Wall building regulations (Worms)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

With the Wall Building Regulations of Worms, Bishop Thietlach regulated the distribution of construction loads for the construction and maintenance of the city ​​wall of Worms at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries . It is the oldest surviving wall building code.

Roman-era wall segment of the western inner city wall of Worms: One of the few remaining sections that was certainly already in place at the time when the wall building regulations were written down.

Lore history

The Latin-language wall building regulations are only passed down indirectly through three copies from the 16th century, in the

  • Worms bishop chronicle : Chronicus liber antistitum Wormacensium from 1523/26;
  • Worms bishop chronicle from 1523/26: Chronicus liber antistitum Wormacensium from 1538; here is the hint: one can still find an order written on the high in Worms, which Bishop Thietlah made ;
  • Early modern chronicle by Friedrich Zorn , which was written after 1570 and who copied from a text that he found in the Cyriakus pen in Neuhausen : found in an old book in the Neuhausen peninsula . This text forms the basis of the printed editions, but differs slightly from the other sources.

content

text

"Descriptio urbani operis ciuitatis vvorm.

De loco qui dicitur Frisonen-Spirra usque ad Rhenum ipsi Frisones restauranda muralia procurent. Rudolsheim, Gummesheim, Eichana, Ham, Ubersheim, Durikem, Alsheim, Mettenheim a supradicta Frisonen-Spirra usque ad locum qui Rheni-Spirra vocatur provideant. In eodem latere civitatis familia S. Leodegarii portam quandam reaedificare debent. Deinde usque ad Phawenportam urbani qui Heimgereiden vocantur operando pervigilent. Hinc usque ad angulum meridianum Bobenheym, Ligersheym, Roxheym, Agersheym et omnes iuxta Rhenum habitantes usque ad Hemmingersheim provideant. Media pars de Rucheim et sic omnes ab alia parte plateae Rheni habitantes usque ad fluvium qui Karlebach vocatur in occidentali angulo terminum operis ponant. De quo (angulo) incipientes ex utraque parte Karlebach usque ad Kircheim et usque ad S. Andree portam. Ab hinc omnes ex utraque parte fluvii qui Ysana vocatur sedentes usque ad Nittenheym muros civitatis usque ad portam mercati (Mart.) Procurent. De qua omnes iuxta utramque fluvii partem que Primma vocatur, quousque Malesbach eundem fluvium influit, usque ad iam dictam frisonenspirram provideant. Preterea de media parte Muntzenheym usque ad Dienheym tarn hi quam omnes in (qui infra) ambitu predictorum fluviorum et villarum habitantes sunt eandem civitatem cum propugnaculis et omnibus necessariis prout temporis locus exegerit incessanter insistant.

Hec Teothlachus s. vvorm. ecclesie praesul scribere iussit. "

translation

“From the place called Friesenspitze to the Rhine, the Frisians should take care of the restoration of the wall.
Rudelsheim, Gimbsheim, Eich, Hamm, Ibersheim, Rhein-Dürckheim, Alsheim and Mettenheim are said to entertain from the aforementioned Friesenspitze to the so-called Rheinspitze [the Wall].
On the same side of the city, the community of St. Leodegar must rebuild the gate there.
Then the townspeople, called "Heimgereiden", are supposed to keep the watch up to the Pfauentor.
From here to the southern corner, Bobenheim, Ligrisheim, Roxheim, Oggersheim and everyone who lives along the Rhine to Hemsheim should take care of [the Wall].
The middle part of Rucheim and all other parts of the Rhine valley up to the river called “Karlebach” are to be built up to the western corner.
From this corner, those from the other part of the Karlebach to Kirchheim begin, to the St.-Andreas-Pforte.
From here, everyone who lives on both sides of the river called "Eisbach" as far as Mertesheim should take care of the city walls up to the "porta mercati".
From there entertain everyone who [live] on the two banks of the river, which is called “Pfrimm”, up to where the Mühlbach flows into this river, namely up to the aforementioned Friesenspitze [the facility].
Furthermore, those from the central part of Monzernheim to Dienheim as well as all those who live in the vicinity of the said rivers and villages should continuously support the city in defense and everything that is necessary at the time. "

description

The Wall Building Regulations regulated the contribution that various social groups had to make for the construction and maintenance of the wall. The construction and ongoing maintenance of city fortifications were expensive. Various groups of townspeople and also potentially protection seekers from unsurfaced places in the surrounding area were obliged to guarantee this, and who had the right to flee behind the walls in the event of war. The assumption of the construction loads did not always work smoothly. The wall was often structurally damaged and there was evidence of the refusal of individual obligated parties to make their contribution. It is noticeable that in the building regulations of Bishop Thietlach the residents of the city are only mentioned in passing, but that numerous groups who lived outside the city are made responsible. The Wall Building Regulations describe only part of the existing building load obligations. The text begins its virtual tour around the wall in the northeast corner and runs clockwise.

Wall section Construction debtors annotation
Friesenspitze to the Rhine Friezes It must be a fortification outside the wall ring, as the wall did not directly touch the Rhine, so maybe a barrier between the city and the port. The exact location is unknown.
Friesenspitze to the Rheinspitze Ridelsheim, Eich , Hamm , Gimbsheim , Alsheim , Dürkheim , Mettenheim , Ubersheim The Friesenspitze was in the area of ​​the northeast corner of the fortification, the position of the Rheinspitze is unknown.
A gate to be rebuilt It is assumed that this was later called the “bread gate”. Familia St. Leodegari
Up to the peacock gate Heimgereiden This is essentially the southern section of the east wall.
Peacock gate to the south corner Bobenheim , Roxheim , Ligrisheim, Oggersheim and all residents on the Rhine to Hemmingersheim
Middle part to the west corner Ruchheim and all residents up to the Karlebach It is not known what the “middle part” is supposed to describe. The western corner is clearly the area in which the "Luginsland" tower was later built.
West corner to Andreastor Places on the Karlebach to Kirchheim This is a relatively short section of almost 200 m between “Luginsland” and Andreasstrasse.
Andreastor to "Markttor" or "Martinstor" All residents of the Eisbach to Mertesheim This is a relatively long section of around 600–700 m.
“Markttor” or “Martinstor” to Friesenspitze Residents of the Pfrimm

context

The places listed are villages along the Rhine, from Dienheim in the north to Oggersheim in the south and in the further hinterland on the left bank of the Rhine, which belonged to the diocese of Worms.

The listed persons responsible for building maintenance include the city itself

  • the Frisians , who settled in the northeastern area of ​​the city and were active in long-distance trade. They are documented between 829 and 973. Their building load obligation was later transferred to the Jewish community of Worms , which replaced the Frisians in long-distance trade and also had their settlement focus roughly where the Frisians had previously settled.
  • the Heimgereiden . The term is completely anachronistic for a 9th or 10th century document. It does not otherwise appear before the 13th century and then designates a rural commons and their court. It is therefore likely that when copying templates (perhaps multiple times) a scribe replaced an unknown term with an (incorrect) contemporary one. Gerold Bönnen wants to interpret this as "the townspeople of Worms in their cooperative-neighborly relationship", but this does not explain why all townspeople ("urbani") should call themselves "Heimgereiden" and why they are responsible for nothing more than the maintenance of just one piece of the wall , especially since at this point in the text it is obviously not about building maintenance, but about the guard (“operando pervigilent”).
  • the "Familia St. Leodegari". They were members of the Murbach Abbey in Alsace . Traditionally, this group is interpreted as a group of city dwellers. It is strange, however, that their mention in the Wall Building Regulations is the only evidence of their presence in Worms. However, the abbey is extensively owned in the surrounding area.

Open questions

Topography of the southeast corner

In the south-eastern area, the section up to the Pfauenpforte is followed by the section Pfauenpforte up to the south corner . After that, the peacock gate should have been located when walking clockwise around the wall in front of the southeast corner, the southernmost point of the inner city wall. In times that are historically documented, it was exactly the opposite. There are different explanations for this:

  • Two sections were swapped when writing or copying.
  • For reasons unknown, the section would already be included in the previous one. It is extremely short at around 50 m.
  • The peacock gate was initially a gate in the (old) east wall - then, due to the traditional road network, it would most likely be located in the extension of Wollstrasse - before it was later (taking the name with you) next to it as a gate in the south wall was built.

Karlebach

It is unclear which body of water is meant by the "Karlebach". The following are possible:

Market gate / Martinstor

In the text of the two episcopal chronicles it says “porta mercati” and, in the case of anger, differently: “porta Mert.” Or “porta Mart.” In local historical literature, the passage was always interpreted and reproduced as “Martinstor”. Today it is doubted whether it should be read like that. The position of this gate at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries is also not known. The gate later called "Martinstor" originates from an extension of the city wall at the beginning of the 11th century.

Reference to the construction of a new south wall?

For the southern section, the document states that those obliged to build there “terminum operis ponant” (“should set the boundaries of the [building] work”). This can be read as a reference to the new construction and expansion of the southern section of the inner city wall that took place at this time.

history

context

The Worms Wall Building Regulations are not alone. There are similar orders in Mainz , Bingen , Boppard and Speyer . But the Worms spring from the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries is the oldest.

Origin and reception

The wall building regulations were created in the course of upgrading and expanding the city ​​wall . The reason for this was a threat from the Normans , who pushed forward up the Rhine, but never got to Worms. In the course of the upgrading and expansion of the wall, it was apparently necessary to regulate the building load obligations (new?).

Since the printed editions of the text are based on the version handed down by Friedrich Zorn and he initially incorrectly assigned the document to Bishop Burchard , who was in office about 100 years after Thietlach, a long-standing error in regional historical research arose here. Since the late medieval and early modern copyists only knew the course of the wall as it was in their time, but not the high medieval predecessor buildings, some of the traditional geographical information and place names may be falsified because they tried to transfer this information to the existing wall that they knew .

literature

in alphabetical order by authors / editors

  • Gerold Bönnen : City Topography, Surroundings and Defense Constitution: Notes on Medieval Wall Building Regulations In: Institute for Historical Regional Studies at the University of Mainz (ed.): City and Wehrbau im Mittelrheingebiet = Mainz lectures 7. Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, pp. 21–45.
  • Gerold Bönnen: Between Bishop, Empire and Electoral Palatinate: Worms in the late Middle Ages (1254–1521) . In: Gerold Bönnen (ed.): History of the city of Worms . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005. ISBN 3-8062-1679-7 , pp. 193-261.
  • Mathilde Grünewald : New theses on the Worms city walls . In: Mannheimer Geschichtsblätter NF 8 (2001), pp. 11–44.
  • Mathilde Grünewald: Worms from the prehistoric epoch to the Carolingian era . In: Gerold Bönnen (ed.): History of the city of Worms . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005. ISBN 3-8062-1679-7 , pp. 44-101.
  • Thomas Kohl and Franz Josef Felten : Worms - city and region in the early Middle Ages from 600–1000 . In: Gerold Bönnen (ed.): History of the city of Worms . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005. ISBN 3-8062-1679-7 , pp. 102-132.
  • Monika Porsche: City Wall and City Development. Investigations into the early city fortifications in the medieval German Empire . Wesselkamp, ​​Hertingen 2000. ISBN 3-930327-07-4
  • Fritz Reuter: City walls and defense towers through the ages . In: Wormser monthly mirror from February 1982, pp. 5-7.
  • Alois Seiler: The Worms Wall Building Regulations . In: Der Wormsgau 2 (1934–1943), p. 22f.
  • Friedrich Zorn : Worms Chronicle with the additions of Franz Berthold von Flersheim = Library of the Litterarian Society in Stuttgart 43rd Literary Society, Stuttgart 1857. ND: Rodopi, Amsterdam 1969.

Remarks

  1. ^ Text from Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 68; Bönnen: city ​​topography , 22.
  2. ↑ What is meant is the Worms Cathedral .
  3. ↑ Additions to brackets: different text in Zorn: Wormser Chronik .
  4. ^ Ammelbach (Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 27).
  5. ↑ This last sentence is missing from Zorn: Wormser Chronik .
  6. ↑ Bernd-Ulrich Hergemöller's translation was obviously done without knowledge of the local topography, which resulted in some incorrect interpretations (Bernd-Ulrich Hergemöller: Sources for the constitutional history of the German city in the Middle Ages. = Selected sources for the German history of the Middle Ages, Volume 34. Scientific book society , Darmstadt 2000. ISBN 3-534-06864-5 , p. 69).
  7. ↑ See section: “Markttor / Martinstor”.
  8. ↑ So wanted z. B. in 1272 the knights who were wealthy in the city refuse to contribute (Bönnen, in: Bönnen (ed.): Zwischen Bischof , p. 204).
  9. ↑ There was a Frisian settlement in the city . The Frisians were active in long-distance trade.
  10. ^ Members of the Murbach monastery in Alsace (Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 68, note 96).
  11. ↑ "urbani qui Heimgereiden vocantur".
  12. ↑ A desolation .
  13. ↑ A desert ?
  14. ↑ The medieval Andreastor was located in the western city wall and must not be confused with the gate of the same name in the southern wall, a breakthrough from 1907.
  15. ↑ GKZ: DE / 2549492
  16. ↑ In the 10th century, the late Roman / medieval city ​​wall of Worms was expanded to the south, along today's Willy-Brandt-Ring and Schönauer Strasse (Grünewald in Bönnen (ed.): Geschichte der Stadt Worms , p. 95 , 161).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kohl / Felten in Bönnen (ed.): Worms , p. 103.
  2. ↑ University Library Würzburg : Hs. M. ch. F. 187, pp. 213v-214r.
  3. ↑ Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt : Hs 202, fol. 158; see: Bönnen: Stadttopographie , 22.
  4. ^ According to Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 68.
  5. ^ Zorn: Worms Chronicle .
  6. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 22.
  7. ^ Zorn: Wormser Chronik , p. 39.
  8. ^ Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 68.
  9. ^ Reproduced from: Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 68; a listing of all editions of the text in Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 41.
  10. ↑ Reuter: City Walls and Defense Towers , p. 7.
  11. ↑ Grünewald: New Theses , p. 30.
  12. ↑ Location information according to Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 67f.
  13. ↑ Grünewald: New Theses , p. 30.
  14. ^ According to Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 69, it was a matter of reconstruction, not a new building.
  15. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 25.
  16. ↑ Kohl / Felten in Bönnen (ed.): Worms , p. 111.
  17. ↑ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 30.
  18. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 25.
  19. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 25.
  20. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 25.
  21. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 25.
  22. ↑ See: Grünewald: Neue Thesen , p. 30.
  23. ↑ Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 69.
  24. ^ Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 68.
  25. ^ Zorn: Wormser Chronik , p. 39.
  26. ^ Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 68.
  27. ↑ Porsche: Stadtmauer , p. 69.
  28. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , pp. 35ff.
  29. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 38.
  30. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 21.
  31. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 39.
  32. ^ Bönnen: Stadttopographie , p. 37.
  33. ↑ Kohl / Felten in Bönnen (ed.): Worms , pp. 118, 130.
  34. ↑ Kohl / Felten in Bönnen (ed.): Worms , note 169.