serfage
/ˈsɜrfɪdʒ/
noun
- The condition or system of being a serf; the state of being forced to work on land and having limited freedom.
- Historians study serfage to understand the economic and social structures of the past.
- The abolition of serfage in Russia in 1861 freed millions of people.
- Serfage was common in medieval Europe, where peasants were tied to the estates of nobles.