History Fact Finder | Eras and Their Highlights - What Was A Serf?

What was a serf?

A serf was a peasant who lived on either a manor (large self-suffienct estate) or a fief (a collection of several manors) under a political and economic system called feudalism that was practiced during the Middle Ages (A.D. c. 450–c. 1500). Serfs performed daily labor and were bound to the lord of the property where they lived and worked. A serf occupied a position somewhere between a free person and a slave. The word serf is derived from the Latin word servus, meaning "slave," and the right of serfs came from custom and not law. One such custom stipulated that if a serf could escape his lord for one year and a day, he was then considered free. A free serf was called a villein, a village commoner.

Further Information: Biel, Timothy. The Age of Feudalism. San Diego: Lucent, 1994; "Feudalism." Catholic Encyclopedia. [Online] Available

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