adjective
definition
Not free; especially of a tenant who was bound to a manor.
Examples of unfree in a Sentence
At the latter date besides seventy-three villeins, bordars and serfs there were forty cervisarii, a species of unfree tenants who rendered their custom in the form of beer.
After the treaties with the Danes, the tendency is to simplify distinctions on the lines of an opposition between twelvehynd-men and twyhyndmen, paving the way towards the feudal distinction between the free and the unfree.
The duties which the count should perform passed to the proprietor, who now represented the government for all his tenants free and unfree.
Even in Roman days the proprietor had exercised a jurisdiction over the disputes of his unfree tenants.
In the course of time the status of the ceorl was probably reduced; but although his political power was never large, and in some directions his freedom was restricted, it hardly seems possible previous to the Norman Conquest to class him among the unfree.
People of Slav origin being considered unfree, all intermarriage with them tainted the blood; hence nearly all surnames point to Saxon, especially Westphalian, and even Flemish descent.
He was succeeded by his brother Emund the Old, who Emund the had been previously passed over because his mother old, 1050 was unfree, the daughter of a Slav prince and 1060.
As the word frankpledge denotes, these societies were originally concerned only with freemen; but the unfree were afterwards admitted, and during the 13th century the frankpledges were composed chiefly of villains.
There were but two degrees of men, free and unfree, though only the franklins had any political power; and, from the nature of the life, social intercourse was unrestrained and unfettered; gon and thrall lived the same lives, ate the same food, spoke the same tongue, and differed little in clothing or habits.
The peasant tenantry was land rented out to peasants who were either free or unfree.
Huge retinues of armed men - unfree knights - were maintained to sustain the level of conflict.