A discussion on whether there was an improvement in the standard of living of the rural peasantry in the 15th Century.
This paper looks at how evidence suggests that the standard of living of the peasantry in England rose during the fifteenth century and how this standard of living varied widely in different parts of the country. It examines how the main change in the fifteenth century was the large availability of land for rent and an increase in pastoral farming which could be performed without the need for large amounts of manual labor. It explores how this bought upon a gradual end to serfdom, freeing peasants from any obligations towards their lords and allowing them to participate in the economy as they choose.
“In his study of a Norfolk Manor, Davenport sees the late fourteenth Century as being full of upheaval and filled with a string of social disturbances. The fifteenth century saw a respite from these upheavals. He also showed how these developments effected the rents as they became longer term agreements with the increased stability. Longer term rents were something that defiantly would have benefited peasants as it gave them more control over the land and the opportunity to develop it in they way they wanted. Davenport also shows how the profits from the estate gradually fell throughout the fifteenth century. Reasons for this include the decline of serfdom which ended traditional bonds of labor on the part of many peasants. The traditional payments from these serfs also ended.”