When rural estates were established in the 16th century, they began agricultural production for the market, while the peasant farmsteads provided mainly for their own needs and for dues paid in kind to the noblemen. Farming was the mainstay of the economy in the territory of Latvia. In the late 18th century and early 19th century land belonged to noblemen, the peasants tilling and maintaining the land. They subsisted from the land they were allotted, and performed labour duties in the fields of the manor, using their own tools and equipment. The development of farming implements and the introduction of new farming practices was a slow process. On the peasant farmsteads, conditions began to change more rapidly in the 19th century, after the abolition of serfdom in the various regions of Latvia in the years 1817–1861.
Since clearance farming was practiced, the most common form of plough was the forked wooden plough. The soil was loosened with a harrow.
Grain was sown from a special sowing-basket. Used for reaping cereals in different areas was the long-handled scythe, the short-handled scythe or the sickle. Clubs or flails were used for threshing.
Bread and products from cereals were of great importance in the diet. Six to ten loaves of rye bread were baked once a week.
Important sources of income were beekeeping and flax-growing. Fishing was also a major occupation.
Pottery was a highly developed craft. Each region had its favourite vessel forms, decorative techniques and glazes. Pottery has been maintained as a folk art up to the present day in eastern Latvia.
The peasants themselves made many of the tools and everyday utensils they needed. Objects whose manufacture required special tools and skills were ordered from craftsmen: blacksmiths, carpenters, etc. Objects and tools used in everyday life were sometimes adorned with carved-made ornament.
The interior of the peasant’s family room depicts a peasant’s room in the 19th century. The largest room in the house was the family room. Next to the bed was a place for the cradle. Clothes were kept in a chest, and in the second half of the 18th century wardrobes also came into use. The people of the household spent their evenings in the big family room, engaged in various tasks by the light of a splint or candle. In the family room of every peasant farmstead there was a loom, since each woman knew how to weave.
Latvian folk musical instruments were closely connected with social life, customs and festivities. The symbol of Latvian folk music is a string instrument the kokle. Wind instruments are of ancient origin; horns, herder’s horns, pipes, clay whistles are among the most typical traditional wind musical instruments.
The national costumes developed as clothing of countryside people – peasants and fishermen. In the late 18th and early 19th century the regional national costume attained its classic form. The name ‘national costume’ refers to traditional dress worn in various situations and seasons, but mostly preserved is the festive costume. The course of historical development and the continuity of tradition determined the persistence of differences in national costumes between the various regions of Latvia. Groups of characteristic features serve to distinguish the national costumes of Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme, Latgale and Augšzeme. The beginning of regional differences can be traced back to the differences between the Baltic peoples – the Semigallians, the Latgallians, the Selonians and the Couronians, and a Baltic-Finnic people – the Livs.
Traditional female dress consisted of a linen shirt, a woollen skirt, a belt, a jacket or bodice and a head covering. Maidens wore headband or crown, while married women had kerchief, headcloth or wife’s cap. The woollen shawl was a characteristic item of dress. Men wore a linen shirt, woollen trousers, a vest, a long, medium or short coat, a belt and a hat. Male attire was affected by change earlier than female dress. Thus, already in the 18th century, the trousers and coats imitate urban fashion. Likewise, male dress was influenced by military uniform.
The cycle of family celebrations encompassed the major events of the human lifetime: christening, wedding and funeral. The greatest wealth of traditions is associated with marriage. The bride’s dowry had to include not only dress, but also various gifts, such as mittens.
Brooches were used to fasten the costume. The small brooches were used to fasten shirts, the larger ones for fastening woollen shawls. Annular brooches came to dominate since 17th century. Heart-shaped brooches occur from the 16th century onwards. Ornaments were made of bronze, silver, amber, sometimes decorated with coloured glass. Rings were worn with festive dress by both men and women. Glass, silver and amber beads were also worn as women’s jewellery. The quality and richness of ornaments on the dress served to show the wearer’s wealth.
FAQs
In the late 18th century and early 19th century land belonged to noblemen, the peasants tilling and maintaining the land. They subsisted from the land they were allotted, and performed labour duties in the fields of the manor, using their own tools and equipment.
What are the different types of peasants? ›
The peasants who have the document of land ownership in their name are the Maliks, those who do not own the land ownership document (patta) but cultivate the land are the Kisans and the tillers of the land, i.e., the agricultural laborers, are known as the Mazdoors.
What was the conclusion of the peasant movement? ›
Conclusion: An Assessment of Peasant Movements
The state responded to their agitations by initiating land reforms, imposing the land ceiling act, abolishing the zamindari system though these reforms remain unfinished as yet.
What is the concept of peasantry? ›
Taking all these definitions one can define the peasantry as a category of population having certain patches of land, largely dependent upon labour, family or the hiring in - for the production of agriculture, who believes in competitive market or restricted market system.
How did the peasants live? ›
For peasants, daily medieval life revolved around an agrarian calendar, with the majority of time spent working the land and trying to grow enough food to survive another year. Church feasts marked sowing and reaping days and occasions when peasant and lord could rest from their labors.
What do peasants do? ›
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants existed: non-free slaves, semi-free serfs, and free tenants.
What do peasants eat? ›
What would peasants eat? Focusing on 'living only off what you can grow', the traditional peasant diet was therefore predominantly plant-based, with wholegrains (rice, barley, oats, rye) and vegetables such as potatoes being the main source of nutrition, and legumes providing the primary source of protein.
What do peasants wear? ›
Peasant Clothing
Peasant men wore stockings or tunics, while women wore long gowns with sleeveless tunics and wimples to cover their hair. Sheepskin cloaks and woolen hats and mittens were worn in winter for protection from the cold and rain. Leather boots were covered with wooden patens to keep the feet dry.
What does black with peasants mean? ›
It means that the area was filled with peasants and since they were all dark complexioned, it seems to have appeared to be black and congested with peasants.
What are the two classes of people who exploited the peasants? ›
Land distribution was highly disproportionate between the three classes. The clergy and nobles together exploited the majority 97% percent people who are the middle class, peasants and workers.
rebelled against King Richard II. The peasants were angry about a range of issues, such as low pay and the introduction of a poll tax. They demanded changes were made. The revolt did not achieve all of the peasants' aims and the leader, Wat Tyler, was killed.
How did the peasants retaliate? ›
On 13 June, the rebels entered London and, joined by many local townsfolk, attacked the prisons, destroyed the Savoy Palace, set fire to law books and buildings in the Temple, and killed anyone associated with the royal government.
What is peasant mentality? ›
The romantic pastoral image of peasant existence, dating from at least Hesiod and continuing through Virgil and Rousseau to the concept of the sturdy yeoman, would have peasant mentality as simple, yet genuine, emotional and loving, and idealised as bucolic.
Do peasants still exist? ›
Regrettably, they still lead a precarious existence. While small-scale farmers and peasants feed around 70-80 per cent of the world, they shockingly represent 80 per cent of the world's hungry and 70 per cent of those living in extreme poverty.
What kind of work did peasants do? ›
They did farm-related jobs, such as plowing, sowing, reaping, or threshing. Some peasants worked in the lord's manor. They would have done household tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry. Some peasants would work in the stables to take care of the lord's horses and other animals.
What time period were peasants? ›
Peasants were the poorest people in the medieval era and lived primarily in the country or small villages.
What was the peasant movement in the 19th century? ›
Several peasant movements in the 19th century occurred in India after successive British government's economic policies led to the loss of indigenous handicraft businesses. These policies resulted in land ownership changes, land overpopulation, and rising debt among India's peasants.
When did peasants exist? ›
Historical artifacts have shown that many societies in history have had a peasantry social class used to describe agricultural workers. The term peasant is most commonly associated with medieval Europe. William the Conqueror introduced the feudal system in 1066 CE as a way to control the country.
When did people stop being peasants? ›
In England, the end of serfdom began with the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. It had largely died out in England by 1500 as a personal status and was fully ended when Elizabeth I freed the last remaining serfs in 1574.
When rural estates were established in the 16th century, they began agricultural production for the market, while the peasant farmsteads provided mainly for their own needs and for dues paid in kind to the noblemen. Farming was the mainstay of the economy in the territory of Latvia. In the late 18th century and early 19th century land belonged to noblemen, the peasants tilling and maintaining the land. They subsisted from the land they were allotted, and performed labour duties in the fields of the manor, using their own tools and equipment. The development of farming implements and the introduction of new farming practices was a slow process. On the peasant farmsteads, conditions began to change more rapidly in the 19th century, after the abolition of serfdom in the various regions of Latvia in the years 1817–1861.
