Stins

stinsen; from West Frisian stienhûs [Dutch steenhuis] "stone house", shortened to stins, pl.

A stins and the surrounding state used to belong to a permanent group of hoofdelingen/heerschapen, which were prominent, rich land-owning citizens.

[2] From the 1300's, these noblemen had their bases of power in the cities or large villages, their families owned a few hundred hectares of fertile farmland divided over several dozen tenanted farms.

[2] The noblemen married one another as much as possible, on a material and culturally equal level, in order to prevent the loss of property and honour by inheritance.

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