Mantal - please explain

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Karin Naylor on January 20, 2012 at 4:57pm

Here is a quote from The Journey Takers by Leslie Albrecht Huber

"1/32 of a mantal = app. 7 to 10 acres – semi-landless peasants
A plot of  land this small would have meant that they fell towards  the bottom of the social order."

So I assume that a Mantal would be about 320 acres.

Permalink Reply by Erv Nelson on January 20, 2012 at 9:24pm

Lynn,  I have seen many discussions of the term mantal, all reference land in relation to taxation.  All agree that it is not a specific square area such as tunnland, rather it is  usually described as a flexible measure depending on the climate and productivity of land. In some writings it is said that it refers to the number of men on a farm but I think not in Sweden, much more commonly I have seen it described as a kind of standard farm for tax measure.  1 mantal could support one family, the actual physical size varies in acreage according to the productivity of land and climate in question.  Over time a 1 mantal farm (written 1/1) became fragmented from inheritance or sales etc. such that we usually see 1/2 mtl. or even 1/32 mtl. meaning that the land unit is only 1/32 part of the original farm.  Sometimes seen as farm b 1/4mtl under farm A.  with farm A being the original 1/1 mantal farm.   The mantal designation determined the tax to be payed on a taxable farm.  In some cases I have seen it described as measured by the area a particular amount of seed (perhaps a barrel of seed) would be normally sown upon land in that location.  

 I hope this helps Lynn, and I hope I am close to correct.  If I am wrong someone please correct me. 

Permalink Reply by Erv Nelson on January 20, 2012 at 9:35pm

P.S.  The Mantalslängder lists persons that are subject to taxation owing to their "mantal".