Note 252 — SUBJECT-INDEX.
Reading edition
On the history of the rural classes in Eastern Germany, see Knapp, Die Bauernbefreiung.
It may be of some interest to point out the great resemblance between the rise of Roman colonatus as described by Max Weber and the rise of serfdom in Eastern Germany. In both countries most of the peasants were originally free (Weber, Römische Agrargeschichte, p. 244; Knapp, I p. 32). The landlords, who formerly had passed most of their time outside their properties, when they lost their military function took the cultivation of their manors into their own hands (Weber, l.c., pp. 243, 244; Knapp, I p. 37). They soon acquired rights of jurisdiction over the peasants (Weber, l.c., p. 260; Knapp, I p. 33), and began to compel them to work on the demesne (Weber, l.c., p. 244; Knapp, I p. 40). The cultivators lost the right of emigrating (Weber, l.c., pp. 256–258; Knapp, I p. 42). Even the Bauernlegen, i.e. the joining of a peasant’s holding to the demesne, occurred in Rome as well as in Eastern Germany (Weber, l. c, p. 247; Knapp, I pp. 50, 55). And it is most remarkable that in both countries the rise of serfdom took place at an advanced period of their history.
This proves once more that the institutions of different countries may closely resemble each other, even in many details, without the one country having derived its institutions from the other. For even the influence of Roman law cannot serve as an explanation of this resemblance, as Roman law takes little notice of colonatus (Weber l.c., p. 259). ↑