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1. 6
ANALYSING IMAGES
EXTENSION
1. Feudal society
Ẅ Look at the pictures below. To which social group in feudal Europe does each person belong? And to
which type of estate (privileged or non-privileged)?
a)
b)
c)
ẅ Look at the pictures below, which show the work that medieval peasants did at different times of year,
then answer the questions that follow.
January and February
The cold and snow made it
impossible to work in the fields, so
they did domestic tasks.
March, April and May
They pruned fruit trees and sowed
spring cereals (barley and oats).
December
They had to get ready for winter. They
collected firewood and marinated
meat to preserve it.
November
It was very important to look after
the livestock. The pigs were fattened
for slaughter.
June
At the beginning of summer, they
sheared the sheep to get wool.
July
They harvested the crops by hand
using rudimentary tools.
October
They sowed autumn cereals (wheat,
rye and other cereals).
August and September
They separated the wheat from
he straw and
milled the grain
to make flour.
a) What tasks did the peasants do in the different seasons of the year? Did women help with any of these
tasks?
b) How important was peasants’ work in the feudal economy?
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE / © Oxford University Press España S. A.
Social Sciences ESO 2

2. 6
ANALYSING IMAGES
EXTENSION
1. Feudal society
Answer key
Ẅ a) peasant, non-privileged estate
b) knight, privileged estate
c) monk, privileged estate
ẅ a) In spring, they pruned fruit trees and sowed spring cereals (barley and oats). In summer, they sheared sheep, harvested
the crops, separated the wheat from the straw and milled the grain to make flour. In autumn, they sowed autumn cereals
(wheat, rye, etc.) and fattened the pigs for slaughter. In the harshest winter months, they collected firewood, preserved
meat and did various domestic tasks.
Women helped with all of these tasks.
b) Peasants’ work was essential because they produced all the food that was eaten in the fief: they grew crops, reared
livestock, picked wild fruit, collected honey, etc.
© Oxford University Press España S. A.
Social Sciences ESO 2