al-Mansur, Muhammad ibn Abu Amr 471Survey2d ed. (Tübingen: Mohr, 1992); Paul Mirecki and
Jason BeDuhn, ends., Emerging from Darkness: Studies in
the Recovery of Manichaean Sources(Leiden: Brill, 1997);
L. J. R. Ort, Mani: A Religio-Historical Description of His
Personality(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1967).
manors and manorial lordship Over the course of
the early Middle Ages, and especially by the 10th century,
villages or estates owned by nobles evolved into manors
(mansi) with certain reciprocal obligations on the labor-
ing PEASANTRYand on the lord. Both sides had to meet
the terms of tenure and protection. These manors had a
lord, who held it as a vassal and as a tenant of his own
lord. The system can be theoretically viewed as a pyramid
with the king or prince at the top. These relations were
distinct from those of FEUDALISMbut mirrored some of its
terms and conditions. A lord exercised legal jurisdiction
over petty vassals and peasants, who were compelled to
yield labor and meet obligations to him.
PHYSICAL FEATURES AND
DETAILS OF THE SYSTEMA classic manorial estate was divided into a lord’s section,
the demesne. This property might contain a CASTLEor
house for the lord, land cultivated by SERFSas part of
their duties, and areas left to nature or waste such as
lakes or forests. Some of these were for common use or
set aside for certain activities. There were often MILLSand
bakeries owned by the lord. Manorial courts regularly
met and were presided over by the lord or his representa-
tive, to ensure compliance with manorial rules. The peas-
ants, when they acted together, might be able to protect
themselves against excessive seigniorial oppression.
In an agricultural revolution around the 11th cen-
tury, heavy ploughs were introduced, that permitted a
more intensive cultivation. They became part of the
manorial inventory of tools and were lent to peasants in
exchange for fees or additional services. Peasants’ lands
and fields might be arranged in long strips, to accommo-
date a plough team made up of six to eight oxen. Peas-
ants often had to give lords a fairly high portion of his
produce, pay certain taxes, and supply work services. The
amounts for all were set in the peasantry’s terms of
tenure, which were heavily influenced by labor supply.
COMMERCIALIZATION, MOBILITY, REPRESSIONFrom the 12th century there was a revival of commerce
and a growth in towns. Some of these old obligations were
commuted to monetary payments, which eventually led to
a more commercial agrarian economy. Members of peasant
communities, especially when they were unified, became
more autonomous or at least could try to limit burdens
placed on them. Many peasants improved their situation
and bought freedom from the more servile exactions. New
colonization or clearing of waste by churches or lords
offered opportunities for better tenure and conditions to
peasants, since the lords needed to attract colonists. Land-
less peasants were recruited for eastern Germany from the
overpopulated areas of the Rhineland and the Low Coun-
tries. Their new lords organized them and established new
villages on the newly cleared land. This happened in
Western Europe, too, as more and more land was cleared
and put into production. Labor shortages and a more
monetized economy led to the employment of hired peas-
ants to work on the manorial demesne. The great PLAGUES
and crises of the 14th century inevitably affected agricul-
ture. As a result of the ensuing extreme shortage of labor-
ers, lords demanded the restoration of work services,
taxes, and the closing of common areas. This led to peas-
ant revolts that met with harsh reprisals. This model of
the manorial system is a theoretical and basic construct.
Many aspects of the manorial system were dependent on
farming techniques and the labor supply.
See alsoAGRICULTURE; HORSES; JACQUÉRIE; LABOR; PEAS-
ANT REBELLIONS; SOCIAL STATUS AND STRUCTURE; VILLAGE
COMMUNITIES AND SETTLEMENTS; VILLEIN AND VILLEINAGE.
Further reading:L. R. Poos and Lloyd Bonfield, eds.,
Select Cases in Manorial Courts, 1250–1550: Property and
Family Law(London: Selden Society, 1998); P. D. A. Har-
vey, Manorial Records(London: British Records Associa-
tion, 1984); George C. Homans, English Villagers of the
Thirteenth Century(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univer-
sity Press, 1941); J. Ambrose Raftis, Peasant Economic
Development within the English Manorial System (Mon-
treal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1996).al-Mansur, Muhammad ibn Abu Amr (Almanzor,
the Victorious)(938–1002)victorious general in Islamic
Spain
From a distinguished Arab line, al-Mansur in 967 entered
the court of the caliphate of CÓRDOBA. There he was
placed in charge of the administration of caliphal estates.
He soon also proved himself a victorious general and
became one of the regents during the minority of Caliph
Hisham II (ca. 964–1013). In 977 he led a successful mil-
itary expedition against the Christians in northern SPAIN.
On his return, he seized power over the state and kept
the caliph a prisoner in his own palace.
With a mercenary army of BERBERSand Christians,
al-Mansur made himself the sole ruler of AL-ANDALUS.He
called for a holy war or JIHADagainst the Christians, and
in 985 he captured BARCELONAand in 987, even SANTIAGO
DE COMPOSTELAin northern Spain. Instead of perma-
nently occupying them, al-Mansur gave them to Christian
princes, who were compelled to pay tribute. Al-Mansur,
ostentatiously pious, imposed strict Muslim practices on
his state, built several MOSQUES, and enlarged the great
mosque of Córdoba. He burned secular books that seemed
unacceptable to him from the famous caliphal library. Al-
Mansur had to engage in continuous military campaigns