<P> The open - field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in parts of western Europe , Russia , Iran and Turkey . Under the open - field system , each manor or village had two or three large fields , usually several hundred acres each , which were divided into many narrow strips of land . The strips or selions were cultivated by individuals or peasant families , often called tenants or serfs . The holdings of a manor also included woodland and pasture areas for common usage and fields belonging to the lord of the manor and the church . The farmers customarily lived in individual houses in a nucleated village with a much larger manor house and church nearby . The open - field system necessitated co-operation among the inhabitants of the manor . </P>
<P> The open - field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in parts of western Europe , Russia , Iran and Turkey . Under the open - field system , each manor or village had two or three large fields , usually several hundred acres each , which were divided into many narrow strips of land . The strips or selions were cultivated by individuals or peasant families , often called tenants or serfs . The holdings of a manor also included woodland and pasture areas for common usage and fields belonging to the lord of the manor and the church . The farmers customarily lived in individual houses in a nucleated village with a much larger manor house and church nearby . The open - field system necessitated co-operation among the inhabitants of the manor . </P>
the poor farmers of the manor were called
the poor farmers of the manor were called
tenants or serfs
tenants or serfs