Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/337

 AGRICULTURAL LIFE 325 upon to assist in maintaining order and justice. In all things appertaining to the interests of the village he had a vote. In all discussions and quarrels the maxim was : ' All for one, one for all.' That fraternal bond, community of interests, was the foundation of this communal life, so greatly prized by the peasants. The mayor, agent, and district judge were elected by the vote of the people, and had jurisdiction not only over the profits of the commune, but also over the leased possessions. At the close of the fifteenth century the Saxon maxim, ' What the mayor with the approval of the majority decides for the benefit of the village must not be opposed by the minority,' still had weight. The manner of farming was naturally determined by the character of the soil, but the system of succession of crops generally prevailed throughout the confederate vil- lages. The field was planted the first year with winter crops, the second with summer wheat, and the third it was allowed to lie fallow, in order that the soil might recover from the exhaustion occasioned by production. In the fifteenth century cultivators began to utilise the fallow ground by planting what they called ' fallow crops,' consisting generally of vetches and peas. All over Upper Germany as far as the Lower Ehine we find, close to the regularly farmed fields, Biindenbau, which were fields of the best soil never permitted to lie fallow, but devoted to the raising of vegetables, flax and hemp. Grazing prevailed in Southern Germany and along the coast, and here the fields were sown alternate years with grass and wheat. The agricultural management of each confederate village or district was settled by the parish, as were also