Free peasants rented land to farm and owed only their rent to the lord. There were two kinds of peasants: free and unfree. They also were not allowed to marry without the permission of their lords. Their labor freed lords and knights to spend their time preparing of war or fighting. Though they didn't have a relationship like vassals and lords, they were necessary in the entire feudal structure by helping work out the land. Since most people in the Middle Ages were peasants, peasants formed the majority of the feudal system. Except for fighting, ladies basically had the duties that the lords had. However, it wasn't uncommon for noblewomen to hold fiefs and inherit land. However, ladies had a strong role in the feudal relationship as well. Theoretically, only men were part of the feudal relationship between lord and vassals. These fiefs were like promises between vassal and lord which linked them together - if a vassal did not keep to his promises - then the vassal's land was taken away. Lords had an important job of leasing out the land they had received from their monarch, also called fiefs, to their vassals.
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