The Beginning / The Lords, and Those Who Dig

By the 6th century, the disintegration of the Roman Empire was complete: no more state, no more big cities. The European peasantry was born. A change of scale. The great Roman commercial agriculture disappeared. These first peasants, freed from the weight of the State, taxes and the obligation to feed the Empire's major cities, produced only as much as they needed. Peasant communities were freer than ever. This golden age came to an end in the 8th century. The new warrior elites imposed a return to domination, taxes, and the invention of drudgery and serfdom. The Church took part in the reconquest, tracking down the old rural cults.