Outlaw

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An outlaw or outlaws ( English outlaw ) is a person who is in a state of ostracism lives. Ostracism was originally an official legal term and a heavy punishment . (In addition, the term of the outlaw has also received other meanings in colloquial language).

meaning

In the case law, an outlaw was considered to be a person who had broken the laws of the kingdom, for example by disregarding a summons in court or by fleeing instead of asking for mercy if they were held responsible for a crime. In the early law of Anglo-Saxon England, people were also ostracized for manslaughter if they could not pay the fine that was imposed.

The Magna Carta stated that ostracism or banishment must be based on a legal judgment:

“No free man should be arrested, imprisoned, robbed of his goods, ostracized, banished or otherwise attacked; nor will we do anything to him, or have him thrown in prison, other than through the legal judgment of his own kind, or through the state law. "

- Magna Carta: An internationally recognized symbol of freedom.

To be ostracized meant a form of " civil death ". The outlaw was excluded from normal social intercourse. The person concerned lost all civil rights and in particular his respect, all honors and his good name. As dishonorable behavior, which could lead to ostracism, "disgraceful acts that defend civil rights" were counted and the subsequent illegality was pronounced by a court. However, there were differences between the terms dishonor or lawlessness (to outlaw) and injustice (to render lawless). Outlawing is derived from ehtan = "to take from marriage" of a community, with which the outlawed from then on stood outside the protective association of the community to which he had belonged. Only the withdrawal of all civil rights made the outlaw an outlaw without any rights. No one was allowed to feed him, give him refuge, or give him any other form of support. If someone did, he was guilty of couthutlaugh ( old English couth "knowingly") and ran the risk of being cast out himself. A person who met an outlaw had the right, and was even encouraged, to kill him; it did not make them guilty of murder. Since the outlaw no longer belonged to civil society, it was freed from all obligations towards the outlaw. Outlaws had no rights and could not sue in court, whereas they themselves could very well be brought to justice.

In the context of criminal law, the ostracism disappeared not so much because of changes in the law, but because of the greater population density, which made it much more difficult for those wanted to remain undetected. Another reason was the general introduction of deportation .

In civil law , the ostracism was made redundant by reforms that no longer forced the defendants to plead for mercy in court. Nevertheless, according to English jurisprudence, until 1879 there was the possibility of outlawing someone for disregarding civil law.

The outlaw as a myth

Former cowboy and later lawless Tom Ketchum is hanged for robbing a train.

The outlaw is known as a typical character in a western . The outlaw in the western is typically a criminal who operates from a base in the wilderness and invades settlements at irregular intervals. Much of this generalization goes back to precedents in English history, especially the stories of Robin Hood or gallant highwaymen .

In Spain, those criminals, some of whom were considered freedom fighters and benefactors by the poor, were called bandoleros .

In the 14th century, the German pirate Klaus Störtebeker and his vital brothers became known in the North and Baltic Sea region, who acted partly on the orders of the ruler and partly as a lawless privateer on the seas. In Italy Fra Diavolo (1771–1806) and Carmine Crocco (1830–1905) became famous. The most famous American outlaws include Jesse James (1847–1882), Billy the Kid (1859–1881), Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid, as well as Bonnie and Clyde or the Dalton brothers .

As young female outlaws, Cattle Annie (1882–1978) and Little Britches (1879–1896) were known in Oklahoma.

The Australian criminal Edward "Ned" Kelly (1854-1880) withstood the hail of police bullets almost successfully in 1880 as The Iron Outlaw in armor made of plow steel. Johannes Bückler , called Schinderhannes , as well as Carl Wallmann and Nikol List became famous as bandits in German-speaking countries .

Reception (selection)

Some outlaws embody a morbid fascination with adventure, freedom and criticism of the authorities. This is expressed in the high number of film adaptations of her life stories. There are also novels, stories and biographies on the subject of the historical figures of these outlaws.

Movies

music

literature

  • Robert M. Utley: Wanted. The outlaw lives of Billy the Kid & Ned Kelly (=  Lamar series in western history ). Yale University Press, New Haven 2015, ISBN 978-0-300-20455-1 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Bandit  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See for example Ludwig Levy-Lenz : Die Geächteten. In: Ludwig Levy-Lenz (ed.): Sexual catastrophes. Images from modern sex and married life. Leipzig 1926, pp. 259-332.
  2. ↑ Magna Carta - An internationally valid symbol for freedom. deutschlandfunk.de, June 15, 2015, accessed on September 5, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Johann Georg Estor, Johann A. Hofmann: Bürgerliche Rechtsgelehrsamkeit der Teutschen: according to the rules of the Reich farewells and proven news, also the government, then legal and policy, as well as the chamber, as well as the city and agricultural customers. (=  The German juridical law . Third part). Weldige, 1767, p. 609 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  4. ↑ Commemoration for Felix Dahn on his fiftieth doctoral anniversary, dedicated ... 1906, p. 285 ff . ( archive.org ).
  5. ^ Henry Campbell Black: A Law Dictionary Containing Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern ... 2nd edition. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 1995, ISBN 1-886363-10-2 , pp. 293 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  6. ↑ Black Jack Ketchum - Outlaw Train Robber. legendsofamerica.com, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Ned Kelly: Australian Iron Outlaw - Hero - Legend. ironoutlaw.com, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Jan von Flocken: The bloody end of the Schinderhannes. In: Welt Online. June 4, 2007, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  9. ^ Carl Wallmann Outlaw Legend. outlawlegend.at, accessed on September 5, 2016 .