The PhD project "Master of his own house? Manorial households examined through the estate manager and housekeeper as deputy master 1750-1920" is carried out by cand.mag. Søren Broberg Knudsen, PhD fellow at Aarhus University and The Danish Research Centre for Manorial Studies. The project was initiated in September 2025 with support from Augustinus Fonden.
The project examines the service relationships on manors in the period 1750-1920 and its work functions, hierarchies and organization, based on the leading figures of the servant staff. The project is interested in the delegated authority they exercised on behalf of the landlord as deputy master, and how this authority was expressed in their obligations and in their actions towards the rest of the servants. The intention is to examine the leadership roles as a link between the landlord and the servants in order to understand the power relations and social dynamics of the manor and to gain insight into the service relationships in a society that was gradually transforming from a household-oriented to an individual-oriented society.
The service relationship on the Danish manors is examined in a time and environment characterized by the idea of the household, while the understanding of labor in society was changing. Here, every master of the house had personal authority over the members of the household, which in the case of the manors covered the entire estate. The project has a particular focus on the power that was delegated from the landowner to deputy servants.
The project will work with several source groups. It will include legislative material and cultural-religious material to understand the contemporary understanding of the service relationship and the household, as well as instruction and contract material to gain insight into the authority granted to the leading figures at the manor and the expectations that came with their role as deputy master.
The project is a collaboration between Aarhus University, the National Museum of Denmark and The Danish Research Centre for Manorial Studies and is part of the collective research project "Always at your service. The household as an idea and practical measure at the manor".