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A villein, otherwise known as ''
cottar Cotter, cottier, cottar, or is the German or Scots term for a peasant farmer (formerly in the Scottish Highlands for example). Cotters occupied cottages and cultivated small land lots. The word ''cotter'' is often employed to translate th ...
'' or ''
crofter A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural are ...
'', is a serf tied to the land in the
feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
. Villeins had more rights and
social status Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...
than those in
slavery 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 ...
, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them from the
freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...
.


Etymology

Villein was a term used in the
feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
to denote a
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
(tenant farmer) who was legally tied to a
lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
 – a villein in gross – or in the case of a villein regardant to a manor. Villeins occupied the social space between a free peasant (or "freeman") and a
slave 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 ...
. The majority of
medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
an peasants were villeins. An alternative term is serf, despite this originating from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, meaning "slave". A villein was thus a bonded tenant, so he could not leave the land without the landowner's consent. Villein is derived from
Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
''villanus'', meaning a man employed at a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...
, or large agricultural estate. The system of tied serfdom originates from a decree issued by the late Roman Emperor
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
(who ruled 284–305) in an attempt to prevent the flight of peasants from the land and the consequent decline in food production. The decree obliged peasants to register in their locality and never leave it. Because of the low social status of villeins, the term became
derogatory A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
. In modern French ''vilain'' means " ugly" or "naughty". In Italian, ''Villano'' means "
rude Rudeness (also called effrontery) is a display of actual or perceived disrespect by not complying with the social norms or etiquette of a group or culture. These norms have been established as the essential boundaries of normally accepted beha ...
" or "ill-mannered". For the Spanish ''Villano'', the RAE preserves the definition of "neighbour or inhabitant of a village or town", but it also accepts the derogatory use, which is very similar to the Modern English
villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
.


Villeinage

Villeinage was important and commonplace in Western Europe of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. Villeins generally rented small homes, with or without land. As part of the contract with their
landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...
, they were expected to use some of their time to farm the lord's
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
or provide other services, possibly in addition to a rent of money or goods. These services could be very onerous. Villeins might also be required to pay a fine on the marriage of their daughters outside of the manor, the inheritance of a holding by a son, or other circumstances. Villeins were tied to the land and could not move away without their lord's consent. Villeins typically had to pay special taxes and fines that freemen were exempt from, for example, "
filstingpound Filstingpound or fulstingpound was an occasional duty paid by villeins in medieval England to the manor. It is thought by historians to be an insurance against corporal punishment or excessive fines. Its etymology appears to be a compound of the ...
" (an insurance against corporal punishment) and " leyrwite" (fine for bearing a child outside of wedlock).
Merchet Merchet (also: -ett, -ete, -eit, -eat, -iett, -i(e)te, -iatte, mershet(e), marchet, -eit, market) () was a fine paid on a marriage during the Middle Ages in England. The word derives from the plural form of daughter, ''merched'', in old Welsh. Me ...
was very often used against a villein's petition for freedom, since paying it proved a villein status. However, except to their own lords, they were free men in the eyes of the law. Villeins were generally able to have their own property, unlike slaves. Villeinage, as opposed to other forms of
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 most common in Western European feudalism, where land ownership had developed from roots in
Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
. A variety of kinds of villeinage existed in Western Europe and it is impossible to arrive at a precise definition which satisfies them all. Different times and countries dealt with villeinage in slightly different ways. Some villeins had clearly defined and limited responsibilities to their lords, while others were essentially at their lords' whim. Villeinage was not always an involuntary arrangement. In the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, families entered villeinage voluntarily to guarantee
land tenure In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...
. And while villeins were heavily restricted in what they could do, it was also possible for them to gain
manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...
. Many villeins were in villeinage because of the land they held, rather than by birth. They could become free men if their lord agreed with them to move them to a different holding. Villeinage was not a purely exploitative relationship. In the Middle Ages, land guaranteed sustenance and survival; being a villein guaranteed access to land. Landlords rarely evicted villeins, because of the value of their labour, even where legally able to do so. Villeinage was much preferable to being a landless labourer (such as a cotter), a
vagabond Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
. Villeinage became progressively less common through the Middle Ages, particularly after the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
reduced the rural population and increased the bargaining power of workers. Furthermore, the lords of many manors were willing (for payment) to manumit their villeins. It had largely died out in England by 1500 as a personal status, but land held by villein
tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...
(unless enfranchised) continued to be held by what was henceforth known as a
copyhold Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the man ...
tenancy, which was not abolished until
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...
. Villeinage continued in France until the revolution in 1789.


See also

*
History of English land law The history of English land law can be traced back to Roman times. Throughout the Early Middle Ages, where England came under rule of post-Roman chieftains and Saxon monarchs, land was the dominant source of personal wealth. English land law tr ...


References


External links

* This has a detailed survey of the state of villeinage from the 11th through to the 15th century. *{{cite book , last1=Johnson , first1=Arthur , title=The Disappearance of the Small Landowner , url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.24755 , date=1909 , publisher=The Clarendon Press , location=Oxford 3rd-century establishments in the Roman Empire 1925 disestablishments in England Class-related slurs Feudalism Medieval occupations Peasants Serfdom Social history Villa rustica