peasant or serf
In Europe's Feudal System, peasants were the lowest class and were treated like slaves.
Each person in the Feudal System received land from a person higher than themselves.
The political scene in Medieval Europe was most characterized by the Feudal system. The Feudal system involves a very loose collection of lords and vassals who control their own plots of land and laborers, but pledge their loyalty to a single king. By nature, the feudal system is very decentralized as the day-to-day decisions were made by the individual lords and vassals over their individual areas of land, and were not decided by a king holding central authority.
the amount of land possessed
A peasant owned no land, so they weren't directly a part of the feudal system. Many peasants worked on lands owned by knights or nobles.
The individuals bound to the lord of the land and unable to lawfully leave their birthplace were known as serfs or peasant laborers in the feudal system. They were tied to the land they worked on and were subject to the lord's control, providing labor and a portion of their produce in exchange for protection and the right to work the land. This system was prevalent in medieval Europe, where serfs had limited rights and mobility.
Feudal aristocracy refers to a social and political system prevalent in medieval Europe, characterized by a hierarchical structure where land was held by a small elite class of nobles in exchange for military service and loyalty to a monarch. This system was underpinned by the feudal contract, which established obligations between lords and vassals. Aristocrats wielded significant power over their territories, often governing peasants and serfs who worked the land. The feudal system began to decline with the rise of centralized monarchies and the emergence of capitalism.
ccccc
'Peasant' is a loose term. villeins and serfs are types of peasants, and villeins are types of serfs. A peasant is simply an agricultural worker. A serf, on the other hand, is a virtual slave, being confined to a plot of land in return for protection and the right to work. Serfs are effectively the property of their lords. Villeins are renters tied to land, but are not slaves, and can leave with their lord's consent.
A feudal estate, also known as a fief, is a piece of land held by a lord in the feudal system, which was prevalent in medieval Europe. The lord granted portions of this land to vassals in exchange for military service, loyalty, and other obligations. The feudal estate typically included not only agricultural land but also villages and the peasants who worked it, establishing a hierarchical system of power and responsibilities within medieval society.
Lower class peasants were typically rural agricultural laborers who worked the land but owned little to no property themselves. They often faced harsh living conditions, low wages, and limited social mobility, relying heavily on subsistence farming. In various historical contexts, such as feudal systems, they were tied to the land and subject to the authority of landowners or nobles. Their lives were marked by economic hardship and a lack of access to education and resources.
In the 1500s, yeomen were typically small landowners who cultivated their own land and worked as farmers. They played a crucial role in the agricultural economy, often producing food for local markets and supporting the feudal system. Yeomen were distinct from larger landowners, as they had modest means but were generally better off than laborers or serfs. Their social status was important in the evolving class structure of Europe during this period, particularly in England.