A bondsman, a man bonded to the land that he worked. Villeins lived in villages, attached to a lord's holdings, all but a slave. A lord who owned the land to which a villein was attached could do anything with him he pleased, save mutilation or killing him. Villeins had few rights, and only in rare circumstances were released from their bondage. Under Henry I, this ceremony had to be conducted in a public place such as in a church or marketplace, that many gained knowledge of the release and the villein, now a freeman, was not considered to have fled his feudal contract. A man was a villein if his father was a villein; only by the release of the lord could be ever be free. Villeins held few rights, unable to fish in the lord's rivers, to hunt or draw firewood from his forests, marry his daughter off without permission (and a fee, generally), or commit his son to Holy Orders.

Wealthiest class of peasant. They usually cultivated 20-40 acres of land, often in isolated strips.

villager, with more land than a cottager

country peasant bound to work on a manor or estate; not free to leave the manor or marry , etc. , without the consent of his lord; the lowest order of society in the feudal system.

(Middle Ages) a person who is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord

tenants who occupied lands on condition of performing services for the lord of the manor

English term for a serf.

A serf or tenant bound to the land and subject to the contril of a lord. He was above the status of a slave, but could not marry without his lord's consent.

A villein, otherwise known as cottar, torpare, crofter, is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system. Villeins had more rights and status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them from the freeman.