Oaths of Reconciliation (Urfehdewesen) and Reform of Criminal Justice in the Early 16.. Century of Germany

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In the Later Medieval Ages and Early Modern Times of Germany (13. into17. Century) we are concerned with the Oath of Conciliation (Urfehde: renunciation of vengeance) above all by those under arrest and imprisonment, especially in three forms: (1) Knightly, (2) Civil-Knghtly and (3) Civil Oath of Conciliation; man can find the forms not only within, but also without court procedureThe Letters of Reconciliation (Urfehdebriefe) show us how integral such Oaths were to the Making Peace: In the Knightly, and Civil-Knghtly Oaths of Rerconciliation those under arrest swore to the opponents of feud that they would not use their imprisonment as an oocasion for seeking vengeance. And Civil Oath of Conciliation was always necessary to protect the Judges, Officials and Servants of the City from the vengeance by him whom they had condemned or his blood relatives and friends.Above all the Civil Oath of Conciliation has to a profound degree taken a part in the Process of Social Discipline (Soziale Disziplinierung) of Citizenship, i. e. the Act of Making Peace by the City Authorities(the magistrates and town councils), in the Later Middle Ages (14. and15. Century).On the other hand, as Constitutio Criminalis Carolina of 1532 us shows, to impose such Oaths was able to prevent a citizen from bringing against Judges, Officials and Servants, those responsible for his arrest and conviction, the matter rightly to the court; this is a reason, it seems, that the Imperial Court had no other choice than to decide to reform courts in the Early Modern Times of Germany.