From Unequal Opportunities to a Better World. Soil Culture, Protection Money and Women´s Work in the Official Book of the "Censuales" from the Diocese of Freising (10th-14th century) or: More than a Special Case

Beschreibung

With my presentation of unknown documents from the offical books of the diocese of Freising I could show how differences of gender and social background were overcome by a cultural concept. This was developed over two centuries and was based on a particular idea of community.
A key role in this idea was played by the protection of people and their belonging to a common religion, as well as the need to cultivate the landscape area that belonged to the bishopric of Freising. The ecclesiastical property acquired through donations and barter urgently required many new workers to manage it. The owners of this church property in the diocese of Freising were the spiritual patrons - St. Mary and St. Corbinian.
To become part of the community of people who are under the spiritual protection of St. Mary and St. Corbinian and which is referred to as familia in the documents, a ritual was required at the altar of the bishopric church. Men and women of very different social statuses were able to make this decision independently and join the community. The protection money was five solidi a year. Women did not need male legal representation.
This social and economic system and its gradual development can be clearly demonstrated using the documents in the official book of Censuales from the bishopric of Freising I have edited. Around the middle of the 12th century, a separate legal authority for the administration was created in Freising. Entire communities of women, especially in the 12th to 14th centuries, changed from their secular dependence to the status of so-called zensuals with their children and relatives. How and why was this possible for them?
Transferring oneself without a man's consent shows us, that it had been possible for women during a long periode of land cultivation to act for legal decisions outside of patriarchy and for independent decisions about their social status. Even when a couple changed status, each person decided for themselves, as did subsequent donations to the diocese. - So the question arises why this social and economic system was developed and which bishops promoted it and why?
What goals were pursued and how long did the system last? How has society changed? Were there opportunities for advancement between the nobility and the free or semi-free population?
This will be analyzed in detail in my lecture using some exemplary documents.
Literature:
Adelheid Krah, Unter dem Schutz der hl. Maria.- Bodenkultur, Zins und Frauenarbeit im Amtsbuch der Zensualinnen und Zensualen des Bistums Freising (10.-14. Jahrhundert), Neustadt a.d. Aisch 2023 (mit Edition von 363 Dokumenten)
Adelheid Krah, Sozialer Wandel und pragmatische Schriftlichkeit. Beobachtungen zu den Personennamen im Freisinger Zensualenbuch. In: Beiträge zur altbayerischen Kirchengeschichte 61 (2022) 5-29.

Zeitraum	5 Sep. 2024
Ereignistitel	Annual Conference of the Research Group for Late Medieval Economic History: Unequal Opportunities. Framework Conditions and Economic Change in the Middle Ages
Veranstaltungstyp	Konferenz
Ort	Innsbruck, ÖsterreichAuf Karte anzeigen
Bekanntheitsgrad	International