Serfdom in Eastern and Western Times Serfdom was an institution that characterized the social and economic arrangements of the Middle Ages, and persisted in Russia until the mid-19th century. A class of agricultural laborers, serfs were legally bound to reside and labor at one place and to work on the land owned by their lord, who might be a nobleman, an ecclesiastical dignitary, or an institution such as a monastery.. From the 13th century …showed first 75 words of 1194 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1194 total…