In the Europe 1 program "Historically yours", Stéphane Bern looks every day at the roots of an expression of everyday life.

Friday, he is interested in the origins of "corvéable à merci", a phrase that dates back to medieval times and the days of taxes that the serfs owed to their lord.

Stéphane Bern offers every day, in 

Historically yours 

with Matthieu Noël, to discover these expressions that we use on a daily basis without necessarily knowing their origin.

Friday, the host explains to us the roots of an expression reminiscent of slavery, "drudgery at mercy".

Sometimes, when a person is ready to sacrifice themselves for their boss or their fiancé, they are said to be "chores at mercy".

We mean, of course, the drudgery contained in the term "corvéable".

But, in the Middle Ages, we did not necessarily say "corvéable", but rather the expression "taillable à merci" was used.

Do not imagine there a barbaric torture with a giant pencil sharpener in which one would put a rebellious peasant.

>> Find all the shows of Matthieu Noël and Stéphane Bern every day from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Europe 1 as well as in replay and podcast here

Tailor-made and workable

Size was a tax.

There was the tithe, the ecclesiastical tax, the salt tax, the tax on salt, and the size, that which the serf owed to his lord.

It was a very unpopular tax because the bourgeois, the churchmen and the nobles did not have to pay it.

In addition to pruning, the peasant owed his master additional free working days.

It was chores.

The serf was therefore capable of being cut and corvated at mercy.

The number of hours due were fixed arbitrarily by the lord.

Which was very practical for him, but which subsequently gave rise to some desire for equality.

Being on duty today is used differently around the world. In Argentina, we say "bajo el yugo", which amounts to saying "to be under someone's yoke". In Hungary, to speak of someone ready for anything, it is said that we "can even take off his skin". The Dutch say "to be the one you can wipe your feet on". Today, the notion of drudgery has evolved a lot. Daniel Pennac explained that saying to a child "Tonight, no TV" was to raise the small screen to the rank of reward, and reading to the rank of chore. Quite a mistake, right?