how did central european treatment of serfs differ from west europe

Serfs, however, were legally people—though they had far fewer rights than free peasants (poor farmers of low social status). Serfs' movements were constrained, their property rights were limited, and they owed rents of all sorts to their landlords. Serfdom

in Western Europe

Full Answer

How were serfs treated in the Middle Ages?

Serfs were often harshly treated and had little legal redress against the actions of their lords. A serf could become a freedman only through manumission, enfranchisement, or escape. The greatest achievement of the era was the liberation of peasants.

When did serfs become common in Europe?

Serfs subsequently became a major class in the small, decentralized polities that characterized most of Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the initial reconstitution of feudal monarchies, duchies, and counties in the 12th century.

What was the economy like for serfs in Eastern Europe?

Although the agricultural economy predominated in eastern Europe, serfs, as well as other categories of peasants, were usually multioccupational. The local economy and the serfs' occupations depended largely upon regional characteristics such as soil fertility and climate.

Why did East European serfs stretch the boundaries of serfdom?

Thus, east European serfs were never completely bound to the land; they could be and in fact often were on the move. This provided peasants with opportunities to establish a certain degree of autonomy from their lords. The social, economic, and cultural importance of the peasants thus allowed them to stretch the boundaries of serfdom.

What was the difference in serfdom between Western and Eastern Europeans?

ORIGINS OF SERFDOM. Before the sixteenth century, when serfdom became a legally established institution, east European peasants, unlike the majority of the peasantry of western Europe, enjoyed a considerable degree of freedom. They lived on the land in settlements known as communes.

How were serfs treated in Europe?

Serfs were often harshly treated and had little legal redress against the actions of their lords. A serf could become a freedman only through manumission, enfranchisement, or escape. The greatest achievement of the era was the liberation of peasants. It paved the way for all other reforms...

How were serfs different from other peasants during the Middle Ages?

Serfs were peasants who worked lords' land and paid them certain dues in return for the use of land. The main difference between serf and peasant is that peasants owned their own land whereas serfs did not. Serfs and peasants formed the lowest layer of the feudal system.

Why did serfdom decline in western Europe?

Serfdom in Western Europe came largely to an end in the 15th and 16th centuries, because of changes in the economy, population, and laws governing lord-tenant relations in Western European nations.

What was the condition of serfs in Central and Eastern Europe?

The serfs of central and eastern Europe lived in very poor conditions. The more east in Europe one went, the more powe rthe landlords held, which led to poor treatment of their serfs. Serfs had a corvee, a forced labor on them, and were required to pay feudal dues.

How were serfs different from enslaved persons?

How were serfs different from enslaved persons? Serfs could purchase their freedom, and enslaved persons could not. The children of serfs were free, and the children of enslaved persons were not. Serfs worked for their lord's protection, and enslaved persons had no protection.

Why are serfs and peasants different?

Peasants were the poorest people in the medieval era and lived primarily in the country or small villages. Serfs were the poorest of the peasant class, and were a type of slave.

What are the main difference between free peasants and serfs?

The main difference between serf and peasant is that peasants were free to move from fief to fief or manor to manor to look for work. Serfs, on the other hand, were like slaves except that they couldn't be bought or sold. Above peasants were knights whose job it was to be the police force of the manor.

How were peasants treated in medieval Europe?

The peasants were at the bottom of the Feudal System and had to obey their local lord to whom they had sworn an oath of obedience on the Bible. Because they had sworn an oath to their lord, it was taken for granted that they had sworn a similar oath to the duke, earl or baron who owned that lord's property.

What is the difference between feudalism and serfdom?

Serfdom is the bottom of a feudal structure where an individual is bound to the land and functionally owned by his feudal lord. Feudalism is an economic and governance structure in which loyalty and military service is exchanged for protection and benefit.

When were serfs freed in Europe?

A decree in 1807 effectively abolished serfdom, freeing the serfs from dependence on their lords and making them proprietors of their holdings.

How did serfs obtain their freedom?

Serfs served on occasion as soldiers in the event of conflict and could earn freedom or even ennoblement for valour in combat. Serfs could purchase their freedom, be manumitted by generous owners, or flee to towns or to newly settled land where few questions were asked.

Why were peasants called serfs?

Actually, peasants were called “serfs” because of their servile status, and the fruits of all of their work went towards lords and kings who amassed enormous wealth and power. However, when Black Death erupted in the middle 14th century, it disrupted the very foundations of the feudal order.

Why did the East fall behind in economic growth?

In essence, because eastern landlords had slightly more power and rights and peasants were less organized than in the West, the East fell behind in economic growth.

Was Western Europe ahead of the East?

Nevertheless, by the beginning of the 17th century, Western Europe was years ahead of its Eastern counterpart. In the West, there were no feudal order and serfdom, whereas in the East most of the populations were in the possession of landlords.

What were the changes in Eastern Europe during the centuries of serfdom?

Rather, the recurrence of peasant insurrections in eastern Europe throughout the centuries of serfdom reflected the structural changes of east European society, such as the growth of population, state centralization, imposition of new heavy taxes and obligations, the development of a market economy, and the transformation of popular mentality.

How did serfdom influence Eastern Europe?

Serfdom in eastern Europe was influenced by a multiplicity of political, economic, cultural, and intellectual developments that occurred in the world and the continent in general, and in each east European state in particular, throughout its existence.

What were the origins of serfdom?

ORIGINS OF SERFDOM. Before the sixteenth century, when serfdom became a legally established institution, east European peasants , unlike the majority of the peasantry of western Europe, enjoyed a considerable degree of freedom. They lived on the land in settlements known as communes.

Why did landlords shift their peasants from traditional rent in kind to labor duties?

In order to secure the labor force, landlords shifted their peasants from traditional rent in kind (agricultural commodities) to labor duties.

What is serfdom in Europe?

Serfdom was a system of relations between the owners of land and the peasant tenants who resided on it. These relations involved a variety of social, socio-psychological, cultural, economic, legal, and political aspects that together made serfdom a complex societal institution. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, just when serfdom had begun to decline in many parts of western Europe, a similar institution based on servility emerged in eastern Europe. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, east European serfdom matured and approached its climax; by the mid-nineteenth century it had declined and was abolished. Serfdom in eastern Europe was influenced by a multiplicity of political, economic, cultural, and intellectual developments that occurred in the world and the continent in general, and in each east European state in particular, throughout its existence. Although it reflected many similar economic and legal characteristics, such as its agricultural orientation and the juridical rights lords enjoyed over peasants, east European serfdom was by no means identical to its west European counterpart. Serfdom in eastern Europe was not monolithic; it differed from one state to another. The varied geography, ecology, and climate of eastern Europe lent strong regional variation to this institution. During the period of its existence, east European serfdom also experienced important social changes. Historians of east European serfdom traditionally emphasize its political or economic aspects; they concentrate on the consolidation and centralization of state power or focus on the development of master-serf economic and labor relations. Some of these studies are monochromatic in their portrayal of east European peasants as slavelike, dark, passive, and isolated. Although this essay does not ignore these traditional approaches to serfdom in eastern Europe, namely in Austro-Hungary, East Elbian Germany, Poland, Prussia, the Baltic States, and Russia, its analysis turns on a discussion of relatively dynamic social and economic factors and, where appropriate, on regional variations.

Where did the tradition of Lord-Peasant relations originate?

Thus, traditions of lord-peasant relations originated long before serfdom became a legally established institution. The process of enserfment in eastern Europe consisted of the gradual economic and legal binding of free peasant-tenants to the land and in some cases to the lord; this process took several centuries.

When did serfdom become legal?

Thus, as a result of all these factors, by the mid-seventeenth century serfdom became a legally established institution in eastern Europe. Legal restrictions on their mobility reduced millions of peasants to the status of serfs tied to the soil and to the lord.

What system did medieval agriculture use?

Throughout most of Medieval Europe, agriculture was organized around the Manorial System. The local social units revolved around “the Manor,” or residence of the “Lord,” who both owned all the land and ruled over its use and the people on it through possessing a high degree of power and legitimacy.

What percentage of Europe's population lived on land?

This is in stark contrast to life in the Middle Ages. It has been estimated that between 80 to 90 percent of Europe’s population lived on the land and devoted all their time to the production of food. The remaining 10 to 20 percent of the population was either following various small and relatively simple trades and crafts in the towns, ...

What was the manorial system?

The Manorial System was part of the wider Feudal Order. Feudalism represented a system in which the occupants and users of the land they lived and worked on were not the owners; they were “tenants” of the “sovereign” – the Lord of the Manor – who legitimized his authority by claiming to offer protection to the occupants in the form ...

What was the second element of the Manorial System?

Compulsory, Regimented Labor. The second element of the Manorial System was compulsory labor . The villeins, or serfs, who were occupants on the land, were given the right to cultivate some of the Lord’s land for their own benefit in exchange for their labor in tilling the remainder of the land for the benefit of the Feudal Lord.

What was the Seigneurie's law?

Like all higher organized social cells, the seigneurie had its own law, as a rule customary, which determined the relations of the subjects with the lord and defined precisely the limits of the little group on which these traditional rules were binding.

What did the Lord's servants do?

They had to work the Lord’s land; they needed to do a certain amount of field work each day, including caring for the Lord’s livestock (cows, horses, chickens, pigs, etc.), making sure the Lord’s land was properly manured, and maintaining and repairing the tools and implements owned by the Lord.

What was the economic system of the Middle Ages?

The economic system of the Middle Ages was founded on feudalism, supporting the overlords with the work of serfs. In attempting to understand the ideas and institutions of the period of history that is usually called the “Middle Ages,” it must be kept in mind that this covers a timeframe that is easily divided up into smaller periods, ...

What was the essential feature of the Serfs?

This was the essential feature differentiating serfs from slaves, who were bought and sold without reference to a plot of land. The serf provided his own food and clothing from his own productive efforts. A substantial proportion of the grain the serf grew on his holding had to be given to his lord.

How did the Serfs become freedmen?

A serf could become a freedman only through manumission, enfranchisement, or escape. Read More on This Topic. Russian Empire: Emancipation of the serfs. The greatest achievement of the era was the liberation of peasants.

What was the greatest achievement of the Russian Empire?

Russian Empire: Emancipation of the serfs. The greatest achievement of the era was the liberation of peasants. It paved the way for all other reforms and made them necessary. It also determined the line of future development of Russia. Alexander’s chief motive is clearly expressed in his words to the….

What was the effect of the Black Death on Europe?

The drastic population decline in Europe after 1350 as a result of the Black Death left much arable land uncultivated and also created an acute labour shortage, both economically favourable events for the peasantry.

Why did the wars in Eastern Europe affect the nobility?

The chief reason was that the wars that devastated eastern Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries tended to increase the power of the nobility at the expense of the central governments. In eastern Germany, Prussia, Poland, and Russia, this development coincided with an increased demand for grain from western Europe.

When did the peasants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire get free?

Peasant status from eastern Germany to Muscovy consequently deteriorated sharply. Not until the late 18th century were the peasants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire freed from serfdom, thus recovering their freedom of movement and marriage and the right to learn a profession according to personal choice.

When were all serfs freed?

All serfs were freed, however, upon the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 . The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna, Senior Editor.

What did the West and Central African elites and royalty from slaveholding societies do?

By controlling the rights of their kinship group, western and central African elites owned the products of their labor.

What could the rulers of slaveholding societies do to their captives?

The rulers of these slaveholding societies could then exert power over these captives as prisoners of war for labor needs, to expand their kinship group or nation, influence and disseminate spiritual beliefs, or potentially to trade for economic gain.

What was the end result of the transatlantic trade?

The end result in both regional systems was that elites controlled the profits generated from products cultivated through laborers and land. The different emphasis on what or whom they owned to guarantee rights over these profits shaped the role of slavery in these regions before the trans-Atlantic trade.

What were the socio-political structures of slavery?

Many of these socio-political structures included different forms of slavery or coerced labor, based on enslaving prisoners of war between conflicting groups, enforcing slavery within the class hierarchy of an empire, or forced tribute payments of goods or labor to demonstrate submission to a leader.

Why did the New World plantations require greater levels of exertion than earlier labor systems?

New World plantations also generally required greater levels of exertion than earlier labor systems, so that slaveholders could produce a profit within competitive trans-Atlantic markets. Pyramid ruins in Yaxzhilan, an ancient Mayan city in Chiapas, Mexico, 2005.

What were the rights of slaves before the transatlantic trade?

Anyone considered a slave in this region before the trans-Atlantic trade had a greater chance of becoming free within a lifetime; legal rights were generally not defined by racial categories; and an enslaved person was not always permanently separated from biological family networks or familiar home landscapes.

Was slavery prevalent in Western Europe?

In contrast to other Atlantic World regions, slavery was not pre valent in Western Europe in the centuries before the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Instead, labor contracts, convict labor, and serfdom prevailed. This had not always been the case. During the Roman Empire and into the early Middle Ages, enslaved Europeans could be found in every region ...

Origins of Serfdom

Serfdom and The Law

The Social Institutions of Serfs: Family and Commune

The Economic Activities of Serfs

The End of Serfdom

• The abolition of serfdom differed sharply from one east European state to another. In Prussia the royal edict of 1807 ordered the emancipation of that nation's serfs, and that same year Napoleon emancipated the serfs of Poland. Imperial Russian decrees of 1816 and 1819 freed the peasants of the Baltic states. The peasants of the Austrian Empire gai...

See more on encyclopedia.com

Bibliography