Servants in the Law of Ly-Tran Dynasty

Abstract

From the eleventh to fifteenth century, under the dynasties of Ly, Tran and Ho, the stratum of servants existed and increasingly developed in terms of type and number. The servants originated from the prisoners of wars, criminals and debtors; they became properties for inheriting, gifting, buying and selling. They belonged to ownership of Kings, pagodas and individuals. Therefore, the servants were not only the household servers but also took part in production, reclamation and making contribution to resistance wars against aggressors. Making clear these subjects is a contribution to bringing to light a characteristic of Vietnamese society in the pre-modern time. It is noteworthy that servant system existed not only in the society of the Kinh (Viet) majority people but also in the societies of many ethnic minorities