Fairy tales have told a rough draft of what the life was like for the peasants who lived during the period of time called the Middle Ages. Stories that have been passed down from generation to generation have lost some of the realistic qualities about medieval people’s way of life that was proven to be anything but easy.

During the mid eighth century to the mid tenth century, the system of feudalism came into existence and ruled the people under it. Feudalism was the economic subjection and military allegiance of a man to a superior in return for economic organization." Feudalism arose for the simple purpose of protection from outside invaders like the Germanic tribes that surrounded the area. ( Deluzain 1.) Feudalism came into existence towards the down fall of Roman power in the western world. As Germanic tribes threatened the borders the people began to find a need for protection. Smaller farmers would seek protection from larger landowners. Larger land owners would protect them against the invaders and in return the smaller farmer would have to promise to remain loyal to them in case of a war (Jupp 3).

Money did not exist in the Middle Ages so feudalism was invented as an alternative way to pay soldiers who protected the borders against the barbarian tribes. Soldiers would be promised a piece of land in return for their service (Bartusis 2). Those who received the land from a king were called vassals also known as lords or dukes and held an important place in society. A Vassal would promise homage to the king or superior vassal lord. Homage was the ceremony in which a man would declare his loyalty by becoming "the man of another" ( Rowling 31). In return the king or superior vassal would give the lower vassal a piece of land and the rule over those who lived on it. The vassal acted like a governing body to the people who lived on the land. He would collect taxes; and anything else that the king wanted him to do. The land that the lord governed was called a fief. The fief looked like a village where peasants’ cottages encircled the land around the lord’s large manor ( Bartusis 2). Lords would also give pieces of their land to fellow dukes and lords in return for certain favors and faithful service to them. This made the vassal system very populous and complex to the point where the peasants would only take orders directly from their own governing figure head.

Before the ninth century inheritance of the land was not allowed. The king would give the land to another lord when the governing lord would die. Slowly this changed and the act of passing down the land developed into a much more complex set of rules. For example, if a vassal were to die leaving a young son next in line to inherit the land, the child would have to go into wardship and learn under an elder vassal before taking over his father’s place. This is much like an apprenticeship where the young lord would learn how to be a vassal and care for the land and the people on it. In the case of a vassal dying leaving a female heir next to inherit the land, she would then have to marry, and the man she married would become the next vassal (Stephenson 26).

In the case of a disobedient vassal a king would have the power to take away their land. For example, if a vassal were to refuse to go into war for the king then the king would have the power to take away their land. A homage was preformed to ensure security to the king. Homage was the promise to stay loyal to the king, so if the king was betrayed then he would take back what he promised, and no longer protect the vassal or the people under him. This hurt more then just the vassal this hurt the peasants and serfs that lived under him as well.

Peasants or serfs lived an obscure and hard life. Ninety percent of medieval Europe’s population was the working class ( Hanawalt 1). They worked long hard hours in the fields to pay the lords their protection, for the right to live on the lord‘s land. This act of payment started during the Roman empire and slowly developed into the type of feudal system mentioned previously. A poor land owner would take a loan out with a larger land owner and in return the larger land owner would take a certain percent of the smaller land owner‘s crops. If the farmer couldn’t pay the debt back, then he would go deeper into dept. Slowly this developed so that the farmer became bonded to the land and after many years it just became common to pay a third of the crop to the landowner and the smaller farmer would slowly become a serf bonded to the land with out any real knowledge of why. serfs were not freemen; they couldn’t sell their land but they were not slaves( Bartusis 3).

Peasants were mostly uneducated and were commonly thought of as ignorant and in many ways this is true. Very few had even traveled outside of the fief. The lack of travel was partially because of the strong superstitions the peasants believed. Medieval people were so superstitious that many simple things like black cats and rabbits were said to be evil and were steered clear of. If they traveled at all it was for the pure reason that they needed to trade for food or clothing because money did not yet exist. The other reason might have been because it wasn’t safe to travel. With the threats of attacks, it was safer to stay in their protected homeland than move around.

The lords or vassals of the fiefs had great power over the peasants that he governed. A lord might arrange the marriages of his serfs and tell them where to live and what to wear and such things like that. However, a serf did have a few basic human rights. A serf had the right to pass the land that he worked to his son so this made the land partially his, but the vassal could take his land away at anytime for any serious misbehavior. A serf got approximately 30 acres to make a living off of (Jupp 5). Serfs were often despised for their place in society. They were dirty, and ignorant and frequently ill-treated ( Hanawalt 1). In the social order, the only thing lower than a serf was the slaves who had no human rights.

By the twelfth century 25 percent of all peasants were slaves. Slaves were common; most slaves were prisoners of war that were taken back to serve the army that they were caught by. Many slaves were Muslims who were caught during the Crusades. Clergymen allowed the use of non- Christians as slaves. They had many of their own slaves as well. It was taught that the reason someone was a slave was because of his own sin.

Many of the poor suffered from malnutrition which led to deformed limbs, weakened eyesight, and skin diseases ( Mason 6). The diet consisted of mostly what was grown in the fields. Corn and wheat were the most common. Bread was a main source of food even for the high class. ( Mason 1). The poor mainly ate black bread, vegetable stew, and weak ale (Mason 6). Dairy and meat products were very difficult to come by for the lower classes. If a peasant was lucky he would have a cow or goat to get milk and make cheese and butter with, but with meat products it was a little more difficult. The lack of cooling devices made it more difficult to keep to keep food fresh, and hunting was a difficult feat. The land belonged to the lord and the animals on it belonged to him too. If a peasant was caught hunting in a vassal’s hunting grounds, he would be called a poacher and severely punished.

Peasant’s homes were small and cramped. Many of the occupants lived in tightly packed homes; many slept on straw. Homes had little furniture except for a small table and some cooking wares. The homes had were damp and dark and a fire hazard because of all the straw that was used to build the home. The upper class citizen‘s homes were built with stones and were finished with more of a variety of furniture, yet another depiction of the huge social gap during the Middle Ages( Mason, Page 7).

Women had little to no power during the Medieval time period. Often women were looked on with less respect than animals. A woman's main purpose was to make babies and keep out of sight. Women often served as doctors or caretakers. They would have a great amount of knowledge about herbs and natural ways to heal illnesses and wounds. Woman became skilled in massage and first aid ( Rowling, Page 85). Upper-class women often would take care of their husband’s business while he was at war ( Rowling, Page 84). Women of this stature would often be well trained cooks. Even if they had their own servants they supervised the work that was being done (Rowling 85).

Almost all the marriages were arranged for power, or some sort of tie between vassals or royalty. A woman would be promised to a man almost before she was born. In the case of the nobles a lord would promise his daughter to another lord in hopes that his land would become larger and more prosperous. It was rare to marry for love. Nicolas Byarad declared in the 13th century, "A man may chastise his wife and beat her for correction for she is of his household, therefore the lord may chastise his own (Rowling 72.) " Courtly love was strictly organized for feudalism itself. A formal ceremony would take place and the lover would pay homage to his lord, then promise to love his partner until he died and serve her faithfully (Rowing 81). Divorce was unacceptable within the holy church. Those who got divorces were not acknowledged by the church. This was something like being banished from a country because the church was the most powerful state during the Middle Ages.

In the beginning of medieval society the king was the most powerful man of the time. The king would select clergymen and priests to help him out in his need for military service. Land would be given to the church as an offering and in return the clergymen would act as smaller vassal and govern over the land that they received. In many occasions they forgot God and began to care more for wealth and power (Anglin & Hamblin 276).

The church became corrupt and a reformation occurred ( Anglin & Hamblin 277). By the end of Medieval society the church would be the most powerful governing body. Roman Catholicism was the most dominant religion of the time, and the pope was the single most powerful man under God. The church would have the power to excommunicate a member of the royal court if the church was displeased with him. Excommunication was the act of the church no longer recognizing a country or king or vassal as a member of the church. In the church's terms, they will no longer be saved by God, or be backed by the church in the case of a military or an economic emergency.

Health care systems were hard to come by in the Middle Ages. Doctors and physicians were only used for the well to do and even their knowledge was lacking. Their main remedies were herbs and prayer. Some of the mixtures prepared were most unpleasant; herbs mixed with urine, animal excretions, and powdered earthworms were said to be able to cure. ( Rowling 177)." For headache, take root of peony mixed with oil of roses. Soak linen with the mixture and apply to where the pain is. For toothache, Mix vinegar, oil and sulphur and put in mouth of sufferer.... to take a candle of mutton fat mingled with the seed of sea holly; burn the candle as close to the tooth as possible, holding a basin of cold water underneath. worms gnawing the tooth will fall into the water to escape the heat of the candle" ( Rowling 177). Physicians of the Middle Ages were very superstitious believing such things as there being worms in teeth and evil spirits in the body that had to be bled out. The act of bleeding was dangerous. A physician would cut someone open and let him or her bleed to release the evil spirits. Most of the time all t his did was kill the patient. Many thought that a disease was spread by a bad odors. Bathing was seldom, almost never, there are some cases in which someone would only bath about twice in their life. Bacteria and germs were unheard of and not understood by the medieval people. Many times medicine wasn’t used at all; meditation, prayer, and travel would be used to try to cure the ailments( McLoed 1.) .

The bubonic plague struck in the 14th century. This was not the only plague to come to Europe; there were many and they were all very destructive to the people who lived through them. It shocked the population and kill one third of the population and all ranks of people, not just the peasants ( Bartusis 5). The bubonic plague was carried by rats that roamed the city. The rats were brought in by ships from other countries. The fleas on the rats would carry the disease and the people around them would get sick as well. The fleas on the rats would only turn to humans after the rat that they lived on would die. Then it would begin to feed on a different animal, humans ( Travis 1). Though after time it seemed that the plague would be over, it would lay dormant in the rats. It never really disappeared from the rat population ( Travis 1).

It was safer in the country, so people would flee to the country and live with relatives. The cities began to empty out. Whole towns were being quarantined, which meant no one could go in and no one could leave. Death was all around. People would die days after coming in contact with the disease. They would walk around with posies in their pockets to try to keep the stench of death away from them. This is where the little saying, "Ring around the rosies pocket full of posies, ashes ashes we all fall down" comes from, a little child’s saying that has a real morbid meaning. By the end of the plague's destruction the population of Europe dropped from 3.7 million to 2.2 million in 1550 (Bartusis 5).

The decay of the Middle Ages started when people were beginning to want knowledge and travel more intensively. Money was beginning to appear and the need for protection was beginning to become less and less. Serfs were beginning to get their own land and no longer in bondage to the land or the vassals. With the introduction of money lords would now pay their workers and in return they could buy their own land and be completely freemen. Taxes were now being shifted to all men with property of their own. This included the lords (Stephenson 101). Kings who were now able to pay their soldiers no longer had to promise them land in return, so they were able to keep them under some sort of control and regulations ( Stephenson 103). Medieval Europe found its end with the house of Tudor in 1485 ( Jupp, 8).

Once upon a time was not the whole truth. fairy tales stretch the truth and make the hardships lived by the Medieval people look simple and soft. The princess’s prince was promised to her before she was born, and her wish for him to softly sweep her off her feet was a little far fetched. She would be married by the age of 14 to a man twice her age, and work hard for the rest of her life. The middle ages were not a fairy tale, not even close. Diseases swept the country and killed many, barbarians would pillage and plunder, rape and kill innocent people to promote a fear. Fear was a common emotion to the Medieval people. They feared God; they feared death. This life would kill anyone in today's society, the very thought of not bathing after one day makes some people uneasy, imagine only bathing 2 in your entire life. Even royalty didn’t bathe half as much as people do today. The strength of the people during the Middle Ages Was astounding. Many people died before they were 33, and 45 was said to be old age. Technology was null and life was hard, but with out this time the history of today would never exist in the history books of tomorrow.