Some peasants lived on a farm owned by a nobleman. In the Swedish agricultural provinces such as Södermanland, Uppland, Västergötland and Östergötland as well as on the coast of Småland, most peasants were noblemen’s tenants. There were a lot of tenant farmers in the border districts as well.
The tenant rented land from a nobleman. For this he paid a fee. The fee could be paid both in money and in farm produce such as butter, cheese and meat. The nobleman employed a bailiff who made sure that the peasants took care of the farm and paid their fee. He went from farm to farm, to make sure that the work was done, and to collect the fee. If he was not satisfied, for instance if the buildings or animals were not properly looked after, the peasants had to pay a fine. The tenant might also evicted. Then he had to leave the farm.
The nobleman’s tenant also had to do labour service - he had to help with the hay-making and the harvest at the nobleman’s manor.
Normally, the peasant had a contract or lease lasting for four to eight years. When the lease expired, the peasant and the nobleman had to negotiate whether to keep or change the contract. The nobleman might want to raise the fee. The tenant often had to pay an additional fee as well, for example an oxen, to be allowed to stay on. During the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century, when the plague had left many farms deserted, some noblemen’s tenants were able to get new contracts with better terms.
In many villages, there were both freeholders and tenants. In day to day work, there was no big difference between them.
On the European continent, most peasants were the tenant farmers of the aristocracy. This was also the case in Denmark. Many peasants had a hard time, as they were totally dependent on their landlords.