Kaimynas (plural: ''kaimynai'') was a class of non-free peasants in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

before full-scale

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...

was established by the

Wallach reform "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easte ...

(1557). The term describes a former prisoner of war, who was allowed to live in a village and rent a piece of land from a

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

. Peasants who lost their land because of debt or other circumstances could also become kaimynai. Kaimynai and their families were allowed to form a farm, have tools, and earn their own living independently. However they had no personal freedoms and were dependent on the nobles. Because the family was treated as a single farm and owned taxes and levies as a group and not individually, kaimynai were sold or exchanged in families. Their situation was similar to that of šeimynykščiai as both classes were not free and dependent on the nobles. However, šeimynykščiai were members of noble's household and did not earn their living independently. They are often compared to

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, while kaimynai are compared to early

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

. The term is derived from possessive adjective to describe a person belonging to a village (kaimas) or farmstead (kiemas). In East Slavic texts loaned the word as коиминецъ, коиминикъ. In modern Lithuanian the term means ''neighbor''.

References

{{Lithuanian peasant classes History of Lithuania (1219–1569)