Social Changes in Medieval Europe: From Slavery to Serfdom

These are terrible!  On a melancholy shore,

I am becoming soulless, far from you, a dying slave.

In the universe, I am utterly alone, before my eyes,

Not my beloved, merely a tyrannical master.

They forbid me to weep, even to whisper;

I have lost all rights granted by nature;

I feel myself subject to barbaric laws;

The unseen fear in the forest, the scorned existence.

From the third century CE onward, new social structures began to emerge. These communities were governed by wealthy landowners during the period when the Roman Empire began to collapse. Rather than relying on slaves, these lords employed serfs—semi-free peasants. Even as early as the third century, human traders can be found. Slave trading became more widespread in later periods; some records indicate that a Saxon woman was valued at the price of a horse or a sword.

European Men Examining Slaves at the Rio de Janeiro Slave Market (Look and Learn)

Within this feudal environment, both free and enslaved individuals gradually transitioned into serfdom. Even those who were legally free became tied to the land; if they attempted to leave, they were captured or punished. They could not marry free persons, and their children and grandchildren inherited the same status. In fact, it can be said that a new class emerged—technically possessing personal freedom in some cases, yet spatially semi-enslaved. Most peasants living under this feudal system were not slaves, but neither were they fully free.

These peasants constituted one of the most homogeneous groups. In the town of Villemeuse, between 826 and 829, 10 percent of the population of 1,639 were recorded as “servi”—meaning “slaves or servants.” In addition, there were 82 colonies. After the year 1100, peasants in Villemeuse were sold to monasteries as “servi.”

There has long been a historical relationship between slavery and serfdom. From the ninth to the early thirteenth century, these roles became firmly established. During the reigns of Charlemagne and Philip Augustus, both could be said to have lived within the spirit of France’s “servi.” It can also be argued that these roles emerged from a single concept called “freedom.”

Since ancient times, a decision made in 484 CE permitted slaves to enter monasteries, provided they had the consent of their masters or at least their knowledge. When abandoned, slaves reverted to their former status as servants. A slave could become a monk only after a three-year trial period and upon the master’s request, and could never return. Thus, everything remained dependent on the master. Even as a monk, the former slave was required by his agreement to leave the monastery.

The papacy, bishops, churches, and monasteries have always owned their own slaves. Even in earlier periods (590–604), the papal estates were permitted to use countless slaves. Later, laws began to be enacted to prevent slavery; these laws aimed to encourage slaves to marry free Christians. Around the eighth century, near Paris, there were approximately 8,000 slaves, while St. Martin of Tours owned 20,000. French kings frequently sent large numbers of slaves to the Church. During Charlemagne’s reign, religious figures were granted the right to own two slaves—one male and one female. In some regions, churches attempted to demonstrate their wealth not by money but by the number of slaves they held.

The Church’s political structure inherently supported feudalism, as its administrators could exert greater influence over both the populace and secular authorities. Indeed, the Church itself possessed a vast feudal structure within Europe’s borders. Its primary sources of income were the produce from its lands and donations. These lands were cultivated until the twelfth century through the semi-feudal serf system. A law enacted during this century declared: “The people who work Church lands shall not pay taxes to the Church.” This contributed to the Church’s enrichment and the people’s increasing impoverishment.

Church officials, aware of the conditions of slaves and freedmen, sought within early medieval church councils to prevent abuses against slaves and serfs. However, they failed. An example is the cruelty inflicted by Duke Rauching, a Frankish noble. One of the most important sources on slavery in medieval European social life is Rauching’s own treatment of his slaves. Early chronicles, particularly from early medieval France, contain detailed accounts of a lord’s rights over his slaves:

“Rauching, living in Godvin, inflicted unbearable suffering upon his slaves. He once killed a slave with a sword for shouting at him. One of his slaves had a daughter and a son, who died for love. These slaves wished to be happy, but their master forbade them to marry. This situation lasted two years. Unable to endure it, the slaves sought refuge in a monastery. Rauching captured the monastery’s priest and demanded the return of the slaves, promising to forgive them. The priest replied:

Slave Trade Table / George Morland (National Museum of African American History and Culture)

“You have great devotion and respect for God’s Church. I will not return them to you unless you promise never to separate them again and to cease all physical punishment.” In response, Rauching said:

“They will never again be separated from me.”

Believing him, the priest returned the two slaves, seemingly pardoned. But Rauching’s true intent soon became clear: he carved a tree trunk so that human arms and heads could be squeezed into it, then buried it three to four feet deep in a pit. He shackled the female slave to the tree trunk and forced the male slave into the same pit. While both were still alive, he covered them with earth. After turning the site into their grave, he addressed those present:

“I have not broken my oath; I have not separated them.”

It is clear from this that slave owners did not merely have the right to use their slaves—they also held the right to kill them.

Thus, by the year 1000, serfdom had replaced slavery. With this new system, serfdom became one of the most important factors in economic growth in the West.

By the end of the tenth century, this transformation accelerated. The local palaces, once visited by kings during their endless travels and later inhabited by counts, became autonomous. In France, counts began to regard the partial public authority once held on behalf of the king as their own private property. Consequently, kinship networks began to be organized along hereditary lines, similar to those of the king.

The demand for slaves began in the eighth century and increased in subsequent years across the Mediterranean. Their labor was essential. Between 1000 and 1200, Slavs were especially common in noble households. Large groups of Slavs were taken as slaves to Muslim Spain during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Verdun became the central hub of this slave trade. Younger slaves commanded higher prices and were sold to regions farther from the Pyrenees. Venice transported these slaves by ship to Byzantium and Egypt. Throughout history, such groups have always been targeted: the dark-skinned Maghrebis, the olive-skinned Syrians, and the Slavs and Tatars symbolized by the Black Sea.

Initially, slave trading constituted only a minor part of the economy, but it later gained importance. In particular, English slaves were among the most frequently sold in Roman markets. Some records even indicate that English girls were sold to Denmark in the eleventh century. With the transition to feudalism, slavery may appear to have disappeared. In fact, it did not vanish but was replaced by a new labor system: the shift from slavery to serfdom.