Society of the male band

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The society of male band , and society with the male band , or the male bands was a nobility of the late Middle Ages. It was founded at the end of the 14th century and united nobles from Upper Lusatia and Lower Silesia . In the 15th century it also found members in Franconia , Bavaria and Swabia .

history

The time of the establishment of the society with the male band is not known. The first evidence of its existence can be found in 1389 on the occasion of a tournament in Görlitz . Here Duke Johann von Görlitz expressly orders the city to honor dy rodin bender . A tournament had already taken place in Liegnitz last year . The establishment of the noble society could therefore be seen as an attempt to upgrade the residence of Johann von Görlitz.

The 1413 statutes of the society give a more comprehensive insight into the social life of the male bands. It is unclear whether there were written statutes as early as the 14th century. Liegnitz and Görlitz can already be found as courts of the society as early as 1388/89, as the later statutes laid down. In addition, there seem to have been personal continuities. The reason for sealing the statutes in 1413 and possibly also adapting them could be the inheritance dispute between Ludwig II of Liegnitz and Brieg with his half-brother Heinrich IX. from Liegnitz and Lüben. The battle of Tannenberg , the plague of 1413 and the Opole feud are also considered.

With the award of the male band to the young Margrave Johann von Brandenburg by Ludwig II in 1420, the society also spread to Upper Germany, as a document issued in 1425 shows. The central position of Ludwig II in society - Margrave Johann referred to him as its "king" - apparently quickly led to the decline of the society after his death in 1436. The male band society may have inspired the establishment of the Swan Order by Elector Friedrich II of Brandenburg .

Statutes

In the statutes of 1413, the society with the male band opposes as a noble society with a wide field of activity. Outwardly an alliance of support, the society worked internally as an alliance of peace: Conflicts among journeymen should be resolved by arbitration courts of the society or arbitrators chosen by the conflicting parties themselves. If this does not succeed, one of the princes should decide the dispute. If a member came to harm through no fault of their own or was captured, the male bands committed themselves to support.

It was also important for the male bands to enforce strict class barriers . A member was not allowed to engage in dishonorable activity or give the male band to women of lower class. Society was open to noble women. According to Ghillebert de Lannoy's report , they even made up half of the membership.

In addition, the male bands saw themselves as a religious society that mainly practiced the veneration of Mary . They planned to donate their first annual contribution to a perpetual mass in Liegnitz, before they wanted to organize a court (tournament) in Liegnitz and then a court in Görlitz in the second year. These tournaments should be promoted vigorously by the members. Memorial services for the deceased members of society should conclude each tournament . For its religious foundations, the Society of the Male Band raised annual membership fees of 12, 6, respectively. 2 shock groschen from the bishop, the prince resp. the simple knights and servants. In 1420, at least in Upper Germany, the contribution was only 1 shock groschen, which should benefit the Langenzenn monastery .

In the 1420s, Duke Ludwig II of Brieg, who was named King by Margrave Johann in 1425, was the head of the society. He called himself the man in company with the male dog, the top Haubtmann . The statutes of 1413 do not recognize this position. Only Bishop Wenzel von Breslau is singled out from the College of Princes with a higher membership fee. In second place in the hierarchy of the male bands are the princes, who participated in all decisions of the society and acted as final arbitrators between members. The statutes suggest that there was also a standing arbitration tribunal. Even above the simple members of the society were elders in the six compatriots of the society. Membership in Bohemia, in the Duchy of Liegnitz, in the Duchies of Schweidnitz , Brieg and Breslau , in Upper Lusatia, in the Duchy of Sagan and Glogau as well as in the Duchy of Oels and Cosel was in front of the membership .

According to the statutes for noble men and women, joining the society with the male band was only possible at the tournaments of the society. In 1420, Duke Ludwig II, as captain, claims to be able to lend the male band independently. The withdrawal was accompanied by a fine of 3 shock groschen. Members who opposed the award of a prince, engaged in dishonorable activities or were awarded the male band without authorization were excluded. If a member did not wear the male band, he had to pay a fine of six groschen.

Members

The number of members gave Ghillebert de Lannoy 1414 with 700 knights and servants and just as many female members. However, this is likely to be an exaggeration. As sources for the membership of the society with the male band, besides the statutes of 1413, the Portuguese coat of arms ( John Rylands University Library Latin MS 28) should be mentioned. In the Görlitz council bills there are also a number of participants in the 1389 tournament.

A number of members have a close relationship with the court of Duke Ludwig II. The elders of Upper Lusatia also assumed a position close to the rule.

Some of the leading members took part in the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410.

heraldry

The Portuguese coat of arms book John Rylands University Library Latin MS 28 shows a number of coats of arms, which are chained by chains to gold, silver and bronze male ribbons. Another version of the heraldic use shows the coat of arms of the Duke of Brieger at Conrad Grünenberg . Here the male band surrounds the shield of the coat of arms.

literature

  • Holger Kruse, Kirstin Kamenz, Art. Rüdenband (1413) , in: Holger Kruse, Werner Paravicini, Andreas Ranft (Eds.), Order of Knights and Noble Societies in Late Medieval Germany (Kieler Werkstücke. Series D: Contributions to the European History of the Late Middle Ages 1) , Frankfurt / Main 1991, pp. 250-255.
  • Hermann Markgraf, About a Silesian knight society at the beginning of the 15th century (male band) , in: Ders., Small writings on the history of Silesia and Breslaus , Breslau 1915, pp. 81–95. Digitized
  • Werner Paravicini, From Silesia to France, England, Spain and back. About the spread of noble culture in the late Middle Ages , in: Jan Harasimowicz , Matthias Weber (ed.), Adel in Schlesien: Herrschaft - Kultur - Selbstdarstellung, Munich 2010, pp. 135–205.
  • Philipp Ernst Spieß, Von der Gesellschaft mit dem Rüdenband , in: Ders., Archival supplementary work and messages with mixed content with documents , Vol. 1. Hall 1783, pp. 101-103. Digitized

Footnotes

  1. ↑ cf. Richard Jecht , The oldest Görlitz council bills up to 1419 (Codex diplomaticus Lusatiae superioris III), Görlitz 1905/10, p. 129 line 3ff.
  2. ↑ cf. Richard Jecht, The oldest Görlitz council bills up to 1419 (Codex diplomaticus Lusatiae superioris III), Görlitz 1905/10, p. 117, line 5f.
  3. ↑ To the v. a. architectural side of the expansion of Görlitz to the ducal residence cf. Siegfried Hoche, Duchy of Görlitz (1377–1396) , in: Lenka Bobková, Jana Konvicna (eds.), Rezidence a správní sídla v zemích České koruny ve 14.-17. století (residence and administrative headquarters in the countries of the Bohemian Crown in the 14th – 17th centuries), Prague 2007, 403–412.
  4. ↑ ed. Margrave 1915, 91-95
  5. ↑ So Peter is honored by Gusk cum suis sociis in the week of the tournament. Likewise a Herr von Rechenberg cum Polonibus . see. Richard Jecht, The oldest Görlitz council bills up to 1419 (Codex diplomaticus Lusatiae superioris III), Görlitz 1905/10, p. 127 line 20, p. 128 line 10.
  6. ↑ cf. Kruse, Kamenz 1991, 251. For a hasty seal in advance of a day with Heinrich IX. speak the following entries in the Görlitz council bills: Between August 12th and 25th, the company elder Christoph Rex von Gersdorf is with friends in Görlitz. In September he rides with journeymen and friends to Bunzlau for a day with Duke Heinrich. see. Richard Jecht, The oldest Görlitz council bills up to 1419 (Codex diplomaticus Lusatiae superioris III), Görlitz 1905/10, p. 651 line 5, p. 652 line 13.
  7. ↑ cf. Spieß 1783, p. 102f
  8. ↑ cf. Kruse, Kamenz 1991, p. 250. Markgraf 1915, p. 90
  9. ↑ cf. Kruse, Kamenz 1991, p. 254.
  10. ↑ ed. Markgraf 1915, pp. 92-95
  11. ↑ cf. Kruse, Kamenz 1991, p. 250 note 1.
  12. ↑ Spieß 1783, p. 102 f.
  13. ↑ cf. Spieß 1783, p. 102.
  14. ↑ cf. Spit 1783, 102 f.
  15. ↑ cf. Kruse, Kamenz 1991, p. 253.
  16. ↑ s. Margrave 1915, p. 95.
  17. ↑ s. Digitized , p. N145
  18. ↑ s. Richard Jecht, The oldest Görlitzer council bills up to 1419 (Codex diplomaticus Lusatiae superioris III), Görlitz 1905/10, p. 127 line 18, p. 128 line 4ff.
  19. ↑ cf. Paravicini 2010, p. 164
  20. ↑ Christoph Rex von Gersdorff as servant of Wenceslas and Sigismund , Peter von Gusk also as servant of Wenzel, his brother Ulrich is the state elder and captain in Upper Lusatia, the father Christoph von Gersdorff in Königshain Heintze was also state elder, cf. Walter Boetticher, The Adel des Görlitzer Weichbildes at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries , in: Neues Lausitzisches Magazin 104 (1928), pp. 58f, 77, 86f.
  21. ↑ cf. Sven Ekdahl, The Pay Book of the Teutonic Order 1410/1411. Part 2: Indices with personal history comments , Cologne 2010, passim zu Wilhelm v. Hasenburg, Heinrich von Lazan , Nickel and Hans v. Zedlitz , Martin v. Busewoy, Christoph Rex von Gersdorff, Nickel von Kittlitz , Franz von Warnsdorf, Heinrich von Dohna , Nikolaus von Stiebitz, Friedrich Schaff .
  22. ↑ Latin MS 28, p. 127 Digitized p. N145
  23. ↑ Rudolf von Stillfried-Alcantara , Adolf Matthias Hildebrandt (ed.), Des Conrad Grünenberg, Ritters and Burgers zu Constenz, Wappenbuch. Volbracht on the new day of the Abrellen do man zalt doing four hundred eighty and eighty jar. Newly published in color print, 2nd facsimile volume, Starke, Görlitz 1884, p. 2. ( digitized version )