Peasants’ Serfdom, Freedom and Mobility in the Cracow Province (1501–1800)

Abstract

The article analyses the mobility of peasants, especially in the context of their relations with their landlords. It considers the role of serfdom and demesne lordship, and the circumstances in which peasants left their villages, whether legally or illegally. It then examines measurements of geographical distances covered in such movements. In the period under review, the predominance of short-distance mobility was characteristic of the peasant population in the Polish Lands; the average scope of the geography of their everyday life was about 15 kilometres. What is important for today’s understanding of both serfdom in Polish history and peasant mobility, is the relationship between the landlord, the leaseholder and the serf. Another key circumstance is that, while limiting the serfs’ mobility by restricting their personal freedom, serfdom also generated mobility through various orders given to peasants with respect to transport services.