An urbarium (german: Urbar, English: ''urbarium'', also ''rental'' or ''rent-roll'', pl, urbarz, sk, urbár, hu, urbárium), is a register of

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

ownership and includes the rights and benefits that the fief holder has over his

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

s and peasants. It is an important economic and legal source of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and early modern

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...

. Urbaria were also used to record land rent and stock. Depending on the region and writing materials for these lists they are also called ''Salbuch'', ''Berain'', ''Heberegister'', ''Erdbuch'' (

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

book) ''Zins-Rödel'' or ''Rodel''. The term is from the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old Hig ...

''ur-beran'' or the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

''erbern'' for "bring", "create" or "an income derived". It was used for economic, administrative or legal purposes as a directory of real estate, taxation, and the services owed a land holder (such as a monastery or noble) especially in the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

lands. The panels of an urbarium, which may be recopied several times to create a clean copy, were either stored as a scroll (german: Rödel) or the strips of parchment were sewn together to create a

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

,see Alfons Schäfer: ''Die ältesten Zinsrödel im Badischen Generallandesarchiv (Karlsruhe). Rödel als Vorläufer und Vorstufen der Urbare'', in: Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins (ZGO) 112 (1964), S. 297-372 . or were handwritten on preprinted forms in more recent centuries, as with Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

's urbarial survey of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 18th century. GLAK66-8553.jpg, Title page of the ''Tennenbacher Güterbuch'' (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

) from 1317-1341 Urbar-Codex des Dominikanerinnenklosters St. Katharina, Freiburg.jpg, Urbarium codex from the Dominican Monastery of St Katharina in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, began in 1309, written in

References

{{Authority control Feudalism Social history of the Holy Roman Empire Real property law

See also

References