Legal Definitions - bordage

Definition: Bordage (bor-dij) is a type of tenure in which a tenant holds a small cottage and a few acres of land in exchange for providing customary services to the lord.

For example, in medieval England, a peasant might hold a small cottage and a few acres of land from a lord in exchange for working on the lord's fields or providing other services such as repairing fences or roads.

This type of tenure was also known as bordagium.

The examples illustrate how bordage was a form of feudalism, where tenants were tied to the land and had to provide services to their lord in exchange for their livelihood.