Name: _________________
World History Unit III
Europe in the Feudal Ages
If you were a Serf
1. Whether you were a man or a woman, you worked about three days a week, from sunrise to
sunset, for the lord of the manor. Most of the work was in the lord’s fields. Sometimes, though,
it might involve other jobs. You might build fences or dig ditches. You might gather firewood.
You might repair buildings on the manor. If you were a woman, you might make clothes for the
lord’s family.
2. In return, the lord gave you a simple cottage in the manor’s village. He gave you strips of land to
farm for yourself. (If you grew wheat for yourself, though, you had to grind it into flour at the
lord’s mill. You baked the bread made from that flour in the lord’s ovens. You paid for these
things with part of your harvest.) The lord also protected you at his home if the manor were
attacked.
3. You ate simply: brown bread, cheese, vegetables, cereal, and soup. You might have honey as a
sweetener. You rarely had butter, milk, or fresh meat. The animals in the forest belonged to the
lord, and you were not allowed to hunt them.
4. Your clothing was simple: rough wool or linen, with holes worn through in places.
5. You could not leave the manor or marry without the lord’s permission. You might spend your
entire life on the manor—as your parents did, and as your children probably would do. You had
a few rights, however. For example, the lord could not sell your children or force you to leave
the manor. According to tradition, the lord had to honor your rights and take care of you as long
as you worked faithfully for him.
6. You sometimes had fun. You watched traveling musicians, actors, and acrobats who stopped at
the manor. You attended festivals that the lord held on a holy day or a special occasion. You
played games, and you sang and danced.
7. You were part of a big group. In the Middle Ages, about 90 percent of all Europeans were serfs.
8. You probably believed that God meant you to be a serf. If your life was unhappy, you still could
hope for a place in heaven when you died.
9. The lord of your manor needed you. The work of you and other serfs is what made the manorial
way of life possible.
Directions: On the attached Facebook template you will be designing a Facebook template as if you
were a feudal serf. Fill 4 wall posts by friends with at least 2 sentences of explanation each (the grayish
boxes), and 4 status updates again with at least 2 sentences of explanation each (the whitish boxes). In
the information box explain the background to your serf in a minimum of 5 sentences. Make sure you
come up with 3 likes with accompanying pictures. And also be sure to draw a picture of your serf!