Meet the Middle Ages
BackVillage and Farm
Most people who lived in the Nordic countries were peasants. They lived on farms in the country-side. In most areas, these farms were very isolated. The Nordic countries were covered with dense forests and the farms lay far apart. On the plains, where the soil was good, the farms lay close together. They formed larger or smaller villages. In some areas, the farms of the villages lay along a village street. In other areas, the farms of the village were spread out.
The peasants of the village helped each other with, for example, hay-making and harvest. Since the farms lay close to one another, it was important to agree on when to sow, when to let the cattle out, when to harvest and so on. There were meetings were these issues were discussed. Some villages had a Village Council where village matters were settled.
Some peasants were free-holders. Others leased their land from the aristocracy or a monastery.