Peasant Agency in the Late Middle Ages. Fields of Action and Fields of Conflict in the Manorial System of the Benedictine Abbey and Collegiate Chapter of Ellwangen

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Benjamin Müsegades
• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 558830022

It is the aim of the project to publish a study focusing on peasant agency in a manorial system of the late Middle Ages, namely the manorial system of the monastery/collegiate chapter of Ellwangen. Agency is defined as actions taken by individuals or groups that promote or cause the improvement, consolidation or securing of their social, political or economic position or aim at changing their environment or other aspects. The theory at the heart of the project is that peasants always had an agency of their own that varied in intensity depending on the respective economic, social and legal contexts. The Benedictine abbey (since 1460 collegiate chapter) of Ellwangen is an institution that is most suitable as the object of this project as its political and economic situation in the Late Middle Ages is representative of general developments within the manorial system in Germany. The starting point of the study is the mid 14th century when the impacts of the "Little Ice Age", the Plague and the so called agrarian crisis were making themselves felt. Its concluding point will be the German Peasants' War of 1525. For the manorial system of Ellwangen there are four fields of interest concerning peasant agency that are deeply intertwined: 1) Agricultural-economic actions (leasing and using agricultural areas, using one's own manpower and that of others). 2) Relationship with the respective lord (giving of, refusing of and/or bargaining about taxes and tithes, passive or active resistance). 3) Personal freedom and mobility (serfdom). 4.) Actions of individuals and groups within the rural commune It is the aim of the project to analyze how peasant agency worked by focusing on the four aforementioned fields. In the context of the decrease of the number of potential workers and leaseholders following the developments of the 14th century the resulting chances for peasants will be scrutinized. Namely, the focus will be on whether peasants were afforded the opportunity to lease greater areas of land for less money or renders in kind or whether they were able to change the way they used their own manpower and that of others. For the aspect of serfdom the focus wil be on how the respective serfs were able to oppose their lord's demands by declining to pay tithes or fleeing, also taking into account their economic situation that sometimes kept them from meeting those demands. Looking at the rural communes, the importance of holding office as well as bargaining with the respective lords and their representatives will be the main focus.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants