Odal
As Odal is now known in Northern Europe and the Orkney (called Udal law) that part of the estate, located in the Middle Ages was a long time or for generations in the same family and the Odalsrecht subject.
Word origin
The etymology of the term Odal has not been completely clarified. In the older Futhark there is a rune called Othala , called utal in the Salzburg-Wiener Alcuin manuscript , which is associated with real estate. It was also used as a term rune and stood in Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon manuscripts as an abbreviation for "possession, home".
Older research (Jakob Grimm et al.) Considered the meaning of ancestral property, genetic material, inheritance to be the original meaning of the word Odal. This interpretation was based on the Scandinavian usage of the word. But in the continental Germanic dialects this meaning cannot be proven anywhere with certainty.
Whether the word nobility is related to the word odal has been the subject of a long scientific controversy. Neckel wanted to demonstrate a complete identity of these terms. Kauffmann concluded from the similarity of the words that Odal is ancestral property of a noble family. This is countered by the fact that at the beginning of the tradition, the authors were no longer aware of the relationship between the two words. In addition, it cannot be deduced from such deductions that there was an ancient or common Germanic nobility at all. Behaghel even denied any connection between the words "Odel" and "Adel". Werner Conze, however, stuck to a relationship of the terms, as did the currently leading etymological dictionaries of German, namely Kluge / Seebold and Pfeifer.
The connection between “Odal” and “Nobility, noble” was interpreted to mean that land ownership played a decisive role in the emergence of the nobility. This corresponded to the state of historical research in the 19th and early 20th centuries. But this connection between nobility and landed property can no longer be maintained today. The nobility was not based on economic elements, but on participation in power in the sense of rule over people.
A distinction must be made between the North Germanic and the West Germanic Odal . In the Nordic documents, the word is used as a neuter in the singular and plural and only there means “ancestral property”. In Old High German and Old English , on the other hand, the word is used almost exclusively in the singular and also both in the neuter and in the masculine, where it means "country, fatherland, wealth". The term originally covered three areas: 1. Genetic property, inheritance, then ancestral property; 2. Possession, fortune, tax; 3. Home, country, fatherland, also place of origin, descent. In Old High German texts ōdhil usually occurs with the meaning of the Latin "patria". This meaning is also the most common in Old Frisian and Old English. But the original meaning cannot be determined with certainty from all the findings.
content
The term “ odal” is associated with the property owner's restriction of disposal. As a rule, but not necessary, the male line had a privileged position in relation to the Odals land. This special relationship between country and family is found in all cultures around the world. Here, however, only the northern European area is dealt with, in which the word Odal is rooted. In contrast to the Odal, the owner of an allod could freely dispose of it.
history
The core of the Scandinavian Odal was the relatives' right of first refusal. If Odals land was to be sold or leased, the land first had to be offered to relatives (oðalsnautar) who were in direct succession. Otherwise they had a right to redeem. Odalsgut could be divided upon inheritance, but each heir had the legal right of first refusal on the entire Odalsgut. The Odal enjoyed special protection against claims of the church and the king from fines and confiscations. The opposite of the Odal was the Kaufgut (kaupajörð). In Gulathingslov , the entire eighth book deals with the regulations of the Odal.
Denmark did not have any special Odal Law. However, there were general provisions on property ownership that contained elements of Odal Law without special terminology. They are summarized under the term Lovbydelse (legal requirement). These were provisions according to which inherited land should first be offered to relatives in the event of a sale. The oldest surviving provision is found in Skåne-Lov ( Skåne's Law). There it is regulated that a violation of the requirement to first offer land to relatives before the sale does not mean that they can reclaim the land from the buyer. Rather, they have to stick exclusively to the seller. In Eriks sjællandske Lov (Erik's Law for Zealand), however, such a right to surrender is stipulated with a limitation period of three years. The Jyske Lov (Jutland law) contained an unlimited right to surrender. In the middle of the 16th century the nobility were exempted from these regulations. They were formally repealed in 1926.
In Norway , the concept of the odal can be proven very early on. Harald Hårfagre confiscated all Odals goods (" óðul öll ") of the subject areas. Then Odal meant the entire Norwegian Empire, which was considered to be the heir of the king. In the Hirðskrá , the Norwegian Empire is specifically referred to as the King's Odal. Inheritance law played a key role in the peasantry. Land that was inherited became the Odal.
In Gulathingslov the estates are enumerated that are to be considered as Odal:
- The first is that which has passed from man to man through several generations.
- This is the second man's penalty.
- That is the third one that was taken as a legacy.
- This is the fourth that was given as a gift of honor.
- This is the fifth that was given by the king as a reward for entertainment.
- The sixth is wages for raising children.
- The seventh, when someone swaps his hereditary land for other properties.
There were different stipulations about the time in which a country must be owned by a family in order to become an Odal. Five generations are required in Gulathingslov. Robberstad believes that this regulation came into being with the introduction of Christian law on Mostrathing between 1024 and the Lateran Council in 1215. Because these were the five generations that determined the degree of kinship within which one was not allowed to marry according to Christian law. The Lateran Council changed this relationship. After the Frostathingslov only three generations were necessary. This suggests that this regulation arose after 1215, when marriage was possible up to this degree of kinship. The Landslov of King Magnus lagabætir mentions a period of 60 years or more in family ownership. There is also talk of óðalshaugr , a burial mound in which a man lay, to whom the farmer could trace his family tree. This was a sign that the area in question was part of his Odal. Robberstad concludes from this that the origin of the Odal Law in Norway is related to the ancestor cult.
At first, the Odal could only be passed on in the male line. In the 12th century the rights of women were strengthened by “ring women” being given odals. The Odalserben could as the Odal also to the entire hand Ganerben own.
Later, 12 chapters 5 of the law book of Christian IV. Of 1604 dealt with the Odalsrecht. In his law of April 15, 1687, Christian V dealt with the law of odals in chap. 13 of the 3rd book. This law was in effect until “Lov om odelsretten og åsetesretten” of June 26, 1821. It essentially concerned the duration of personal ownership for the acquisition of a property or a thing. Christian V set the duration of ownership at 20 years. With an ordinance of January 14, 1771, the presidential term was reduced to 10 years and the right of repurchase to 15 years.
In Sweden , too, there was a special Odal Law. In the iorþær balker (about land) of the äldre Västgötalag there is a special regulation on the Odal division (2, 14). In the Upplandslag , oþal is used to distinguish the property inherited from the father from the newly acquired. There was also the Oþol vatn , that is, a legal classification of waters under the Odalrecht. The Odal farmer is finally equated with the tax farmer ( Skattebonde ) and thus differentiated from the aristocratic and royal peasant . For the sale of Odalsgut the "Bördsrett" (≈ Inheritance Law) was relevant, which gave the family members a right of first refusal to the property. Odal law was abolished in the 19th century.
The expression “Odal” is not used for old Iceland . Rather, the word "aðalból" = main homestead was used, later Höfuðból . For example, the guardian of a minor had to first sell his lease land and rights of use in order to settle claims against him and had to prove that he had achieved the highest possible price if he still had to sell the master property. Otherwise, the minor could demand the sold goods back after reaching maturity. This expression hides a special protection of family assets. However, this was not handled as strictly as in Norway. Because real estate was the most important capital in Iceland, so that too great a restriction on real estate traffic would have hampered the economy too much. The protection therefore only applied to pieces of land that were larger than in Norway, for example. Rather, they limited themselves to the principle protection of the hereditary property and pursued economic and social equality between spouses. The introduction of the church tithing led to an evaluation of the entire property and also to the fact that the families tried to keep the large property in the family for as long as possible, against the efforts of the church to gain sovereignty over all property with which the own churches were equipped gain.
With the Járnsíða code , the legal term Óðal came into the Icelandic legal tradition in 1271. Saga passages with the term Odal refer to the time before Iceland was settled. Older Norwegian models were adopted. In the event of confiscation, the Odalsgut could be redeemed within ten years. When the Jónsbók law with its own chapter of Odals was introduced in Iceland, close relatives had the right of first refusal. The Bishop of Skálholt particularly opposed this, as the right of first refusal hindered the accumulation of property in the hands of the Church. But the farmers insisted on this arrangement. The oldest text of the Odals chapter has survived from the 16th century. But these are revisions of earlier laws with the same content. The oldest diploma, in which the word "Óðal" is used, is a royal confirmation of the enfeoffment of Magnus Eriksson in 1375 with real estate in Iceland, "as far as these properties are not an Odal of the Crown".
Old England
In the case of the Anglo-Saxons, the owner of a éðel was also subject to restrictions on disposal and the male line was given a preferential position when acquiring Odals property. But as early as the 8th century, in addition to the legal éðel , they also had a donated family property, similar to the family fideikommiss .
Orkney and Shetlands
In the Orkneyinga saga it is reported that Jarl Torv-Einar received the Odel (here referred to as Udal Law) of all farmers in Harald Hårfagr's time and Jarl Sigurd Digre gave it back to the farmers. The saga also reports that Jarl Ragnvald Kolsson allowed the peasants to redeem a right that made him the heir of all the peasants' estates. Obviously this is normal property right. During the "pledge period", Norwegian law applied to the Orkneys . Shetland's Thingbok (Court book) from 1602 to 1604 shows that Magnus lagabætir's code of law was in effect there at that time. In 1604 it was determined on the law that anyone who wanted to sell land had to offer it to the next of kin first. If the relative did not want to buy it, it had to be offered to the jarl for the same price. In 1611, Norwegian law on the Orkney and Shetlands was largely replaced by Scottish law.
Faroe Islands
Norwegian law also applied in the Faroe Islands. The edition of Gulathingslov by Magnus lagabætir was binding there. The book was written in the first half of the 14th century and was called "Kongsbok" and is now in the Royal Library in Stockholm. There is also a Faroese copy from 1571 after the first translation of the code into Danish. The chapter "Odelsbolken" has been adopted there. In the Faroese Thingbook there is an Odels decision from 1622.
present
In Europe there is only a special Odal Law in Norway and Iceland as well as in Orkney and the Shetlands.
In Norway , the constitution of 1814 guarantees in § 107 the continuation of the Odalsrecht. This was changed by the law of June 28, 1974, in which women born after January 1, 1965 were given equal status with male Odals beneficiaries and the Odals inheritance law was limited to nephews and nieces. This is the current legal situation in Norway. The reason for the retention of the Odalsrechtes and the associated inheritance rights is the maintenance of the agricultural use structure within the family property.
According to § 2 of the Odals Act, an Odal must be at least 20,000 m² in size, or it must include so much other area or rights to areas that the productive value corresponds to that of 20,000 m². Forests must have a productive value of at least 100,000 m² and agricultural areas under 5,000 m² are never counted as such. It must also have been in the family for at least 20 years.
Odal rights pass to the heir if he was born before the land passed to someone who was not entitled to Odal. The Odal receives the oldest child. The spouse does not receive the deceased spouse's Odal. Anyone who receives an Odal is obliged to continue farming and to stay on the Odal (Odal obligation). He can evade this by selling it to the highest bidder. In this case, however, those entitled to Odals can purchase the Odal for the Odalstaxe (Odalsløsning = right of first refusal at the estimated price). The interested party must register his or her claim to takeover within one year. With this, the transferee acquires the obligation to move there within one year and to farm for 10 years. It can also be left to another farmer for agricultural use. There are numerous modifications and individual provisions up to and including exemption from the Odal. In 2003 a commission was set up to prepare an opinion on the question of whether the Odals and Inheritance Law should be retained. The Commission recommended that the legal situation be retained, with some easing of the movement of real estate.
In Iceland the Odalsrecht (Ættaróðal) is currently in Jarðalög 1976 no. 65 31. May in Chapter IV § 30 under the title " Right of first refusal" ( Forkaupsréttur ) and in Chapter VII §§ 47 ff. Under the title "About Odalsland" ( Um óðalsjarðir ) with small changes in Lög no. 90/1984 and later 1995 and 1996.
In Orkney and the Shetlands the " Udal law " applies to the content of property rights on the ground. It corresponds to the Norwegian law of King Magnus lagabætir. Scottish jurisprudence considers the Udal Law to be applicable. This still plays a crucial role in laying pipelines and cables today.
Social relevance
The possession of Odalsland gave the peasant ( Odalsbauer ) a prominent social position compared to other free people. He held the highest rank in the Thing Assembly and in legal life. This did not apply to Iceland's egalitarian society in this respect, but it did to Sweden.
Other similar legal institutions in Switzerland
Legal institutions of family property, similar to the Odal, with limited tradability and preference for close relatives in the case of succession, is also popular in the past among the nobility and is now popular in Central Europe, e.g. B. Switzerland is no longer a legal institution of the entails commission . Existing entails are legally recognized, but can be revoked by them with the consent of all authorized persons. The Swiss Civil Code of 1907 even introduced another similar legal institution, the Heimstätte , which could not be lent and freely traded and which, as inalienable family property, was supposed to be a means of avoiding total impoverishment of a family. While individual Fideikommisse still exist in Switzerland today, homesteads have practically never been built due to their lack of attractiveness, despite legal possibilities.
literature
- Otto Behaghel: Odal. In: Session reports of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Philological-historical department. Born 1935, booklet 8. Munich 1935.
- Else Ebel: Keyword Odal. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Volume 21. Berlin 2002. pp. 533-538.
- Harald Ehrhardt: Keyword Odal. In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages. Volume 6. Munich / Zurich 1993. p. 1345.
- Gerhard Hafström: Keyword Odelsrett. In: Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder. Volume 12. Copenhagen 1967. Col. 502-503. (For Sweden)
- Stig Iuul: Keyword Lovbydelse. In: Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder. Volume 10. Copenhagen 1965. Col. 699.
- Magnús Már Lárusson: Keyword Odelsrett. In: Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder. Volume 12. Copenhagen 1967. Col. 499-502. (For Iceland)
- Gabriele v. Olberg: Keyword Odal. In: Concise dictionary of German legal history . Berlin 1984. Sp. 1178-1184.
- Knut Robberstad: Keyword Odelsrett. In: Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder. Volume 12. Copenhagen 1967. Col. 493-499. (For Norway, Orkneys and Shetlands)
- Keyword Odal. In: Cornelia Schmitz-Berning: Vocabulary of National Socialism. 2nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2007, pp. 446–449
- Karl Ferdinand Werner: Keyword nobility. In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages. Volume I (1980) Col. 118-126.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Nobility. In: Digital dictionary of the German language dwds.de
- ↑ Behaghel; v. Olberg Sp. 1179.
- ↑ Gustav Neckel: "Adel und Gefolgschaft." In: Contributions to the history of German language and literature Volume 42 (1916), 385-436, 385.
- ↑ Friedrich Kauffmann: “From the vocabulary of legal language.” In: Journal for German Philology Volume 47 (1918), pp. 153-209.
- ↑ Otto Behaghel: Odal . In: Session reports of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Philological-historical department. Born 1935, booklet 8. Munich 1935.
- ↑ Conze: p. 1.
- ^ Kluge, Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, 24th edition 2002; Wolfgang Pfeifer, Etymological Dictionary of German, 3rd edition 1997.
- ↑ Gustav L. v. Maurer: History of the market constitution. Erlangen 1856.
- ↑ Werner Sp. 119.
- ↑ Behaghel; Ebel p. 534.
- ↑ Ebel p. 534; v. Olberg Sp. 1181.
- ↑ v. Olberg Sp. 1181.
- ↑ Ehrhard Sp. 1345
- ↑ Iuul Sp. 699.
- ↑ inheritance as a result of upbringing in the testator's house.
- ↑ z. B. from the king.
- ^ Gulathingslov § 270.
- ↑ § 266.
- ↑ Robberstad, "Odelsrett" Sp. 495 with reference to A. Taranger: Udsigt over den norske rets historie IV. Oslo 1907. pp. 380–395.
- ↑ Robberstad, "Odelsrett" Col. 494.
- ↑ Women who could claim manslaughter if there were no male relatives. That was daughter and sister.
- ↑ Odd Arvid Storsveen: Norsk patriotisme for 1814 . KULT's series No. 88 from Norsk foskningsråd. Oslo 1997. p. 105.
- ↑ Hafström Sp. 502.
- ↑ Gragas, Landabrigðisþáttur
- ↑ a b Lárusson Sp. 500.
- ↑ Ebel p. 535.
- ↑ Lárusson Sp 501.
- ↑ Diplomatarium Islandicum III, 294.
- ↑ In 1468 Christian I of Denmark pledged the Orkneys to Scotland.
- ↑ a b Robberstad "Odelsrett" Sp. 498.
- ↑ Ebel p. 537.