Page 178 - Upland Families, Elites and Communities

Margareth Lanzinger

In the introduction to the 2007 French conference volume Lesélitesru-
rales, the editors mention innkeepers, albeit at the end of the list: ‘The ru-
ral elite thus included wealthy peasants as well as lesser dignitaries, mer-
chants, notaries, agents of the seigniorial system, priests and innkeepers,
and this diversity fully justifies the plural form of the expression’ (Jessenne
and Menant 2007, 9).² However, they are not prominently represented in
the contributions to the volume itself. What is important is the concep-
tualisation that this volume undertakes: it is concerned with rural elites
– and this is not synonymous with peasant elites, although the two cate-
gories overlap to a large extent. This may sound obvious, but the distinc-
tion is important. With regard to the historiography of Tyrol, for example,
Hans Heiss critically noted many years ago that the perception of Tyrol as a
peasant society was so dominant that forms of a specific middle class with
some bourgeois (bürgerlich) elements, especially in the countryside, were
practically overlooked (Heiss 1990, 298). The position of mediator between
rural and, in a sense, bourgeois elements could be a productive approach,
especially with regard to the material culture and lifestyle of innkeepers
and other mobile rural elites such as merchants and officials.
On the other hand, it seems important to me to think of continental ru-
ral areas more in terms of globalising interconnections than has been the
casesofar. At thesametime, theaimof such an approach istolink thecon-
tinental and rural areas more closely with the Atlantic and maritime areas
in socio-economic terms – a concern that has been advocated by an increas-
ing number of studies, conferences, etc. in recent years (Wimmler and We-
ber 2020; Kaps 2023). Not only transit traffic but also innkeepers are part
of these globalising connections – at least in transit regions. They provide
essential infrastructure and operate logistics for transit traffic. This per-
spective makes them actors who were integrated into far-reaching transr-
egional trade and, above all, transport networks.
There are local studies that portray important inns and innkeeper fam-
ilies (Kustatscher 1992; Kühebacher 1995; Tschaikner 1998; Weingartner
1956). Many of these works and texts are written in the spirit of a rather
traditional history; they do not pursue a social, family or gender historical
approach. The works of Hans Heiss deserve special mention, as they are pi-
oneering in this respect (Heiss 2001; 2000; 1985). Nevertheless, the histo-

² Original: ‘Les élites rurales comprennent ainsi à la fois des agriculteurs aisés et des petits
notables, marchands, notaires, agents seigneuriaux, curés ou aubergistes, et cette diversité
justifie largement le pluriel de l’expression.’

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