In medieval times people were placed in order by feudalism. Feudalism is a government system in medieval Europe. The kings held lands from the church in exchange for military service, and vassals (or knights) were in return protectors of the nobles, while the peasants (or serfs) were forced to live on their lord's land and give him respect and loyalty, labor, in exchange for military protection. The church was the highest of all people. They controlled everything and everyone including peoples religious beliefs, economic and political problems. The church gave fiefs, small parts of land, to the lords. In return the church gained their respect and loyalty. The kings then gave fiefs to the nobles or lords.
This was the order people were ranked in; The church, kings, lords (nobleman), than the peasants and serfs.
Serfs were thought of as being tied to the land because they were always working on the manor. The manor had to be self-sufficient, they had to produce everything that the manor needed. The noblewomen were in charge of the manor when their husband was away. They cooked the food and taught the children manors and dancing. The knights were almost all the time away at war. This allowed the noblemen to stay home with their family. Knights also fought for the kings as well as the serfs. That was on of the main reasons that serfs and peasants worked on the manor, for protection. If they were lucky they could buy their freedom but this almost never happened. In Medieval marriages wives were their husbands property, husbands could treat their wives how they choose. The wife could not leave or divorce her husband, that was the man's decision only
This was the order people were ranked in; The church, kings, lords (nobleman), than the peasants and serfs.
Serfs were thought of as being tied to the land because they were always working on the manor. The manor had to be self-sufficient, they had to produce everything that the manor needed. The noblewomen were in charge of the manor when their husband was away. They cooked the food and taught the children manors and dancing. The knights were almost all the time away at war. This allowed the noblemen to stay home with their family. Knights also fought for the kings as well as the serfs. That was on of the main reasons that serfs and peasants worked on the manor, for protection. If they were lucky they could buy their freedom but this almost never happened. In Medieval marriages wives were their husbands property, husbands could treat their wives how they choose. The wife could not leave or divorce her husband, that was the man's decision only