Peasant Women In Medieval England

Feudalism was not a very effective response to the crisis of the early medieval era. Peasants in the kingdom were treated unfairly. Women were held back from doing things that men could. Knights… Feudalism is a political and economic system based on land ownership and personal loyalty.

Peasants in the kingdom were treated unfairly. Most peasants were serfs and had to stay and work for the lord of the land under strict rules. “Serfs were people who could not lawfully leave the place where they were born.” Whatever work that they did belonged to the lord that owns the land that they were born on. They could not build stuff for themselves or their family and could not leave that land. Although serfs were given housing and farmland from the
Noblewomen were not treated the same way as noblemen were. Even with some amount of power, noblewomen were restricted to many things. No matter what the age, the women in noble families were kept from some activities in the home or convent. They also owned little property because lords passed down their fiefs to sons and not daughters (369). Peasant women were given a very unfair amount of labor. They performed never-ending labor in the field and around the home and had to take care of all children and their own family. “Young peasant girls learned practical household skills from their mother at an early age, unlike daughters in rich households who were educated by tutors” (369). All of the women’s hard work was not paid or thanked for. Women’s duties had a great impact on the lives of everyone in both the peasant and noble household. Even though the women in peasant families were poor and powerless, all the work that they do from in the field to in the house was essential but was not gratified at all. Noblewomen would sometimes act as warriors or throw stones and fired arrows when trying to defend against attackers.
The code of chivalry is “a complex set of ideals” that “demanded that a knight fight bravely in defense of three masters. He devoted himself to his earthly feudal lord, his heavenly Lord, and his chosen lady.” The knight also protected the poor and the weak. Most knights failed to follow these standards, though, such as treating the lower class unfairly. All knights train their whole life to become one, but it is not worth it. When the knights are at a young age, they start their rough and brutal training to become a knight. Some knights don’t even get to fight in a war because they can die in a tournament, which is a mock war but not as bloody. Knights also risk their lives to protect their lords, that do not even respect them. Warfare was very bloody and dangerous and knights had a very high chance of dying. Some lords did not respect what the knights did for them and only paid them what they were supposed to pay them. Defending and attacking were both very dangerous because of the chances of being shot by arrows, rocks, etc. and having boiling water or oil being poured on you.