Medieval serfs (aka villeins) were unfree labourers who worked the land of a landowner (or tenant) in return for physical and legal protection and the right to work a separate piece of land for their own basic needs. Serfs made up 75% of the medieval population but were not slaves as only their labour could be bought, not their person.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 1100 - c. 1400Serfdom and manorialism is at its height in medieval Europe.
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Jun 1381The Peasants' Revolt in England.
