Between 1400 and 1650, nobles and rulers reestablished
serfdom in the east (Bohemia, Silesia, Hungary, eastern Germany,
Poland Lithuania, and Russia). These countries gained economic
unity but serfs lost rights, and were bound to the land and
their lords. A runaway peasant was punished by having his ear
nailed to a tree and given a knife to cut it off. These land
lords could force peasants to work for up to 6 days without pay.
The reason for this was that new law codes set by weak kings to
comply with nobles gave them complete control over the serfs.
Though there were some peasant u…
