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Serfs were 'bound to the estate'. They were obliged to live and work only on the lord's estate and had to pay rent for the land of the lord that they used for themselves. They also were obliged to spend part of the time tending to the lord's fields or do other odd jobs for him at no compensation. They were obliged to get the lord's permission if they wanted to marry; and wanting to marry a serf from another estate might take a lot of haggling and was often simply denied.
A famous urban (or in this case, rural) myth has it that the lord had the right to a serf's bride's virginity on the wedding night, the so-called ius primae noctis. There is however no documented evidence at all that this right ever really existed anywhere or that a lord was otherwise entitled to force himself on his serfs' women and daughters.
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Describe the hierarchy of the manor system from the manor lord down through to serfs?
In the Manor System the mutual obligations meat the lord provide military protection for his serfs and the serfs provided labor.
What semi-free population owed obligations to the lords whose land they cultivated?
Serfs
What semi free population owed obligations to the lords whose land they cultivated?
serfs
What code do the serfs follow?
Serfs had obligations to their lords, usually to work the lands and provide food. In exchange for this, they got a place to live and work, and a measure of protection and security. They were legally bound to the land and were not allowed to leave it; the other side of this is that the lord was not allowed to put them off either because that was part of the security he had to provide. Serfs had obligations to church and God. They attended church, prayed, and believed they would be appropriately rewarded in the afterlife.
What are medieval menials?
Medieval laborers were of the same class as peasants. Those who lived in towns and cities tended to be free, meaning free of manorial obligations, and those who lived in the countryside tended to be serfs, who had the manorial obligations. There were some slaves, but not very many, and the number declined as the Middle Ages passed. The manorial obligations of the serfs consisted of contributions of labor, a part of the crop, or money, which was basically rent. In exchange for this they had a right to live and work on the manor and a right to be protected in times of trouble or famine. By contrast, those who were freemen had no such obligations, but also had no such security.
Is it true Medieval manors were nearly self sufficient?
Yes, during Medieval Times, almost all items were produced inside the manor by serfs, who were bound to the land. There was a system of mutual obligations between the Lords of the manors and the serfs who worked for them. Lords provided serfs with food, housing, and protection, and sometimes a bit of their own land. In return, serfs worked the lord's land by producing food from the fields, and repairing bridges and roads. Serfs were also required to pay the lord to grind grain and ask his approval in order to marry.
How did a peasent become free?
This is a complicated question, but the simple answer is that a combination of things worked to free the serfs. Most important was the fact that the Black Death made them valuable, and nobles tried to tempt them off each others land. Also there were kings who did not like the system. Lords had obligations to protect serfs and provide them with land, and as the population increased simultaneously with agricultural efficiency, it became desirable not to have those obligations but to charge rent. There were other factors.
Why did lords free their serfs?
The relationship between lords and serfs was not the same as the relationship between owners and slaves. The lords and the serfs had duties and obligations to each other. That being the case, there were times, such as when there were too many serfs for the lands the manor had, when it was in a lord's economic best interest to free serfs who wanted to be freed. Some of the serfs would be likely to want to leave and others want to stay and not have to deal with the insecurity of not having a place to live. At other times, such as after the Black Death, lords who did not have enough serfs would try to entice those of other lords away from them. In such a case they offered a better deal, which might have included their not being serfs any more. Serfs who wanted to could sometimes make themselves free by leaving the manor and staying away for over a year. Strangely enough this was the law in some places.
When a new lord took over a manor were the serfs were set free to farm as they pleased on their own fiefs?
Serfs did not have fiefs. They were bound to the soil and not allowed to leave it. The arrival of a new lord did not change this. Nevertheless, the serfs were largely free to farm as they pleased. The condition of the serfs was not slavery, but a different sort of thing governed by a sort of contract in which the serfs and the lords each had obligations to the other. The serfs had to pay rent in some form, labor, part of the crop, or money. For his part the lord had to provide a place to live, fields to farm, and protection in such difficult times as war or famine. The serfs were not allowed to leave the land, and the lords were not allowed to force them off of it. The serfs had reeves to organize them. The reeves were also serfs and were often elected by the serfs on a manor. The reeves decided how the serfs would be organized for their common labor, what fields would be tilled and what crops planted, and what parcels would go to which family for their own use.
What is most accurate about the serfs?
Serfs were bound to the land.Best of luck to A+Serfs are bound to the land. A+
Was the feudal pyramid fair to the serfs or not?
1st Answer:Not at all unless for some reason they were ruled by an exceptionally kind Lord which wasn't very often.Serfs had no freedoms and were the low men on the pyramid.2nd Answer:The manorial system was fair enough that many serfs wanted to live on manors.Serfs were not slaves. They were not bought or sold. They had some very important rights. They are described as unfree, because they were bound to the soil. They had obligations to farm the land they lived on, and not to move away. They paid rent, in the form of labor, crops like wheat, or money.In exchange for their labor and their obligations, they got a place to live, fields to farm, protection in times of unrest or famine, and certain obligations from the lord on whose land they lived; and the obligations of the lord matched those of the serfs. While the serfs were obliged to remain on the land whether the times were bad or good, the lord was obliged to allow them to live there regardless of what the times were like. In times of war, the lord was obliged to protect them, and in famine, he was obliged to feed them. Importantly, he could not make them move away; the soil was bound to them in the same way they were bound to the soil. They had the right to be there, as long as they stayed there.This was a situation that was quite fair to the serfs when times were dangerous. It protected them. In fact, many people became serfs in such times quite willingly. The lords often did not want them in such times, because taking on additional serfs meant taking on additional obligations.It was a situation that was fair neither to the serfs nor the lords when the times were really good. The serfs could get a better deal in town and cities in such times. But as times became really good, the lords often wanted to do something with their land other than have it be farmed by a bunch of serfs.In some places, a serf who ran off was considered free if he stayed away for a year. The down side of freedom was that if he lost his job after a year, he could not return to the manor with the expectation that he would be accepted back. Personally, I think the thing that kept the serfs on the manors was the realization that there was value in security.
What religion are most serfs?
Serfs are Islamic
