A free man on the lowest rung but having land to farm. Like many terms of the period, ceorl defined a social status or *degree, without necessarily indicating financial worth: a ceorl might be well-off or poor. Nevertheless his *wergeld was set at 200s. The ceorl would have had military obligations, as befitted a free man; he might even have had slaves. -
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.