Villeins, Villains and Vilonie

Abstract

Medieval society had ways of reinforcing social boundaries. Cortoisie as superior conduct was further defined by the literary concept of Vilonie, its dark opposite. The character of the ‘villain’ was a teaching aid designed to stigmatize people whose behaviour conflicted with the habitus. Unfortunately for the agricultural labourer, the same word became the usual term for a peasant, a grim irony which added to the developing exclusivity of the noble classes and their courtly environment. It was deployed to curb the social rise of the rich bourgeoisie, perceived as a threat to the courtly habitus in the later twelfth century.