siervos

Siervos is the Spanish term for serfs, peasants who were bound to the land within a feudal system. The word derives from Latin servus, meaning servant or slave. In historical scholarship, serfs were distinguished from freemen and from enslaved people, occupying a middle status tied to a manor rather than to a person.

In medieval Europe, siervos were part of the manorial economy. They owed labor, rents, and various dues to the lord of the manor and to the church. Their legal freedom to move or change their occupation was restricted, and serf status was often hereditary, passing from parents to children. In return, they received protection and a limited set of customary rights, such as the right to work on a portion of land for their own sustenance.

Obligations commonly included corvée labor on the lord’s demesne, maintenance of roads and buildings, and payments in kind or in cash. The exact balance of obligations and privileges varied by region, local custom, and later legal reforms. Over time, economic and political changes weakened the feudal framework, and serfdom declined at different paces in different areas.

Abolition occurred progressively across Europe from the 18th to the 19th centuries. Western European regions typically ended serfdom earlier, while Eastern European territories retained it longer; a landmark example is Russia, where serfdom was abolished in 1861. In modern usage, the term siervo may also appear in historical or literary contexts; in contemporary Spanish, servant or worker is more commonly used outside of historical discussions.