Register of Serfs According to Their Confession 1651
by Jan Pařez - 2003-05-10The register of serfs according to their confession (Soupis Poddaných Podle Víry z roku 1651) was created after the Thirty Year War, when the last protestant army left Bohemia. It listed all inhabitants according to their confession except clergy and soldiers. The household – the landlord, his wife, children and servants, their status (serf or free), occupation, age, and confession (Catholic or non-Catholic) is the basic element of the register that is assorted according to regions and particular rules. This register also listed inhabitants without land property, and therefore it is very valuable complement to the Land registers and the Roll of Assessment (berní rula) for genealogical research. The registers were written in Czech and are very legible, but many of the parts were lost. The registers are assorted according to original regions are being published since the early 1990’s. The parts of the register that haven’t been published yet, are deposited in State Central Archives, I.dep., sign. SM R 109 (archival group Old Handling - „Stará Manipulace“)