Farmstead

The Early Medieval farmstead is not a single building but a self-contained productive unit — integrating arable fields, vegetable gardens, livestock pens, a smithy, and living quarters within a single enclosed compound. The three-field system, spreading across Europe in this period, organized surrounding land into rotating cycles of winter grain, summer grain, and fallow, dramatically increasing yields while allowing soil recovery. Carolingian estate surveys describe exactly these compounds: run by unfree laborers under a villicus, producing grain, livestock, dairy, and craft goods simultaneously. In the game the farmstead produces food, wood, and a small supplementary income from one building — the most resource-efficient rural structure of its era. Its combination of outputs suits a compact expansion strategy where building slots are scarce. Cluster several together for a rural economic backbone that requires minimal attention once established.