Feudalism was a unique form of government that unified the people of medieval Europe. The system was based on the feudal pyramid, in which people from different social classes gave and received essential needs for survival. Feudalism was supported by the working force, the farmer serfs. Despite their low social standing, farmer serfs were an essential part of feudalism. Feudalism was a system of government that developed in the Medieval Ages. Feudalism was brought up through chaos. It appeared around the middle of the ninth century and reached its peak in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (King 25). Feudalism arose following the fall of the Roman Empire. At the time, society was characterized by disorder and confusion because there was
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Farmers were the largest group in the feudal structure because in medieval Europe, nine-tenths of the population were serfs and freemen (King 27). Serfs were similar to slaves in the Roman Empire (Cels 8). Serfs were usually farmers or craftsmen who were unfree and bound to the manor (Bishop 229). Freemen were the legally privileged (Bishop 229). They owned their patches of land with the lord’s consent and could sell all the crops they made (Bishop 229). Freemen had social superiority over the serf but still possessed little economic superiority. The freemen and the serfs provided the manor with specialists who were essential to the economy. Farmers served as the workforce for feudalism. The farmers received a bit of their own personal land in which they would live on (“Feudal Life”). The farmers would then grow and harvest crops on these very small strips of land (King 34). These serfs would also work three days a week on the lord’s personal land, called the demesne, harvesting crops that were grown especially for the lord (Cels 8). They would till, cultivate, and, maintain the properties ("Medieval Occupations"). They grew crops like cereal grains, wheat, and rye (Cels 11). These serfs kept some of the harvested crops for themselves, but they would lose a majority of the share automatically to the lord (Nardo 25). They produced crops that brought revenue to the lord and the peasants, making them an essential element for everyone’s survival ("Medieval
Farmers were the largest group in the feudal structure because in medieval Europe, nine-tenths of the population were serfs and freemen (King 27). Serfs were similar to slaves in the Roman Empire (Cels 8). Serfs were usually farmers or craftsmen who were unfree and bound to the manor (Bishop 229). Freemen were the legally privileged (Bishop 229). They owned their patches of land with the lord’s consent and could sell all the crops they made (Bishop 229). Freemen had social superiority over the serf but still possessed little economic superiority. The freemen and the serfs provided the manor with specialists who were essential to the economy. Farmers served as the workforce for feudalism. The farmers received a bit of their own personal land in which they would live on (“Feudal Life”). The farmers would then grow and harvest crops on these very small strips of land (King 34). These serfs would also work three days a week on the lord’s personal land, called the demesne, harvesting crops that were grown especially for the lord (Cels 8). They would till, cultivate, and, maintain the properties ("Medieval Occupations"). They grew crops like cereal grains, wheat, and rye (Cels 11). These serfs kept some of the harvested crops for themselves, but they would lose a majority of the share automatically to the lord (Nardo 25). They produced crops that brought revenue to the lord and the peasants, making them an essential element for everyone’s survival ("Medieval