Servants, Labourers, and the Manorial World

From October 9–11, 2025,The Danish Research Centre for Manorial Studies and Gammel Estrup – The Danish Manor Museum hosted the 9th ENCOUNTER conference. The title of the conference was ‘Servants, Labourers, and the Manorial World.’ The conference explored the dynamics of the manorial world, primarily focusing on a bottom-up perspective, highlighting the master-servant relationship in its full paternalistic scope, and addressed household, villages, rural communities, etc. This included shedding light on the conditions and material realities for servants and workers, as well as the organisational structures. And explored conflicts/resistance and limits within the relationship, as well as changes in the nature and conditions of the relationship over time.

Conference Themes

The conference examined the social hierarchies, economic structures, and cultural landscapes of manors and estates, focused on:

 

The Hierarchies of the Manor

  • Organisation and governance
  • Agricultural labour and rural industries
  • Household structures and servant life
  • Gender, career progression, and mobility
  • Recruitment, wages, and accommodation

 

The Manor and Patronage

  • Protection, welfare, and social obligations
  • Religion, ideology, and moral guidance
  • Rural poverty and poor relief

 

The Manor and Conflict

  • Resistance, legal disputes, and power struggles
  • Class tensions and social inequality
  • Transformations driven by war, political change, and industrialisation