Page 52 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 52
he Culture of Wine in Slovenia
‘Mountain books’, the Archive of As the Vineyard Rights pertaining to these vineyards were
the Republic of Slovenia, book specific to Carniola and Styria, I will describe them in more
1582, Anton Recelj. With the help of detail. Sergej Vilfan in his Pravna zgodovina Slovencev2
Stanislav Bačar from Ajdovščina. (The Legal History of the Slovenes) interprets them as special
ownership relations. Landlords gave the right for the clearing
of woodlands and the creation of vineyards to individuals
irrespective of their residence and personal status, i.e. to vas-
sals, free townspeople and aristocrats. Winegrowers formed
a community of those who reaped from this land that was,
however, still feudal. As the members of the community
were of different class origin, matters pertaining to these
vineyards were resolved separately, at community meetings.
The first such meetings were mentioned in Styria as early as
in 12363. At these meetings any problems or conflicts among
the community members were resolved: the management of
paths, the setting of a grape picking date, the resolution of
conflicts about borders, and so on. With time, the number
of conflicts increased and the problem arose of the judicial
resolution of conflicts among different estates of the realm,
so the provincial Duke of Styria in 1543 issued the gorske
bukve (vineyard books)4. Later, such books which contained
the official rules applying to ‘vineyard rights’, were also
issued by the Duke of Carniola.
Sergej Vilfan5 says that these meetings of the members of a community of winegrowers were
the height of popular justice in Slovenia, which remained in place until the 19th century.
The historian Josip Gruden6 also mentions that these meetings were of special value, as
they protected against the arbitrariness of lords and adds: “In 1584, Archduke Charles ap-
proved the ‘mountain code’ for inner Austria, which was written in Slovene. This was the
first government document issued in the Slovene language.”
In the Slovene Littoral, on the other hand, there was something called kolonat. This ap-
peared on the basis of Roman law during the collapse of slavery when the work of slaves
proved uneconomical in regions where Rome was still strong; it was part of the transition
to feudalism and its system of tenure. Estate owners wanted to keep both slaves and Ro-
man freemen on their estates. A kolon or tenure holder took part of an estate and worked
it, paying a rent. This was inherited and tied the tenure holder to the land and its owner.
Koloni were with regard to their personal discipline subject to their lords, but according
to Roman law also free. This is mentioned in Istra from the 9th century onwards.
In the early 13th century there developed in Italy a freer form of kolonat, known as com-
munal kolonat, which differed from the Roman one. A peasant was free and no longer
tied to the land, but had short-term tenure. Free contracts with those who worked the land
3 Vilfan, 1996, p. 355
4 Ibid., 356
5 Ibid., 360
6 Gruden, 1992, p. 440
48
‘Mountain books’, the Archive of As the Vineyard Rights pertaining to these vineyards were
the Republic of Slovenia, book specific to Carniola and Styria, I will describe them in more
1582, Anton Recelj. With the help of detail. Sergej Vilfan in his Pravna zgodovina Slovencev2
Stanislav Bačar from Ajdovščina. (The Legal History of the Slovenes) interprets them as special
ownership relations. Landlords gave the right for the clearing
of woodlands and the creation of vineyards to individuals
irrespective of their residence and personal status, i.e. to vas-
sals, free townspeople and aristocrats. Winegrowers formed
a community of those who reaped from this land that was,
however, still feudal. As the members of the community
were of different class origin, matters pertaining to these
vineyards were resolved separately, at community meetings.
The first such meetings were mentioned in Styria as early as
in 12363. At these meetings any problems or conflicts among
the community members were resolved: the management of
paths, the setting of a grape picking date, the resolution of
conflicts about borders, and so on. With time, the number
of conflicts increased and the problem arose of the judicial
resolution of conflicts among different estates of the realm,
so the provincial Duke of Styria in 1543 issued the gorske
bukve (vineyard books)4. Later, such books which contained
the official rules applying to ‘vineyard rights’, were also
issued by the Duke of Carniola.
Sergej Vilfan5 says that these meetings of the members of a community of winegrowers were
the height of popular justice in Slovenia, which remained in place until the 19th century.
The historian Josip Gruden6 also mentions that these meetings were of special value, as
they protected against the arbitrariness of lords and adds: “In 1584, Archduke Charles ap-
proved the ‘mountain code’ for inner Austria, which was written in Slovene. This was the
first government document issued in the Slovene language.”
In the Slovene Littoral, on the other hand, there was something called kolonat. This ap-
peared on the basis of Roman law during the collapse of slavery when the work of slaves
proved uneconomical in regions where Rome was still strong; it was part of the transition
to feudalism and its system of tenure. Estate owners wanted to keep both slaves and Ro-
man freemen on their estates. A kolon or tenure holder took part of an estate and worked
it, paying a rent. This was inherited and tied the tenure holder to the land and its owner.
Koloni were with regard to their personal discipline subject to their lords, but according
to Roman law also free. This is mentioned in Istra from the 9th century onwards.
In the early 13th century there developed in Italy a freer form of kolonat, known as com-
munal kolonat, which differed from the Roman one. A peasant was free and no longer
tied to the land, but had short-term tenure. Free contracts with those who worked the land
3 Vilfan, 1996, p. 355
4 Ibid., 356
5 Ibid., 360
6 Gruden, 1992, p. 440
48
