Szőllősy Csilla - Pokrovenszki Krisztián (szerk.): Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis - Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei. C. sorozat 45. (Székesfehérvár, 2017)

Tanulmányok/közlemények - Néprajz - Gelencsér József: Átjárás az udvaron. Szolgalom vagy jogszokás?

Gelencsér József. Átjárás az udvaron. Szolgalom vagy jogszokás?

József Gelencsér

Crossing Others’ Yards:

Right of Way or Custom?

In the peasant community of Sárkeresztes (Fejér County, Hungary), the custom of crossing the yards and gardens of other inhabitants of the setdement was exercised presumably from the first half of the 18th century until the ‘70s or ’80s. From a morphological aspect, the setdement, a roadside village characterised by burgage plots (i.e. long narrow plots), mainly consisted of parallel streets until the ‘20s. The inhabitants of the village could not only reach their destination on foot using streets and alleyways, but also by crossing the yards of other people. The continuous practice of this custom was also reinforced by the absence, or late erection, of fences.

Crossing yards did not constitute a right of way, although these two phenomena are comparable to a certain extent. It was a custom whose practice was facilitated by the acceptance of other plot owners, the strong community feeling of peasant society, the directness of relationships, the need for mutual assistance as well as tradition.

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