PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Nobles and peasants both played a part in feudalism in Europe, however, they had completely different roles and responsibilities.
In the feudal system, nobles, or knights, were under power of the king but held power over everyone else.
Peasants were at the bottom of the feudal system and were born into their class. Because they were at the bottom, they had no power over anyone.
The daily life of a noble consisted of watching their peasants and helping the king with whatever he needed.
A typical day in a peasant's life consisted of hard work. Peasants did the majority of the labor in feudal times. Because there were different levels of peasantry, some worked on the field. Others worked in mills or as a blacksmith.
Nobles were responsible for keep their peasants safe, protecting their land, and serving the king.
Peasants were in charge of working their lord's land. They were also responsible for harvesting enough food for their families and paying for tithes and taxes to their lord.
Nobles had much power. Some nobles had more power than others, depending on what level they were on, however, they all had the right to own land and have serfs work the land.
Peasants in feudal Europe had basically no rights. They weren't allowed to buy or own land. They also weren't allowed to leave the lord's land. If they had to travel outside of the village, they needed permission.
Nobles lived under very nice conditions. They lived in a large house that was given with their manor.
Lords provided peasants with a home, however, these one or two-roomed cottages were crowded. They had to sleep on a dirt floor that crawled with insects. To stay warm at night, they brought pigs into the house.
Nobles ate much and ate well, unlike peasants. They had feasts where they ate lots of food such as cheese, fruits, salmon, cod, shellfish, beef, pork, rabbit, and manager bread.
Peasants mainly ate a dark bread made from rye grain. They also had stew called "pottage" which was made from peas. Peasants didn't eat much meat, however.
