head. Over her tunic, she wore a cloak. Monks and nuns
wore long black robes with hoods.

The barons now managed and developed their estates to be as
productive as possible, often using the successful management
techniques of church estates. They kept records of their fields,
tenants, and services owed by each tenant, and duties of the manor
officers, such as supervision of the ploughing and harrowing.
Annually, the manor's profit or loss for the year was calculated.
Most manors were self-supporting except that iron for tools and
horseshoes and salt for curing usually had to be obtained
elsewhere. Wine, tar, canvas and millstones were imports from
other countries and bought at fairs, as was fish, furs, spices,
and silks. Sheep were kept in such large numbers that they were
susceptible to a new disease "scab". Every great household was
bound to give alms.

As feudalism became less military and less rough, daughters were
permitted to inherit fiefs. It became customary to divide the
property of a deceased man without a son equally among his
daughters. Lords were receiving homage from all the daughters and
thereby acquiring marriage rights over all of them. Also, if a son
predeceased his father but left a child, that child would succeed
to the father's land in the same way that the deceased would have.

Manors averaged about ten miles distance between each other, the
land in between being unused and called "wasteland". Statutes
after a period of civil war proscribing the retaking of land
discouraged the enclosure of waste land.

Some villeins bought out their servitude by paying a substitute to
do his service or paying his lord a firm (from hence, the words
farm and farmer) sum to hire an agricultural laborer in his place.
This made it possible for a farm laborer to till one continuous
piece of land instead of scattered strips.

Looms were now mounted with two bars. Women did embroidery. The
clothing of most people was made at home, even sandals. The
village tanner and bootmaker supplied long pieces of soft leather
for more protection than sandals. Tanning mills replaced some hand
labor. The professional hunter of wolves, lynx, or otters supplied
head coverings. Every village had a smith and possibly a carpenter
for construction of ploughs and carts. The smith obtained coal
from coal fields for heating the metal he worked. Horse harnesses
were homemade from hair and hemp. There were watermills and/or
windmills for g