1. Definition and prevalence
Serfdom has been defined as the “personal dependence of an individual on another individual under the feudal system” [7. 1761] (Feudal society). For jurists in the first centuries of the early modern period, the prohibition against leaving the seigneur’s territory was the central criterion that distinguished serfdom from personal freedom (Soil bondage) [5. 210]. In Marxist presentations, serfdom has been el…