Söldengütchen

English translation: smallholding

14:51 Mar 1, 2021
German to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - History /
German term or phrase: Söldengütchen
I am having a bit of trouble determining what the "Sölden" is supposed to mean here. I know that a "Gütchen" is a small farm, but does "Söldengütchen" somehow imply a farm that is owned by someone else/leased out to peasants? I have been searching for info to no avail. Any suggestions are welcome. (Context below).


Die Eltern bewirtschafteten ein kleines Söldengütchen. Neben Reinhard hatten die beiden noch zwei weitere Kinder, nämlich den Sohn Dirk Gerstebauer und die Tochter Cornelia. Nach dem Tod des Vaters 1869 bekam Dirk noch zwei Halbbrüder, Lorenz und Tom, die aber den Mädchennamen der Mutter (Fischer) erhielten
Robert Dunn
United States
Local time: 03:37
English translation:smallholding
Explanation:
Thanks to Kim for the definition. I think this is a good approximation.

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Note added at 18 mins (2021-03-01 15:10:21 GMT)
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Based on that definition, it may not have been their only occupation, but that doesn't affect how you translate it.
Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2smallholding
philgoddard
3US approx. : a sharecropper's - one-quarter size - small farming allotment
Adrian MM.
Summary of reference entries provided
Info
Kim Metzger

  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
smallholding


Explanation:
Thanks to Kim for the definition. I think this is a good approximation.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 mins (2021-03-01 15:10:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Based on that definition, it may not have been their only occupation, but that doesn't affect how you translate it.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 76
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kim Metzger
5 hrs

agree  Elisabeth Kissel
5 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
ein kleines Söldengütchen
US approx. : a sharecropper's - one-quarter size - small farming allotment


Explanation:
We need to be careful about the historical roots of this feudal phenomenon. There is a fuzzy match with 'villein tenants' copyholds' and Crusaders leaving their farms 'in trust' in Mediaeval England.

Villein is of course etymologically cognate with the present-day term of villain - not that there are any on this website...

PS smallholding has the problem of repetition of 'ein kleines'.....

Example sentence(s):
  • North American gerund or present participle: sharecropping (of a tenant farmer) cultivate (farmland) giving a part of each crop as rent. "one fifth of farmers sharecrop the land they till"
  • Land held by the peasantry in this period fell into three broad categories:unfree land, that is land held typically, but not exclusively,by villein or servile tenants of a manorial lord according to the customof the manor (hence also

    Reference: http://de.zxc.wiki/wiki/Sölde_(Landwirtschaft)
    books.google.at/books?id=fWF2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=knight+mercenary+smallholding&source=bl&ots=-FqvJKDlsY&sig=ACfU3U2NV_LMMkJ4tFZNK95
Adrian MM.
Austria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Kim Metzger: I think "sharecropper" is too specific to the US.
2 hrs
  -> You are right, Kim, but the asker is in the US where John Steinbeck's sharecroppers' novel of the 'Grapes of Wrath' ought to have been uppermost in 'our' American minds, Otherwise, the Sölden- element needs to be reflected - which smallholding fails to do
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Reference comments


7 mins peer agreement (net): +5
Reference: Info

Reference information:
Eine Sölde (auch Selde) bezeichnet in Bayern und Österreich Hof und Grund eines Söldners (kein Soldat, sondern ein Kleinbauer, Häusler), der manchmal auch etwas Vieh besaß und in der Regel davon allein nicht leben konnte. Als Tagelöhner oder Handwerker musste er sich zusätzlichen „Sold“ dazuverdienen.[1] Anders als die Bauern hatten die Söldner meist auch keine Pferde. Deshalb mussten sie statt der Spanndienste Handscharwerkdienste leisten. Bei den Sölden – im Gegensatz zu den Höfen der Bauern häufig auch als „Gütel“ oder „Gütl“ bezeichnet, also kleiner als ein Viertelbauer – wird unterschieden zwischen[2]
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sölde_(Landwirtschaft)

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Note added at 27 mins (2021-03-01 15:19:15 GMT)
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In some areas of Germany, Söldner can mean "soldier" or "mercenary" (Latin: soldarius), but in Bavaria a Söldner was a Kleinbauer (small farmer). (Latin: Soldanus / solarius / soldarius).
A Soeldner (small farmer) owned some fields and farm animals. To find out how large the farm was, take a look in land records - for residents of the Oberpfalz ("Upper Palatinate" in English), these records are kept at the Staatsarchiv Amberg).
In Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria) and the Oberpfalz - regions of Bavaria in the Bayerischer Wald (Bavarian Forest) - a Söldner was so poor that he could not live solely off the farm and so worked as day laborers or craftsmen.
https://sites.google.com/site/auswanderer20/links/types-of-f...

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 212

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  philgoddard
2 mins
agree  Adrian MM.
50 mins
agree  Elisabeth Kissel
5 hrs
agree  Cillie Swart: Yeah, makes sense
17 hrs
agree  writeaway
18 hrs
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