Local Migration of Peasants in the Late Middle Ages: a Quantitative Analysis of the Cheb City-State 1442–1456

Abstract

Many scholars have proved statistically that the migration of the Early Modern European peasantry was predominantly local and socially conditioned. This article tries to expand our quantified knowledge of the Late Medieval period using the unique documentary evidence from the Cheb city-state (Czech Republic). Based on a detailed analysis, we show that the migration pattern of the Late Medieval Cheb peasantry was similar to the Early Modern one despite very different demographic, economic and social conditions. The strength of the ties to the land increased with wealth; the better the property often among rural landholdings, gaining a better position. The wealthier the peasants status of the household, the lower the rate of replacement on the landholding. Poorer peasants migrated relatively more to the city, where they were among the wealthier burghers. Even though peasant migration took place over short distances, it brought about fundamental changes for many peasants.