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A Kötter, Köter, Köthner, Kötner, Kätner or Kotsassen, and especially in Prussia and Mecklenburg also Kossat(h)en, Kossater or Kossäten, was a villager in medieval Europe who lived in a simple dwelling known as a ''Kotten'' or ''Kate'' ("cottage"). The term is similar to the Scottish cotter and loosely translates as "cottager". The plural form is the same. The term ''Kötter'' is recorded in Germany from the 14th century. The farmsteads of ''Kötter'' were generally sited on the edge of a village or were sub-divisions of an old farm. Because the return on their land was frequently insufficient to sustain their livelihood, they usually supplemented their income with a craft or trade, or by working as day labourers (''Tagelöhner'') on bigger farms or at manor houses. They usually had a plot of land of between an eighth and a half an oxgang (''Hufe''); they had few cattle and no more than one horse. In most cases the cottage or ''Kate'' had a small vegetable garten that also provided a secondary source of income. Most ''Kätner'' had another main occupation. They were e. g. teachers, craftsmen or, if their land was sufficient, farmers. Their land was beyond the fields (''Flur'') allocated to the full-time farmers or ''Hufnern''. The ''Kötter'' usually had a small share in the common land. In the social agricultural hierarchy〔c.f. e.g. August Haxthausen and Alexander Padberg: ''Die ländliche Verfassung in den Provinzen Ost- und Westpreußen''. 1st vol., Königsberg, 1839, pp. 337 ff. ((online )).〕 a ''Kötter'' ranked below the full-time farmer or ''Vollbauer'', but above the ''Büdner'', who just owned a house and garden and earned his living as a tradesman, and above the various categories of day labourer (the ''Inste'' and the ''Tagelöhner''). Around the middle of the 15th century, encouraged by a form of primogeniture known as the ''Anerbenrecht'' and by the rapid population growth, the ''Kötter'' were divided into ''Erbkötter'' and ''Markkötter''. The former, who normally arose as a result of the division of land, always had a house and garden within the village, or within a farming community, something which was considered essential for reasons of protection and mutual assistance. Now, land that could be farmed, no matter how poor, was cleared elsewhere in the parish; often miles away from the village or nearest settlement, and in its middle a so-called ''Markkotten'' was built which was allocated to the ''Markkötter'' where he had to live. The ''Markkötter'' was not really given an inheritance proper and he ranked below the ''Erbkötter''. Unlike the heirs or old farmers (''Altbauern''), none of this group inherited the family farm. Both groups of ''Kötter'' - the ''Erbkötter'' and ''Markkötter'' - were still higher in the social hierarchy than the ''Heuerling'', who were, legally and economically, more dependant on the owners of their cottages. == Footnotes and references == 〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kötter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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