Opening right

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In the Middle Ages, the right of opening was the right of a feudal lord , more precisely a territorial lord or patron, who, in the event of war or feud , allowed him to use a fortified house ( permanent house ) or even a town free of charge to create a military base to own.

The person opening the door thus granted the person opening the door a right of entry and military joint use of his property, the majority of which were castles , palaces and fortified manor houses . Such systems were then referred to as open houses .

Originally only due to the king , the right to open the building passed to dukes and feudal lords in the course of the Middle Ages in western Europe . In the case of fiefs, the feudal lord's right of opening was usually included. At Allodiale , it was often sold for a contractually agreed sum, or its owner received protection and help from the opener in return.

Many imperial cities also regulated through opening agreements the possibility of their troops being able to use permanent houses on their own territory or in the urban environment in the event of a conflict. The opener was often given city citizenship in return . Often, however, the opening right had to be granted to the winner as a “penalty” even after a military defeat.

In addition to its military strategic importance, the opening right allowed the opening person to use the open house at any time, to live there at the owner's expense, as long as it seemed necessary to him to go in and out at his own discretion and to exercise control over the associated properties during this time. Offenhäuser thus became both supply bases and hostels for the respective sovereign or liege lord.

literature

  • Christoph Bachmann: Right to open and ducal castle policy in Bavaria in the late Middle Ages. Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-10687-0 .
  • Christoph Bachmann: The right to open. Ius aperturae. In: Deutsche Burgenvereinigung (Hrsg.): Castles in Central Europe. Volume 2. Theiss, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1355-0 , pp. 33-38.
  • Jens Friedhoff: Right of opening. In: Horst Wolfgang Böhme , Reinhard Friedrich, Barbara Schock-Werner (Hrsg.): Dictionary of castles, palaces and fortresses. Reclam, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-15-010547-1 , p. 193, doi: 10.11588 / arthistoricum.535 .
  • Friedrich Hillebrand: The right to open castles, its beginnings and its development in the territories of the 13th-16th centuries. Century with special consideration of Württemberg. Diss. Phil. Tübingen 1967.
  • Volker Rödel: Castle and Law - An area of ​​diverse design and impact options . In: G. Ulrich Großmann , Hans Ottomeyer (Ed.): The castle. Scientific companion volume to the exhibitions "Castle and Lordship" German Historical Museum Berlin and "Myth Castle" Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg . Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2010, ISBN 978-3-940319-96-8 , Castle and Castle Opening in Lehenrecht, pp. 66–67.
  • Hans K. Schulze : Basic structures of the constitution in the Middle Ages. Volume II . In: Basic structures of the constitution in the Middle Ages . 4 volumes, 3rd, improved edition, Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-17-016393-0 , III. Castle, Palatinate and Royal Court. 3. Legal and constitutional historical elements. f) The right to open, pp. 118–119.

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