Peasants In The High Middle Ages

In the High Middle Ages, the society was divided in three orders, the first being “those who pray” which Cecilia might have had considered to be most important because it addresses eternal salvation, the second “those who fight” were the kings and nobles who were the protectors, the last “those who work” was Cecilia’s class. “The three groups were not equal”1. Peasants were the lowest class which is why they were looked at as “ludicrously dumb and foolish”1, an example of how other groups thought of peasants could be found in their “songs, sarcastic proverbs, nasty jokes, and pious sermons”. “pastourelles” in particular was a song that described peasants as mere objects, it portrayed how “easy” it was to rape peasant women. Peasant in general were assumed to be “objects of pity, charity, and disgust”1.
An exception was Cecilia who never bowed before any lord or lady of brigstock. The life of peasants is known through the writings of their superiors, the writings were generally to keep a track of what the peasants were doing which helped the historians in to understanding the life of a women born almost seven hundred years ago. Penifaders and tenants of brigstock were in a better position than most since compared to other peasants, they were able to “emigrate, work, marry, and take grievances to the king’s court”. Peasants were also most seen as different race who were dirty, irreligious, disgusting,