Question

How did the status of peasants differ from that of nobles in the feudal system?

1) Peasants had more political power than nobles.
2) Peasants belonged to the clergy, while nobles were commoners.
3) Peasants were bound to the land and had limited rights, while nobles held higher social status and enjoyed more privileges.
4) Peasants were exempt from paying taxes, whereas nobles had to pay heavy taxes.

Answer 1

In the feudal system, peasants were agriculturally-bound laborers with limited rights serving noble overlords, while nobles held high social status, privileges, and political power, often owning large tracts of land and extracting wealth from their peasants.

Step-by-step explanation:

The status of peasants differed significantly from that of nobles in the feudal system. Peasants were primarily rural inhabitants engaged in agriculture who were bound to the land and served a manorial lord. They had very limited rights and, under the system of manorialism, owed rents and services to their noble overlords. In sharp contrast, nobles enjoyed higher social status, economic priviledges, and political power. They held large estates, had vassals who served them, and were often involved in the governance of lands and people.

Peasants, which made up about 90 percent of the European population during feudal times, faced a life of hard labor and servitude. As part of the feudal hierarchy, nobles could afford armors, horses, and weapons through the wealth they extracted from their fiefdoms and the peasants working on them. Over time, societal changes such as the Great Famine, Black Death, and technological advances of the Industrial Society led to the disintegration of the feudal system and the rise of capitalism.