To What Extent Did Lords Control The Lives Of Peasants

A medieval manor was a large agricultural estate that was made up of various types of farming lands, a village where the current manor tenants would live, and a manor house where the lord who owns or controls the estate lives. It was typically the wealthy who owned or had control over any of the manors. Most manors were built of natural stone and were built to last. Their size usually illustrated the owner’s wealth.

Although the feudal system presented a mutually beneficial relationship at first, over time many burdens were placed on the vassals. A serf was bound to the land, thus resulting in a fixed income. Since he was unable to move to another lord, he was reliant on only what was originally agreed upon to provide monetary support. [Support was generally in kind, or in labor.] With no “right” to adjust the support needed for survival, the serf and his family experiences tremendous hardships.

At the height of the Medieval Ages, life existed mainly in two different forms: the Feudal system and the Manorial System. Barbarian attacks created many dangers for the common citizen, generating a need for personal protection of both their lands and their lives. It is true that kings still did exist at this time, but due to the decentralization of the government, the king became a distant and ambiguous figure. The lord of the manor then became the authoritative figure for the people of medieval society. Society now subsisted on the self-governing basis of the manor.

Thus the manor might be secular or religious (many times secular lords had religious overlords and vice versa), but the essential relationships between lord and serfs were not significantly affected by this distinction. There is little evidence that serfs were treated any less harshly by religious lords than by secular ones. The religious lords and secular nobility were the joint ruling classes; they controlled the land and the power that went with it. In return for very onerous appropriations of the serf's labor, produce, and money, the nobility provided military protection and the church provided

Peasants were members of the lowest class, those who work. They were the most common class. They were the millers, blacksmiths, butchers, carpenters, farmers, and other trades people. Peasant women in particular, spent much of their time taking care of children, making clothes, and cooking meals. They also tended gardens, took care of animals by tending chicken, shearing sheep, and milking cows (Cels 16). Within peasants, there were two main groups of people, the serfs and the freemen. Both were employed by the lords. And serfs were people that paid more fees, and had less rights. Freemen on the other hand paid less fees and had more rights than serfs (Noiret). While freemen could leave the manor when at whim, serfs were not allowed to leave

During the middle ages the lack of protection and a stable government after the Fall of Rome created the need for a new political system. Feudalism was the political system that emerged and shaped the lives of people socially and politically. Manors were small communities that were made up of a castle, church, village, and land for farming. The structured society provided a place and responsibility for everyone. The feudal obligations showed that in exchange for one thing they would be provided with something else. Serfs and peasants would work and produce goods for the rest of the manor and in return had their land and promised protection. The vassals would need to obtain land from the Lord and in return would provide the Lord with military service, loyalty, and ransom if asked for (Doc. 4). To make clear the vassal’s specific allegiance to their lord whom they owed in for exchange for their fief they would take the Homage Oath (Doc. 2). This interdependent system required everyone to do their part and it created social classes that they were born into. Their daily lives were centered on the manor and that was how it stayed until towns began to

This was influenced by the manor system, “ The manor was the economic side of feudalism” (Doc 2). This meaning that your ranking in the feudalism was your job in the manor system. If you were a serf you worked, and farmed for the King, Knights,and Nobles and you had one day a week to farm to feed yourself and your family. If that isn't hard enough they also had to pay high rents to the lords for using his land to farm. The Knights and Nobles had to fight and serve the King for exchange of land,and they had to pay taxes. This showing that life in the Middle Ages was hard for many

As Tony Imperato points out, 'Medieval feudalism placed the monarch in the position of owner of all the lands in the realm, which he distributed to his nobles in return for their loyalty and service. As their overlord, the King could demand a payment whenever changes took place in landholding arrangements.' This paved the way for the exploitation of his nobles in order to gain revenue. There were many means in which he did this. One was the system of 'wardship', and 'relief'.

This can be seen the reports Leonhard Von Eck, Chancellor of Bavaria gave to Duke Ludwig of Bavaria. His thoughts of the peasants were “The peasants are blinded, led astray, and made witless.” He is clearly against the revolt and his undermining of the peasants was obvious as he believed he was far above them. He also wanted to remain at his position of authority and he wanted to keep serfs without compensation. Lords also attempted to justify their social status by displaying the idea of serfs as a fair economic transaction. This can be seen in document 3 we’re it is stated that “we, your lords, purchased this right for a considerable sum of money, and the serfdom of a Christian is no hindrance to the salvation of his soul.” The lords are attempting to convince the peasants that they are not justified in the decisions since it is a simple and “fair” economic transaction and they also manipulate their own idea of everyone being equal in the eyes of God. They state that no matter if one is a serf or a lord everyone has the opportunity for salvation. Eventually the noble’s massacre the serfs and in order justify their counterattacks to the revolts the noble’s act that the revolts were unacceptable and that the nobles were in the right to murder all those peasants. This can be shown in in the Decree of the Imperial Diet of Speyer by referring to the revolts as “unchristian” and “The common man… acted violently against his authorities.” Overall, the lords responses to the peasants was meeting them with force and justifying their actions by calling the revolts and peasants unchristian and witless, manipulating Lutheran ideas and, acting as if serfs are a fair economic

Life in the high middle ages, between 1000 and 1300 A.D., had two kinds of communities, manorial villages and towns. The major difference in these two distinct types of communities was the freedom and rights of the people. In the manorial villages you had lords who owned large portions of land. The vassals who entered into a military obligation with the lords, in exchange for land and protection. Finally, serfs who were a class of people that worked their lord’s land as half slave and half freeman. Vassals were more of an employee and the serfs were little more than a slave because they were bound to the lord’s land. The serfs could not leave or do anything without the lord’s permission and most of the time they had to pay fees to be granted the permissions they requested. In contrast the townspeople elected their officials, had freedom to choose a careers, they move about where they liked, and could acquire training and schooling. Townspeople were in fact free and not absolutely controlled by a lord. As for the manorial villages, the lords had all the power and had absolute control over all the actions and work of the vassals and serfs.

The Middle Ages, or Dark Ages, of the 15th century, established a policy regarding the practice of agriculture that later became known as feudalism. The monarchy bestowed vast tracts of land and an ennobling title to individuals who were tasked with keeping a functioning economy in their lands and maintaining a private militia for the protection of the realm and fiefdom they owned. These aristocrats allocated parcels of land to the serfs, or peasants, in exchange for complete rustic servitude and the privilege being allowed to live on that lord's land. Any crops or animals that were cultivated belonged to the realm and peasants were only permitted to keep a meager portion of their efforts. This archaic practice, established during the era

The feudal system was the method of government that was used in the Middle Ages. The feudal pyramid consisted of four levels, King at the top, Church Official and Nobles/Lords next, then Knights, and peasants at the bottom. The King had the most power, the nobles were sometimes vassals to the king, knights fought in the king’s army, and peasants worked in the field all day and were very poor. In one scene of the movie, peasants are seen working in the fields. They are very dirty and have bad quality clothing which shows how little money and power they had compared to King Arthur, who had fancy clothing and did not have to work. King Arthur then asks the peasants who their lord is, which shows how lords or vassals

During the Middle Ages a peasant’s life was, indeed, very rough, there were anywhere from ten to sixty families living in a single village; they lived in rough huts on dirt floors, with no chimneys, or windows. Usually one end of the hut was given over to storing livestock. Furnishings were quite sparse; three legged stools, a trestle table, beds softened with straw or leaves and placed on the floor; the peasant diet was mainly porridge, cheese, black bread, and a few homegrown vegetables. Peasants had a hard life, yet they did not work on Sundays, and they could travel to nearby fairs and markets. The basic diet of a lord consisted of meat, fish, pastries, cabbage, turnips, onions, carrots, beans, and peas, as well as fresh bread, cheese, and fruit. This is by no means equivalent to the meals the peasants ate, a lord might even feast on boar, swan, or peacock as well.

A noble, or lord, was in control of his manor. The manor was the heart of feudal economy (Ellis and Esler 222). A manor often consisted of the castle, a church, a village, and

The feudal system of the time operated on the premise of peasants or serfs, and thanes, or lords. The lords owned the land, and the peasants worked on it. In turn, they received the protection