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corvEe[kOrvA´] Pronunciation Key, under the feudal system, compulsory, unpaid labor demanded by a lord or king and the system of such labor in general. There were national and local variations, but in broad terms the corvEe proper included work on the lord's portion of the manorial property and many attendant duties. Military service also came under the general terms of the corvEe. The corvEe included both regular and exceptional demands. "Real" corvEe referred to the duties attached to the ownership or tillage of certain lands; "personal" corvEe referred to the duties of specific individuals. During the feudalization of the late Roman Empire, the corvEe system was part of the social and economic system, but towns and all individuals were able to liberate themselves by money payment instead of services. In France the royal corvEe, compulsory work on public roads, was introduced in the 18th cent. Both the royal and the seignorial corvEe bore heavily and almost exclusively upon the peasants and helped cause the French Revolution. In the 19th cent. the corvEe was used to build public works, particularly the Suez Canal (1869).
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