A villein is, in the feudal system, a member of the class of serfs tied to the land, distinguished from those in actual slavery, but restricted by law from exercising the rights of a free man. The word, identical in origin to villain, derived from the Latin villanus, pertaining to the landed estate or villa. A variety of kinds of villeinage existed in the European middle ages, and it is impossible to arrive at a precise definition which satisfies them all.
See Manorialism.
Villain is a misspelling in this context.
