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- Title
Vägivalla piirid pärisorjuslikes suhetes Eesti- ja Liivimaal 17. sajandil.
- Authors
Seppel, Marten
- Abstract
There has been a tendency in historical literature to characterise serfdom through cases where landlords have displayed extraordinary cruelty towards peasants. It is questionable if and to what extent such isolated examples of sadistic violence on the part of landlords reveal the actual legal framework of serfdom. A distinction should be made between legal violence (e.g. ordinary domestic discipline) and illegal violence that was considered criminal by society and the state already during the period of serfdom. One cannot speak of the limitless right of landlords to mete out corporal punishment in the provinces of Estonia and Livonia in the 17th and 18th centuries. Besides, the most notorious acts of cruelty have become famous only because of officialcriminalinvestigations.Onthe other hand, this does not mean that systematic illegal violence did not play a role in the formation of relations between the manor and the peasantry. In the historiography so far, domestic discipline on the manor and cruel violence towards the peasantry in the provinces of Estonia and Livonia have attracted a great deal of attention. However, the actual role of violence in a Gutsherrschaft society still needs to be clarified.Theaimofthisarticleistoofferaclearerframe of reference for the position of ordinary and extraordinary violence in serf relations in Estonia and Livonia based on the example of 17th century sources. What were the nobility's arguments to justify both ordinary and extraordinary violence? Which cases of violence carried out by landlords were considered "ordinary" or normal and which were declared illegal and unacceptable? In the 17th century, the clearest legal restriction that applied to landlords in relation to their serfs (compared to Roman law) was that they did not have the right to kill. Therefore, the last part of the article closely examines court material from the 17th century in order to provide a deeper and more systematic analysis of cases where peasants were beaten to death. The court material provides the sources that form the basis for this article. Moreover, the written complaints by peasants from the 17th century provide a significantcontributionthatallowsustocapturethethoughts of the peasants on manor violence as well. The physical disciplining and punishing of peasants was clearly one means of communication between the manor and the peasantry. However, the landlord had the right to apply domestic discipline and mete out punishment only for minor misdemeanours. According to 17th century source material, one cannot speak of the absolute power of private landlords (not to mention the leaseholders of crown manors) over peasants in the provinces of Estonia and Livonia. There is abundant court material to prove that both legal and social rules were in place to view exaggerations of domestic discipline ("tyranny") as something forbidden. This definitelyincludedthekilling of peasants. Also, stabbing a peasant with a sword or wounding him with pistol (even in cases of minor scuffles)werealwaysconsideredcriminaloffences. However, landlords were rarely convicted for the outright killing of their peasants. The responsibility for excess violence was more often placed on overseers, bailiffs and others whose tasks included the disciplining and punishing of peasants. However, sources indicate the existence of a clear right of appeal for peasants in cases of exaggerated corporate punishment. These appeals were accepted and given due process both by the provincial government and the courts throughout the century. This meant that the state and the courts repeatedly intervened in relations between the manor and the peasantry in terms of the question of the limits of violence and also made landlords responsible for their actions. This definitelyhadanimpactonserfrelations.
- Subjects
LIVONIA; HISTORY of violence; SERFDOM; NOBILITY (Social class); HISTORY of courts; PEASANTS -- History; LANDLORDS; ESTONIAN history; HISTORY
- Publication
Tuna, 2012, Issue 2, p19
- ISSN
1406-4030
- Publication type
Article