In another passage of his commentary he calls these agrarian associations families and fraternities. Elsewhere he expresseshimself in these terms: "These communities are true families forming a society and university, and are maintained by thesubrogation of persons either born within them, or introduced from outside." (10)Communities which were formed tacitly, without inventaires , and which were continued indefinitely among the survivors,were called tacit ( taisibles ). As in the Slav zadruga , the associates elected a chief, the mayor , maistre de communauté , or chef du chanteau . The allotment of labour, buying and selling, and the administration and government of the communitywere in his hands; he exercised the executive power.
Guy Coquille, the old writer on customary law already quoted, describes in quaint terms how agricultural operations wereearned on in these peasant associations. "According to the old system of husbandry, several persons were united in a familyto carry on a cultivation, which is very laborious and entails many operations, in this country of Nivernais, which is naturallyunadapted to cultivation. The task of some is to till the ground and prick on the oxen, lazy cattle, of which as many as sixare commonly required to draw the carts. Others have to drive the cows and young mares to the pastures, others to take thesheep, and others to take charge of the swine. These families, composed of several persons, all of whom are employedaccording to their age, *** and capacity, are governed by one man, called the master of the community, and elected for thispurpose by the rest. He directs the rest, goes to the towns, fairs or other places for the transaction of all business, has powerto bind the personal property of his co-partners in matters concerning the welfare of the community, and his name alone isenrolled for purposes of taxation or subsidy. From these proofs we understand that these communities are true families orcolleges, which, figuratively speaking, form one body composed of several members. The members may be distinct from oneanother, but by fraternity, friendship, and economic ties, are formed into a single body. As the ruin of these houses is theabsolute, and inevitable result of partition and separation, it was enacted by the ancient laws of this land, alike in the case ofhouseholds and families of serfs and of those households where the inheritance was held in bordelage , that those who werenot members of the community should have no right of succession to the others, and likewise that there should be no right ofsuccession to them."
They also elected a woman to take charge of all domestic matters and to direct the household. This was the mayorissa , whoappears in the Salic law and also in the ancient chartulary of Saint-Père de Chartres. The French, more cautious than theSlavs, would not allow the mayorissa to be the wife of the mayor, for fear of mutual understanding between them resultingto the disadvantage of the association. When the daughters married, they were entitled to a marriage-portion, but they couldclaim nothing further from the community which they left. The same rule was observed in the Slav zadruga .
All agricultural operations were executed for the common profit. But each married couple had, in many cases, a smallpeculium, which could be increased by certain industrial occupations. The wife spun; the husband wove material of wool orflax; and so the family itself produced all that was necessary for its wants. There was little ground for buying and selling.
Later, however, as industry developed, the communities no longer remained strangers to it. In entering on commerce theyapplied the principle of division of labour, distributing the profits also among all. Legrand d'Aussy, in his Voyage enAuvergne , (11) written in 1788, describes some communities as occupied in the manufacture of cutlery.
"Round Thiers, and in the open country, are scattered houses inhabited by societies of peasants, some of whom pursue theoccupation of cutlers, while the others devote themselves to tilling the soil. Besides these single, isolated habitations, thereare others more thickly peopled, in which the community is still more intimate. The hamlet is inhabited by the differentbranches of a family, devoted to agriculture. As a rule no marriages are contracted except between its members; and, underthe guidance of a chief elected by itself and subject to deposition by it, it forms a kind of republic in which all labour is incommon, because all its members are on a footing of equality.
"In the neighbourhood of Thiers there are several of these family republics, Tarante, Baritel, Terme, Guittard, Bourgade,Beaujeu, &c. The first two are the most numerous; but the oldest, as well as the most celebrated, is the Guittard family. Thehamlet, which is formed and inhabited by this family, is to the north-west of Thiers at about half a league from the town. It iscalled Pinon; and this name has, in the district, prevailed over their proper family name, and they are called the Pinons. In themonth of July, 1788, when I visited them, they formed four branches or households, containing nineteen persons in all, men,women and children. But the number not being sufficient for the cultivation of the land and other labour, they had with themthirteen servants, which raised the total population to thirty-two persons. The precise date of the foundation of the hamlet isunknown. Tradition makes its establishment date from the twelfth century. (12) The administration of the Pinons is paternal,but elective. All the members of the community assemble; a chief is elected by the majority of voices, who takes the title of`master'; and being constituted father of the whole family, is bound to watch over everything that concerns its welfare....
