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Serfs, also known as villeins, were peasants who lived in small farming villages in the middle ages. There were a bondsman in that they owed labor to the lord of the manor, in some places up to two days per week, and could not move their residence away from their home manor without permission of their lord, although this was sometimes arranged in exchange for an annual fee.

Most villeins supported themselves by farming their own lands while not working the lord's land. A few practiced crafts. Common village crafts included blacksmith, carpenter, and miller, although there may have not been enough work to fully support them, and they may have still farmed as well.

Not all villeins had the same level of wealth. Some held only a house, farmyard (called a toft) and a large garden of half an acre to an acre (called a croft). This would have been inadequate to support a family and the individual would have had to do day labor or otherwise hire out to make ends meet. Villeins who held 10-12 acres would have been able to live at a subsistence level, and a minority who held 20 acres or more would have generated significant surplus and had relative economic comfort compared to their neighbors. A few peasants held 30, 40 or even more acres of land. The wealthiest peasants would have had hired hands for agricultural work, may have hired someone to fulfill part or all of their labor obligation to the lord, and in a few cases even employed a servant or two.

A small minority of village peasants were not serfs, but were free men. They still paid a rent based on the amount of land they held in the village field, and various taxes and fees, but did not owe labor, or only owned a token amount of labor, and were free to remove themselves from the village if they chose.

Serfs or villeins should not be confused with slaves. There were not considered chattel. They could not sold to another lord, nor could they be forced from their land. They were free to own their own possession, organize their time outside of their labor obligations as they saw fit, and a few succeeded in accumulating modest wealth.

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βˆ™ 12y ago
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βˆ™ 13y ago

Nobles will treat serf badly.....

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Anonymous

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βˆ™ 4y ago

what were 3 things serfs paid taxes on?

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