In the Middle Ages, the life of simple poor peasants completely depended on two factors: the lord and mother nature. The feudal lord taxed (feudal duties), and nature, for its part, also sometimes did not favor: droughts, too cold winters or rainy summers nullified all attempts of the peasant to get out of poverty and vegetation.
Only the most hardworking and persistent did their best and could improve their position.
What is feudal service?
The duties of the peasants consisted in observing several points of the contract, at the conclusion of which the feudal lord undertook to provide the peasant and his family with land for living and sowing the field, as well as to protect his land and estate from attacks by enemies. Moreover, this type of agreement was not slaveholding: at any moment, the peasant's family could go over to another feudal lord for service, but the lands that were allocated to him, of course, were taken away.
In the medieval history of feudal duties there were several:
- Corvee.
- Money dues in favor of the feudal lord.
- Church tithe.
- Other local conditions.
Corvee
This feudal duty consisted of a compulsory duty to work on the master’s field 2-3 days a week. Sowing and reaping grain, mowing hay, building and repairing buildings, caring for livestock and many other types of work were a heavy yoke on the peasant's neck.
The feudal lord often violated the conditions of corvee labor and detained bonded people at his work: while they bent their backs on the gentleman, a grain of corn was sprinkled on their fields, vegetables were dried up, and mowed hay spoiled. Barshchina was the most difficult and unprofitable payment for belonging to the lands of the feudal lord, and given the fact that the terms of the contract were constantly violated, this gave rise to unrest and discontent.
Church tithe
This feudal service was the most oppressive: it was impossible to get rid of it by ransom or reduce the percentage of payment, each family was obliged to pay the church ten percent of its profits from all activities. It is not surprising that church figures of the Middle Ages were buried in luxury.
Quitrent
The material wage to his master was another feudal duty for the right to use his land and protection. There were several types of rent:
- Money: a certain amount of money was paid annually to the treasury of the local master. The peasants received money from the sale of their goods at fairs, which were arranged once every few months. Also, artisans received payment for their work, which paid the rent to the master.
- Grocery: payment was made by livestock and poultry products - meat, eggs, milk and made cheeses, honey and wine, vegetables and fruits. Often, for want of more, they paid with grain from the harvested crop.
- Various mixed forms of payment: livestock, craft items - with cloth, yarn and crockery, obtained from animal fur skins or leather
After paying all taxes and obligations, the simple peasant had very little to do for his needs, but at the same time everyone tried to work as best and as possible, therefore responsible families slowly but steadily improved their financial situation, and some even managed to buy land and free themselves from basic duties.
Some types of other obligations
There were other duties that were no less difficult:
- The right of the first night is the most insulting undertaking that lasted until the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. In some cases, it was possible to pay off this right with a rather large amount of money. In some areas, “marriage permission” was practiced, according to which it was required to obtain permission from the master (sometimes for a fee) to marry a certain woman.
- The right of a dead hand - if the head of the family on which the land was executed died, she returned to the feudal lord. But the rent payments were often used if the family could continue to process it after the loss of the main breadwinner
- Conscription - in wartime, a man in a forced family was obliged to stand up for the defense of a country, a local region or go on a crusade.
In different countries and at different times, feudal duties were stipulated by local customs, beliefs and living conditions: in some places they were more loyal, in other places, on the contrary, bordered on slavery, violating all human rights, which subsequently caused riots, revolutions and the abolition of feudal law.