villeinage
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is not necessary for us further to notice the existence of villeinage or slavery in these kingdoms.
From Knowledge is Power: A View of the Productive Forces of Modern Society and the Results of Labor, Capital and Skill. by Knight, Charles
The institution of villeinage is last mentioned in a commission of Queen Elizabeth, 1574, directing Lord Burleigh and others in certain counties to compound with all such bondmen or bondwomen for their manumission and freedom.
From Popular Law-making by Stimson, Frederic Jesup
The ceorls tended to sink to the position known later as villeinage.
From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 11 — Ancient and Mediæval History by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir
Now, if the weaker party remained to brave the attack and was conquered, he was reduced to a state of villeinage or of dependence more or less complete.
From The Communes of Lombardy from the VI. to the X. Century An Investigation of the Causes Which Led to the Development Of Municipal Unity Among the Lombard Communes. by Williams, William Klapp
Once elected, whether by the actual ceremony or by a survival of it, he assumed control over the tenants in villeinage and over the waste lands of the tribe.
From The Fijians A Study of the Decay of Custom by Thomson, Basil