Peasants in medieval feudal systems who were bound to the land they worked and owed service to a noble lord.
From Latin 'servus' (slave), through Old French 'serf'. During the Middle Ages, serfs occupied a middle position between slaves and free peasants—they couldn't be sold away from their land, but they had very limited freedom.
Serfs weren't quite slaves, but they were trapped—they couldn't leave the land without permission and had to give the lord a portion of everything they produced. What's fascinating is that many modern criticisms of unfair labor practices use serf-like language, showing we still recognize this as one of history's most unjust systems.
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