The genealogies for all the villages in the sample contain at least some introductory material about the village, although in the cases of Öschelbronn, Kreuth, Vasbeck, and especially the two East Frisian villages, the information is quite minimal. Based primarily on the descriptive material contained in the introductory sections, some of the more salient features of the villages' history and then social and economic characteristics can be summarized.

The villages in Baden

Given the close proximity of the four villages in Baden, it is useful to start their description with some information on the general history of the local area. The strategic position between the Rhine and the Black Forest meant that the villages are located in a corner of Germany that was regularly overrun and held by competing armies during the many wars of the past centuries. At various times, soldiers of Sweden, France, Austria, and Prussia were quartered in the area, creating considerable hardship through looting and demands for provisions. There was some respite from war during the middle of the eighteenth century but the area again became a battleground following the outbreak of the French Revolution and in the Wars of the First Coalition. Not until the Napoleonic period was there any extended period of peace again. The degree of seigniorial control varied across villages and over time.