Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/465

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The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 395 sheaves of oats, three hens, and one cock yearly, and five eggs at Easter. If he sold his horse for more than ten shillings, he was to give the said abbot fourpence. Five other serfs, mentioned by name, held but half as much land as Hugh and his companions, by paying and doing in all respects half as much service. One of the most remarkable characteristics of the manor was its independence of the rest of the world. It produced nearly Fig. 159. PlERREFONDS This castle of Pierrefonds, not very far from Paris, was built by the brother of the king of France, about 1400. It has been very carefully restored in modern times and gives one a good idea of the way in which the feudal lords of that period lived. Within the walls are a hand- some central courtyard and magnificent apartments everything that its members needed, and might almost have con- tinued to exist indefinitely without communication with those who lived beyond its bounds. Little or no money was necessary, for the peasants paid what was due to the lord in the form of labor and farm products. They also rendered the needful help to one another and found little occasion for buying and selling.