I have not looked into any sources on what life was like for a feudal peasant. However, I’ve heard that peasants had more holidays and rest. I also believe the life of a peasant was more communal and satisfactory with religion being a central feature. This, to me, is a stark contrast to the life of the modern proletariat in the Global North who often lives for work, is more and more isolated, and maybe gets only a month off work. Yes, we have higher life expectancy now (quantity) but I cant help but think that peasants had a better quality of life. Please educate me on this topic and provide some sources to look at. Thank you! 🙏

  • Commiejones@lemmygrad.ml
    14·
    5 days ago

    Mostly just no. Feudalism was a highly variable system from one lord to the next but just like under capitalism the most exploitive policies were the most common because the ruling class nearly always chooses short term profits over long term.

    Peasant paid variable amounts taxes to their lord and got next to nothing in return. When times were hardest for the peasants the lords made things worse by demanding more taxes to make up the short fall. The church took an additional 10% of everything peasants produced and was the source of the little amount of social services.

    Roads, sewage removal, and basic infrastructure like that was usually built and maintained by the peasants out of their own pocket/free time but could easily be claimed by a lord who could then charge people to use the infrastructure in order to raise extra taxes.

    Peasants were bound to the land/lord. If a disaster struck and the land became unlivable a lord might sell his peasants to another lord but likely only the most useful and the rest would just die.

    Peasants often got conscripted into wars with no training often having to supply their own weapons.