Villicus
The villicus ( Latin ) with the ancient Romans as administrators of a property (villa) was usually a slave or freedman who had the supervision of the working slaves of the property. He was legally required to have full practical experience of all agriculture . He administered all the income and expenses of the estate in the name of his master.
The villicus received a correspondingly smaller ration of food from his master because of the less physically consuming activity than the arable slaves under his control.
In the Middle Ages the title referred to a person commissioned by the landlord. In many cases, they were administrators of the estates of a manor (see also Villication ). A villicus and a subvillicus were active as administrators, cultivating the arable land with their servants , collecting the dues of the subordinate farms and passing the entire yield on to the master. They were mostly agents of the gentry and could be removed from office at any time. For the services they received part of the collected taxes.
The family name Willke , Wilcke or Wilke , which is not only widespread in northern Germany, was formed from the rural occupation and position name Villicus . Even today, these family names are still often to be found on Meierhöfen in localities.
Individual evidence
- ^ [1] Karl Marx, Das Kapital , Vol. I, in: Ders., Friedrich Engels, Werke , Vol. 23, Berlin (East) 1968, p. 185, note 43; Marx here refers to Theodor Mommsen, Römische Geschichte , Berlin 1856, p. 810.
- ^ [Pohlmann, Fritz / Waldeckischer Geschichtsverein e. V., Arolsen, 2003, German Ortssippenbücher / Series A; 349, Rhenegge, Waldeckische Ortssippenbücher]
