Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Surprise meSurprise meSubscribe
Encyclopedia

Remensa

Catalan mode of serfdom

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated September 13, 2025
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Remensa (Catalan: Remença) was a Catalan mode of serfdom. Those who were serfs under this mode are properly pagesos de remença (pagesos meaning "peasants"); they are often (though not quite correctly) referred to simply as remences (singular remença).

The Catalan term remença derives from the Latin redementia and emphasizes the possibility of redemption from servitude.

The severity of this way of life led to rebellions by the remensa peasants in 1462 and 1485 known as the War of the Remences. After the second revolt, King Ferdinand II of Aragon issued the Sentencia de Guadalupe (1486), outlawing the more severe abuses of the oppressive evil customs and allowing remensa peasants to be redeemed by a payment of 60 sous per household, leaving a rural society that was still feudal in character, but significantly reformed.

Watch videos about RemensaExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Remensa”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.

Continue exploring

Related topics

History of Catalonia

The recorded history of the lands of what today is known as Catalonia begins with the development of the Iberian peoples while several Greek colonies were established on the coast before the Roman conquest. It was the first area of Hispania conquered by the Romans.

Principality of Catalonia

The Principality of Catalonia was a medieval and early modern state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. For most of its existence it was in personal union with the Kingdom of Aragon and other states, constituting together the composite monarchy known as the Crown of Aragon.

Catalan Civil War

The Catalan Civil War, also called the Catalonian Civil War or the War against John II, was a civil war in the Principality of Catalonia, then part of the Crown of Aragon, between 1462 and 1472. The two factions, the royalists who supported John II of Aragon and the Catalan constitutionalists, disputed the extent of royal rights in Catalonia.