![]() ![]() West European serfdom was of diverse and often obscure origin. Generally speaking, however, serfdom was a more recent, more widespread, and more onerous phenomenon in eastern than in western Europe, although even here there were important regional variations. During the early modern period serfdom encompassed a wide variety of conditions and social relations. ![]() Serfdom could be an inherited, personal status (serfs of this sort were known as neifs in English, hommes de corps in French, and Erbuntertanen in German) or the consequence of the tenure of servile land (serfs of this sort were known as villeins in English, serfs de la gl èbe in French, and Gutsuntertanen in German). Serfdom was a status of legal bondage, almost invariably referring to peasants in enforced dependence on seignorial overlords. ![]()
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