Peasants Throughout the Ages

"The main problem that occupied peasants was how to cope with the hardships and disaster that must befall them.... They were trapped socially, economically, politically, and mentally in their own peasant world of poverty" (Wunderli 34).

Recently, in my European history class, I read Peasant Fires. The book is centered on Hans Behem, a peasant in 1476 Germany who led a rebellion against the wealthy priests of the Roman Catholic Church. This book peaked my interest in peasants throughout the ages, specifically Behem's peasant conditions versus those of peasants in ancient civilizations like Egypt. I am curious about this group because they were a fundamental part of the economy, yet many historical documents do not focus on them. Though they had different technology and roles, the peasants of ancient cultures and the Middle Ages were similar in the way they were oppressed.

The ancient farmers in Egypt used basic technology, while agriculture in the Medieval times was more sophisticated. In ancient Egypt, the peasants had a basic irrigation system with dikes and canals to channel water from the Nile River. Sickles, baskets, hoes, and small plows harvested crops, which were mainly wheat and barley, and there were abundant amounts of farmland (Parsons). However, the peasants in the Middle Ages used technology that included horses, sophisticated irrigation and more effective plows. In Germany, overpopulation, famine, and lack of available farmland were problems (Wunderli 51).

The peasants in ancient Egypt had different roles from those in the Middle Ages as well. In the ancient civilizations, the majority of the peasant's crop yields provided for his family, yet he contributed greatly to the economy. In ancient Egypt, was calendar months were named after the crop cycle. For example, Peret was the month of Emergence, in which the flood waters of the Nile River receded and planting began (Parsons). In the Middle Ages, however, the peasants paid taxes to landlords and clergy before they could provide for their family, and agriculture was less essential in the diverse economy (Wunderli 31).

These groups were oppressed in similar ways. The majority lived on land owned by an authority figure. Wunderli's statement, “What mattered was the legal claim made by the ruling elite on their labor and on whatever they produced” (30), applies to both groups because their lives focused on service to a landowner. In Egypt, scribes regulated the amount of seeds peasants withdrew from granaries, while tax assessors estimated the yearly taxes. Both groups were forced to pay taxes to these authority figures or risk the loss of their home or, in Egypt, beatings (Parsons).

Therefore, the peasants in ancient Egypt and the Medieval Ages were similar. The peasants in ancient civilizations had different technology and roles from those in the Middle Ages, yet the groups were alike in their oppression by authority and connection of agriculture and religion. These peasants throughout the ages were more alike than different.

Sources:

Parsons, Marie. Egypt: Egyptian Societ: the Peasant-Farmer, A Feature Tour Egypt Story InterCity, OZ, 2005. Web. 29 Sep. 2009 .

Wunderli, Richard. Peasant Fires. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992. Print.