villeinage

American  

[vil-uh-nij] / ˈvɪl ə nɪdʒ /

Or villainage,

noun

1. the tenure by which a villein held land and tenements from a lord.

2. the condition or status of a villein.

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villeinage British  

/ ˈvɪlənɪdʒ /

noun

1. the status and condition of a villein

2. the tenure by which a villein held his land

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Etymology

Origin of villeinage

1275–1325; Middle English vilenage < Anglo-French, Old French. See villein, -age

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

villeinage

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 Charles Knight

The rebels at first demanded no more than that Richard should declare villeinage abolished, and that all feudal dues and services should be commuted for a rent of fourpence an acre.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various

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 Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson

Among the innovations of modern times, following "the decay of villeinage," has been the creation of a new system of slavery.

From Cotton is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments Comprising the Writings of Hammond, Harper, Christy, Stringfellow, Hodge, Bledsoe, and Cartrwright on This Important Subject by E. N. Elliott

In the new French possessions, villeinage and servitude were abolished, with a haste and recklessness which was intended to win the people to the new dominion.

From Pictures of German Life in the XVIIIth and XIXth Centuries, Vol. I. by Gustav Freytag