Not really a question, just a hint for your State of Westerosi Feudalism hypothesis. Storm of Swords, Jon V, ” In the New Gift there had been villages and holdfasts whose taxes, rendered in goods and labor, helped feed and clothe the black brothers. ” Keep up the good work and good luck with the Kickstarter campaign.

Good catch! Unfortunately, that doesn’t totally answer the question about the legal status of Westeros’ smallfolk. The smallfolk in those villages could have been serfs or villeins, but they could also be free peasants under copyhold, petty serjeanty, or other form of tenure where some form of rent is paid in service. For example, corvée labor existed in France up until 1789, long after serfdom itself had been abolished. 

And of course, feudal tenure was incredibly varied by region – so the legal status of smallfolk in the Gift could be very different from smallfolk in the Reach or in the Riverlands or in Dorne, etc.