In medieval times, most agricultural workers were serfs. They were bound to their lands, meaning that they were not exactly slaves, but they were not allowed to move away from their homes. They were given plots of land to tend, and there were plots of land worked by the serfs in a community as a group. They were not paid, for the most part, but got the food they grew, protection, and a place to live.
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A legal conflict between a serf living on a manor with another serf is resolved by the Lord of the Manor or by a court system of sherriffs and bailiffs. Before this, conflicts were settled through parties beating each other.
Peasant
A peasant who is bound to land is a serf, while a fief is an estate granted to a vassal.
A piece of land granted by one lord to another was called a
hard working people