Despite all this, the clans were beholden to him in times of war and could not move off the land without his permission, but they otherwise had complete freedom of movement to travel the kingdom as they pleased. Handy, if he could, would have happily changed the relationship, but it turned out you could not force serfs to be free griffons. They could refuse and historically often did when lords tried. A lot of history and pride was tied up in their positions in society, with a man's father's, father's, father's father serving this or that lord since time immemorial. Basically, being a serf meant a guaranteed minimum income, protection, and shelter for their family, as well as a sense of history, identity, and pride in return for bearing arms in times of war while also getting tax exemptions that not even nobles could get away with.