<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> A villein, otherwise known as cottar, torpare, crofter, is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system . Villeins had more rights and status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them from the freeman . </P> <P> Villein, or villain, was a term used in the feudal era to denote a peasant (tenant farmer) who was legally tied to a lord of the manor--a villein in gross--or in the case of a villein regardant to a manor . Villeins occupied the social space between a free peasant (or "freeman") and a slave . The majority of medieval European peasants were villeins . An alternative term is serf, from the Latin servus, meaning "slave". A villein was thus a bonded tenant, so could not leave the land without the landowner's consent . </P>

What is the difference between a villain and a freeman