Does anyone know how slavery was viewed during this time? It’s a really dark topic and it could give us some really hard moral choices in the game, we do love hard moral coices!
Forbidden by the Church among Christians which is pretty much the end of the story.
11 Likes
While, of course, serfdom bears some traits very similar to slavery and was even more widespread than slavery has ever been. Still, serfs were of course more free and for the most part were not even tied to the land (although they were so in 1400s in some parts at least…after the great plague, the lords needed valuable labour and did not fancy price competition so they tried to force the serfs to stay where they were. I am not sure how successful they were in fact in that effort).
You start as a serf (that is why Henry refers to his lord as his “master”) in the game. And as long as you are not given freedom from your lord, you are in a sense his property (with some limited rights).
3 Likes
It depends on location. There wasn’t slavery in Bohemia. But Mongols Turks and Tatars were trading with slaves. There was serfdom but even this was on the decline I think.
The wikipedia article you are refering to:
“The decline of serfdom in Western Europe has sometimes been attributed to the Black Death, which reached Europe in 1347,[1] although the decline had begun before that date. Serfdom became increasingly rare in most of Western Europe after the Renaissance, but conversely, it grew strong in Central and Eastern Europe, where it had previously been less common (this phenomenon was known as “later serfdom”).”
In Bohemia (and the whole Habsburg Austrian Monarchy), serfdom was only abolished in 1781 by the Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and Hungary and Archduke of Austria Joseph II.
Primae noctis anyone? XD
1 Like
I’d like to add that serfs were not without rights however, such as the right to one week holiday on the occasion of Birth, marriage and death and a total of 150 free days a year (±1350 England) and working hours of around 8 to 9 hours. In some areas of Europe serfs were also entitled to private ownership of some land to grow for profit. Serfs that ran from the land they were bound from and stayed in a city for over two years were freed from the bonds of serfdom but this was quite an unpopular option because it meant forfeiting the security provided by a feudal lord an a guaranteed income/housing/food.
That said by 1403 Europe was ravaged by the Black death and the middle class of commoners was firmly established. I know that in Poland and other Eastern European countries the feudal system was held in place for a far longer period but I do not know if Bohemia was among those areas.
3 Likes
‘noblesse oblige’
on topic:
Serfdom and slavery have much in common (IMO).
1 Like
Ahem, no.
Slaves: They are property of their owners. Their owners can hurt or even kill them without legal punishment. Usually they are not allowed to own anything on their own. Everything they earn belongs to their owner. Slaves are not seen as human beings (at least not black slaves) and therefore don’t have any common rights.
Serfs: They have to pay a certain amount of their income to their sovereign. They have to fight in war for their sovereign. But they are free men and therefore are protected by the law which means they cannot be hurt or killed without legal punishment. Serfs are normal members of society and of course seen as human beings.
Big differences if you ask me… 
3 Likes
So it would be possible if a lord treated his serfs like slaves? Altough I suppose he would get removed by other lords and angry villagers, or a blacksmith’s son?
Of course it would be possible if he has the power and no real opposition or other force (like church or king or guilds or wealthy citizens or whatever)…
Never happened. Its a lurid post-medieval myth that owes more to absurd 18th and 19th century fantasizing about the horrible “Dark Ages” in contrast with the “Enlightenment” than it does to historical evidence.
5 Likes
It would be kind of cool if your lord sends you to see what he’s up to, and he might bribe or threaten you and you can either tell the truth that he’s a real “beep” to his people, or say “it’s all good” for personal reward.
Never been much slavery in mainland Europe. Post Novus Mundus slavery was mostly in the colonies. Before that ( and indeed after, doctrine never changed was just ignored or circumvented ala blacks not being human ) it was obviously fundamental to Greek society popped up with the Ottomans and other Eastern societies.
China had slavery for almost 3000 years in one form or another. As far as I can recall from the Shang Dynasty to the early 20th where it was legally abolished ( though it was had been abolished before - briefly ), but China is a special case in many ways. Not sure about India, never read much about India - will get to it eventually.
There are also serfs who are not allowed to own anything on their own. Therefore: “Everything they earn belongs to their owner.” And yes, some lords owned the body of their serfs.
Also: There are still the white Slaves which have been seen as human beings.
In history there are serfs and slaves with big diffrences. But there are also serfs and slaves with small diffrences in history…
Maybe @DuxNormanorum can say more about this. I have seen well informed posts of him in other threads. And his english is better then mine…
1 Like
Actually a school of thought that this is more a Hollywood trope than anything based on true historical fact or record…put use to best effect in the film “The Warlord” set some three centuriesd or so before the game.
2 Likes
Big difference in the time period we are discussing. A feudal bond or serfdom could be entered upon freely as a form of contract and there are plenty of people who realized living 100% free but on starving near death (poverty) is not as much fun as having a farm to live in and a village to party in for twenty years of service. It’s actually comparable to a mortgage in some aspects. You are free but you still have to work to uphold your end of the contract.
4 Likes
Don’t pander to pervy videogamers, just crack open a history book.
agreed. some people want to turn this game “gangsta” with lords=kingpins and slave owners.
just don’t go down that path by making characters into caricatures.
Thank you for the kind words. I have to confess that I’m just a monolingual American and unfortunately I’m incapable of speaking in any other language than my own, so I really don’t have any choice but to write in English. 
Anyways, I think @Dushin answered your question pretty well, and I don’t think there’s anything that I can add to what he has already said.
1 Like