Is a peasant a lord or a vassal?

Answer 1

In very rare cases, a man of humble birth might be rewarded for armed service by being knighted.

An interesting thought is that William the Conqueror was himself of rather unremarkable origins: his mother was a village girl named Herleve, the daughter of a tanner. He presumably spent his childhood with her. His father, Robert II of Normandy, was probably only around 21 years of age when he had the affair with Herleve; he never legitimized William the Bastard by marrying her. The man who went on to become King of England and Duke of Normandy, started life as a humble country-boy, the illegitimate product of a juvenile affair, who would have had no standing at court or rank in society.

However, in 1034, Robert II unexpectedly legitimized William, declaring the child his heir so he, Robert, could go on a dangerous (but very fashionable) pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Robert died on the way, and William became Duke, aged no more than seven years old.

MoreKing Henry VII is an interesting example. His grandfather, Owen Tudor, was a commoner, though he had some connections with the royal family. He became the steward for the household of Queen Catherine of Valois, the wife of King Henry V. When Henry V died, Owen Tudor entered into a relationship with Queen Catherine, which was described as marriage, though there is no record of a ceremony, and the marriage of a dowager queen without permission of the reigning monarch would have been illegal. Nonetheless, their children were half siblings of King Henry VI, who made one of them, Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond. A son of Edmund Tudor became King Henry VII of England, as a compromise between warring factions in the Wars of the Roses. So the Tudor family went from being commoners in Wales to being the royal family of England in two generations, and in so doing, established the Tudor dynasty.

Also, we have the example of Ivaylo the Cabbage, a peasant who lead a revolt and became king of Bulgaria. He was more successful as a peasant rebel than king, and in a short time lost support and was murdered by a foreign chieftain he was asking for support.

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Answer 2

Yes, for service to the king or other lords in the realm.

Answer 3

Peasants in feudal societies could be required to provide military service to their liege lord. It was by no means a desirable status.

Answer 4

vassal