Peasants
During the Middle Ages peasants did not belong to themselves. Everything they
owned, their food, homes, and animals all belonged to the lord of the manor. Known as serfs, peasants were required to
work for their lord and in return were allowed to farm their own piece of land. Many struggled to produce enough food to feed the families, much less fulfill the duties required of them from their lord. The peasants were not free to leave the manor
and were required to ask for permission. To gain freedom a peasant had to save money for his own land or marry a free person.
owned, their food, homes, and animals all belonged to the lord of the manor. Known as serfs, peasants were required to
work for their lord and in return were allowed to farm their own piece of land. Many struggled to produce enough food to feed the families, much less fulfill the duties required of them from their lord. The peasants were not free to leave the manor
and were required to ask for permission. To gain freedom a peasant had to save money for his own land or marry a free person.
Daily life of Peasants
The daily life of a peasant in the Middle ages was
hard. Medieval Serfs had to labor on the lord's land for two or three days
each week, and at specially busy seasons, such as ploughing and harvesting. The
daily life of a peasant in the Middle Ages can be described as
follows:
hard. Medieval Serfs had to labor on the lord's land for two or three days
each week, and at specially busy seasons, such as ploughing and harvesting. The
daily life of a peasant in the Middle Ages can be described as
follows:
The daily life of a peasant started
at started in the summer as early as 3am
A peasant would start with
breakfast, usually of pottage
Work in the fields or on the land
started by dawn and the daily life of a peasant included the following common
tasks
Reaping - To cut crops for harvest
with a scythe, sickle, or reaper.
Sowing - the process of planting
seeds
Ploughing - To break and turn over
earth with a plough to form a furrow
Binding and Thatching
Haymaking - cutting grass and curing
it for hay.
Threshing - To beat the stems and
husks of plants to separate the grains or seeds from the straw.
Hedging - creating
boundaries
Outside work finished at dusk,
working hours were therefore longer during the summer months
Peasants made some of their own
tools and utensils using wood, leather and the horns from cattle
Women generally ate when her husband
and children had finished and had little leisure time