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Seigneurial Obligations and ‘Lex Baiuvariorum’ I,13

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2016

Theodore John Rivers*
Affiliation:
New York

Extract

The development of the pre-Carolingian seigneurie has received little attention, although this neglect is due in large part to a scarcity in source material. This lack may be supplemented by relying on other material, such as that supplied in the Lex Baiuvariorum. The latter, the Bavarian code, was promulgated within the first half of the eighth century and slightly before the appearance of the Carolingian estate organization. The development of manorial obligations in eighth-century Bavaria is illustrated by one major law in the Lex Baiuvariorum, and this law is I, 13. However, the study of the seigneurie in Bavaria is complicated by differing interpretations of the evidence. What follows is an attempt to re-evaluate the evidence as supplied in L. Baiu. I, 13 and to show its relationship with the Carolingian estate organization.

Type
Miscellany
Copyright
Copyright © Fordham University Press 

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References

1 The twenty-three title Bavarian code is divided into three parts: ecclesiastical, public (ducal), and private law. The first part is made up of title I (13 laws), the second part of titles II–III (20 laws), and the third part of titles IV–XXIII (240 laws). Only Beyerle's edition presents 23 titles; other editions contain 22 titles. All references made to L. Baiu. I, 13 are taken from Beyerle, Konrad, ed. Lex Baiuvariorum: Lichtdruckwiedergabe der Ingolstädter Handschrift des bayerischen Volksrechts (Munich 1926) 4449. Also see Ernst von Schwind, , ed. Lex Baiwariorum (MGH: Legum sectio I, V 2; Hanover 1926) 286–290. For a modern translation, see August Eckhardt, Karl, Die Gesetze des Karolingerreichs (Germanenrechte Texte und Uebersetzungen II 2; Weimar, 1934) 89–91. Brief introductory descriptions to the Lex Baiuvariorum can be seen in Brunner, Heinrich, Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte (2nd ed. Leipzig 1906) I 454–464, and Buchner, Rudolf, Die Rechtsquellen (Beiheft in Wattenbach, W. and Levison, Wilhelm, Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter, Vorzeit und Karolinger (Weimar 1953) 26–29. An introductory comparison of L. Baiu. I, 13 with later Carolingian economic sources (esp. to the Prüm polyptych) is Wolfgang Metz, ‘Die hofrechtlichen Bestimmungen der Lex Baiuuariorum I, 13 und die fränkische Reichsgutverwaltung,’ Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 12 (1956) 187–196.Google Scholar

2 Latouche, Robert, The Birth of Western Economy: Economic Aspects of the Dark Ages (trans. Wilkinson, E.M.; London 1961) 182. This is not to say that all differentiation between servi and coloni in the Carolingian age will cease, but these terms begin to be used interchangeably with increasing frequency. See Marc Bloch, ‘Comment et pourquoi finit l'esclavage antique,’ Annates (économies, sociétés, civilisations) 2 (1947) 35 (reprinted in his Mélanges historiques [Paris 1963] I 266), and Boissonade, P., Life and Work in Medieval Europe (Fifth to Fifteenth Centuries) (trans. Eileen Power; New York 1927) 95. Cf. Marc Bloch, French Rural History: An Essay on its Basic Characteristics (trans. Sondheimer, Janet; London 1966) 69–70. For a general treatment of the terminology of the serf, see Verriest, Leo, ‘Les faits et la terminologie en matière de condition juridique des personnes au moyen ǎge. Serfs, nobles, villains, sainteurs,' Revue du Nord 25 (1939) 101–127.Google Scholar

3 Corpus Iuris Germanici Antiqui (Berlin 1824) I 248–249. This law is cited as L. Baiu. I, 14. de Coulanges, Fustel, Histoire de institutions politiques de l'ancienne France: L'alleu et le domaine rural (3rd ed. Paris 1922) 357 n. 3, believes there is a four-part division of this law, giving the first three parts to coloni, and the fourth part to servi. Google Scholar

4 Technically, , andecinga means the land upon which task-work is executed, and the description of the work itself is taken from the land upon which it is performed. Andecinga is later equated with riga. Schnetz, Joseph, ‘Das Flächenmass andecena, andecinga der Lex Baiuuariorum. Verlegung, Sprachliche,’ Zeitschrift für bayerische Landesgeschichte 4 (1931) 7580; Brüch, Josef, ‘Etymologisches,' Zeitschrift für französische Sprache und Litteratur 48 (1926) 103–105, and Grimm, Jacob, Deutsche Rechtsalterthümer (4th ed. Heusler, Andreas and Hübner, Rudolf; Berlin 1899) II 68. Cf. Perrin, E., ‘De la condition des terres dites ancingae,' in Melanges d'histoire du Moyen Age offerts à M. Ferdinand Lot (Paris 1925) 619–640 (esp. 622–625), although this article should be read with caution.Google Scholar

5 ‘Title'in this sense is different from that used above as one of the twenty-three topical divisions of the Bavarian code. Here, ‘title’ means the brief Latin description directly preceding a law which summarizes its contents. Google Scholar

6 ‘Hoc est agrario secundum aestimationem iudicis; provideat hoc iudex, secundum quod habet, donet. …’ Google Scholar

7 Edmond Perrin, Charles, ‘Une étape de la seigneurie: L 'exploitation de la réserve à Prüm, au IXe siècle,’ Annales d'histoire économique et sociale 6 (1934) 463 n. 5.Google Scholar

8 See Gutmann, Franz, Die soziale Gliederung der Bayern zur Zeit des Volkrechtes (Abhandlungen aus dem Staatswissen schaftlichen Seminar zu Strassburg 20; Strassburg 1906) 117118, and Beyerle, Franz, ‘Die süddeutschen Leges und die merowingische Gesetzebung. Volksrechtliche Studien II,' Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Germ. Abt. 49 (1929) 318.Google Scholar

9 This interpretation is also upheld by Theodor von Inama-Sternegg, Karl, Deutsche Wirtschaftsgeschichte bis zum Schluss der Karolingerperiode (2nd ed. Leipzig 1909) I 201 n. 4.Google Scholar

10 Goffart, Walter, ‘From Roman Taxation to Medieval Seigneurie: Three Notes,' Speculum 47 (1972) 185 n. 100, believes that liberated slaves in L. Visig. XII,2,13 were ‘assessed “secundum eorum peculium iustissima aderatione.’'’ This proves very little, since this is basically the same as saying that freemen pay tribute according to their means. Any relevance between L. Visig. XII,2,13 and L. Baiu. I, 13 is lost since the former refers to manumitted slaves, not to those still enslaved. L. Alam. XXII, 1 (‘De liberis autem ecclesiasticis, quod colonus vocant, omnes sicut et coloni regis ita reddant ad ecclesiam. Si quis legitimum tributum antesteterit per iussionem iudicis sui, sex solidos sit culpabilis. …’) is similar to L. Baiu. I, 13 only in that coloni are obliged to render tribute, and that a judge intervenes when tribute is withheld. L. Baiu. 1,13 makes no mention of the king. If this were true, there would be little difference between an ecclesiastical and a lay lord in Bavaria. See Roger Grand and Raymond Delatouche L'agriculture au mogen ǎge de la fin de l'empire romain au XVIe siècle (L'agriculture à travers les ages 3; Paris 1950) 242. This conclusion agrees with Guérard, Benjamin, ed. Polgptyque l'abbé Irminon ou dénombrement des manses, des serfs et des revenues de l'abbage de Saint-Germain-des-Prés sous le règne de Charlemagne (Paris 1844) I 353, who says that ‘the condition of ecclesiastical slaves is much superior to that of ordinary slaves.’ All references to L.Alam. XXII, 1, and later in the discussion to XXI, are taken from Lehmann, Karl, ed. Leges [Lex] Alamannorum (ed. August Eckhardt, Karl, MGH: Legum sectio I, V 1; Hanover 1966) 82–83 (XXI), and 83 (XXII,1). Cf. August Eckhardt, Karl, ed. Leges Alamannorum, II: Recensio Lantfridana (Lex) (Germanenrechte neue Folge, , westgermanisches Recht VI; Witzenhausen 1962) 32 (XXI), and 33 (XXII,1).Google Scholar

11 See Dollinger, Philippe, L'évolution des classes rurales en Bavière, depuis la fin de l'époque carolingienne jusqu'au milieu du XIIIe siècle (Paris 1949) 157 n. 58, and Goffart, , Speculum 47 (1972) 185 n. 100. Also see Charles Edmand Perrin, Seigneurie rurale en France et en Allemagne du début du IXe à la fin du XIIe siècle (Paris n.d. [1966]) 90, although Perrin adds (89) that the respective obligations imposed upon coloni and servi tend to be identical.Google Scholar

12 Historians who see no substantial difference in the seigneurial obligations of coloni and servi in the period studied in this paper are: Guérard, Polyptyque l'abbé Irminon I 337; Seebohm, Frederic, The English Village Community (4th ed. London 1905) 323; Guilhiermoz, P., Essai sur l'origine de la noblesse en France au moyen age (Paris 1902) 120; Hutchinson, Lincoln, ‘Roman and Anglo-Saxon Agrarian Conditions,' Quarterly Journal of Economics 7 (1892) 206; Mathilde Wergeland, Agnes, Slavery in Germanic Society during the Middle Ages (Chicago 1916) 128–129; and Fran, çois Ganshof, L., ‘Manorial Obligations in the Low Countries in the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Centuries,' Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 4th series 31 (1949) 52. This view is also supported by Perrin, , Seigneurie rurale 89, cited in n. 11 above. Also see Jolliffe, J. E. A., The Constitutional History of Medieval England from the English Settlement to 1485 (4th ed. London 1961) 21, and Herlihy, David, ‘The Pattern of Social Mobility in Medieval History,' Journal of Interdisciplinary History 3 (1972/73) 635.Google Scholar

13 ‘… Reddant fascem de lino, de apibus X vasa, pullos IVor, ova XV reddant. Google Scholar

14 ‘Servi, enim ecclesiae tributa sua legitime reddant: quindecim siclas de cervisa, porco valente tremisso uno, pane modia duo, pullos quinque, ova viginti. Google Scholar

15 I should also add that Schwind, Lex Baiwariorum, 286–290, compares L.Alam. XXI with L. Baiu. I, 13 without any apparent conflict. Google Scholar

16 ‘… Angarias cum carra faciant usque quinqueginta lewas [sic], amplius non minetur. Ad casas dommicas stabilire, fenile, granica vel tunino recuberanda petituras rationabiles accipiant, et quando necesse fuerat, omnino conponant. Calce furno, ubi prope fuerat, ligna aut petra L homines faciant; ubi longe fuerat, C homines debeant expetiri, et ad civitatem vel ad villain, ubi necesse fuerit, ipsam calcem trahantur. …’ Google Scholar

17 Guérard, Benjamin, ed. Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Bertin (Collection des cartulaires de France III; Paris 1840). In particular, see cartularies nos. XXI (p. 99), XXIV–XXV (pp. 100–101), XXVII (p. 102), XXIX–XXX (pp. 103–104), and XXXIII (p. 106). There are other early ninth-century cartularies from St. Bertin in addition to these that demonstrate this point.Google Scholar

18 Cf. Ganshof, , Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 4th series 31 (1949) 52. Ganshof, ibid., also indicates that tenants of Bertin, St. render beer, flour, chickens, and eggs to the abbey every year, and this, too, is rendered regardless of the tenant's legal status.Google Scholar

19 Deutsche Wirtschaftsgeschichte, I 208.Google Scholar

20 See Roth, Paul, Geschichte des Beneficialwesens von den älteren Zeiten bis ins zehnte Jahrhundert (Erlangen 1850) 377, and Mayer, Ernst, Die oberdeutschen Volksrechte (Leipzig 1929) 93. This agrees in large part with Marc Bloch, ‘The Rise of Dependant Cultivation and Seigneurial Institutions,’ in The Cambridge Economic History of Europe (2nd ed. Cambridge 1966) I 288 (reprinted in his Mélanges historiques [Paris 1966] I 257).Google Scholar

21 ‘… et si super haec est, sicut servi ecclesiastici ita faciant tres dies sibi et tres in dominico.’ Google Scholar

22 Guérard, Benjamin, ed. Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Victor de Marseille (Collection des cartulaires de France VIII; Paris 1857) I 309 (no. 291), Guérard, , Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Bertin as cited in n. 17 above, and his Polyptyque l'abbé Irminon I 245.Google Scholar

23 ‘… tantum serviant, quantum eis per possibilitatem inpositum fuerit; tamen iniuste neminem oppremas.’ Google Scholar

24 The combination of day-work and task-work for servi is interpreted by Perrin, Seignuerie rurale 91, as an example of unlimited service. A more accurate interpretation is to set the task-work as part of the day-work, which should be termed fixed service. This is illustrated above in the equation of the slave's three-day labor service with task-work. Few agree with Perrin that the servitium of servi is unlimited (unfixed). Two such authorities, however, who agree with Perrin in principle are Andre Déléage, La vie rurale en Bourgogne jusqu'au début du onzième siècle (Macon 1941) I 506, and Hauptmann, Ludmil, ‘Colonus, Barschalk und Freimann,' in Wirtschaft und Kultur. Festschrift zum 70. Geburtstag von Alfons Dopsch (Vienna 1938) 173. Both Déléage and Hauptmann equate variable or unlimited labor service with the number of days (usually three) per week a slave must work for his lord. Yet, Hauptmann in an earlier article (‘Hufengrössen im bayerischen Stammesund Kolonialgebiete,’ Viertelfahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte 21 [1928] 397) does not equate unlimited cr arbitrary service with the three-day labor service; he finds the latter a supplement to the former. Brunner, Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte I 376, and Georg Caro, ‘Die Grundbesitzverteilung in der Nord ostschweig und angrenzenden alamannischen Stammesgebicten zur Karolingerzeit,’ Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 76 (1901) 484, speak of fixed services and tribute for slaves in L.Alam. XXI, to which Brunner adds L.Baiu. I, 13 as well. Fixed tribute is also upheld in very general terms by Duby, George, Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West (trans. Cynthia Portan; Columbia [S.C.] 1968) 39, as does Inama-Sternegg, , Deutsche Wirtschaftsgeschichte I 213 n. 1 for L. Alam. XXII,1.Google Scholar

25 de Coulanges, Fustel, Recherches sur quelques problèmes d'histoire (4th ed. Paris 1923) 155, concludes that the obligations of coloni and servi ecclesiae in L.Baiu. I, 13 vary because they are compensated by different wergelds. If he did not know the wergeld differences, would he draw the same conclusion?Google Scholar

26 Lex Baiuuariorum , lxxxviii–lxxxix. This view is also put forth by Baesecke, Georg, ‘Die deutschen Worte der germanischen Gesetze,' Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 59 (1935) 14.Google Scholar