Servant order

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Picture of a maid from a series of monthly sheets by Caspar Luyken around 1700

A servant order regulated the relationship between “ servants ” ( servants ) and the rulers (employer). The disproportion between the rights of the employer and the servants was striking. For example, the employer was able to dismiss his servants at any time without notice periods and without legal requirements, while the maids and servants had to comply with a notice period of several, mostly up to three months. If the servants stayed away from work without permission, they could be searched by the police and brought back; in some cases they were subject to stately domestic discipline .

General consideration

The servants' ordinances issued in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and later in the German Empire were revised at the end of the era of hereditary subjection. They should continue to guarantee restrictions on free movement and the possibility of disciplining rural workers. At the same time, however, they should also counteract the lack of cheap, obedient and docile service personnel. The aim was to prevent renewed social and political unrest such as that which had occurred in the 1790s. With these ordinances, an obedient affiliation to the house of the gentry, but not to their family , arose . The contractually agreed wage labor in the sense of a time-limited obligation to provide work for an employer was in exchange for certain considerations in the form of goods and money .

Entry in the servant book of the servant Anna Schöfmann, 1850–1852

The servants was the committed or home office hired domestic staff a reason - or landlords . These included the servants and maids who had to do all service work. These servants were obliged to keep a “ servants' book ” in which the landlord wrote his assessment and confirmed the period of employment. The terms servants and servants were used synonymously and distinguished them from the free wage laborers. They were not differentiated according to the work they had done, but were subject as a whole person to the authority of the master of the household. The need for servants was subject to the principle of supply and demand , the servants, like a commodity, were arbitrarily exchanged, lent or lured away and paid little. In return for their work, they usually received board , lodging and some money at the end of the day.

In Germany there were around 44 servant orders up to 1919, 19 of which were in Prussia and the rest were distributed among the other states . All servants orders forbade the servants the right to association and the right to strike and allowed the landlord to a certain extent, the punishment for the servants. The right to corporal punishment was not repealed in the German Reich until January 1, 1900 .

On November 12, 1919, the restriction of association and assembly rights for servants and domestic staff was lifted, and the 44 servants' ordinances that had been in effect until then were suspended.

When viewed roughly, the various servant orders of the German states show the same elements, but they still differ because they were tailored to regional situations and sometimes arose from other situations.

The Prussian servants' order 1810

A valet hands his master a newspaper on a tray (Germany, around 1900)

In 1810 the Prussian servants' order was completely redrafted. It regulated duties and rights between the rulers (employers) and servants (employees) in 176 paragraphs and replaced the 208 paragraphs of the servants' ordinances of the Prussian land law. It was characterized by the submission of the servants to the arbitrariness of the rule and, according to today's understanding, violated the equality of the contracting parties . Nonetheless, it represented a step forward compared to compulsory servant service, as the relationship between masters and servants resulted from contractual agreements that were fundamentally voluntary and no longer through feudal service obligations. A legal distinction was made between domestic and court servants (servants, governesses and maids as well as farm workers , day laborers ). Women in particular were affected by the rules of the servants. A fifth of the female workers registered around 1900 were employed as maids. The servants were subject to police supervision. There was a ban on coalitions , and the servants' labor had to be fully available to the rulers. The right to a Sunday exit was provided every 14 days, but this could be revoked at any time. Only part of the wages was paid, the rest of the wages were paid in kind, especially board and lodging. The rulers had the right to chastise ; The servants were only allowed to defend themselves against physical assault if their own life was in danger. Apart from that, the servants had to put up with verbal injuries , which would have been taken as an insult among equals .

Amendments

With the royal cabinet order of August 8, 1837, it was determined that the penal provisions of the servants' order of 1810 regarding the forced repatriation of escaped servants also apply to instemen in the province of Prussia (but not in Brandenburg , Silesia , Pomerania , Posen , where instincts are not among servants belonged). In 1846, the servants were required to keep a "servants 'book" (work book) when they reached the age of 16: "If the servants are dismissed, the employers must enter a complete certificate of management and behavior in the servants' book." In the event of disagreements between the rulers and servants, the servants police were called in, represented by the mayor or head of the office (ordinance of September 29, 1846). In 1848 the patrimonial courts (manor courts of the nobility) were abolished. Its powers went to the royal courts. This is of particular importance for servants' law , where until now complaints of servants about the employer (the squire) could be dealt with and judged by the latter as defendant and judge in one person. In 1854, the law on violations of the official duties of the servants and rural workers tightened the penal provisions for breaches of contract in order to combat the rural exodus and the "lack of people" as well as "persistent disobedience or rebellion against the orders of the rulers or those appointed to supervise them". A fine of up to 5 thalers or imprisonment for up to three days was provided. There were no special penal provisions for violations of duty by the rulers. In 1872 the manor owners lost the lordly police power in the manor districts to the royal district administrator through the new district order. This was significant, among other things, for the law of the servants (servant police). At that time there were four groups of farm workers:

  1. The unmarried servants (paid with housing, food, clothing, little cash)
  2. Workers bound by annual contracts (on Martini / November 11th or April 1st with 3, 6 or 12 month notice) against deputation (apartment, natural produce , firewood, use of pasture for cow-pig-sheep) and cash (the former 50-80% of the Total wages). Day laborers, instemen , people, deputants had to provide another worker, the gang worker , such as unmarried children. The wife worked on request in the harvest, washing, milking, on slaughter day for extra cash.
  3. Freelance workers (only paid with cash): wage workers, landless residents, Büdner, small business owners, Kätner , Kossäth, accord workers.
  4. Migrant or seasonal workers: Foreign workers recruited by intermediaries in groups or columns of workers. They had to observe the waiting period, ie go home in winter (December - February).

In Prussia in the late 1860s has been set officially, that office servant and market workers, bootblack and temporary waiters , laborers , tradesmen agents and business apprentices as well as agricultural Deputat-day laborers ( granny and agricultural laborers ) are not legally assigned to the servants. Finally, in 1900, with the introduction of the German Civil Code (BGB), some provisions of the servants' order were relaxed.

The servants' order for Frankfurt am Main 1810

With the "servants' ordinance for the grand ducal Frankfurt residence and trading city of Frankfurt am Mayn, and its vicinity within the city limits", it was believed to have filled a significant gap in the law and the police administration of the city of Frankfurt am Main . The Frankfurt servants' order was issued in 1810 and came into force in 1811; it was limited to servants in the narrower sense of the word. The group of people in § 3 referred only to those people who, for a certain wage , with no or other secondary conditions, i.e. for food, clothing and other natural goods, were employed by private individuals for longer periods . This regulation excluded unskilled workers , journeymen , workers in arts and crafts and factories . The order contained a set of rules for the conduct of that social class and their employers against them, both before entering the service and for the duration of it. In the opinion of the authors, the main points that had to be considered in the case of servants were applied with equal consideration for rulers and servants, they take into account police duties and open up the opportunity to receive good servants. This ensures that you are served properly, faithfully and diligently. These servants' ordinances were recommended as a model in all respects to other governments wishing to issue similar ordinances.

Servants' Ordinance of the Kingdom of Saxony 1833

As early as 1482, there were legal provisions in Saxony that dealt with the servant order. Elector Johann Georg I . endeavored to promote the economic reconstruction of Saxony after the Thirty Years War. This included, among other decrees in 1651, a two-year servant obligation, which, through the servants' order of the same year, was intended to prevent large-scale farming and counteract the undersupply of the population. The other servant orders were repeatedly explained, supplemented and renewed in the course of the following centuries. Since 1805 there was a draft for a new servant order. Suggested by the estates in 1814, the Saxon government gave its approval in 1830 to the early submission of a bill, which then took place in 1833. This new law should most accurate rules governing the mutual rights and obligations of the service gentry and servants. The aim was to avoid arbitrariness, inequity and disorder and to correspond to advances in culture . In place of domestic violence , a regulatory body of law should be created, it should serve the people concerned and be a guide for those with no legal experience. The law was published on January 10, 1835. It comprised six sections with a total of 124 paragraphs .

Overview

In the first section , the general provisions and definitions of terms were recorded in Sections 1 - 3. The second section, from § 4 - § 33, comprised provisions that deal with the service contract . This included clarifying who was allowed to act as a contractual partner and who was allowed to conclude contracts. In principle, the landlord was granted the general right to negotiate. Furthermore, the order regulated the police reporting obligation and the right of residence. Provisions for the conclusion of the service contract (§17) were laid down and a model contract recommended. From § 22 the right was regulated to avoid the contract, the reasons for refusal of the servants were listed and presented for payment or non-payment of rent money, this also belonged to poaching (§ 32 Abspenstigmachung) the servants and the rules for the servants brokers . The mutual relationship between the employers and the servants during service was regulated in the third section. Sections 34 - 54 set out the duties of the servants, while Sections 55 - 76 set out the duties of employers. In the fourth section, from § 77 to § 113, the provisions on the cancellation of the service contract and its consequences were laid down. The fifth section laid down the rules of unofficial servants placed under police supervision and their whereabouts. For this purpose, the "regulation of the servants' order on the servants to be carried out police supervision" of January 10, 1815 was valid. Sections 121 - 124 in the sixth section regulated the procedure in servant matters, e fell within the competence of the judiciary or the police.

The schaumburg-Lippe servants' order 1805

Servant serving (Liotard: The Chocolate Maiden, 1743/45)

The Schaumburg-Lippe servants' ordinance of 1752, which was part of the Lippe state ordinance , no longer corresponded to the way of thinking and custom of the time , according to the author, and should be renewed as it was also incomplete. The predecessor was the “servants' ordinance” of August 21, 1738, which had been issued by Count Albrecht Wolfgang von Schaumburg-Lippe (1699 - 1748). With the cooperation of the offices and magistrates , the existing ordinance of July 4, 1780 was subjected to an appraisal and revised according to proposals with the ranks of the knighthood and cities . This was followed by the schaumburg-Lippe servants' ordinance of November 14, 1795, which was put into effect by Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold von Lippe. It comprised 45 paragraphs. As in the other servants' ordinances, this one too emphasized the right to rule the house more clearly and dictated it to the detriment of the servants. A two-year servant period is recommended by the sovereign for parents whose children are about to get married.

The servants' order of the Grand Duchy of Hesse 1877

When the employment of women in the Grand Duchy of Hesse increased significantly from 1882 to 1907 and the number of people serving in the manorial households rose considerably, their living and working conditions were regulated by the servants' ordinance of April 28, 1877. However, the servants' order was designed in favor of the gentlemen and the mostly still young maids were obliged to "deference, obedience, loyalty, diligent and conscientious performance" to their employers, who they also to "other" (ie: any) work than agreed were allowed to use. They were not allowed to leave the home overnight without permission. Pregnancy and illness lasting more than 14 days were grounds for dismissal, state control took place through servants' registers and service book. The Hessian servants 'regulations stipulated the relationship between employers and servants (Art. 1) and regulated the form of the servants' contract (Art. 2), which was sufficient for both a written and an oral contract. In general, the service contracts were designed for one year (Art. 5), and finally, in Articles 7 - 8, the consideration was discussed.

New version of employment relationships

With the reorganization of employment relationships, the servants' ordinances brought about the change in the labor constitution from forced labor to wage labor. In Saxony, Hanover and Hesse, the changes took place between 1832 and the years from 1850 onwards, the cause of which was the peasant liberation movement of the years 1848–49. In the southern, south-western and western regions of the German Reich, the need for reform was lower, since in these areas the corporal labor played a subordinate role. In addition, the estates showed little interest in a thorough reform, although in southern Germany the agreements became entangled in long negotiations and for a long time were understood more as private agreements than as state regulation. As in the other regions, the conclusion of reformed servant orders only accelerated with the peasant protests of 1848–49. In Bavaria this only happened after the First World War.

literature

  • Jürgen Kocka : Employment relationships and employee livelihoods. Basics of class formation in the 19th century (= history of the workers and the labor movement in Germany since the end of the 18th century 2). Dietz, Bonn 1990, ISBN 3-8012-0153-8 , pp. 125-130.
  • Max Weber : The situation of the agricultural workers in East Elbe Germany (1892). Mohr (Paul Siebeck), Tübingen 1984, ISBN 3-16-544862-0 (very detailed description for the 19th century according to provinces)
    • 1st half volume includes: East Prussia, West Prussia, Pomerania, Posen;
    • 2nd half volume includes: Schlesien, Mecklenburg; Tables, registers.
  • Klaus Tenfelde : Rural servants in Prussia - servants' law and statistics from 1810 to 1861. In: Archives for social history. 19, 1979, ISSN  0066-6505 , pp. 189-229.

Web links

Wikisource: Servants  - Sources and Full Texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christine Gorse, Adel: Domestic staff . On: Planet-Wissen February 17, 2017
  2. ↑ to hire = accept a job, take service. In: Universal Lexikon [1]
  3. ↑ Christine Gorse, Adel - Domestic Staff. On: Planet knowledge February 17, 2017 [2]
  4. ↑ Jürgen Kocka : Employment conditions and worker existences. Foundations of Class Formation in the 19th Century , 1990, page 111
  5. ^ History of the agricultural labor movement, tariffs / collective agreements, Peter Wedel, The right of coalition and the servants' and agricultural labor law; Society for social reform, Verlag Gustav Fischer , 1917 (Sources: Brand, HH: Landarbeiterbewetzung, Von der Goltz, Theodor : The rural working class and the state [3] )
  6. ↑ Kossäthen = group of villagers who usually owned a hut and some garden land [4]
  7. ↑ Jürgen Kocka, Employment Relationships and Worker Existences. Foundations of Class Formation in the 19th Century , 1990, p. 115
  8. ↑ Allgemeine Literatur Zeitschrift, year 1812, volume 1, number 44, February 1812: "Servants' order for the grand ducal Frankfurt residence and trading city of Frankfurt am Mayn, and its surroundings within the city limits" [5]
  9. ↑ Landvekehrswege as a factor of development of the cultural landscape and the road system in the Electorate of Saxony from 1648 to 1800. The sample roads Leipzig - German Einsiedel. Dissertation to obtain the academic degree doctor philosophiae (Dr. phil.) Submitted to the Philosophical Faculty of the Technical University of Chemnitz on October 9, 2006 by Frauke Gränitz (MA), page 59 [6]
  10. ^ The Kingdom of Saxony in all its relationships or a clear presentation of its history, geography, state constitution, state administration and state forces, civil and military authorities with their titulatures, teaching, commercial, health and sanatoriums, mild ...; Volume 1 of Unterweisende Haus-Secretair for the Kingdom of Saxony: a manual for all stands, Verlag Polet, 1840, original from the University of Michigan , digitized Nov. 21, 2005 [7] pages 266-291
  11. ↑ Schaumburg-Lippische Gesindeordnung of August 21, 1738 Schaumburg-Lippische Landesverordnung, Volume 2, Schaumburg-Lippische Landesverordnung, published 1805, original by Bayerische Staatsbibliothek , digitized February 16, 2011 [8] page 336 ff, No. 131
  12. ↑ Schaumburg-Lippe: The servants order of November 17, 1899 together with the law on breach of contract by rural workers of March 24, 1899, with explanatory notes [9]
  13. ^ Resumes of manufacturers, workers and employees from the pioneering days of industrialization [10] Digital Archive Hessen-Darmstadt
  14. ↑ Excerpt from the servants' regulation of April 28, 1877 [11] Digital Archive Hessen-Darmstadt
  15. ↑ Jürgen Kocka : Employment conditions and worker existences. Foundations of Class Formation in the 19th Century , 1990, p. 28