bergsman

18:15 May 27, 2020 

Fascinating history in UK and the former British Colonies. There is a now a (ceremonial-only) quasilegal court in Derbyshire called the Barmote, alternative spelling Bargemote, which dealt with disputes between farmer/miners.
I agree with Dean's analysis and "farmer/miner" fits medieval developments in UK and later in the empire, but I stick by "free miner" as more elegant phrase which avoids using peasant or farmer. The context will show that they were non-serf smallholders.

17:37 May 27, 2020 

Always good to discuss this kind of thing, and review it...I've also suggested a previous accepted term was incorrect more than once. But, I'll stick with what I said before. 'Farmstead' doesn't' describe the person, but rather is the place, I'd say. And the Swe term refers to the free person who was a land owner/farmer. This person also received the mining rights to the land from the king, but did so based on their position as a landowner, and importantly, a free person.

08:22 May 27, 2020 

so it is good that I posted the question, even though it had been discussed previously.

07:49 May 27, 2020 

Thanks. There's a niggling idea in the back of my mind that there had been a similar figure in feudal English land law, but the 'fuzzy Anglo-Swedish profiteering match' eludes me at the mo.

03:43 May 27, 2020 

I remember this question as I asked it last time and chose Deane's answer but I must admit that Adrian's suggestion is very interesting this time round