villeinage

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Once elected, whether by the actual ceremony or by a survival of it, he assumed control over the tenants in villeinage and over the waste lands of the tribe.

From The Fijians A Study of the Decay of Custom by Thomson, Basil

The king or the prince who is enslaved by his conscience oweth the duties of villeinage to the worst and hardest of masters.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 16 by Various

A plea had been set up that villeinage had never been abolished by law in England; ergo, the possession of slaves was not illegal.

From Toronto of Old by Scadding, Henry

The ceorls tended to sink to the position known later as villeinage.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 11 — Ancient and Mediæval History by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir

The master's counsel contended that slavery was not a condition unsanctioned by English law, for villeinage was slavery, and no statute had ever abolished villeinage.

From The Constitutional History of England from 1760 to 1860 by Yonge, Charles Duke