villein

• Nom désignant, au Moyen Âge, un paysan dépendant d'un seigneur féodal, attaché à la terre qu'il cultivait et soumis à des obligations et redevances.

A noun referring to a person in the Middle Ages who was bound to the land and owned by a feudal lord.

1. Feudal SerfC1formalbritish

   In medieval Europe, a peasant who was legally bound to a lord's land and subject to his authority, but not a slave.

   Serf médiéval

   • The villein worked the lord's fields in exchange for protection.
   • A villein could not leave the manor without the lord's permission.
   • Life as a villein was harsh, with heavy taxes and obligations.

   Synonymespeasantserfthrall

   Antonymesfreemanlandownerlord