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From: "Dean and Pauline Sears" <>
Subject: Re: [S-H-RTS] "Class Definitions"
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 15:44:11 -0500
References: <004e01c0bd84$db70a820$2a11f4cc@w.k.detl>


Can someone give me the English translation for Detlef. Is it Dudley? Pauli
from Arkansas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Detlefsen" <>
To: <>
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 10:59 PM
Subject: [S-H-RTS] "Class Definitions"


> Bob asks about "class definitions".
>
> The following is an excerpt from my Family History book. These comments
> pertain chiefly to conditions prevailing in Flensburg. I do
> not know to what extent these conditions prevailed elsewhere.
>
> This material is based, in part, on publications by the "Gesellschaft fuer
> Flensburger Stadtgeschichte" - the Society for Flensburg City History.
>
> Bill in British Columbia
>
>
> *********************
>
> Ranking In The Community
>
> Daily life in the 18th century was by and large determined by two
concepts:
> "honour" and "rank". These concepts influenced the lives of our ancestors,
> to some degree even to this day.
>
> Loss of "honour" was not only seen in a legal context though it was the
> consequence of punishment for a number of crimes and misdemeanours.
> Diminishment of honour was the consequence of an illegitimate birth, and
it
> was also associated with certain trades and occupations such as
executioner
> and knacker, even weaver, miller, customs collector or "travelling
people".
>
> "Rank" brought with it a closely associated level of "honour", and thus
any
> encroachment on ones rank was seen as a loss of honour. This might have
been
> the result of greater prosperity which brought with it greater degrees of
> differentiation in positions and living styles. Towards the beginning of
the
> 18th century there was an alarming increase in disputes over the concept
of
> "rank". One famous case in Flensburg was the dispute brought before the
> courts by the wives of the merchant Rudolf August Cramer and the master
> blacksmith Lorenz Nummensen, about who was entitled to sit in the church
> balcony rather in the pews below during the service. Disputes of this
nature
> prompted the Danish king, in his capacity of Duke of Schleswig, to
establish
> rules and regulations in 1718 regulating the ranks of citizens in
Flensburg.
> Similar decrees were enacted elsewhere. These rules governed society in
> Flensburg well into the 19th century, and it might be said that their
effect
> in however small measure lasted well into our times.
>
> This is what the king decreed:
>
> At the top was a 'patriciate', persons of the highest rank who were set
> apart from ordinary citizenry because they stood in a special relationship
> to the king: Royal employees, doctors of medicine, solicitors and
barristers
> accredited to plead before the high court, priests and pastors, the
> principal of the Latin School, the mayor, members of the magistrate, the
> hospital board and the teachers of the Latin School.
>
> Citizens were divided into three classes:
>
> ? The first class embraced deputized citizens (i.e. those holding a
position
> in the municipal government), merchants with taxable capital of at least
> 9,000 Mark Luebsch , organists, the city musician, and the teachers of the
> "German Schools" (i.e. one rank lower than the teachers of the Latin
> School).
> ? The second class included merchants with taxable capital of less than
> 9,000 Mark, craftsmen and artisans belonging to guilds established by
royal
> decree, ship captains, and goldsmiths, painters, carvers and sculptors,
i.e.
> artisans with an artistic leaning.
> ? The third class consisted of craftsmen and artisans not belonging to a
> guild, casual workers, seaman, shop keepers "and the like".
>
> There was no room in these classifications for inhabitants suffering from
a
> blemish on their honour.
>
> These classifications were also manifest in their daily language: the
> highest ranks were able to understand, if not converse, in Latin. Citizens
> of the first class spoke low-German but could read and write High German.
> Low German was prevalent in the lower classes and Low Danish -
synderjysk -
> was used extensively. An upward move in the ranks was usually acompanied
by
> a change in the use of language.
>
> The rank order pervaded life in Flensburg in a very noticeable fashion.
Here
> are some examples:
>
> ? Citizens of the first rank had their houses towards the harbour
("water")
> side of the main street, whereas second rank citizens lived on the other,
> the "hill" side. Third rank citizens lived in fill-in housing scattered
> throughout town.
> ? Wedding invitations were limited to 40, 25 and 12 "houses" (i.e.
families)
> for first, second and third class citizens, respectively. This was tightly
> controlled by municipal officers. Those exceding these limits were taxed
at
> the higher rates applicable to the higher rank, and had to accept the
> additional duties and obligations of the higher ranks.
> ? The bridal crowns which Queen Margarethe donated to the city in 1410
could
> be rented from city government for a fee; they were free to the highest
> ranks.
> ? The upper class citizens were entitled at burial to a requiem mass and a
> wake; first and second ranks only to a requiem mass; and third class
> citizens could be buried only on ordinary church days, i.e. for example
not
> on Sundays. Often the second and third class citizens and certainly those
of
> the (unclassified) lower classes could not afford the cost of the
prescribed
> and permitted burial ceremonies. They formed "Totengilden", burial
societies
> which for a weekly fee would not only pay for the costs of the burial but
> would also accompany the coffin to the burial place.
> ? Schooling also reflected the ranking: the "upper class" children went to
> Latin School which had an extensive curriculum, while the three citizen
> classes sent the children to "German School" where they were taught rather
> basic skills until they were ready to be "confirmed" around age twelve.
> Children of casual labourers, seamen and shop keepers did not go to
school.
>
> [The ? above were 'bullets' in the MSWord text; they did not transcribe
> properly when I copied the text for e-mail transmision. Bear with it.]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

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