Question

Explain how feudal monarchs were able to exert power and control over peasants.(1 point)
Responses

Their agreement allowed peasants to avoid working on Catholic Church lands.
Their agreement allowed peasants to avoid working on Catholic Church lands.

Peasants received tithes in return for working the lords’ land.
Peasants received tithes in return for working the lords’ land.

Their agreement allowed peasants to fish and hunt on the manor.
Their agreement allowed peasants to fish and hunt on the manor.

Peasants needed protection and land, which the lords provided.

Answer 1

choose a response

Answer 2

Feudal monarchs exerted power and control over peasants primarily through a hierarchical system of land ownership and obligations. The correct answer among the provided options is:

Peasants needed protection and land, which the lords provided.

In the feudal system, the monarch would grant large parcels of land to nobles and lords (the vassals) in exchange for military service and loyalty. Those nobles and lords would, in turn, offer portions of their land to peasants or serfs, who would farm the land and produce goods. In return for the right to live on and work a plot of land, the peasants were obligated to give a percentage of their produce to the lord as rent and were subject to various forms of taxation. They were also often required to provide labor on the lord’s own fields (the demesne) and could not leave the manor without permission.

The agreement between lords and peasants was intrinsic to the manorial system, a key component of feudalism. Lords provided peasants with protection from external threats, such as raids or wars, and in return, peasants provided the agricultural labor that supported the subsistence of the manor and the wealth of the lord. This relationship was enforced by customary rights and obligations, as well as the legal and military power of the lords, who often held judicial authority in their local courts.

The other options presented do not accurately reflect the way feudal monarchs maintained control over peasants:

- Peasants typically did not have the privilege to avoid work on Church lands; in fact, they might have had additional obligations to the Church in addition to their feudal lord.
- Tithes were generally a form of tax paid to the Church, not a benefit received by peasants.
- While peasants might have had some rights to use common resources such as forests and rivers within the manor for subsistence, this was not the primary means by which lords exerted control.

Answer 3

Peasants needed protection and land, which the lords provided.