The Feudal System Essay

342 Words2 Pages

When the Feudal System was brought into Europe in the Middle Ages by William the Conqueror, it greatly impacted on the peasants’ lives. The peasants had to live a hard life during the Middle Ages working out on the fields. The peasants lived a short life with the average life expectancy being around thirty-five years old for men and twenty-five years old for women. There weren’t many positives for the peasants regarding the Feudal System, but some of them were that they got rewarded fiefs in return for working free labour. The peasants provided food for their family and the community which they grew in return for the supplies needed to live a healthy life. Along with these positives, the Feudal system also impacted on the peasants negatively such as how they had to work long hours on the farm providing food for the community. …show more content…

Serfs lived in a simple wattle and daub hut with thatched roofs, they had very simple one – room houses, often sharing with their livestock. The quotes below provide a further explanation of Feudalism. (Source two: Froissart J: 1395) states “Bound by law and custom to plough the fields of their master”. This source is stating that the peasants had no choice but to do the work such as plough the fields of their masters. Source two corroborates with (Source six: Ross D:20/6/15) as they both explain how the peasants had to work for their Lords, stating “Although technically not a slave, a serf was bound to a Lord for life, he could not own property and needed the Lord’s permission to marry”. This source also states that a serf had to work hard for their master. In conclusion, a peasant’s life was a short and hardworking one and the Feudal system highly impacted on their lives meaning they had to work a harder