Brandenburg Land and Property

Landregister (land register)

Farmers did not always own their land. In times of German Feudalism a farmer was merely a tenant. For the privilege of cultivating the land, he had to pay taxes, give produce and do socage for his manor lord. The amount of tax, produce and socage was dependent on the acreage of the farm and the circumstances the individual farmer found himself in. Was he the owner of horses or other draft animals? This would determine taxes and other abilities to cope. The measurements for land parcels were called Hufe (Hube) and Ruten. 1 Hufe equaled 12 Ruten. Monetary payments were due twice a year, at Walpurgis and Michaelis (time of sowing and harvesting).

The manorial officials, the Richter and/or Schöffen, were obliged to register all possessions and owners of a village. They would account for acreage, name of owner and to whom this person paid the property tax. (Note: In early times a family name is just beginning to appear in rural areas. People are identified through their fathers, i.e. Hannus Jenden son. If the connotation "son" is not appearing, the father name will appear before or after the given name of the son. Therefore, Albrecht Kareske is identical with Karis Albrecht. Many names appear with added names, such as Schultis or Lehmann ).

One such land register stems from the year 1381 of the Sorau Herrschaft. It is available in book form titled Das Landregister der Herrschaft Sorau von 1381, published by Johannes Schultze in 1936. It is available through www.familysearch.org Family History Library Salt Lake City, Utah, call number 943.2 B4vh v. 8

[Category: Prussia-Brandenburg]