villenage
/ˈvɪlɪnɪdʒ/
noun
- The legal and social status of a villein in medieval Europe; serfdom.
- Historians study villenage to understand medieval economic structures.
- The system of villenage began to decline after the Black Death.
- Under villenage, peasants were bound to the land and owed labor to the lord.
Antonyms