“Peasants’ Spears May Sometimes Harm the Knight.”

Peasants in Military and Social Conflicts of the High Middle Ages

Abstract

This paper explores to what extent the peasant population participated in and co-created event history during the introduction and consolidation of the feudalism. Peasant revolts and resistance to the feudal system, the Peace of God movement, peasant participation in medieval warfare, and daily conflicts among peasants themselves, all indicate that the victory of the medieval nobility with which it silenced the common rural people for a long time was neither easily achieved nor final. Medieval sources that explored social issues and also took into account various conflicts, give an insight into the social interaction of that time. While it is true that the shears were indeed in the hands of the ruling elite it is also true that the peasant population firmly held the linen in their hands.