Legal archeology

Legal archeology is a research area at the interface between archeology and legal history . The Munich legal historian Karl von Amira (1848–1930) is considered to be the founder of the subject .

object

Legal archeology deals with buildings and monuments, primarily from medieval and early modern legal history. While the archaeologists working in this area try to collect information about buildings and facilities that no longer exist, for example by means of excavations, such as court places or places of execution that have disappeared , legal historians working in legal archeology primarily deal with existing objects and look for them specifically with regard to their specific characteristics explore legal significance. The boundaries between legal iconography and legal folklore are fluid.

Typical objects of investigation in legal archeology are, for example, small monuments for border marking as well as proclamation and execution places, also specifically:

Stone table (court stone) under the linden tree at the court square in Vollmarshausen

historical places of jurisdiction, such as feme courts , bridge courts or central courts

Anger, farmer , bride, purchase and proclamation stones

Church portals as legal places like bridal portals on medieval churches

Land stones , landmarks

Market crosses

Fools' houses, prayer rooms

pillory

Council chambers

Place of execution , gallows

Rolande

Red towers or doors

Atonement crosses

Ties

Thing places and court stones

literature

Hermann Baltl: Legal folklore and legal archeology . In: Swiss Archives for Folklore 48, 1952, pp. 65–82.
Paul De Win (Ed.), Legal archeology en legal iconography / legal archeology and legal iconography. Een kennismaking; handelingen van het colloquium gehouden te Brussel op April 27, 1990 , Brussels 1992.
W. Fieber & R. Schmitt: Registration and protection of legal monuments - first results of legal archaeological research. In: Archeology and Heimatgeschichte 4, pp. 66–69. 1989
Witold Maisel : Legal Archeology of Europe , 1992 ISBN 3-205-05364-8
Witold Maisel, The delimitation of legal archeology and legal folklore . In: Research on legal archeology and legal folklore 2 (1979), pp. 93-104.

Journals and series on legal archeology

Signa Iuris - contributions to legal iconography, legal archeology and legal folklore ( publisher's website , table of contents for the entire series ).
Research on legal archeology and legal folklore ( publisher's website , table of contents for the entire series ).

Web links

Stephan Altensleben : The forgotten message of legal monuments in: State office for non-state museums at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (ed.): Museum heute 32, facts – tendencies – help, Munich 2007, pp. 67–73
Legal archaeological picture collection from Karl von Amira.
Legal Iconography Working Group

Individual evidence

^ Mathias Schmoeckel: Karl von Amira and the beginnings of legal archeology. The legal archaeological collection of Karl von Amiras at the Leopold Wenger Institute . In: Research on legal archeology and legal folklore . tape 17 , 1997, pp. 67-81 .
↑ Heiner Lück: What is legal archeology and what can it do? In: Thoughts. Journal of the Saxon Academy of Sciences . No. 8 , 2012, p. 35-55, 40 f . ( denkstroeme.de ).
↑ Legal Iconography - What is it? Retrieved February 27, 2019 .

[1] Mathias Schmoeckel: Karl von Amira and the beginnings of legal archeology. The legal archaeological collection of Karl von Amiras at the Leopold Wenger Institute . In: Research on legal archeology and legal folklore . tape 17 , 1997, pp. 67-81 .

[2] Heiner Lück: What is legal archeology and what can it do? In: Thoughts. Journal of the Saxon Academy of Sciences . No. 8 , 2012, p. 35-55, 40 f . ( denkstroeme.de ).

[3] Legal Iconography - What is it? Retrieved February 27, 2019 .