Legal Definitions - villein service

VILLEIN SERVICE

Villein service refers to the base service that a villein, a person who was legally tied to a lord's land, performed. This service usually involved working on the lord's land for a certain number of days each week, typically two to four days. These services were considered inferior and unsuitable for a person of free and honorable rank. Villein service is also known as villein servitium.

An example of villein service would be a villein working on the lord's land for two days a week, plowing the fields, planting crops, and harvesting them. Another example would be a villein providing labor for the lord's construction projects, such as building a castle or a church.

These examples illustrate how villein service was a form of labor that was required of villeins in exchange for their right to live on the lord's land. Villeins were not free to choose their own work or to leave the lord's land without permission. Instead, they were bound to perform these services as part of their obligation to the lord.