The Vehmic Courts. Their activity and impact explored with a focus on selected courts in Waldeck.

韦米克法院。

• 批准号: 467012670
• 负责人: Privatdozent Dr. Otfried Krafft
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Fachgebiet Mittelalterliche Geschichte
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/467012670?language=en
• 关键词: Vehmic; Courts.; Their; activity; impact

Between the late 14th and the early 16th century, the Vehmic courts of medieval Westfalia gained a significant influence within the Holy Roman Empire, as some of them began to act as supreme courts. Subpoenas were issued to everyone regardless of their social status. Apart from political disturbances this led to harsh counter-reactions and a negative reputation that is still existing. In spite of this, the Vehmic courts attracted an increasing number of people searching for independent justice.After the magistral treatise by Lindner (1888/96) there was no attempt to outline the whole phenomenon. Researchers preferred case studies, mostly taking the perspective of the culprits, seldom of the plaintiffs and almost never of the courts. Moreover, the extent of the surviving source material was not perceived at all.In this project, some especially active Vehmic courts as Freienhagen, Sachsenhausen and their spin-offs in the county of Waldeck on the eastern fringe Westfalia have to be regarded closely. They were examplary for the whole system of Vehmic courts and its functioning, external interactions and inner connections. These courts saw a number of extraordinary lawsuits with high-ranking persons involved and important political implications, but their other activities extended far as well. Meanwhile, they developed strategies to shield themselves structurally and ideologically from outside interventions. Many were the hints in their communication to stress their claim, as by underlining the secrecy of the procedures and the threat of death penalty, also by accentuating their sacral status and retelling the legend of their foundation by Charlemagne. Little research on this has been done so far, either regarding the selected courts or the Vehmic system as a whole.First step to change this is to collect the extant source material, mostly charters and case-files, that is scattered on a number of archives inside and outside of modern Germany. Additionally law books, chronicles and a number of account-books have to be considered. Thereby all judicial activities of the selected courts and their far-reaching political and social relations will be clarified. Moreover, all persons involved have to identified and placed. Thus, the contacts outside of Westphalia, the changing number of lawsuits, the attempts to reorganize these courts and their decline after 1500 can be described more precisely. Their strategies of (de)legitimization in texts, pictures (such as seals) and rituals and their cultural impact deserve special attention, too.The desiderata on this field are manifold and numerous. They include research on a neglected field of interaction within the Holy Roman Empire, a new critical examination of the sources (also online) and a thorough study of this phenomenon (publications in languages other than German included). The project is to change that.

在世纪末和16世纪初，中世纪威斯特伐利亚的韦米克法院在神圣罗马帝国内获得了重大影响，因为其中一些法院开始担任最高法院。传票发给每个人，不论其社会地位如何。除了政治动乱之外，这还导致了严厉的反反应和仍然存在的负面声誉。尽管如此，韦米克法院吸引了越来越多的人寻求独立的司法。在林德纳的论文（1888/96）之后，没有试图概述整个现象。研究人员更喜欢案例研究，大多从罪犯的角度出发，很少从原告的角度出发，几乎从不从法院的角度出发。此外，幸存的原始材料的范围根本没有被察觉。在这个项目中，一些特别活跃的韦赫米克法院，如弗赖恩哈根、萨克森豪森及其在威斯特伐利亚东部边缘的沃尔德克县的分支机构，必须密切关注。它们是对整个韦赫米克法院系统及其运作、外部互动和内部联系的检验。这些法院审理了一些涉及高级人员和重要政治影响的特别诉讼，但它们的其他活动也很广泛。与此同时，他们制定了战略，从结构和意识形态上保护自己免受外部干预。许多人在他们的通信中暗示强调他们的主张，如强调程序的秘密性和死刑的威胁，也强调他们的神圣地位，并重述他们由查理曼建立的传说。迄今为止，关于这一点的研究很少，无论是关于所选法院还是整个韦赫米克体系。改变这种状况的第一步是收集现存的原始材料，主要是宪章和案件档案，这些材料分散在现代德国内外的许多档案中。此外，法律书籍，编年史和一些账簿必须考虑。因此，选定法院的所有司法活动及其深远的政治和社会关系将得到澄清。此外，必须查明和安置所有有关人员。因此，可以更准确地描述威斯特伐利亚以外的联系、诉讼数量的变化、重组这些法院的尝试以及它们在1500年后的衰落。它们在文本、图像（如印章）和仪式中的合法化（去合法化）策略及其文化影响也值得特别关注。其中包括对神圣罗马帝国内部一个被忽视的互动领域的研究，对资料来源的新的批判性审查（也在网上）以及对这一现象的彻底研究（包括德语以外的语言出版物）。这个项目就是要改变这一点。