''Šeimynykštis'' (plural: ''šeimynykščiai'') was a class of patriarchal slaves, who did the same job and lived under the same conditions as his master and family, in the early

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. They had no personal freedoms and were completely dependent on the master. Unlike '' kaimynas'', ''šeimynykštis'' did not rent land and earn their living independently. Rather, they were members of the noble's household (the term is related to the word ''šeima'' – family). Some members of ''šeimynykščiai'', called ''bernai'' or ''parobkai'', would receive a small piece of land, called ''banda'', and would be allowed to establish their own farm. Such arrangement was very similar to that of '' kaimynas'', but ''bernai'' and their families were treated as individuals and not as a single group and thus could be separated and sold individually. By the end of the 16th century, when

Wallach reform The Volok Reform (; ; ) was a 16th-century land reform in parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuania proper, Duchy of Samogitia and parts of White Ruthenia). The reform was started by Grand Duchess Bona Sforza in her possessions to increase t ...

established full

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. It developed du ...

in Lithuania, few ''šeimynykščiai'' were left as they merged with other classes of serfs. Slavery officially ended in 1588. The households relied more on free paid laborers. ''Šeimynykščiai'' were important in the early stages of

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

(13th – mid 14th centuries) as they helped to differentiate peasants from large landowners, the future nobles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seimynykstis History of Lithuania (1219–1569) Social class in Europe