Arrabona - Múzeumi közlemények 31-33. (Győr, 1994)

Gecsényi Lajos: Gazdálkodás és társadalmi mobilitás a „győri pusztán” a XVII. században

Agriculture and the Movement of Peoples on the Puszta of Győr in the 17 th century According to records of the Turkish army's military expeditionary force throughout the 16th century, an important number of villages situated on the plain bordered by the Danube, the Vértes and the Bakony Hills to the east of Győr, fell into ruin. Reference material states that this area, in the beginning of the 17th century, was often termed "the steppe of Győr", which became a peripheral area of the part of Hungary under Turkish rule. Only the fields surrounding those so-called teppe villages remained outwith cultivation. From the middle of the 17th century the main line of the expanding east-west cattla trade was re-routed through Győr and its region and Győr became an intermediary station. Tens of thousands of stock changed hands both at the weekly market and annual fairs. These animals were rested and fattened on local grazing land. Some village farmers survived in business to raise a significant number of livestock for themselves on their own fields and the surrounding steppes. They could even be likened to their counterparts in the Hungarian Plain country towns. The steppe was used in several ways. Certain rich owners from among the nobility took over the territory from its original owners. The inhabitants and properties were also subject to new masters. A number of town citizens, farmers and lesser nobles (perhaps even small village communities) obtained the right of tenancy of land for a period of a year i.e. the right to mow, graze and use the water. Finally drovers obtained grazing rights only for some days or a few weeks, against a "grass rent" payable according to the numbers of livestock. This method of leasing made not only grazing possible, but also the permanent winter supply of hay for the stock. On the steppe the cattle, sheep and horses were tended by herdsmen, shepherds and horsemen who were engaged for those purposes. They came from villages within a 20-30 km radius, working temporarily above the status of serf. In the second half of the 17th century, before the wars with the Turks, there were several signs that the newly settled inhabitants of the villages were starting to use grazing land for renewed ploughing and land cultivation. These practices proceeded significantly after the wars, gaining strength, while gradually ending the steppe tenancy system. Lajos Gecsényi 94