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.
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
In spite of the prayers and resolutions and acts of the early fathers, a form of slavery grew up here, but it was milder than the English villeinage: it resembled apprenticeship except in the duration.
From Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence The Best Speeches Delivered by the Negro from the days of Slavery to the Present Time by Dunbar-Nelson, Alice Moore
The second court was the "court customary," which dealt with cases connected with villeinage.
From The Leading Facts of English History by Montgomery, D. H. (David Henry)
But besides what belonged thus exclusively to the lord of the manor, there was a great deal more that was legally described as held in villeinage.
From Mediaeval Socialism by Jarrett, Bede
The Suppression of the Revolt.—The boy-king met the mob at Mile-End, and promised to abolish villeinage in England.
From A Student's History of England, v. 1 (of 3) From the earliest times to the Death of King Edward VII by Gardiner, Samuel Rawson