Serfs and Peasants

1. Serfs and Peasants Life for “Those who work”

2. Our Knowledge of “Those who Work” • Records left by monasteries • Some information for archaeology • Made up about 4/5 of Europe’s medieval population • Divided between serf and freeman

3. The Serf and the Manor System • What serfs got… • Strips of land to farm • small hut or a place to build one • Guaranteed protection • feasts and festivals put on by the lord • What serfs had to do… • heavy taxes (in money or crops) • odd jobs • Can’t leave or get married without permission • “bound to the land” forever

4. Freedmen/Peasants • Paid taxes to farm the land • Some were well off • Might slip into serfdom if he fell upon bad luck

5. Living Conditions • Lived in small, one room cottages with thatched roofs • Mud walls and floor • Mostly ate coarse, dark bread and oatmeal • Had vegetables when possible and meat and milk products rarely

6. Important Point • The poor health of peasants most likely wasn’t because of their diet… • What do you notice about the picture?

7. Hard Months • Winter • live off of the stores of food from harvest • Getting attacked and robbed was common • Starvation • Rarely warm or dry • Wolves were a constant threat to livestock

8. SHEEP! • Serfs and peasants primarily raised sheep • ate the least, but produced the most (meat, milk, and wool) • Had to bring sheep inside during the winter to keep them safe from wolves

9. FUN! • Church was form of entertainment • Saw plays, listened to stories, and performed rituals (“Mass”) • Christmas, May festivities, and saints days • (Martinmas, Michaelmas, Christmas, Feast of Saint Stephen) • Played many sports • Soccer (with ball from a pig’s bladder) • Wrestling • Bowling • A kind of hockey, using cow shin bones for skates

10. Noble view of Peasants and Serfs • Looked down on serfs as animals • Word “villain” (bad person) comes from the French word for serf “villein” (meaning villager)