Serfdom

Serfdom is a legal and economic system. A serf is a laborer who is bound to the land. Serfs are essentially agricultural laborers who are bound to a specific piece of land and to the lord of that land. The serf provides labor in return for protection and the right to work on that land. Serfdom was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude, which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted in some countries until the mid-19th century.

History[edit | edit source]

Serfdom became increasingly rare in most of Western Europe after the Renaissance. But it grew strong in Central and Eastern Europe, where it had previously been less common (this phenomenon was known as "later serfdom").

In Eastern Europe the institution persisted until the mid-19th century. In the Austrian Empire serfdom was abolished by the 1781 Serfdom Patent; corvée continued to exist until 1848. Serfdom was abolished in Russia in the 1860s. In Finland, Norway and Sweden, feudalism was never fully established, and serfdom did not exist; however, serfdom-like institutions did exist in both Denmark (the stavnsbånd, from 1733 to 1788) and its vassal Iceland (the more restrictive vistarband, from 1490 until 1894).

Characteristics[edit | edit source]

Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted in some countries until the mid-19th century.

References[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Serfdom Resources
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