The ''lokator'' (lat. ''locator'':

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

, land allocator, from Latin to allocate, rent, establish, settle or locate; also ''magister incolarum''; in Mecklenburg and

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

also or , similar to the ''Reutemeister'' in South Germany) was a medieval sub-contractor, who was responsible to a territorial lord or landlord for the clearing, survey and apportionment of land that was to be settled. In addition, he hired

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s for this purpose, provided their means of subsistence during the transitional period (e.g. during the clearing of the land) and made materiel and implements available, such as

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

draught animal A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for transportation (e.g. riding horses and camels), while ot ...

s, iron

plough A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...

s, etc. He thus played a key role during the establishment of new towns and villages, as well as the clearing of uncultivated land during the phase of internal colonisation (''Binnenkolonisation'') in North German and the German '' Ostsiedlung'' and participated in its success.

Literature

* Matthias Hardt: Linien und Säume, Zonen und Räume an der Ostgrenze des Reiches im frühen und hohen Mittelalter, in: Walter Pohl / Helmut Reimitz (ed.): Grenze und Differenz im frühen Mittelalter, Vienna, 2000, pp. 39-57. * Matthias Hardt: Formen und Wege der hochmittelalterlichen Siedlungsgründung, in: Enno Bünz (ed.): Ostsiedlung und Landesausbau in Sachsen. Die Kührener Urkunde von 1154 und ihr historisches Umfeld, Leipzig, 2008, pp.143-160. * Herbert Helbig (ed.): Urkunden und erzählende Quellen zur deutschen Ostsiedlung im Mittelalter. Vol. 1: Mittel- und Norddeutschland. Ostseeküste, Darmstadt, 1975. * Franz Kössler: "Die Nachfahren des Lokators" - zur Siedlungsgeschichte einer deutschsprachigen Landschaft im böhmisch–mährischen Raum, Bad Schussenried, 2010. * Paul Richard Kötzschke: Das Unternehmertum in der ostdeutschen Kolonisation des Mittelalters (Diss.), Bautzen, 1894. * Josef Joachim Menzel: Der Beitrag der Urkundenwissenschaft zur Erforschung der deutschen Ostsiedlung am Beispiel Schlesiens, in: Walter Schelsinger (ed.): Die deutsche Ostsiedlung des Mittelalters als Problem der europäischen Geschichte. Reichenau-Vorträge 1970-1972, Sigmaringen, 1975, pp. 131 - 159.

References

{{reflist Social history of the Holy Roman Empire History of Pomerania