Serfs Daily Life

Serfs

  • Interesting Facts and information about Serfs in the Middle Ages
  • The Daily Life of Medieval Serfs and Peasants
  • Definition of Serfs
  • Daily Life and work of a Middle Ages Serfs
  • Middle Ages Serfs and their Clothing
  • Origin of the Serfs and Serfdom

Medieval Serfs and Peasants
A medieval village or manor usually contained several classes of laborers, consisting of serfs and peasants. There might be a number of freemen, who paid a fixed rent, either in money or produce, for the use of their land. Then there were serfs who laboured in the lord's household or at work on his domain. Most of the peasants were serfs or villeins. The other labourers were called Cottagers or small holders. Under feudalism the lords and nobles of the land had certain rights over Medieval Serfs and Peasants which included the right of jurisdiction, which gave judicial power to the nobles and lords and the right of hunting. For more interesting information about rights in the Middle Ages click the following link:

Feudal System

   
  

Serfs

Interesting facts and information about life and the lives of men and women who were the serfs in the
Medieval period of the Middle Ages

Definition of Serfs
Medieval Serfs were peasants who worked his lord's land and paid him certain dues in return for the use of land, the possession (not the ownership) of which was heritable. The dues were usually in the form of labor on the lord's land. Medieval Serfs were expected to work for approximately 3 days each week on the lord's land. A serf was one bound to work on a certain estate, and thus attached to the soil, and sold with it into the service of whoever purchases the land.

Daily Life of a Serf
The daily life of a serf was hard. The Medieval serfs did not receive their land as a free gift; for the use of it they owed certain duties to their master. These took chiefly the form of personal services. Medieval Serfs had to labor on the lord's domain for two or three days each week, and at specially busy seasons, such as ploughing and harvesting, Serfs had to do do extra work. The daily life of a serf was dictated by the requirements of the lord of the manor. At least half his time was usually demanded by the lord. Serfs also had to make certain payments, either in money or more often in grain, honey, eggs, or other produce. When Serfs ground the wheat he was obliged to use the lord's mill, and pay the customary charge. In theory the lord could tax his serfs as heavily and make them work as hard as he pleased, but the fear of losing his tenants doubtless in most cases prevented him from imposing too great burdens on the daily life of the serf.

The Serfs Common Use of Non-arable Land
Besides the serfs holding of farm land, which in England averaged about thirty acres, each peasant had certain rights over the non-arable land of the manor. He could cut a limited amount of hay from the meadow. He could turn so many farm animals such as cattle, geese and swine on the waste. Serfs also enjoyed the privilege of taking so much wood from the forest for fuel and building purposes. A serfs's holding, which also included a house in the village, thus formed a complete outfit.

Medieval Serfs Clothing
The Medieval clothing of serfs in the Middle Ages was basic and practical. Typical clothing or dress consisted of:

  • A blouse of cloth or skin fastened by a leather belt round the waist
  • An overcoat or mantle of thick woollen material, which fell from his shoulders to half-way down his legs
  • Shoes or large boots
  • Short woollen trousers,
  • From his belt there hung a sheath for his knife
  • They generally went bareheaded, but in cold weather or in rain he wore a woollen hat
  • Gloves were only worn for their practical clothing value and were padded for use in tasks such as hedging 

Origin of the Serfs and Serfdom
Serfdom developed during the later centuries of the Roman Empire and in the early Middle Ages. Most serfs seem to have been the successors, of Roman slaves, whose condition had gradually improved. Serfs were also recruited from the ranks of freemen who, because of the desire to gain the protection of a lord, became subject to him.

The Oppression of Serfs
Serfdom represented a stage between slavery and freedom and therefore the oppression of the serf. A slave belonged to his master; he was bought and sold like other chattels. A Medieval Serf had a higher position, for he could not be sold apart from the land nor could his holding be taken from him. They were fixed to the soil. On the other hand a serf ranked lower than a freeman, because he could not change his abode, nor marry outside the manor, nor bequeath his goods, without the permission of his lord.

The Emancipation of the Serfs
Serfdom was destined to be a transitory condition. The emancipation of the Medieval serfs occurred over many years. The most important events which led to the emancipation of the Medieval serf in the England of the Middle Ages was the Black Death which was followed by the Peasants revolt. The Black Death claimed nearly a third of the English population. With fewer people the value of laborers increased which led to the Peasants Revolt. By the close of medieval times of the Middle Ages, the serfs in most parts of western Europe had secured their freedom form the shackles of serfdom.

Serfs
Each section of this Middle Ages website addresses all topics and provides interesting facts and information about these great people and events in bygone Medieval times. The Sitemap provides full details of all of the information and facts provided about the fascinating subject of the Middle Ages!

Serfs

  • Medieval Serfs and Peasants
  • Definition of a Serf in the Middle Ages
  • Daily Life of Serfs
  • Medieval Serf Clothing and Daily Life
  • Origin of Serfs and Serfdom
  • The Oppression of the Serf
  • The Emancipation of the Serf
  • Life for Middle Ages Men and Women

Serfs

Daily Life of a Serf - Life in the Middle Ages - History of the Serf - Information - Facts - Info - Middle Ages era - Middle Ages Life - Middle Ages Times - Life - Medieval - Mideval - History - Information - Facts - Info - Middle Ages era - Middle Ages Life - Middle Ages Times - Information - Facts - Dark Ages - Medieval - Mideval - Feudal system - Manors - Middle Ages Times - Information - Facts - Dark Ages - Medieval - Mideval - Feudal system - Manors - Daily Life of a Serf - Written By Linda Alchin