How were serfs rewarded for their service?
Unfree peasants, or serfs, farmed the lord’s fields and could not leave the lord’s manor. In return for their labor, they received their own small plot of land to farm.
What happens if a serf ran away?
If a serf ran away to another part of the country there may have been no proof of their status. However serfdom could end legitimately. In many cases the lord of the manor held the right to receive a serf’s possessions after their death.
What were the obligations of the serfs?
Serfs who occupied a plot of land were required to work for the lord of the manor who owned that land. In return, they were entitled to protection, justice, and the right to cultivate certain fields within the manor to maintain their own subsistence.
How did serfs gain their freedom?
Neither could the serf marry, change his occupation, or dispose of his property without his lord’s permission. He was bound to his designated plot of land and could be transferred along with that land to a new lord. A serf could become a freedman only through manumission, enfranchisement, or escape.
Is a serf a peasant?
The common people were classified as serfs and peasants. Peasants were poor rural farm workers. Serfs were peasants who worked lords’ land and paid them certain dues in return for the use of land. The main difference between serf and peasant is that peasants owned their own land whereas serfs did not.
What did the serfs eat?
Most Serfs would eat fruits and vegetables that they grew in their farm. Sometimes they would eat meat from farm animals that they raised. They ate a lot of bread and ale that the mom would have made.
What did serfs do in their free time?
WHAT DID SERFS DO IN THEIR (LIMITED) FREE TIME? Peasants usually spent most of their time working, but even they could enjoy some luxuries. They could participate in church festivals, join a marriage or funeral procession, watch and listen to travelling poets, musicians, acrobats and dancers.
What did serfs houses look like?
Peasants and Serfs Homes: Peasants homes were usually one room huts, made of logs held together with mud, with thatched roofs. There was a hole in the roof for the smoke to get out so people could cook inside. Homes had little furniture, perhaps a three-legged stool and beds made of straw covered with a leather toss.
Where did serfs sleep?
A serf could spent their entire life never going inside a castle. Instead, they lived in their houses and huts. Beds were usually wool or/and straw, sometimes other grasses. Of course they got cold, but they did whatever they could to keep warm given their resources.
What did female serfs do?
Most of the peasants were Medieval Serfs or Medieval Villeins. Women were expected to help their peasant husbands with their daily chores as well as attending to provisions and the cooking of daily meals and other duties customarily undertaken by women.
What did a peasants house look like?
Peasants lived in cruck houses. These had a wooden frame onto which was plastered wattle and daub. This was a mixture of mud, straw and manure. The straw added insulation to the wall while the manure was considered good for binding the whole mixture together and giving it strength.
Did peasants really own anything?
Often, they didn’t really own themselves. The lord or monastery in charge of the estate provided what was needed to work the land in return for rents (usually in kind). But the peasant owned very little, mainly clothes.
What did peasants do in their spare time?
In what little leisure time they had due to the demanding agricultural work, peasants would often gather to tell stories and jokes. This pastime has been around since the hunter-gatherer days. Story-telling was commonly done by anyone in the town center or at the tavern. People also met here to enjoy the holidays.