Villein

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/villein

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the social classification?An unfree peasant class within the feudal system
2. What is the legal status?Subject to the lord's jurisdiction and unable to leave without permission
3. Why couldn't a villein leave the manor?A villein was legally tied to the land, so they needed the lord's permission to move elsewhere, because their freedom was linked to the land they worked.
4. How could a villein become free?A lord could grant manumission, which released the villein from duties and made them a freeman with full rights.

Demesne: The land directly owned and farmed by the lord of the manor.
Feudalism: A socio-political system characterized by land ownership in exchange for military service and loyalty.
Manorialism: The economic and social system of medieval manors, with lords and peasants.