Did peasants travel?

Most peasants travelled within a very small radius upon their King’s land, as far as to the nearest market to buy food, or to work, and then home again. As peasants belonged to the land they were born upon, they had to receive permission from their King before leaving their King’s domain.

What did peasants in Europe do?

Peasants worked the land to yield food, fuel, wool and other resources. The countryside was divided into estates, run by a lord or an institution, such as a monastery or college. A social hierarchy divided the peasantry: at the bottom of the structure were the serfs, who were legally tied to the land they worked.

What was life like for peasants in Europe?

For peasants, daily medieval life revolved around an agrarian calendar, with the majority of time spent working the land and trying to grow enough food to survive another year. Church feasts marked sowing and reaping days and occasions when peasant and lord could rest from their labors.

What was life like for commoners?

The most common type of dwelling a commoner lived in consisted of one to two rooms. Most dwellings also had hard earthy flooring, which you could imagine would be quite uncomfortable for daily living. Most commoners could not afford wood-panelled flooring, or enough supplies to make a dwelling bigger than two rooms.

What happened to the peasants in Europe in the 17th century?

Even as capitalism advanced in the West, the once-free peasants of central and eastern Europe slipped into serfdom. The apparent prosperity of the 16th century gave way in the middle and late periods of the 17th century to a “general crisis” in many European regions.

What was life like for peasants in Europe before serfdom?

Before the sixteenth century, when serfdom became a legally established institution, east European peasants, unlike the majority of the peasantry of western Europe, enjoyed a considerable degree of freedom. They lived on the land in settlements known as communes.

What was life like in Europe in the 1700s?

In 1700 only 15 percent of Europe’s population lived in towns, but that figure concealed wide variations: at the two extremes by 1800 were Britain with 40 percent and Russia with 4 percent. Most Europeans were peasants, dependent on agriculture.

What were the developments in 19th-century Europe?

Developments in 19th-century Europe are bounded by two great events. The French Revolution broke out in 1789, and its effects reverberated throughout much of Europe for many decades. World War I began in 1914. Its inception resulted from many trends in European society, culture, and diplomacy during the late 19th century.