Explanation of Terms

Could someone please explain the difference between Vollerbe, Halberbe, Erkkoetter and Marktkoetter as types of farms. I assume the first two have to do with acquired by inheritance, but I cannot figure out the other two. Appreciate any help.
Don

Hello Don,

the terms of the peasants are variable to each region in Lower Saxony. You can
find "Vollbauer" and "Halbbauer" everywhere, but the others...

The old "Vollbauern" (owning the largest part of the land), followed by the
"Halbbauern" (still owning a considerable amount of land) are still the richest
within the village.
Furthermore, there are the "Viertelbauern" ("quarter peasants") and the "Hufner",
who own enough land to live from it, but who cannot advance beyond this in social
terms. These four groups, the Voll-, Halb- , Viertelbauern and Hufner are
categorized as the rural (peasant) "upper class".

The rural lower classes begin with the "Brinksitzer" or "K�tner/K�tner" (the name
varies according to the region), whose land ownership is insufficient to live
entirely from it and who need a "job" to earn their daily bread. They worked as
artisans, such as blacksmith, bricklayer, weaver, table-maker, or they ran small
village pubs etc.

Koetter = Koetner.

Christoph Haupt

Don Foss schrieb:

Could someone please explain the difference between Vollerbe, Halberbe,
Erkkoetter and Marktkoetter as types of farms. I assume the first two have
to do with acquired by inheritance, but I cannot figure out the other two.
Appreciate any help.
Don

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