I suspect it would be the duration between one tax collector visit and the next.
The problem is that “time off” isn’t the problem - it’s that even if you worked yourself to the very bone (and they did), it is never enough to feed the insatiable appetites of the rich. Who don’t even “need” anymore than they already have, so much as they just want to thrust their “authority” into the faces of the Poors.
Plus all the other middle managers in-between the top and all the way to the bottom. See e.g. prima nocta, which actually may not have been a thing, in the sense that it wasn’t just the “first night” that a lord could do it - I believe that only lords had any “rights” of any kind, at all, ever, so if a lord ever did that (caveat: to one of his OWN peasants), the victim would not have any legal recourse to fall back upon.
But crops and animals may not need as much tender care EVERY day, so even peasants got holidays off sometimes, which helped keep the workforce compliant and healthier to be able to provide more goods & services to the wealthy.
Idk, how much time off do they get?
I suspect it would be the duration between one tax collector visit and the next.
The problem is that “time off” isn’t the problem - it’s that even if you worked yourself to the very bone (and they did), it is never enough to feed the insatiable appetites of the rich. Who don’t even “need” anymore than they already have, so much as they just want to thrust their “authority” into the faces of the Poors.
Plus all the other middle managers in-between the top and all the way to the bottom. See e.g. prima nocta, which actually may not have been a thing, in the sense that it wasn’t just the “first night” that a lord could do it - I believe that only lords had any “rights” of any kind, at all, ever, so if a lord ever did that (caveat: to one of his OWN peasants), the victim would not have any legal recourse to fall back upon.
But crops and animals may not need as much tender care EVERY day, so even peasants got holidays off sometimes, which helped keep the workforce compliant and healthier to be able to provide more goods & services to the wealthy.
Less than is commonly claimed on the internet. Much less.