What is a serf in Middle Ages?

serfdom, condition in medieval Europe in which a tenant farmer was bound to a hereditary plot of land and to the will of his landlord. The vast majority of serfs in medieval Europe obtained their subsistence by cultivating a plot of land that was owned by a lord.

What is the definition of a serfs?

Definition of serf : a member of a servile feudal class bound to the land and subject to the will of its owner.

What the difference between a serf and peasant?

The common people were classified as serfs and peasants. Peasants were poor rural farm workers. 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.

What is the difference between serfs and slaves?

Serfdom was, after slavery, the most common kind of forced labor; it appeared several centuries after slavery was introduced. Whereas slaves are considered forms of property owned by other people, serfs are bound to the land they occupy from one generation to another.

Is a serf a peasant?

Serfs were the poorest of the peasant class, and were a type of slave. Lords owned the serfs who lived on their lands. In exchange for a place to live, serfs worked the land to grow crops for themselves and their lord.

What is an example of serf?

An agricultural worker in the middle ages who was responsible for growing and harvesting wheat on land owned by a lord and who paid dues to the lord for the privilege of living on the land is an example of a serf.

Are peasants and serfs the same?

What did a serf look like?

The clothing of a medieval serf consisted of a blouse of cloth or even skin which was fastened round the waist by a leather belt. He also used woolen trousers with large boots. Sometimes he also wore an overcoat made of thick wool.

Who did the serfs serve?

the lord of the manor
Serfs who occupied a plot of land were required to work for the lord of the manor who owned that land. In return, they were entitled to protection, justice, and the right to cultivate certain fields within the manor to maintain their own subsistence.