Why could landowners force the peasants to work for them?

Landowners in the Medieval era had power over the serfs and could force them to work for themselves, because they were the holders of the land on which the peasants lived. Feudal lords were privileged members of society, so they dominated the lower classes. They supplied the peasants with land plots and equipment for farming. The peasants had to work off the land provided to them for use and tools for processing fields and crops.