What was it like to be a Serf?

What was it like to be a Serf?

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In the Middle Ages, being a Serf, was only moderately better than being a peasant.

While this line was often blurred in specific regions, there was a distinct difference between a free peasant and a serf.

Serfs were bound to the land on which they lived, and they were the property of whoever owned the land.

When the lord sold his land, the serfs were part of the purchase.

Peasants were often just as poor as serfs, but they were not bound to the land and were able to live and move freely, so long as they paid their taxes in crops, money, or work.

Serfs were given their own plot of land and their own personal quarters.

It was generally understood that serfs did not own any of their possessions - they were property of the lord just as the serf was.

As the land belonged to the lord, even the food that was harvested, also legally belonged to the lord.

The serfs were responsible for building their own homes, and making their own clothing.

Regulations on who could marry, and the consequences that one might face if they married below their own class, existed.

Serfs and some peasants had to ask for permission to marry.

If a peasant chose to marry a serf, half of the peasant's estate would be confiscated, and they would have to pay death duties on the remaining half.

This effectively made the poverty-stricken even lower in class, and with less hope of buying their way out of serfdom.

The fate of a sick serf depended on the laws of the land and the cruelty of the lord.

On some manors, the serf was allowed to quit all work, except for ploughing and other odd jobs.

More often than not, the lost day of work had to be made up within the year and a day, either by his own hand or by finding a replacement.

On other estates, the serf was granted a set number of sick days - usually two or three weeks.

Widows were given more leeway, with three weeks of bereavement leave.

Some serfs received no sick accommodations and had to work through the illness, or face discipline.

The serfs' duties were many.

While their work week seems short compared to the modern day - three or four working days, and a number of religious holidays off - the work was back-breaking and it was not uncommon for a serf to be called upon to perform tasks on their "day off."

Common tasks included grinding flour, pressing wine, driving sheep, tilling the land, tending to livestock, and cooking for the lord and his family.

When the task called for using an outside resource, such as a grinding mill or a wine press, the serf would have to pay the owner of the equipment, from his own pocket.

To offload some of the labour in the interest of paying off the lord more quickly, some particularly well~to~do serfs, hired serfs of their own!

The labor of the serf's serf was not paid to the owner serf, but rather toward the owner serf's debt to the lord.

Even so, the serf's serf was still the lord's possession, as much as the owner serf.

Serfs usually lived as individuals or as families; group homes were uncommon.

While serf accommodations varied from region to region, the most common style of house was a hut with a thatched roof.

The hut was typically made of wood and had one or two rooms with a dirt floor and a thatched roof.

In the center of the hut was a hearth for cooking, and the smoke would exit through the hole in the roof.

Due to the poor structural integrity of a wooden hut with a highly flammable roof, it was not uncommon for these huts to catch flame.

The abolishment of serfdom was highly variable between countries.

Normandy experienced a peasants' revolt in 996, while England experienced a similar uprising in 1381.

The few serfs that remained in the following century were freed in 1574 when Elizabeth I formally abolished the practice.

Most places that abolished serfdom did not adhere to the policy right away, but for the most part, the widespread practice of serfdom was over by the end of the 14th century.

A handful of serf-like practices remained until the early 20th century in the United Kingdom, in what was regarded as 'copyhold tenancy'

Under this system, the owner of the manor held the land, but the labourer owned a copy of the deed, and was considered a tenant usually only culpable for their rent's share of labour, though they were still considered property and labourers.

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https://www.ranker.com/.../life-of.../oliver-pretl-drummond?

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders

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Serfs working the land.

Photo: Limburg Brothers