unfree tenure

In medieval law, unfree tenure was a system where land was held by tenants from lords, but unlike free tenure, the services owed by the tenant were not predetermined. The primary form of unfree tenancy was villenage, which was a modified form of servitude. Villein tenants held land at the will of the lord and could not leave without approval.1

While initially holding land entirely at the lord's discretion, royal courts later protected villein tenants to the extent that they held tenancy according to the custom of the manor. This system, known as manorialism, was the basic unit of political, economic, and social organization in medieval Europe, making feudalism possible. The manorial system ensured peasants had access to land in return for services to the lord, though they were not slaves.12