villainage
Medieval peasant servitude
Villainage is the status or condition of a villein—a medieval peasant bound to the land and subject to a lord's authority.
The term encompasses both the legal state of such bondage and the system of tenure under which villeins held land in exchange for labor and service.
By extension, villainage can mean any condition of servitude or degradation: They lived in virtual villainage to their creditors.
bondage
Involuntary subjugation to another
subjection · yoke · indenture · bondservant · unfreedom · labor · toil · drudgery · tillage · cultivation
serfdom
Feudal bound labor
- manorialismMedieval estate labor system
- fiefGranted feudal estate
- vassalLand-holding sworn subordinate
lord · demesne · tenure · homage · liege · bailiff · steward · peasant · tithe · overlord
villainagefreedom
Absence of constraint
liberty · manumission · enfranchisement · emancipation · citizenship
villainagefreehold
Permanent property title
land ownership · proprietorship · lordship · yeomanry · landed gentry
villain, villainy, vilify, villainous, villains, vileness, vilification, vilely, vilest