Family and Land: Peasant Farms in South Leman at the End of the Thirteenth Century
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At the end of the thirteenth century, the Count of Savoy led inquiries about his rights and incomes. The record of these surveys was called "extente" and was intended to ease the running of the domain. Probably written in 1278, the rent-roll of Féternes describes about 2,000 ha of a little division: the Mandement of Féternes in the Baillage of Chablais in the Southside of Leman. For each tenant, the rent-roll specified his name, his status, and the characteristics of each parcel (surface, nature, limits, lord, and rents). It makes it possible to study 89 peasants farms situated in small villages and medium-elevation mountains. The first point to note is the presence of rearing specialization strategies in the bigger farms (more 10 ha), one century and half before the "grass revolution" in the Northern Alps. The second point is the importance of family joint possession (more than 50 percent of the 929 parcels). After the father’s death, his sons and sometimes the whole household sometimes kept common some plots of land. The last point is the scattering of landlordship: while the Count of Savoy owned more than 60 % of the parcels, 124 other "lords" share the remaining40 percent between themselves. Amongst these lords, there are some barons, numerous small noblemen, but also peasants who were moreover tenants of their own farms.
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