
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
Deeds, Promissory Notes, Wills, Estate Sales Deeds, Promissory Notes, Wills, Estate Sales
-
The Deed and Space The Deed and Space
-
The Promissory Note and Time The Promissory Note and Time
-
The Estate Sale and Material Culture The Estate Sale and Material Culture
-
The Will and the Reproduction of Society The Will and the Reproduction of Society
-
-
Tax Lists Tax Lists
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2. A Note on Sources: How Documents Think
Get access-
Published:May 2018
Cite
Abstract
Beyond the basic farm idea, we can catch a glimpse of the farm mentality by looking closely at the documentary sources farming created: court records, tax lists, account books, and so on. Each one formed a particular world in which farmers led part of their lives. The deed created a space formed of artificial lines imposed on the natural world. The purpose of the deed was to move these chunks of space between the largely male owners, the only significant actors in this world. The promissory note created a period of obligation. During the specified time, the borrower was tied to the lender in a relationship of mutual trust. All farmers were festooned with obligations linking him to other lenders and borrowers. The estate auction revealed the farmer amidst his small possession, forever changing his assemblage of tools, furniture, animals, and land. The will exhibits the farmer ordering the future, willing what the small society of his family will look like after he is gone. Tax lists can be interpreted, after Foucault, as the state exercising discipline by naming every person and exacting a tax. They also reveal the eminence of the male head of the household and the obscurity of women, children, and servants. Finally, the lists ranked farmers by their productivity and ownership, a ranking every farmer could see by glancing at his neighbors’ properties compared to his own.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
August 2024 | 2 |
February 2025 | 2 |
March 2025 | 2 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.