{"id":91,"date":"2021-09-03T11:44:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T11:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.czechlandbooks.cz\/?p=91"},"modified":"2021-10-01T11:59:06","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T11:59:06","slug":"the-widows-great-poverty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.czechlandbooks.cz\/index.php\/2021\/09\/03\/the-widows-great-poverty\/","title":{"rendered":"The widow’s great poverty or why to look to one more record (1674)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Even if the farm possessor in question is not your direct ancestor, it is always worthwhile to peek into a land record of a property of interest.  You may still learn interesting facts and add more pieces to the puzzle of your family history.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Recently, I was working on the history of the Handschig family. They were living in the 17th<\/sup> century in the village of \u017delkovice, in the broader area of the town Louny. I could follow the history of the father Bartolom\u011bj and his daughter Kate\u0159ina through two <\/span>matriky <\/span><\/i>records and in addition to them, I found a record from which I learned that Bartolom\u011bj acquired the farm in 1652.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate\u0159ina, Bartolom\u011bj\u2019s daughter, was born in 1671. She was the only child I knew from the <\/span>matriky<\/span><\/i>. Bartolom\u011bj\u2019s wife and Kate\u0159ina\u2019s mother was Anna, about whom I had no other detailed information. Bartolom\u011bj could not rejoice for the infant Kate\u0159ina for long, because he died three years after her birth. According to his burial record in the <\/span>matriky,<\/span><\/i> he was 75 years old, which would put his birth to 1599. This meant he would have acquired the farm at the age of 53.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings could have closed the research and the chapter about Handschig family, yet it would have been a little premature. I would have lost the information contained in the subsequent property record<\/a>, which offered more information about Bartolom\u011bj himself than I expected. The above-mentioned record of Bartolom\u011bj\u2019s acquisition is followed (beside the short records of annual payments) by an entry from September 1674 in favour of Bartolom\u011bj\u2019s son Georg. At the beginning of this record written in German, we read that Georg Handschich (sic) from \u017delkovice takes over a farm with a half <\/span>l\u00e1n <\/span><\/i>of fields (in German <\/span>\u201cBauern guth alda Nach Einer halben Huben feltes\u201d<\/span><\/i>), which was assessed by the <\/span>rycht\u00e1\u0159i <\/span><\/i>(pl.) of \u017delkovice, \u0160epetly and \u0158isuty for 140 <\/span>kopy gro\u0161e m\u00ed\u0161ensk\u00e9<\/span><\/i>. The purchase price was to be paid with 4 <\/span>kopy gro\u0161e <\/span><\/i>a year. Nothing special so far, yet the record goes on to list the things that were to remain with the farm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It lists what remained on the farm with the purchase: \u201can old wagon, an old plough, old harrows with spikes, 2 old horses, one church cow, 2 one-year-old sows, wheat worth 1\u00bc \u00df, rye worth 2 \u00df, barley worth 6\u00bd \u00df, peas worth 1 \u00df, oats worth 1\u00bd \u00dfs, otherwise nothing has been left here that is not fixed with a rivet or nail.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

To help you practise working with the Czech text, in addition to the translation, I also provide a transcription of the original language and a „translation“ into „more standard“ German. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 1:<\/strong> […] Bey | die\u00dfen Guth bleibet 1 alter Waagen, 1 alter Pflug, 1 alter Hacken | mit den Scharen, 2 alte Pferdt. Eine Kirchen Khue, 2 EinJ\u00e4hrige Schwein, | item an Getreydt 1\u00bc \u00df Waitzen, 2 \u00df Kornn, 6\u00bd \u00df Gersten, 1 \u00df | Arbessen, 1\u00bd \u00df haabern, sonsten wirdt nichts dabey gelasen als | Wa\u00df Neit und Nagel fest ist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 2:<\/strong> […] Bei diesem Gut bleibt 1 alter Waagen, 1 alter Pflug, 1 alter Hacken | mit den Scharen, 2 alte Pferd. Eine Kirchenkuh, 2 einj\u00e4hrige Schwein, | item an Getreide 1\u00bc \u00df Waitzen, 2 \u00df Korn, 6\u00bd \u00df Gersten, 1 \u00df | Erbsen, 1\u00bd \u00df Habern, sonsten wird nicht dabei gelassen als | was Neit und Nagel fest ist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first glance, it is a normal list of what we would find on any farm. However, notice how often the adjective „old“ appears in the description. We see an old wagon, old harrows, an old plough, and even old horses. One might think that Bartholomew\u2019s management was not very good when he had to be content with old tools and equipment. In addition, on the farm we find a church cow (Ger. Kirchenkuh<\/em>), which was a cow that belonged to the church\u2019s fabrica ecclesiae<\/em> and which was leased to farmers for an annual payment; basically such an operating lease of the 17th century (more about the church cow in Chapter XV-3-ii). Bartholom\u011bj could not afford to get his own cow that would belong to him. So we see before us the image of a farm that is held together only by its very nature, the farmer only maintains what he has and fails to ensure a sufficient standard of living that he could have obtained from a half-l\u00e1n<\/em> farm. But what can we expect from a man over seventy?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That the previous description is not only a modern projection, is also proven by the next paragraph of the record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

German 1:<\/strong> Undt Waillen der Seel. | Barttl Handtschich 4 unerzogene Wey\u00dfen sambt der Wittib in | gro\u00dfen Armuth hintterla\u00dfen als ist nach Erkantnu\u00df der | Gerichten geschlo\u00dfen wordten das der Kaufer 8 Jahr 1\u00bd str | feldt halbentheil uber Wintter und halben Theil uber Sommer jedes | mahl von seinen eigene Saahmen seehen und der Wittib al\u00df | seiner StiefMutter damit sie sich mit den 4 kleinen kindern be\u00dfer | Ernahen m\u00f6chte den v\u00f6lligen Nutzen lassen soll. <\/span>| Ingleichen verspricht Kauffer die obrigkeitliche Schuldt als 3 str 3 w | Korn zu bezahlen undt der Wittib sambt Ihren 4 Kindern | Jahr und tag Kost umb sonst zu Reichen(?). <\/span> herentgegen | [fol. 194pv<\/em>]<\/span> Bewilliget sie Ihm nach m\u00f6glichkeit In die\u00dfen Jahr) an die handt zu gehen und seine Nahrung f\u00fchren zu helfen.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

or in a bit more modern German wording<\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 2:<\/strong> Und weil der seel[ige] | Barttl Handtschich 4 unerzogenen Waisen samt der Wittib in | gro\u00dfen Armut hinterlassen als ist nach Erkanntniss der | Gerichten geschlossen worden dass der K\u00e4ufer 8 Jahr 1\u00bd | str[ychen] Feld halben Teil \u00fcber Winter und halben Teil \u00fcber Sommer jedesmal | von seinen eigene Saahmen seehen und der Wittib als | seiner Stiefmutter damit sie sich mit den 4 kleinen Kindern besser | ern\u00e4hren m\u00f6chte den v\u00f6lligen Nutzen lassen soll. | In gleichen verspricht K\u00e4ufer die obrigkeitliche Schuld als 3 str[ychen] 3 v[iertl] | Korn zu bezahlen und der Wittib samt ihren 4 Kindern | Jahr und Tag Kost umsonst zu Reichen(?).<\/span> herentgegen | [fol. 194pv<\/em>] Bewilligt sie ihm nach M\u00f6glichkeit in diesem Jahr) an die Hand zu gehen und seine Nahrung f\u00fchren zu helfen.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

which translates to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

„And because Bartl Handtshich left 4 ungrown orphans together with a widow in great poverty, it was decided by the rycht\u00e1\u0159i <\/em>that the buyer will sow 1\u00bd strych<\/em> of the fields with his own seed for 8 years, halfway in winter and halfway in summer and leaves [the fields] to the widow as his stepmother to take 4 small children for [their] full use [so that they] could feed better. At the same time the buyer promises to repay the debt of 3 strychy<\/em> 3 v\u011brtele<\/em> of rye and to give food to the widow with 4 small children for one year and a day. On the other hand, the widow agrees that, if possible, she will do his biddings this year and she will [also] contribute to get them food.“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, Bartolom\u011bj really didn’t do well. In addition to owing the landlord about eight sacks of rye, he left a widow and four small children in great poverty. We also learn that Bartholomew was married at least twice, a fact which is not ascertainable from matriky records. His son Georg from his first marriage inherited the farm while Anna, whom we already know as Kate\u0159ina\u2019s mother, was his second wife and later a widow. Another very interesting aspect of the record is how the poor widow and four orphans were cared for. While valuing the property, the rycht\u00e1\u0159i <\/em>decided that the new farmer would provide his stepmother and her children (i.e. his half-siblings) for eight years with the yield from fields with an area of one and a half strych and he had even to use his own seed. However, you may note that the obligation does not apply to the provision of housing. It was only the food provision to a family which lost the breadwinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do not know what played a role in the decision-making of rycht\u00e1\u0159i<\/em>, but situations where between the heirs there were children from the first marriage and a widow and children from the second marriage rarely had an easy and quiet solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Glossary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a very brief explanation of some terms used in this post. Each is followed by a reference to a section in The Researcher\u2019s Guide to the Czech Land Books which provides a deeper and detailed explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n