Brunsche guild constitution

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King's charter from 1219 , issued by Friedrich II on January 11, 1219 (Imperial Freedom of the City of Zurich)

The Brunsche guild constitution was the constitution of the imperial city and later city republic of Zurich between 1336 and 1798 .

Starting position

The power of rule over the city of Zurich and the religious monasteries was exercised in the High Middle Ages by the German king, who delegated them to an imperial bailiff , usually from the ranks of the most influential noble families in what was then the Duchy of Swabia . With the extinction of the Zähringer , the rulership rights went back to King Friedrich II in 1218 ; however, the office of Reichsvogts, who was also responsible for blood jurisdiction, was taken over for a limited time by a noble citizen from the knighthood of the city of Zurich. On January 11, 1219, Frederick II issued a certificate «in favor of the people of the Great Minster and in favor of persons belonging to the city of Zurich», in which he speaks of «de gremio oppidi nostri» (with an emphasis on our city ) . With these words, this implied formal, legal and political competencies for local self-government and thus the imperial immediacy of the city of Zurich. The abbess of the Fraumünster monastery , who was elevated to the status of imperial duchess by Frederick II in 1245 , exercised the function of "city mistress", based on basic rights and royal sovereignty that had been granted to the Fraumünster since it was founded in 853.

The seal shape common today goes back to the so-called secret seal used by the Council of Zurich since 1347. Transcription: SECRETVM CIVIVM THVRICENSIVM.

The city's merchants, who had their own commercial law with self-administration of their professional interests, were in political and economic competition with the abbess. In 1220 there are traces for the first time, documented since February 11, 1252, of a city council - constituted in a three-part council body until the guild revolution of 1336, in the so-called «fasting», «summer» and «autumn council» - which had its own seal since 1225 led. In the years that followed, the Fraumünster Abbey gradually passed its rulership rights to the city council, aided by the struggle between Emperor Frederick II and the papacy: because the clergy remained in Rome while the citizens followed the emperor's party, the clergy and the abbess became at times even expelled from the city, which led to the consolidation of the political position of the citizenry. In 1262, Zurich became an imperial city , and in the course of the Regensberg feud with the Barons von Regensberg , the power of the council body, which was dominated by merchants and knights, consolidated: with the support of Zurich, the later King Rudolf von Habsburg and the city of Zurich were able to assert joint territorial claims against the Regensbergers . This marked the beginning of the territorial expansion of the city of Zurich's dominion, even if the influence of the knighthood of the city of Zurich on the city council was increasingly restricted in favor of the Habsburg- friendly merchants.

The advisable population of the " citizens " (they elected the council and provided its members) consisted of the city nobles - emerged from the ministerial families of the Fraumünster monastery - and of distant merchants who were direct from the empire and noble artisans, the so-called "notables".

Already in the “Richtebrief” of the year 1291, confirmed in the Richtebrief of 1304 (the oldest written Zurich city ​​law ), the city council had the formation of craft associations (guilds) from members of the “citizens” - the merchants represented on the council, the noble craftsmen and nobles ) is explicitly prohibited, but the formation of guilds ("Antwerke") is permitted, for example grain makers, tanners and hat makers. The vast majority of the city's population, servants , serfs , servants and craftsmen in the city of Zurich remained largely without political rights and protection at the end of the 13th century, although they were increasingly involved in the city's economic boom. In 1335 the council carried out a currency reform which unilaterally favored the class with capital, mainly merchants and noble artisans. The city of Zurich was financially in a difficult position, as a lot of money had to be raised in 1330/31 to buy out a pledge by Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian to the House of Habsburg and to continue to ensure imperial immediacy . The relationship between the merchants and the craftsmen was strained, and the craftsmen of the city of Zurich no longer wanted to be excluded from the council .

On the other hand, the «notables» - the merchants and noble craftsmen represented in the council ( goldsmiths , silk manufacturers, cloth dealers, money changers , salt workers, etc.) - dominated the council of the city of Zurich, which was originally composed of equal parts, so that before 1336 «... the ruling council of the One third of the city of Zurich was made up of noble knights and two thirds of the civil notable ... », which means that the political influence of the city nobility was significantly reduced. The majority of the council tried to extend its sovereignty to the manors and fiefs of the aristocratic townspeople.

The city nobles had emerged from the ministerial families of the Fraumünster monastery : their influence was essentially based on property and fiefs, in contrast to the merchants, for whose wealth from trade and their political influence the money economy was essential. The city of Zurich nobles also pursued a foreign policy that was contrary to the merchants , in that he wanted to continue to acquire rights of rule in the area around the city and, as before, accepted war and feuds . In the interests of the "notables", however, was flourishing long-distance trade and thus the maintenance of the peace , which the "notables" shared with the artisans they held before the guild revolution and should maintain social peace.

Guild Revolution of June 7, 1336

The «City Book» from 1292 to 1371: Entry from June 7, 1336
Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian confirmed the first jury's letter on April 5, 1337
Guild coat of arms in the guild house for the carpenters

The guild revolution in Zurich presented itself to the outside world as a joint uprising of the urban nobility and the artisan class against the merchants and noble craftsmen represented in the council (goldsmiths, silk manufacturers, money changers, salt dealers). By the noble Rudolf Brun skillfully tensions in the noble and commercial ruling class used, in Zurich, as in other cities in the Holy Roman Empire, there was a revolution of the guilds against the merchants and noble craftsmen represented on the council, who had become rich with the flourishing long-distance trade.

The well-prepared revolt of the craftsmen and the knight nobility broke out on June 7, 1336 with a storm on the town hall. The members of the «Summer Council» could only save their lives by fleeing. In the Barfüsserkloster , the leader of the rebels, Rudolf Brun, was appointed mayor of the city by the people's assembly. Most of the councilors who fled in time were banned from the city with their families after the night of the murder in Zurich and their property was confiscated. The "City Book" from 1292 to 1371 contains a regulation under June 7, 1336, on how the mayor-elect and the recognition of the government by the citizens should take place in the future . On the first line is «young R. Bruno burgermeister» (Junker Rudolf Brun) to read.

First jury letter

Brun drew up the Brunsche Guild Constitution , named after him, which was modeled on the " Strasbourg Oath" of October 17, 1334. The composition of the city council was reorganized by uniting the noble and merchant families, who had previously ruled alone, to form the Constaffel Society , 13 members (six nobles and seven citizens) and the craftsmen also delegated 13 members. The election of the 13 members of the Constaffel, who retained the designation "Councilors", was made by a commission of six members appointed by the mayor, two of whom had to belong to the nobility. To appoint the representatives of the craftsmen, they were divided into 13 political guilds , each of which comprised several branches of industry. This resulted in the following classification of the citizenship according to an official ranking of the guilds from 1361:

  1. Konstaffel : Knights, nobles, pensioners, merchants, dressmakers, changers, goldsmiths, salt merchants
  2. Saffron : shopkeeper
  3. Meisen : wine taverns, wine callers, wine transporters, saddlers, painters, brokers (sub-buyers)
  4. Schmiden : blacksmiths, Schwertfeger, Kannengiesser, Glockengiesser, Spengler, chainmail makers, Scherer, Bader
  5. Weggen : Baker (Pfister) and Müller
  6. Gerwe : tanner, white tanner, parchment maker
  7. Aries : butcher, cattle dealer
  8. Shoemakers : Shoemakers (Suter)
  9. Carpenters : carpenters, bricklayers, wagons, turners, timber merchants, cooper, vine workers
  10. Tailoring : Tailors, cloth clippers, furriers
  11. Shipmen : fishermen, boatmen, rope makers, carts and porters
  12. Kämbel : gardener, oil seller, small shopkeeper (Grempler)
  13. Woolen weavers : woolen weavers, woolen beater, gray cloth weaver, hat maker (1440 united with linen weavers to form the Guild of Waag)
  14. Linen weaver : linen weaver, bleacher (1440 united with wool weavers to form the Guild of Waag)

The professions of bogner , roofer, dressmaker, glazier, goldsmith, woodcutter, basket and sieve maker, salt and iron merchant, silk sewer, etc. were not subject to the guild compulsory. a. They were allowed to join the Konstaffel until 1489, and after the fourth jury letter they were also allowed to join other guilds.

Each guild elected a guild master who automatically became a member of the council. However, these were not given the title "Council", the new government college was rather called "Councilors and guild masters". The mayor was elected for life and all citizens had to swear obedience to him and the council. The oath given to the mayor should precede everyone else. In order to permanently secure the mayor of the noble families, four knights were named by name in the first jury letter, one of whom would be Brun's successor. The basic features of the constitution created by Brun remained in force until 1798.

In fact, the guild revolution of 1336 represented a consolidation of the political power of the city nobility at the expense of the citizen patriciate. After all, the craftsmen gained representation in the city council of Zurich, although the actual political influence of the craftsmen's guilds is likely to have been rather small until 1384. A significant improvement, however, was a change in Zurich's “ civil law ”: until June 1336, only long-established free landowners and some civil servants and servants could become “ citizens ”. With the new constitution, however, the local free craftsmen were also appointed burgers. Knights, noblemen, pensioners and the notables who dominated the council until June 1336 were summarized in the Constaffel based on the "Strasbourg oath letter".

The office of mayor

The new guild constitution effectively guaranteed the mayor sole rule over the city for life, and all citizens had to take a comprehensive oath on his person. In order to permanently secure the mayor of the noble families, four knights were named by name in the first jury letter, one of which was to be Bruns's successor - from September 1360 Rüdiger Manesse . The mayor held office all year round until the deaths of Brun (1360) and Rüdiger Manesse (1383) respectively a first revision of the constitution around 1373 and was not subject to any renewal election.

Composition of the council after the guild revolution

The «Little Council»

The tasks of the «Small Council» corresponded to the previous tripartite council. Now he organized himself into two council groups, the «Natalrat» (Christmas council) and the «Baptistalrat» (after John the Baptist ). The 26 Baptist councils ruled from December 25th in the first half of the year, the 26 Baptist councils from June 24th in the second half of the year. Each council group consisted of 13 constaff councilors - six nobles and seven citizens from Constaffel - and 13 guild masters.

The election of the 13 members of the Constaffel each in the six-month council, who retained the hitherto customary designation councils (consules), was made by a commission of six members appointed by the mayor, two of whom had to belong to the nobility. There were an equal number of guild masters (Scabini) in the "Half-Year Council". The 13 craft guilds each elected a guild master for the two council groups, one ruling and one standing still.

In the 15th century, the “Small Council” was formed from two half-yearly councils with twelve guild masters each (the guilds were reduced to 12) and twelve constaff members as well as two councils of free choice and the two alternating mayors. The "Small Council" was government, parliament and the highest court at the same time. Because the councilors ruled and judged at the same time, they possessed an enormous amount of power.

The «Great Council»

Without a formal founding act, the “Grand Council” was formed around the middle of the 14th century from the citizens advising the council, which was called in on all council matters that appeared to the executive small council to be “too difficult”.

The Constaffel sent 28 members and the guilds 168 members to the Grand Council (including the Small Council). In addition, from 1384 onwards, there were two mayors and six councilors who were elected by the «Grand Council» itself. This council was called "The Two Hundred" or "Council and Burger". From the 16th century onwards, the business dealt with included, for example, the collection of taxes, the purchase of sovereign rights, alliance resolutions, decisions on war and peace, and the legislation on coins.

With the reduction to twelve guilds, the Great Council consisted of the 50-strong Small Council and the 144 "Twelve" (12 representatives for each guild) and the 18 "Eighteen" (18 Constaffelrats), i.e. a total of 212 members .

Second jury letter 1373

Colored initial of the second jury letter. The female figure probably represents Maria, but was also interpreted by some historians as a representation of Beatrix von Wolhusen (1358–1398), princess abbess of the Fraumünster monastery , who signed the document as city mistress and gave it legal force.

In the Sempach War (1386-1388) between the Confederates and the House of Habsburg , Zurich was obliged to take a stand against Habsburg Austria due to its alliance of 1351 with the Confederates. However, Zurich did not take an active part in the war, as the majority of the nobles and merchants of the Constaffel sided with Austria. Because of this, internal disputes broke out in the city between the supporters of the Confederation and those of the Habsburgs. The federally-minded guilds then obtained a number of resolutions in the so-called "Second Jury Letter" of 1373: The overwhelming power of the mayor and the historically Habsburg-friendly Constaffel were restricted. The guild masters also became fully authorized councilors, and the office of mayor was no longer just the privilege of the Constaffel.

Since then, Zurich has had two mayors every year, who each held office for half a year as “acting” or “standing” mayor. The predominance of the representatives of the Constaffel in the city council (“Little Council”) ended with the stipulation that representatives of the craftsmen should also be elected into the half of the council, which was previously exclusively occupied by the Constaffel. In addition, the “Council of Two Hundred” or “Great Council”, a committee of the citizenship with the councils and guild masters, which had existed since the middle of the 14th century, elected the mayor. Business that councilors and guild masters could not agree on should be referred to the grand council for decision by a member of the small council.

Third jury letter 1489

Since the third jury's letter of 1489 in connection with the Waldmann trade, the composition of the Grand Council has been as follows: the two mayors and the 48 members of the Small Council (consisting of Natal and Baptist Councils with 24 members each), the "eighteen" (18 representatives of the Constaffel) and the 144 "Twelve" (12 members of each of the 12 guilds). In the period that followed, the focus in state management was increasingly transferred to the Grand Council. The Small Council became an enforcement authority with a judicial function. Since the Bruns upheaval, the civil parish has appeared as the highest authority several times. In 1401 their competence was restricted by a resolution of the Grand Council to questions relating to the relationship with the emperor and the empire, with the confederates, new alliances and war and peace. The community's right to have a say was further restricted by the fact that the members of both councils, including the guild masters, were actually elected for life and that gaps were filled by the members of the guilds already sitting on the councils by means of co-optation . The form of government in Zurich thus became a kind of guild aristocracy. The most important posts, such as the office of governor in an urban subject area, were reserved only for members of the councils . In addition, there were the so-called "common bourgeois offices and services", which were given to ordinary city citizens, such as night watchmen, well masters, city beekeepers, city trumpeters, watch judges.

With the «Third Jury Letter» of 1489, the right to vote for the councilors to be delegated was also introduced in the Constaffel, i. H. organized the Constaffel as a political guild. In accordance with the considerably lower proportion of the population, four Constaffel and two Constaffel councilors per year of office were now delegated to the small council (previously 24), and the remaining 18 Constaffel council seats were newly regulated: 12 as guild council seats to the guilds and six as councilors of free choice, to which Constafflers and members of the guild could be elected. In the council resolution of December 6, 1490, known as the “Constaffelbrief”, it was determined that - originally from wealthy and noble families and sometimes women - “people” who could not be accommodated in any guild should be called “Constaffel and should be”. Over time, in addition to rear-seaters (settled people without citizenship ), she was also assigned "poorly respected people and people without wealth" and the executioner . This opening, forced by the council, led to a split in society into the “Stübli” (old core) and the “bourgeois Constaffel”.

Fourth jury letter 1498 and further development until 1798

In 1498, in the fourth jury letter, the college of "chief guild masters" was definitely established. Mayors, councilors, guild masters and the Council of Two Hundred appointed this three-person authority from the guild masters. The chief guild masters had the right to summon the guild masters' college to meetings, but only to deal with union issues. They also attended all council meetings and were empowered to take any questions they found favorable from the Little Council to the Council of Two Hundred. One member of the college of three was replaced annually; the first elected was the mayor's deputy. This broke the power of the guild masters' college in the interests of the grand council. During this time, a “secret council” was set up, consisting of the two mayors and two guild masters. Its task was the handling and preparation of questions of foreign policy. These modifications in the constitution led to the city regiment becoming more and more rigid.

In the course of the 16th and 17th centuries, the influence of powerful and wealthy families increased and the importance of simple craftsmen declined. There was a clear trend towards oligarchization of the city rulership, which was supported by the aspiring merchants, textile publishers and the high officials from around 30 families. The craftsmen therefore only took about a third of the seats in the councils around 1700. The resulting conflict between the craftsmen and the new patriciate was to be resolved in 1712 by a constitutional revision. An “honorary commission” revised the constitution slightly and in 1713 drew up the “7th Jury letter ”, which was the first Zurich constitution to be printed. The guild masters had to be determined in a secret ballot and the sovereignty of the entire municipality was emphasized more strongly. For declarations of war, peace agreements, alliances and constitutional amendments, in addition to the council, the municipality should from now on be involved.

With the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798, the supremacy of the guilds in the city of Zurich ended. The political guilds were dissolved. The introduction of the freedom of trade also made commercial trade associations superfluous. The political guilds were reintroduced as electoral bodies in 1803, but no longer had anything in common with the medieval guilds. The guilds that exist today have a purely folk character around the Sechseläuten festival .

literature

  • Markus Brühlmeier, Beat Frei: The Zurich guild system. 2 vols. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-03823-171-1 .
  • Brief Zurich Constitutional History 1218–2000. Published by the State Archives of the Canton of Zurich on behalf of the Directorate of Justice and the Interior for the day the Zurich Constitutional Council was constituted on September 13, 2000. Chronos, Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-905314-03-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c State Archives of the Canton of Zurich (ed.): Kleine Zürcher Verfassungsgesichte 1218–2000. Zurich 2000.
  2. ↑ On the history of the state seal. State Chancellery of the Canton of Zurich
  3. ↑ a b Website of the Zunft zur Letzi: History of the guilds : «… The nobles who belonged to the council shortly before the Bruns coup (1334) were: Fastenrat: Ülr. Manesse, Rud. from Glarus. Herbstrat: Götfrit Mülner, Lütolt von Beggenhoven, Johans Dietel, Heinr. Beaver"
  4. ↑ The inscription of the seal read "sigillum consilii et civium Thuricensium". In addition to the patron saints Felix and Regula (from the seal of the Fraumünster abbess), exuperantius , who presumably stands for the up-and-coming citizens of Zurich, who recently joined the Gross- and Fraumünster, was shown. The seal thus embodied the individual legal personality of the citizenship and the city council.
  5. ↑ "Notabel" defines in this context the merchants and noble craftsmen represented in the council ( goldsmiths , silk manufacturers, cloth dealers, money changers , salt people, etc.)
  6. ↑ According to the DRW, the definition of the word “notable” is: “Noble, honorable, outstanding”. notable . In: Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (Hrsg.): German legal dictionary . tape 9 , issue 9/10 (edited by Heino Speer and others). Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1996, ISBN 3-7400-0983-7 ( adw.uni-heidelberg.de ).
  7. ↑ On the “Notabel” website, the Bilgeri family alone held seven council seats in 1334, and six in 1335. Other genders authorized to govern were the Esslinger, Fink, Krieg, Meiss, Schmid, Schwend, Vogel etc. Ministeriale (lower city nobility) known by name for the year 1334 are Ülr. Manesse and Rüd. von Glarus («Fastenrat») and from the «Herbstrat» Götz Mülner , Lütolt von Beggenhoven, Johans Dietel and Heinr. Beaver.
  8. ↑ In the year 1357, from which the oldest tax book comes, 5,700 to 6,850 people lived in Zurich's walls, while 300 to 400 ( stake citizens ) were still resident outside the city wall .
  9. ↑ Martin Illi : Brun'sche guild revolution. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  10. ↑ a b Website of the Zunft zur Letzi: History of the guilds
  11. ↑ The table of contents of the city book created in 1636 speaks of the "twelve bandits of 1336" who had to leave the city at that time.
  12. ↑ Hans-Jörg Gilomen : Inner Conditions of the City of Zurich 1300–1500 . In: History of the Canton of Zurich . Volume 1: Early to Late Middle Ages . Werd, Zurich 1995, pp. 336–389; Pp. 363, 368.
  13. ↑ Website of the Central Committee of the Zurich Guilds ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Guilds, Brief Description, Constaffel: “… With a council resolution of 1490 (“ Constaffelbrief ”), the Constaffel Society was assigned to further groups of people: Hintersäss (settlers) living and settled in our city of Zurich, so they have no guild… Lüt in the [city district] Kratz or others …" @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sechselaeuten.ch