Serfdom In England

1. Serfdom In England • Serfdom- peasants who were not free or who were tied to the land. There were differences in the status, duties between Scotland & England.

2. Peasantry • Ninety-nine per cent of the population was peasantry, free or unfree • 10% had been slaves (serfs) • Freemen and sokemenpaid money rent for their land & performed services on the Lords land • Villeins, bordars and cottars were unfree and held land in return for labour services.

3. Activites • Compare the duties and conditions of free and unfree peasants in England. • Describe a manor and how it might vary across England. • How harsh was a peasant’s life in England?

4. Serfdom in Scotland • In Scotland the most common estates were called “shires” • A “shire” included several settlements or ‘touns’. • It was held by a lord, a chief or a king • The lord, was mainly supported by food renders given by the tenants to the centre. • Peasants and farmers, both free and unfree, owed services and dues to the royal or baronial residence nearby. • The peasants shared a common mill and the common pasture of the shire. • The whole estate or “shire” would be run by a thaneor “shire reeve”.

5. Activities • Compare the conditions of free and unfree peasants in the Lowlands • How did the condition of the peasantry vary across Scotland? • What differences and similarities can you see between the duties, status and conditions of the peasantry in Scotland and in England?