Letter of judgment

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Judgment letter from 1304, first page: "Hie vahet to the book of legal editions of the citizens of Zurich, which Nicolaus, ir schriber, arranged according to the sealed judges."

The judging letter from 1304 is the oldest surviving city ​​charter in the medieval imperial city and city republic of Zurich . Guideline letters have been mentioned in Zurich since the middle of the 13th century, around 1250, 1281 and 1291 - they were supposed to guarantee the peace and well-being (“city peace”) of the citizens within the city ​​walls . Judging letters are also documented in the Swiss cities of Schaffhausen and St. Gallen and in Constance in southern Germany .

Zurich in the 13th century

Main article: History of the city of Zurich

In the high Middle Ages, the German king exercised the power of rule over the city of Zurich and the religious monasteries , who delegated them to an imperial bailiff , usually from the ranks of the most influential noble families in the then Duchy of Swabia , namely the Zähringer and the Counts of Lenzburg .

With the extinction of the Zähringer in 1218 the sovereign rights went back to King Frederick II. ; the office of Reichsvogts, who was also responsible for the jurisdiction of the blood , was from then on temporarily taken over by a noble citizen ( knight ) of the city of Zurich.

King's charter from 1219 , issued by Friedrich II on January 11, 1219 (Imperial Freedom of the City of Zurich)
Coat of arms of the imperial city of Zurich, from the Murer plan by Jos Murer 1576
The seal shape common today goes back to the so-called secret seal used by the Council of Zurich since 1347. Transcription: SECRETVM CIVIVM THVRICENSIVM.

On January 11, 1219, Frederick II issued a certificate «in favor of the people of the Great Minster and in favor of persons belonging to the city of Zurich», in which he speaks of «de gremio oppidi nostri» (with an emphasis on our city ) . With these words, this implied formal, legal and political competencies for local self-government and thus the imperial immediacy of the city of Zurich.

The princess abbess of the Fraumünster monastery , who was elevated to the status of imperial duchess by Frederick II in 1245, was considered to be the actual “city mistress” . Their power in the city was based on basic rights and royal sovereignty rights, which had been granted to the Fraumünster since it was founded in 853. The abbey was since the mid-11th century in the possession of the coin , customs and market law and practiced by its Schultheissen the lower jurisdiction from. Most famous is Elisabeth von Wetzikon (* around 1235; † 1298 in Zurich), from 1270 to 1298 princess of the Fraumünster monastery in Zurich. In competition with it were the city's merchants, who had their own business law with self-administration of their professional interests.

Traces can be found for the first time in 1220, documented since February 11, 1252, of a city council - constituted in the so-called «fasting, summer and autumn council» until the guild revolution of 1336 - which had its own seal since 1225 . The inscription of the seal read "sigillum consilii et civium Thuricensium". In addition to the patron saints Felix and Regula (from the seal of the Fraumünster abbess), exuperantius , who presumably stands for the up-and-coming citizens of Zurich, who recently joined the Gross- and Fraumünster, was shown. The seal thus embodied the individual legal personality of the citizenship and the city council.

In the following years, various rights of rule of the Fraumünster Abbey gradually passed to the city council. This process was facilitated by the struggle between Emperor Friedrich II and the papacy. Because the clergy remained in Rome while the citizenship followed the emperor's party, the clergymen, including the abbess, were even expelled from the city at times, which led to the consolidation of the citizenship's political position.

In 1262 the legal position of the city was strengthened once more when the German King Richard of Cornwall not only, like his predecessors, expressly confirmed the privileges of the two (Gross- und Fraumünster) clerical monasteries, but at the same time expressly confirmed the freedom of citizenship. This made Zurich an imperial city .

The independent position of the city in 1267 in the Regensberg feud with the barons of Regensberg was expressed with great clarity . In a guerrilla war ( feud ), Zurich was able to assert its position against the Regensbergers with the support of the then Count and later King Rudolf von Habsburg . This marked the beginning of the territorial expansion of the city of Zurich, which was also evident in the unsuccessful campaign in April 1292 against the Habsburg city of Winterthur , after the death of Rudolf von Habsburg, and with the surrender to Duke Albrecht I of Habsburg . After that, the influence of the knighthood of the city of Zurich on the city council was increasingly restricted in favor of the Habsburg- friendly merchants. As a result of the defeat, Zurich had to give up the protective alliance with Uri and Schwyz, which was sealed in October 1291.

Around 1300 Zurich had between 8,000 and 9,000 inhabitants (Wikipedia) or “… for the year 1357, from which the oldest tax book comes, 5,700 to 6,850 people lived within Zurich's walls, while outside the city wall theirs 300 to 400 ( stake citizens ) were resident. ».

The advisable population of the " citizens " (they elected the council and provided its members) consisted of the city nobles - emerged from the ministerial families of the Fraumünster monastery - and of distant merchants who were direct from the empire and noble artisans, the so-called "notables".

The vast majority of the city's population, servants , serfs , servants and craftsmen in the city ​​of Zurich remained largely without political rights and protection at the end of the 13th century, although they were increasingly involved in the city's economic boom.

First judge's letter

The first written city ​​law , the so-called "Richtebrief", is mentioned in Zurich around 1250. According to these statutes, the city council consisted of knights (ministerials) and patricians , and a mayor's office did not yet exist.

In the not unequivocally secured “Richtebrief” of the year 1281 or 1291 the city council had explicitly forbidden from members of the “citizens” - the merchants represented in the council, noble craftsmen and the city nobles ( ministerials ) - the formation of craft associations ( guilds ) “that no one ( d) still advertise tuon (founding) sol enhein (no) guild nor championship with oaths with words nor with werchen ... ». There were severe penalties for violating the law: demolishing the house, heavy fines and banishment . On the other hand, the formation of guilds ("Antwerke"), such as grain makers, tanners and hat makers, was allowed.

The letter of judgment from 1304 has been preserved in the State Archives of the Canton of Zurich , a copy of the original probably from the second half of the 13th century.

Judgment letter from 1304

Emergence

In 1304 Nikolaus Mangold, town clerk , legal scholar and canon at the Grossmünster , compiled the most important laws, edicts and ordinances from the town books :

Judgment letter from 1304, State Archives of the Canton of Zurich
Codex Manesse , folio 193r , in direct comparison with the letter of judgment from 1304

«Hie vahet to the buoch of the legal editions of the citizens of Zurich, the Nicolaus, ir schriber, hant arranged according to the sealed letters ... The legal editions that are written in this buoche, the citizens of Zurich handle through vride and major amendments of the statute under the same law »

Mangold systematized these 350 paragraphs in six books (chapters), collectively known as the so-called "St. Nicholas Book".

The judge's letter from 1304 stored in the State Archives of the Canton of Zurich is considered a masterpiece of Zurich book art in the early 14th century: Twelve layers of six double sheets made of fine parchment - i.e. processed animal skin - are bound in quarters in strong wooden covers that were once black and brownish-red were covered with dyed leather. The text is written in the most beautiful Gothic book manuscript block-like on twenty drawn lines per page and is presented in the golden ratio when open .

The book is classified within the scope of the “Manessische Liederhandschrift” ( Codex Manesse ) that was created at the same time in Zurich . As in the Codex Manesse, titles and important passages are highlighted in red.

A peculiarity of the letter of judgment from 1304 is that space was left several times on the pages for beautiful initials , large initial letters decorated with gold paint, but these so-called majuscules were never inserted.

Two summaries of the judge's letter have been documented for the early 14th century: the “Nicholas Book” described here, named after town clerk Nikolaus Mangold, from 1304 and the so-called “Konrad Book” from around 1320.

Three other copies have been preserved, which differ in the order of the laws and partly also in terms of content: They were written on paper in the 16th (copy by Johannes Stumpf ) and 17th centuries ("Konradbuch", copy by Hans Heinrich Müller) however, on missing versions that were started towards the end of the 13th century or around 1327.

content

«The citizens of Zurich have drawn up the laws that are written down in this book in honor of the city and through peace and reform among themselves. According to the order of this book, the clergy ("pfafheit") and the citizens agreed to keep the laws dealing with mischief and iniquity written word for word in this book.
Therefore, one should know that this book is nothing more than a copy of the old judging letter that the council and the Burger Willen have drawn up together, and on the basis of which they swear to judge, also according to the written agreement between the clergy and the burgers. Afterwards there is neither less nor more than in the old judge's letter, but without the red writing; in particular, the meanings of all matters (thing and matter) were retained. But now these have been arranged differently than in the previous letters, so that it can be read, sought and understood all the better and more sensible. In particular, care was taken to present what belongs together (wan swas sache and chapter of einr materie sint) one after the other ... This law is divided into six books.
The first is about killing and acts of violence (manslaht and sacrilege), and begins: When a burger (Swa ein burger) ... The second book is about feud (original lie) and war and begins: The council should not allow a feud ... The third is about council and court, and begins: The council and the burgers all ... The fourth deals with the city and the citizens' freedoms, and begins: The council and the burgers are together ... The fifth book is about crafts, games and contracts to that (unions), and begins: Who in Zurich Landwein… The sixth book contains “dü ordenunge dez satzunge der pfafheit and the burger, and vahet an: Wir [Heinrich] by God's grace…” » Adaptation of the text to New High German . Repetitive passages were omitted or abbreviated.

Structure of the letter of judgment from 1304

City clerk Mangold divided the roughly 350 laws, decrees and ordinances from the city ​​books into six chapters:

The «City Book» from 1292 to 1371
  1. Killing and acts of violence («manslaht und von freveli») : punishments and fines for murder, manslaughter and atrocities such as robbery, assault and assault of all kinds.
  2. Feud and war (“original lie und von kriege”) : Structures the individual city decrees and ordinances. An important aspect of the city's history is the ban on the political organization of craftsmen in guilds, which existed until 1336.
  3. Council and court : regulates the appointment of the council and the court, d. H. Office holder, election of councilors and court lords at the same time, types of procedure, offenses, punishment / sanction practice, fines etc.
    Here, along with other points, essential provisions of constitutional law on the election and tasks of the Zurich Council and its form of conference are recorded. "That one should mention in the iare drije rete" refers to three alternating council bodies (tripartite council), the "Lenten Council", which meets from Ash Wednesday , the "Summer Council" and the "Autumn Council", each composed of 12 members of the "Notabel" ( Merchant patriciate) and ministeriality (knighthood). The office of chairman (mayor) only came into being with the Bruns guild constitution of June 1336.
  4. City and citizens ' freedoms : A summary of the freedoms (rights and duties) of the city and its citizens, i.e. the regulations in connection with the basic constitution of the community (for the benefit of all). The provisions include the citizens' oath , conduct towards the head of the Reich, building rights, coin disrepute , property, taxes, insults, defamation, defamation, blasphemy, marital and sexual offenses, marriage address, marriage vows, d. H. general civil rights. There is even a vow by the citizens to take part in the next crusade (from the point of view of that time) with four citizens .
  5. Handicrafts, games and contracts : This chapter regulates, among other things, viticulture and the monopoly of wine, the silk, wool, linen and mill trades, gambling and money.
  6. Clergy and citizenship (“dü ordenunge dez statutes of the peasantry and the citizens”) . This chapter dealt with the so-called Pfaffenbrief , which required obedience from secular and spiritual persons to the local authorities.

The laws , edicts and ordinances summarized by Mangold were statute law, law set by the citizens' assembly, different from common law , including earlier forms of a modern constitution .

The letter of judgment in everyday life in the community

The law book is since its creation the name "Judge letter" because the citizens of Zurich to accordance with its provisions addressed had and urban authorities their judgments based on it (court held) precipitated.

This article regulates the import and sale of "lantwin" (country wine) and "ellendem" (foreign) wine.
Judgment letter from 1304, "Maximum interest rates for weekly loans from Jews and Kawertschen". Before the pogroms and expulsion of the Jewish population of Zurich , around 1349 by Rudolf Brun , money changers, moneylenders and, in today's sense, bankers were pejoratively referred to as “Kawertschen” or “Cahursiners”.

The main purpose of the judge's letter was to ensure peace in the city "at a time when a citizen seldom left his home without a sword or knife, when violence and vigilante justice were still widespread".

The collection of laws also served to protect the urban residents, who are directly subordinate to the head of the Reich, from possible attacks by the feudal nobility close to the city , whom some parapraphs address as "lantman".

Some examples from the judge's letter of 1304 illustrate its content and implementation in urban coexistence:

  • «If a citizen unlawfully kills the other person who is permanently resident in this judicial district (as if he was sitting) , and who, as judicially was in the realm and the court, unlawfully kills (slat ze tode an dien trüwen) , one should call on all go to his property, which he has outside and inside the city, and it should never come into the city again ( exile ). But if he comes anyway, the council should be obliged to fend off all burgers (werren uf ir t) . Nor should a burger take him in, otherwise he has to give the city twenty march ze buosse ».
  • Trespassing was in the medieval towns of community as one of the most serious crime and was punished accordingly hard: A citizen who under another trespassing totschlug had to pay 10 March (Mark, about 2 kg) silver buses. In addition, his house, or if he owned several, the best of his houses was torn down. For the bloody act in itself, the citizen had to face the verdict of the Reichsvogt, who, as mentioned at the beginning, was responsible for blood jurisdiction .
  • The citizen who “burns, steals and chops away the other fruit trees and vines” gets away with the comparatively small fine of two silver marks. The feud was a legal and widespread medieval remedy and was therefore punished mildly in direct comparison.
  • "But if the perpetrator is a farmer ( lantman ) who kills a burger, he too will give twenty March. If he is caught, however, he should be handed over to the Vogt ( dewurps for the Vogt ) or the deputy ( ald swer an dez stat sits ), and this should be judged according to judgment ».
  • Cardsharps were "washed up" in the Limmat and banished from the city, which may illustrate the sense of justice at the time and the economic damage caused by the rampant gambling addiction and the desire to scatter.
  • Other regulations limited the amount of work involved in weddings ("bridal running"), less for moral reasons than for economic reasons: the wedding couple should no longer have to entertain half the city, but only invite twenty families. This was to prevent young couples and their families from entering their marriages in an economically ruined state. The number of mostly expensive gifts was also limited to one per wedding guest.

The letter of judgment is also an important testimony to the flourishing textile industry and long-distance trade in the late 13th century, and in particular to the increasing importance of the money economy for the city of Zurich. At that time, Italian and Jewish financiers (moneylenders) carried out banking transactions who were not subject to the canonical prohibition of interest .

  • If “the jews ald the caurchin a burger a march of silver is more expensive than six pfennigs (zwer wuchon door then costs six pfennings) , and a pound by more than two, and ten shillings by more than one pfennig, and five shillings by more as a Helbeling [also a coin], as often as he does it ( as often as he does it ) , he should be compelled to give half a march correspondingly often ».

For example, “maximum interest rates for weekly loans” were mentioned by Jewish townspeople and “Kawertschen” in the judge's letter. In Zurich they were obliged to grant loans to city citizens and had to pay taxes on their property, the "escort of Jews", the body duty , the dice duty and the burial fee. The money shortage prevailing at the time and the enormous importance of the early banking system are made clear in the letter of judgment with a ban on pledging church treasures and silk below a certain weight, as well as the granting of weekly loans with an interest rate of maximum 43%.

classification

The Richtebrief is the earliest codification (law book) of the self-governing imperial city of Zurich and is only surpassed in its scope with around 350 paragraphs in the southwest German-speaking area by the Augsburg city ​​book of 1276.

" The three estates " in the handwritten chronicle of the rule Grüningen from 1610. The "scholar" prays for everyone, the "emperor" fights for everyone, the "farmer" feeds everyone.

In addition to its importance as city and constitutional law, the letter of judgment can be regarded as a forerunner of criminal law and moral mandates ( status order ).

The "Nikolausbuch" is considered to be particularly interesting because it was demonstrably in use for several decades, probably until 1336, due to the large number of supplements by various scribes. Seen from the aspect of writing , the symbolic effect of the representative handwriting is also important. Last but not least, it was intended to underpin the Zurich council's claim to power over the Fraumünster Abbey. A historian of the 19th century judged: "In the judge's letter of 1304, the most beautiful monument in old Zurich, the full life that animated the city had been revealed."

The form and composition of the judge's letter from 1304 is compared with the Konstanz judge's letter from the same period, although it is disputed among experts which of the two may have influenced the other more. What is certain is that the Schaffhauser Richtebrief is based on both the Zurich and the Konstanz collections of laws.

Regardless of this, the city of Zurich judicial letter from 1304 is considered to be one of the oldest and most valuable documents on citizenship north of the Alps.

See also

literature

  • Bruno Koch: New Citizens in Zurich: Migration and Integration in the Late Middle Ages . Verlag Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-7400-1193-9 .
  • Zurich judge's letter. Edited by Daniel Bitterli. (=  The legal sources of the Canton of Zurich. New series. First part, first series, first volume.) Schwabe, Basel 2011, ISBN 978-3-7965-2717-3 . ssrq-sds-fds.ch
  • State Archives of the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Small Zurich Constitutional History 1218–2000 . Published on behalf of the Directorate of Justice and the Interior on the day the Zurich Constitutional Council was constituted on September 13, 2000. Chronos, Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-905314-03-7 .
  • Hans-Jörg Gilomen / Anne-Lise Head-König / Anne Radeff (eds.): Migration in the cities. Exclusion - assimilation - integration - multiculturalism . Chronos, Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-905313-43-X .
  • Niklaus Flüeler and Marianne Flüeler-Grauwiler (ed. And editor): History of the Canton of Zurich. Volume 1: Early to Late Middle Ages. Werd Verlag, Zurich 1995, ISBN 3-85932-158-7 .
  • Société Jean Bodin pour l'histoire comparative des institutions (ed.): Actes à cause de mort (Acts of last will) . De Boeck Université, 1994, ISBN 2-8041-1562-3 .
  • Rudolf Gamper: The Zürcher Richtebrief from 1301/1304. A copy on behalf of Rüdiger Manesse. In: Zurich Central Library. Treasures old and new. Edited by Alfred Cattani , Michael Kotrba and Agnes Rutz. Zurich 1993.
  • Sigmund Widmer : Zurich. A cultural story . 13 volumes. Artemis, Zurich 1975–1986.
  • State Archives of the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Zurich Documents. Texts and pictures from the state archive . Orell Füssli, Zurich 1984, ISBN 3-280-01556-1 .
  • Susanna Burghartz : Body, honor and good. Delinquency in Zurich at the end of the 14th century. Chronos Verlag, Zurich 1990, ISBN 3-905278-60-X .
  • Hans Georg Wirz: The Zürcher Richtebrief and its relationship to the city charter of Constance, St. Gallen and Schaffhausen . In: Hans von Greyerz celebrated his sixtieth birthday. Bern 1967.
  • H. Zeller-Werdmüller and Hans Nabholz (eds.): The Zurich city books of the 14th and 15th centuries. 3 volumes. Leipzig 1899–1906.
  • Friedrich Ott (Ed.): The judge's letter of the citizens of Zurich. In: Archives for Swiss History , 5th Zurich 1847.
  • Johann Jakob Bodmer: The Richte-Briev the burger of Zurich. In: Helvetische Bibliothek 2nd piece, pp. 3–128, Zurich 1735.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the history of the state seal. State Chancellery of the Canton of Zurich
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l State Archives of the Canton of Zurich (ed.): Kleine Zürcher Verfassungsgesichte 1218–2000 . Zurich 2000.
  3. ↑ a b Website of the Zunft zur Letzi , history of the guilds: «... The aristocrats who belonged to the council shortly before the Brunschen revolution (1334) were: Fastenrat: Ülr. Manesse, Rud. from Glarus. Herbstrat: Götfrit Mülner, Lütolt von Beggenhoven, Johans Dietel, Heinr. Beaver."
  4. ↑ The document of this alliance is the second oldest in German in the State Archives of the Canton of Zurich. For a copy of the original text and illustration, see: Zurich Documents, pp. 20f.
  5. ↑ "Notabel" defines in this context the merchants and noble craftsmen represented in the council ( goldsmiths , silk manufacturers, cloth dealers, money changers , salt people, etc.)
  6. ↑ Notable . In: Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (Hrsg.): German legal dictionary . tape 9 , issue 9/10 (edited by Heino Speer and others). Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1996, ISBN 3-7400-0983-7 ( adw.uni-heidelberg.de ). According to the DRW, the definition of the word “notable” is: noble, honorable, outstanding.
  7. ↑ a b Rapperswiler in the Zurich City Council ...? by Gregor A. Rutz, Zollikon  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.gregor-rutz.ch  
  8. ↑ Zunft zur Waag, history
  9. ↑ a b c d Meinrad Suter: The oldest Zurich code of law is 700 years old ( memento of the original from 23 August 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. State Archives of the Canton of Zurich, Signature State Archives: B III 1 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.staatsarchiv.zh.ch
  10. ↑ Susanna Burghartz: Body, honor and good. Delinquency in Zurich at the end of the 14th century. , Zurich 1990.
  11. ^ Actes à cause de mort (Acts of last will) . De Boeck Université, 1994.
  12. ↑ a b Legal Sources Foundation of the Swiss Lawyers Association
  13. ↑ a b c d e University of Zurich, Institute of Law, Chair of Legal History, Contemporary Legal History and Legal Philosophy (Ed.): Zürcher Richtebrief 1304, IV. Book, (Art) 65, ed. v. F. Ott. In: Archive for Swiss History , 5 (1847), pp. 149–291.
  14. ↑ a b c d passages quoted from Friedrich Ott (ed.): The judge's letter of the citizens of Zurich . In: Archive for Swiss History , 5, Zurich 1847.
  15. ↑ Kleine Zürcher Verfassungsgesichte 1218 - 2000 , Zürich 2000. Mentioned on page 18, although the contract of October 7, 1370 between Zurich, Lucerne, Zug, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden is usually referred to as the “Pfaffenbrief”.
  16. ^ A b Gaby Knoch-Mund: The Jews in Medieval Cities. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  17. ^ Anne-Marie Dubler : Wedding. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  18. ↑ Before the pogroms and expulsion of the Jewish population of Zurich , around 1349 by Rudolf Brun , money changers, moneylenders and, in today's sense, bankers were pejoratively referred to as Kawertschen and Cahursiner (Caurtschin).
  19. ↑ Lukas Gschwend: Criminal Law (Middle Ages and Early Modern Times). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  20. ↑ Roland E. Hofer, Olga Waldvogel: Without a constitution - but not without a constitution. Schaffhausen's constitutional history until 1798 . State Archives of the Canton of Schaffhausen.
  21. ^ Bruno Koch: New Citizens in Zurich: Migration and Integration in the Late Middle Ages .