Villein
Villein
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
<catset>Category="Feudalism"</catset>A <b>villein</b> is, in the <a href="Feudalism">feudal system</a>, a member of the class of <a href="Serfdom">serfs</a> tied to the land, distinguished from those in actual <a href="Slavery">Slavery</a>, but restricted by law from exercising the rights of a free man. The word, identical in origin to <a href="Villain">Villain</a>, derived from the <a href="Latin">Latin</a> <i>villanus</i>, pertaining to the landed estate or <i>villa</i>. A variety of kinds of <b>villeinage</b> existed in the <a href="Europe">European</a> <a href="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>, and it is impossible to arrive at a precise definition which satisfies them all.<p>See <a href="Manorialism">Manorialism</a>.<p><b>Villein FM</b> is the name of a <a href="Fiction">fictional</a> <a href="Radio station">Radio station</a>. <hr style="height: 1px; color: #aaaaaa; background-color: #aaaaaa; border: 0; margin: 0.2em 0 0.2em 0;"><a href="Villain">Villain</a> is a misspelling in this context.