#mills

Although the hereditary miller had to pay the landowner an inheritance rent in the form of agricultural products or money on Walpurgis Night and Michaelmas Day, he was exempt from corvée labor and other duties.

This legal situation is reflected in the legends about the “right to fish,” such as the following one from Swabia:

“On May 27, 1304, King Albrecht granted a mill to a certain Markard, and on July 26, 1306, he granted him the right to fish in the area of the mill, within a distance that a person standing on a wooden plank called a “sole” could throw a spear upstream and downstream.”

This is where the expression "to throw the spear" comes from — the right to fish within striking distance. I

n such legal traditions, on the one hand, there is a documented close relationship between the miller and the estate owner. They were dependent on each other: the miller was dependent on the estate owner for their rights and obligations, while the estate owner had little knowledge of the mill and the grinding process.

To prevent strong competition, the so-called protective miles were introduced, within which it was forbidden to build new mills. 

Only secular or ecclesiastical landowners had the right to own mills. They also obliged farmers to grind their grain at the mill specified by the landowner. This led to a dependency between the farmer and the miller. 

Mills were one of the reliable sources of income. The Saxon mill regulations of 1653, 1668 and 1766 note that a payment of up to one-sixteenth, the so-called small metza, was charged as a reward for the miller.

If the customers ground the grain themselves, the miller received only the so-called sack money, and the apprentice received the knappendreier.

A study conducted among the miller's in the Lucerne region revealed that most of the miller's were relatively well-off. Only 9% did not own land and paid taxes, although there were significant variations within the region.

There is a "language of mills." In windless weather, the position of the windmill's wings can convey joyful news about weddings and the birth of children in a family, as well as mournful messages, such as the death of a miller. These messages can be seen from a distance, as windmills are typically located in open fields or on hills.

Until 1850, there was a very ancient custom in mills that was observed after the death of the chief miller. Then the senior journeyman shouted at night during the grinding, and the other journeymen and disciples standing nearby took off their hats:

"I want to inform you that our master has passed away!"