What is serf in the middle ages?

Answer 1

A serf is a medieval peasant who is of an unfree status, but it is important not to confuse serfs with slaves. Serfs lived in small villages and owed labor to the lord of the local manor. Serfs did not spend their entire time working for the lord, however, as their labor obligations generally were not more than two days per week. In the remaining time they worked their own fields, or in the event they did not have significant land, hired out, either to aristocratic land owners, or other peasants who had enough land to need additional farm labor.

Serfs could vary greatly in wealth. At the bottom were cottagers, peasants who had a small house and a large garden plot, but little or no land in the village fields. These serfs would have to work for others to survive. With approximately 10 acres of land in the village fields, plus a garden and a farmyard for animals, a serf's family could be mostly self sufficient Some serfs controlled larger amounts of land, and generated a significant surplus to sell. Although technically unfree, such a serf would likely have hired farm hands, and might pay someone to do his labor obligation to the lord. A very few peasants gained control of enough land that they essentially became minor landlords themselves, having their own tenants.

Not all peasants were serfs. Some were free, although they still owed rents on their land and various taxes and fees. Such free peasants also varied greatly in wealth, as freedom did not always equal a greater economic status. Much like the serf, there was a wide range in material success.

Answer 2

A serf was a peasant. A serf would work on the land that belonged to a nearby lord who protected the serf. A serf was not allowed to leave the land in search of other work.