serfs

Whenever in my early education I learned about serfs, for some reason I was fascinated by the subject.

~~~

A few months back I subscribed to the National Geographic Kids Discover Magazine.  I often
buy kids' books - like the many Spanish workbooks I have - because I have poor concentration
and am easily distracted - so simpler versions of the hard adult stuff work better for me.

But in my defense, I occasionally read grown-up books - one example is Walter Isaacson's Einstien.
This book is really good, it's thick and I read every word - some parts more than once.  I highly
recommend it.  He makes even the scientific parts understandable - kind of like Einstien for Dummies.

But seriously, it is a great read.

~~~

The latest issue of my Nat/Geo Kids Discover is about the Middle Ages.

And in it I found some good stuff on Serfs.

I'll quote directly this part:

'Peasants spent long days working the land.
Serfs or villeins (vih-LANES) had to work for
the lord a certain number of days per week.
(Kind of like a housewife, don't you think.)
Plus, they paid the lord fees, including a yearly
tax and a fee when a woman got married. 
Other peasants, called freemen, paid rent
but not fees and owned the lord less labor.'

~~~

Slightly offtopic, but this also caught my eye:

Most boys were trained to be knights,
while girls learned skills that would
make them good wives, such as
spinning and cooking.  Hmmm.....

~~~

Hopefully, we have made significant progress -
and yet one wonders.  Certainly more progress
is in store for serf-like conditions in this world.

~~~

On June 15, 1215, the Magna Carta came into
being - and was a huge thing for the serf  people.

Note:  Sometimes you will see 'Carta' spelled
'Charta,' but this is not correct  - according to
google.  The 'h' is silent, and google says that
the correct spelling is Magna Carta.

So here is the Magna Carta - straight from my
revised edition of One Hundred and One Famous
Poems.

~~~

Magna Carta


On June 15, 1215, King John met the barons near Runnymeade on the Thames,
and granted them the charter which they laid before him.

This charter conatins sixty-three articles, some of which were merely temporary;
the principles uponwhich the whole English judicial system is based are these:

'No freeman shall be taken or imprisioned, or disseised (dispossessed of land), or outlawed, or banished...
unless by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land.'

'We will sell to no man, we will not deny to any man, either justice or right.'

Among the most important articles were the two which limited the power of the
king in the matters of taxation:

'No scutage or aid shall be imposted in our kingdom unless by the general council of our kingdom;'

and

'For the holding of the general council of the kingdom...we shall cause to be summoned the
archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and the greater barons of the realm, singly, by our letters.

And furthermore we shall cause to be summoned generally by our sheriffs and bailiffs, all others
who hold of us in chief.'

~~~

Thanks, King John