Großkötter
In the agricultural history of north-west Germany, a serf peasant who was third in the village hierarchy was referred to as a Großkötter . The historical names for members of this social group varied from region to region. So they were also called Kötter , Mutt , Köthner , Kötner , Kätner or Kotsassen . Especially in Prussia and Mecklenburg they were called Kossaten , Kossater or Kossaten .
In contrast to the full spankers, the big dogs were obliged to hand and span the landlord . They lived in so-called Kotten or Katen , which were mostly located on the edge of the village and were always separated from the farmland. They cultivated an area of 12 to 24 hectares and had few cattle and at most one horse. Since the income was often insufficient for a living, they also did manual work or worked on daily duty on farms and manors. In addition to the manual service, they had to pay interest in cash in return for the lease of the house and the arable land to the landlord, and they had to deliver in kind, such as chickens, eggs and grain.
The Kotten as a form of settlement comes from the late medieval settlement development. In the High Middle Ages there was enough space for farms and the required clearing land when unpopulated areas were taken over. When the farms could no longer accommodate the growing rural population, smaller sub-settlements emerged, so-called plissé . In addition, farms were divided among several heirs who settled in individual cottages on the original courtyard and cultivated their share of the arable land.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Glossary of historical expressions ( Memento of the original dated February 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Chronicle of Großenmarpe
