manorialism, or seignorialism, Political, economic, and social system by which the peasants of medieval Europe were tied to their land and their lord through serfdom. The basic unit was the manor, a self-sufficient landed estate, or fief, under the control of a lord. Free tenants paid rent or provided military service in exchange for the use of the land. Peasants farmed small plots of land and owed rent and labor to their lord, and most were not free to leave the estate. The manorial system was flourishing in Western Europe by the 8th century and had begun to decline by the 13th century, while in Eastern Europe it achieved its greatest strength after the 15th century.
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