Medieval governments were usually based around kingship and a feudal system. This meant that most of the population worked on farms, owned by a small number of lords. The biggest authority in the land was the King and all rules were made by him.
In such a system, families used to live together on farms. Even large families often lived and worked together, giving rise to many tight-knit families.
However, such a system did not provide a lot of rights and privileges to these peasants. They had no say in making laws, governance, taxation and it was common for them to live under financial insecurity all their lives with no chances of social mobility.
