The cottage economy in sixteenth-century Sweden

What was the role of cottagers in the agrarian economy of sixteenth-century Sweden? Drawing from a range of sources, such as cadastres and wealth taxation lists, the article finds that most cottagers paid land rents in small sums of money; that the majority of most cottagers’ wealth consisted of only one– two cows; that most cottagers did not hold any arable land, having to buy or earn grain as an in-kind wage; and that many cottagers worked within their local community in agriculture, construction, and transportation, as well as made a living through spinning, woodcraft production, and from forest resources, such as tar and charcoal. The main argument of the article is however that the most important function that cottagers filled in their local society was as wage workers, a labour reserve which was called on by their village neighbours during the peak times of the agricultural year as well as for continuous and recurring work tasks.