Villeinage

Villeinage was a form of unfree tenure in medieval England. Villeins, also known as serfs, were tied to the land and owed labor and dues to their lord. They were not slaves, as they could not be bought and sold independently of the land, and they had certain customary rights, including the right to a portion of the land for their own subsistence and protection from arbitrary dispossession. However, their freedom was significantly restricted. They required the lord's permission to marry, to leave the manor, or to pass on their holdings. The obligations of a villein varied from manor to manor but typically included working the lord's demesne for a set number of days per week and providing various agricultural products or payments. Villeinage was a fundamental part of the manorial system, which dominated English rural society for centuries. Over time, the distinction between villeins and free tenants became blurred, and many villeins gradually gained more freedoms, particularly as the use of money became more widespread and lords began to accept rents in place of labor. The Black Death in the mid-14th century also had a significant impact, leading to labor shortages that empowered surviving peasants and hastened the decline of villeinage. By the Tudor period, the system of villeinage was largely obsolete.