There were many levels of peasants, ranging from outright slaves to free but poor peasants, to very rich farmers. The number of slaves who worked the land declined steadily in the High Middle Ages, and most rural people in western Europe during this period were serfs rather than slaves, though the distinction between slave and serf was not always clear. Both lacked freedom and both were subject to the arbitrary will of one person, the manorial lord. Serfs remained bound to the land when their lords died, but unlike slaves they could not be bought and sold outright.

Most serfs worked small plots of land; in addition, all serfs were required to provide a certain number of days of labor a week on a lord’s land. Serfs were also often obliged to pay fees on common occurrences, such as marriage or the inheritance of land from one generation to the next. Serfdom was a hereditary condition. As money became more widely available, however, some serfs bought their freedom.