6533b7dcfe1ef96bd1272258

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Protokoły rozjemców rejencji opolskiej jako źródło do badań życia codziennego na wsi śląskiej od XIX do połowy XX wieku

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The acts of arbitration courts, operating in Opole district since 1835, constitute an interesting source for the research of Silesian everyday village life in the nineteenth and twentieth century. The author, after having presented a short outline of the institution and its legal functioning, concentrates on specific cases lodged to peacemakers. The everyday life situations in the protocols present the interpersonal conflicts, usually concerning unimportant things, not being included in the criminal case catalogue. The picture of the village, as shown in the article, is however not an idyllic one. It presents the conflicts, difficult to be found in other historical resources, such as: a tussle about the land or slander or contracts and agreements concerning the repayment of a debt. In the protocols there could also be found a great number of information about the historical prices of goods and services. This is simultaneously an ideal source to verify the number of illegitimate people and professional structure of the people inhabiting the villages. Moreover, it allows to depict typical and independent from the place of occurrence situations, such as the intensity of conflicts on their way back from an inn or the number of people overusing the arbitration court institution.