In the Middle Ages, what was the role of a serf?

Life in the Middle Ages was very structured, and society was largely agricultural. At the top were the nobles and landowners, and at the bottom were the peasants. Serfs were a specific type of peasant. They weren't slaves, but they weren't entirely free either. They were tied to the land they worked on, meaning they couldn't leave without the lord's permission. In return for being allowed to live on and farm a small plot of the lord's land, they had to provide labor and a portion of their produce to the lord. This system, known as feudalism, was the backbone of the medieval economy. While it might be tempting to think of serfs as soldiers or noblemen, those roles were reserved for different social classes. And while skilled people did migrate to England throughout history, the term "serf" specifically describes the agricultural laborers bound to the land during the medieval period.