The Vanel rent-rolls
Located near Rougemont in the canton of Vaud, one finds the ruins of the former
Vanel fort. It was built in the beginning of the 12th century by the counts of Gruyères,
to whose territory also belonged the county of Saanen.
From the Vanel fort, so-called rent-rolls dating from the years 1312, 1324, 1355, and around 1360
have been preserved.
These rent-rolls (also known as rentals or extents) are written on parchment and
inform about estates, tenants and the taxes they owed. In the 1355 rent-roll, the name Raaflaub
is mentioned for the first time.
All four rent-rolls have been transcribed by Jan Roelof Dirk Zwahlen in 1947.
The rent-rolls of 1312, 1324, and around 1360 have been transcribed again by Jean-Pierre Chapuisat in 1959.
The 1355 rent-roll
The rent-roll of 1355 mentions for the first time the name Rafflors
in the paragraph for the place called Leygnes (today known as Eigen):
Leygnes
Petrus filius Heny Turyn VII sol., IX den.
Yully Sperant VII sol., III den. st de novo VI den.
Rodulphus filius quondam Yaquit Rafflors pro dictam Mutunay III obolus.
Item idem LVI [?] sol.
Source:
Extractus extente nove de redditibus castellanie de Vanello, facte anno
domini millesimo trecentesimo elmo quinquaquinto. (AEF Gruyères 279).
– Cited after the transcription by Jan Roelof Dirk Zwahlen in 1947
(StAB N Marti-Wehren 35). – Picture by Walter Raaflaub.
Rent-roll from around 1360
In the rent-roll from around 1360, two entries in the Vuillere paragraph
(place unknown today) refer to the family name Rapflour
or Rafflour respectively.
Omission symbols [–––] indicate illegible parts.
Rodulphus, Vuillinus et Peter filii quondam Iacobi Rapflour tenet
a domino de aquisito a Iohanne dou Bac de aquisito in la Vuisp[eliona]
iuxta les Adelimos, VIII falcatas ad V solidos census; item ibidem de novo
iuxta dictum aquisitum, X falcatas ad IIII [–––]
de novo domino; item idem tenet de accensato a domino subtus la Vuispeliona ou Vuang
iuxta illos dou Soucer [–––]
domino exchetas per mortem Henrici filii
Uldrici Adelimo; item de novo eys Buzche subtus la [–––]
sutorem II falcatas, VI solidos census.
Rodulphus filius Iacobi Rafflour tenet de aquisito a Yullino Vuispeliere
in la Vuispeliona iuxta Yani dou Bac, [–––]
II solidos VI denarios; item de novo
subtus la Vuispeliona iuxta serniam Heyni Romant ex una parte et
serniam Henrici [–––]
ex altera, VI falcatas ad III solidos
Sources: [Rent-roll from around 1360] (ACV Fc 5).
The original document is in bad condition and is not accessible.
– Cited after the 1959 transcription by Jean-Pierre Chapuisat (ACV Fc 5,
supplement Extente du Vanel). – Pictures taken from Jan Roelof Dirk Zwahlen's
documentation (StAB N Marti-Wehren 35).
