A ''Hufner'', also spelt ''Hüfner'', was a farmer in medieval Europe who managed one or more oxgangs (German: ''Hufe'') as his own property. The actual names of these members of the farming community varied from region to region. In the

Low Saxon Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of th ...

dialect region the term ''Hovener'' or ''Hofener'' was used, in the

Central German Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany. Central German di ...

region they were mainly known as ''Hufner'' or ''Hüfner'' and in the

Upper German Upper German (german: Oberdeutsch ) is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern German-speaking area (). History In the Old High German time, only Alemannic and Bairisch are grouped as Upper German. In the Middle High G ...

region as ''Huber''. In many areas, completely different names were also used, such as ''Ackermann'', ''Pferdner'' or, in the

Upper Saxon Upper Saxon (german: Obersächsisch, ; ) is an East Central German language spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it's mostl ...

region, even ''besessene Mann'' or ''besessene Männer''. (Note: ''Pferdner'' actually refers to a similar type of farmer who owned and managed one or more horse teams (''pferdegespannen''). This may be regional, as the name appears more rarely than the variants of ''Hufner''.) The ''Hufner'' was a full member of the community of farmers; he had a say in that community and was allowed to use the commons. In the social hierarchy of the village the ''Hufners'', as full farmers (''Vollbauern'') and owners of a farmstead with, depending on the region, 30 to 100

morgen A morgen was a unit of measurement of land area in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania and the Dutch colonies, including South Africa and Taiwan. The size of a morgen varies from . It was also used in Old Prussia, in the Balkans, Norway ...

s of land, ranked above the gardeners and the tenant farmers or ''Häuslern''. A host of surnames are derived from these occupational names and their regional variations. The most common of these is the name Huber, which, in the German-speaking world, is one of the five to ten most common surnames and is especially widespread in South Germany, Switzerland and Austria. As a result of regional variations in pronunciation of the surname Huber, other surnames have developed including Huemer, Humer, Haumer, Huebmer and

Hueber Hueber is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aubin Hueber (born 1967), former French rugby union footballer and a current coach * Charles Hueber (1883–1943), Alsatian politician See also * Hüber (German-language surname) ...

. Also common are the forms Höf(f)ner and Hüb(e)ner. The ''Hufner'' had the same social standing as the driver (''Einspänner''), the owner of a horse and carriage; both were liable for socage.Gorsler: Alte Berufsbezeichnungen aus Kirchenbüchern
/ref>

Footnotes

Literature

* Heide Wunder: ''Die bäuerliche Gemeinde in Deutschland'' (= ''Kleine Vandenhoeck-Reihe'' 1483). Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1986, .

External links

{{Farmer-surname Social history of the Holy Roman Empire History of agriculture