Feudal society in European states began to form in the mid-16th century. It was then that a special class of population was singled out - peasants who lived on the territory of the landowner or feudal lord and were completely or partially dependent on it. Without exception, all peasants were subjected to conscription. The compulsory duties of this estate were numerous: from daily labor on the estate of the feudal lord to military service. The severity of the labor burden depended on many factors, including the age of the peasant, his abilities and skills. Often, the feudal lords, using their power, could assign an additional burden to those to whom they had a personal dislike. It was the compulsory duties of dependent peasants that became the main theme outlined in this article.
Dependent peasants: who is this?
Consider the forms of dependence of the peasants on the landowner or feudal lord: complete and incomplete. It was customary to call completely dependent on the owner of the peasants personally dependent. Their position in society was one of the most deplorable. They did not have not only the right of ownership to any household items, including clothing, but also the right to free will and even their own life. A similar form of peasant dependence was characteristic of states in which slavery flourished. The compulsory duties of dependent peasants from this estate could not be challenged even in the case of an inappropriate host attitude. The feudal lord, in turn, had the right to sentence the peasant to corporal punishment and even to take his life for any wrongdoing.
The incomplete dependence of the peasants consisted mainly of their economic subordination to the feudal lord. One of the compulsory duties of dependent peasants is to work in the fields or in the workshops of the owner. Serving his estate or estate, at the same time they had personal rights: they could move freely, acquire or sell their own property. In addition, with the manifestation of cruelty or an unfair treatment of the peasant, the feudal lord could be subjected to legal proceedings. Forced labor of a dependent peasant in the event of his incomplete dependence was reduced to working out debt or rent for the use of the land allotment provided to him by the feudal lord. Due to the fact that many peasants were not able to acquire land or equipment for their cultivation, the feudal lords often used this, and “debts” were returned to him for several decades.
Signs of forced labor in the feudal economy
Like any economic or social phenomenon, the compulsory duties of dependent peasants can be determined using several characteristic features, which include the following:
- The dependent peasant has in use land, which is the property of the feudal lord.
- In addition to work on his own allotments, the peasant also cultivated that piece of land that was listed as "lordly," and all the production from it went exclusively to the feudal lord.
- For the cultivation of land allotments (peasant and lordly), agricultural equipment was used, including horses belonging to the peasant.
- For unscrupulous performance of forced labor, the peasant could be punished in the form of an increase in the amount of in kind (levy) or an additional period of gratuitous work on the feudal lord (corvee).
The rest of the forms of forced peasant labor in feudal production are somewhat different. Let us consider in more detail each of them.
Features of corvée farming
As mentioned above, in medieval Europe there were several types of work for which bonded people did not receive payment. One of the compulsory duties of dependent peasants - corvée - was distributed practically throughout the territory of Western and Eastern Europe, including Russia. The essence of this type of labor service consisted of gratuitous labor of the dependent population in the fields of the feudal lord using their own inventory. At the same time, the peasant was also cultivating his plot of land, growing and producing products for his own consumption. The main drawback of the corvée system was the constant need for supervision from the feudal lord, because often the forced work was carried out by the peasants on a “one-to-one” basis.
In the Middle Ages, corvée (forced labor of dependent peasants) existed from about the 8th to the 18th century. This form of gratuitous labor gained the greatest distribution on the territory of the state of Russia and existed there almost until the end of the 19th century under the name "share-building".
Features of the quitrent
Another of the compulsory duties of dependent peasants in medieval Europe - quitrent - existed at about the same time as corvée. The essence of this phenomenon was that almost the entire land of the feudal lord was given for use to the peasant, who worked it on his own using his own equipment.
The harvest obtained from the plots was divided into two parts, one of which went to pay the feudal lord, and the other was used by the peasant at his own discretion. In connection with the spread and development of crafts, natural (grocery) rent was combined with money, and in some estates it was completely replaced by it. Such compulsory duties of dependent peasants, such as in-kind and monetary rent, prompted an even greater division of labor and, as a result, the development of commodity-money relations.
Working rent
Working out rent as a form of forced labor was one of the easiest. In the case of it, the dependent peasant received from the feudal lord allotment, animals for breeding, agricultural tools and other equipment. As a payment for the use of these benefits, he had to work out a certain period of time at the landlord's production. By the way, such a system of forced labor was the most common in the countries of the East, where peasants' personal dependence was practically absent. Rents were often paid with products produced on the farm of the dependent peasant, household items, jewelry, cloth or money.