What are the responsibilities of the peasants in the middle ages?

Answer 1

The peasant class were small farmers. Up to 90 of the total population were peasants. They lived mostly in small villages and farmed, gardened, tended animals, and practiced basic crafts. Peasants were essentially subsistence farmers, producing their own food, raw materials, and to a certain extent crafted goods, and selling their narrow surplus in nearby market towns.

A few peasants were free, but most were classified as villeins, or serfs. Villeins owned labor to the lord of the land on which they lived. The exact amount varied by location, but it could be up to two days per week. Peasants also owed a variety of taxes, fees, and tithes based on their personal property and the land they held. Villeins could travel, and would often travel short distances to nearby markets or towns to trade. A villein could not permanently leave their village, however, without the permission of the lord, although this was sometimes arranged, sometimes in return for an annual fee.

Villeins should not be confused with slaves. Despite having labor obligations and certain duties a villein could not be sold to anther lord or compelled to leave their land. They could own a house, movable property, and have rights to a certain amount of acreage in the village fields, a right which was inheritable by their heir. Some peasants gained control of enough land to need hired help to work their holdings. A few had sufficient income for a household servant or two. A villein of sufficient financial means could even hire a replacement to fulfill some or all of his labor obligations. This was the exception rather than the rule, of course, but it is an indication that status as a villein did not always mean poverty, nor did status as a free peasant always mean a superior financial position.

Free peasants lived much the same life as their villein neighbors, but they did not owe labor (or only owed a token amount of labor) and had the right to relocate at their own discretion. Free peasants would pay an annual rent based on the amount of land they held in the village fields, as well as taxes and tithes based on their personal property.

Answer 2

All members of the nobility had pretty much the same responsibilities. The difference between the lesser nobility and the higher was that the higher nobles were responsible directly to the king, but lesser nobles may have been also responsible to higher nobles.

Members of the nobility were bound by duty based on vows they had taken to support the king as the king needed the support, whether in wars or otherwise, such as helping enforce laws or pay taxes. Lower nobles had similar duties to any higher with whom they had similar relationships.

All of the members of the nobility also had the responsiblity to be certain that their own tennants and serfs had the things they needed under their manorial obligations. The serfs had to be permitted to have access to the land and to have homes, and in addition the lords had to protect them in times of trouble, such as attack by armies or robbers, or in times of famine.