WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Dependency and the lower orders. Serfs had a specific place in feudal society, as did barons and knights: in return for protection, a serf would reside upon and work a parcel of land within the manor of his lord. Thus, the manorial system exhibited a degree of reciprocity.

Detailed explanation-2: -The most important task of serfs was to work on the demesne land of their lord for two or three days each week, and more during busy periods like harvest time. All of the food produced from that land went to the lord.

Detailed explanation-3: -Serfs who occupied a plot of land were required to work for the lord of the manor who owned that land, and in return were entitled to protection, justice, and the right to exploit certain fields within the manor to maintain their own subsistence.

Detailed explanation-4: -If their lord sold his land, his serfs were sold along with the land. Serfs could not sell the land they lived on, and could not leave the manor without their lord’s permission. Often, they needed the lord’s permission before they could marry someone who was not also a serf for that lord.

Detailed explanation-5: -Serfs generally owed a combination of taxes and labor to their lord. They were tied to the lord’s land, and spent part of their time farming to feed themselves and part of it producing for the local lord. A vassal was someone who owed service to someone of higher rank. This generally meant military service.

Detailed explanation-6: -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.