Serfdom

**Serfdom and Slavery **
Serfs and slaves were very similar. They both did similar work and worked for their master, they were also not considered a class. However, serfs were free men. The word serf comes from the Latin word "servus" or slave. Serfdom began when their masters began to allow them to live in separate housing with their families. This stage was called "house led slaves". Slave owners also noticed that slaves work harder when they are free, and are laboring goods for themselves and their families. The decline of serfdom began in the early 1200's, when a movement began to end serfdom. In some parts of France, serfs became a minority. In Tuscany, Italy, they held a movement that ended serfdom. In the 1300's, when the Black Death came, so did poverty, and people began using serfs again. They continued to use them for hundreds of years.

Slaves were property to their master. They lived in prison like barracks on the villa, and had no possessions of their own. They had no rights, and could have their life be taken away from them for no reason at all. Unlike serfs, slaves were slaves for life. (Serfs could get out of it through manumission.) After the fall of Rome, the number of slaves used declined. In the 500's, the Roman church forbade slavery because of Christianity.

Works Cited
 * Nelson, Lynn Harry. “Medieval Serfdom.” //Classic Slavery// . U of Kansas, 1 Jan. 2001. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. .
 * Radigue, Pascal. //Bardo JPG: Mosaique Echansons// . Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2010. .
 * “Serfs and Serfdom.” //The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students// . Ed. William Chester Jordan, Ed. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 60-63. //Gale Virtual Reference Library// . Web. 8 Mar. 2010.