Re: Heortling Social Structure

Jeff Kyer:
>>I think the actual legal definition of a cotter is someone who >>doesn't have any cattle.

That's more or less the definition of a stickpicker, who still has the legal standing of a cottar.

>>Someone who does is a carl. Someone with >>a team is doing very well for a carl.

Donald:
> Not according to TR pg 40. To qualify as a full carl "... a man must
> have a plough and a full team of eight oxen." It also says they need
> 42 cows including the oxen to support this. Given that a half carl
> usually has 21 cows anyone with much less than that will be a
> cottar.

Correct. Cottars include a wide range of low to medium prosperity. One might argue that there can be cottars with more wealth than a carl who simply don't have the oxen or plow (or don't get the land assigned for plowing). Successful crafters, miners or traders don't necessarily farm, yet may not be elevated to the rank of thane.

Typical cottar households vary. Most will have a handful of milk-cows and maybe a single oxen or two (to draw a cart), and a small herd of sheep. They might have a small share of ploughland which can get tended after the carls have finished with theirs, but mostly will rely on gardening rather than farming.

Many cottars will pursue a craft, or provide raw material to the clan economy, such as lumber, charcoal, peat, ore, or whatever other resources the tula offers. (Hence the need for a cart and a draught beast.) Others will work on the land under the care of the carls in exchange for a portion of the harvest.

(Comparably) Wealthy cottars can also be quite important providers: herders without farmland, vintners, orchard-tenders (cultivation of grapes, hops and apples are known industries in Quiviniland), hunters, fishermen.

To tie into the Sartar city thread, it will be cottars who feel drawn into the cities. Also, the work force demands made on the tribes will have been fulfilled mainly with cottars.

> Of course it doesn't follow that all cottars will have cows, I
> suspect the majority don't but even one milk cow is worth having
> from a practical point of view.

Yes. Notice I said a much smaller stable, not no stable. A typical carl longhouse has stabling area for 60 cows or so, as well as a few horses, and lots of sheep and pigs in the low sheds below the roof overhang. A typical cottar house will provide stable space for maybe a dozen cows, and some of those will be cattle-loans.             Received on Mon 30 Apr 2007 - 06:58:44 EEST