by D. Victor

Created on: September 01, 2008   Last Updated: May 10, 2010

The term "peasant" is generally known as a description of common folk. More precisely, peasants represent the lowest level in the feudal system of the Middle Ages. Peasants formed part of the means of production. They lived and worked on land that was owned by a lord of the manor.

In the middle ages, there were three types of peasants - slaves, serfs and freemen. The serfs comprised the majority of the peasant population, with limited upward social mobility among them. Some peasants sought the religious life or escaped with the hope of securing a better station in life. The fundamental existence of a peasant consisted mainly of working the land, maintaining their dwellings and otherwise fulfilling their duties to the lord.

The homes of peasants were simple cottages that were constructed using basic building materials. The cottages contained limited furnishing Peasant cottages did not have glass windows. Ventilation was provided by slits in the walls. Wealthier peasants could have afforded trappings such as beds with bedposts.

Peasants generally lived off of the land. Their diet consisted of basic staples, since they basically ate what they grew. Most peasants had a vegetable garden outside of the home. Whether they had access to meat or fish would depend on location or favours. Peasant farmers were loaned vast quantities of land on which they would grow one or two crops for a year. Some peasants had other specialist roles in the village, but they were generally "jacks of all trades".

Serfs had to work to provide their own food or face starvation. They also faced death in the winter, because of the inadequacy of their shelter and clothing. Peasants wore garments made of rough wool or linen, owing to their lowly station. The men wore the singular-looking tunics with leggings while the women wore long woollen dresses in keeping with the fashion of the time.

The life expectancy of peasants was short due to their living circumstances. However, the peasant's situation in the situation may not have been too much different from blue collar workers today were it not for advancements in medicine and infrastructure. Infant mortality rates were high, especially for lower classes and several women died during childbirth.

Like everyone else, the peasants could work and play. Even though serfdom was not slavery, loafing was clearly not an option. The peasants were still able to have their days off and celebrate feast days and other memorable occasions. Feasts were sometimes sponsored by the lord of the manor. Occasions celebrated included childbirth and marriages.

Marriage and divorce were part of peasant life as well. In such a controlled environment, it was not a voluntary matter by any means. Women had very few rights in those times and were unable to seek a divorce from their husbands. The opposite could easily happen, however. The peasant family had a very traditional structure as power resided with the male as head of the household.

It is normally difficult to paint a general picture about how people live. The reality is that some peasants would have had a better standard of living than others. The lords of the manors would be the upper or upper middle class today. The peasants would equate to the lower middle, poor and underclass of a modern capitalist system.

Even though some aspects of peasant life were harsh, most peasants survived this system comfortably enough. Peasants lived ordinary lives, except that they couldn't own much and were beholden to the lord of the manor. In some ways, many people today live the same way.

Sources:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/peasa nt.html
http://history-world.org/peasant.htm

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