manor, grant, for 1 knight service; Annual Income: £6; Annual Glory: 6

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my loyal vassal, Sir Daffyd of Devon, in return for one knight's service, I do hereby give unto his care my three manors on the Little Avon River, in the form of a gift, to be held for the duration of his life +

In Gam e Te rms: 3 manors, gift, for 1 knight service (i.e. two manors are demesne manors); Annual income: £18; Annual Glory: 18

Furthermore, to Sir Ambrut for the duratio

n of his life, I giv e the gift of the manor of Haml et’s Mill in return for one knight’s service from Sir Lewis, enfoeffed of that manor; and also one half of the annual incom e from the manor called the Manor of Harold the Spear , on the Little Av on River, to be delivere d each autumn by the steward there ; and also £1 wort h of salted fish fr om the fishery on the Little Avon River, to be deliver ed by the Chief of Fisherman ea ch autumn to the Gr een Tower +

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Sir Lancrius, in return for one knight's service, I do hereby grant unto his care the manor of Old Hill to be held in perpetuity by him and his rightful, legal heirs +

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Sample Charters

In Ga me Terms: 1 manor, Green Tower, grant for 1 knight service (includes a Stone Tower, DV 5); 2 manors, granted, demesne manors; 1 manor, gift, enfoeffed to Sir Lewis; ½ manor, gift, no stewardship needed; £1 gift of income (fish); Annual Income: £22; Annual Glory: 33

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