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Each Norman lord ruled his own area of the country. When they first arrived, they would rule from the safety of their motte and bailey castle. The ordinary people would work in the fields for their lord and, in return, have a small piece of land to grow their own food. The village would be given the land and it would be divided into small strips. Peasants would usually find their strips were quite a way apart to make sure one person didn't get all the good land. The peasants would be up at first light and men and boys, after breakfast of bread and cheese, would go out into the fields either to watch the sheep and cattle, usually done by young boys, or scare birds away from fields where crops had been planted, another job for young boys who would have a rattle to make a noise. The older men would do the ploughing, sewing of seeds, and bringing in the harvest. They would also collect firewood because you must remember that fire in their house was their heat, their light and their means of cooking food. Girls and women might look after the little garden around the house and, as we said, would also make the clothes for the family. Apart from very small houses and very little variety in food, the peasants all worked long, long hours, firstly for their lord and then for themselves and all that just to survive. Very few ordinary people had time to do anything other than work. Craftsmen were higher up in society than the peasants. The two most important crafts in Norman times were the blacksmith and the stonemason.
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