Serfs Essay, Research Paper
They are the ones who supply the lord with food. They are the ones who do the lords work. they are the ones bound to the land, never to leave it. They are the ones who do all these things without reward. They are the serfs. In return for all of their work the lord protects them. It was said by nobles and lords, that without protection they would surely be looted and killed. It is not my decision to make. I am bound to the land. If they ever wish to venture away from the kingdom a hefty price is to be paid, an impossible price for any serf.
The serfs daily life is all work and no play. They tend to crops and animals, for it is the only thing they know. For anyone to escape such a life they must become a priest or some other profession available for teaching. Only the smartest of people have any chance at all.
A serfs meal consists of mainly bread. Occasionally they may have the pleasure of eating eggs or perhaps a carrot. The majority of their food goes towards taxes. This sort of malnutrition is what leads to an untimely death. Most serfs only live to about thirty years old. This is because of the horrible conditions they live in. a lot of this is due to their unusual suspicions and their physical stress. One thing that contributed to premature death was sleeping habits. The serfs believed that sleeping while standing was the only acceptable way of sleeping. All other forms of rest were considered bad luck. This caused them to get very little good sleep. One may say that dying of insomnia is impossible but sleep is what fuels the body, keeps it tuned up. Insomnia in it self, is much like AIDS; never dying of the disease itself but of the handicap it puts on your body. Another superstition was that of bathing. Serfs believed that bathing was evil. This resulted in disease. Another thing that promoted bacteria and disease was they re clothing. Believe it or not serfs wore the same clothing for many months. It was usually one piece of clothing made of animal skin. They would sleep in this and sometimes even produce waste in them. And with all these things the serfs also spent their days doing strenuous work. It s a wonder they lived to be thirty.