Knighthood captain

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The knighthood captain was chairman of a knighthood in the Baltic States between about 1600 and 1918 . This position was sometimes also connected with the office of the district court chairman. In the former Baltic Governments of Livonia and Courland , the district of Oesel and today's Estonia , the knighthoods differed in the affairs of the country. Self-government was exercised differently in town and country . The city ​​council and the guilds represented the interests of the cities, the interests of the country were represented by the knights. The representative of the respective knighthoods was called Ritterschaftshauptmann in Estonia, in Livonia and on the island of Oesel the land marshal and in Courland the provincial representative.

Self-management

The highest body in the different countries was the state parliament, it made the decisions. The knights were responsible for the areas of justice , police , authorities , parish , school system , post office and road and path construction. In addition, they administered and maintained churches , schools, hospitals and foundations . Self-government was financed to a considerable extent through voluntary self-taxation. “Each province is divided into counties. District administrators and district deputies form the decision-making bodies between the state parliaments. In Livonia, the knighthood is also represented by the resident district administrator in the state capital Riga . In Estonia, the district administrators also form the highest regional court. "

Knighthoods

The knighthoods included the members of the lower nobility who had knightly possessions (knightly estates) and, as part of the estates, formed the knighthood on the diets. The knights of the four Baltic German knights, the Estonian knighthood , the Kurland knighthood , the Livonian knighthood and the Oesel knighthood are now united in the Association of the Baltic Knighthoods .

Estonian knighthood and knighthood captain

The Estonian Knighthood was from the second half of the 16th century until 1920, the political and legal merger of the German Baltic nobility due to their privileges , they were the ruling class of the country. It had its seat on the Toompea in Reval and provided two elected advisers who were represented as councilors to the Swedish state power . The knighthoods formed a state parliament that met regularly; the knighthood was chaired by the knighthood governor who was elected by the state parliament for a period of 3 years. He was supported by a knighthood committee, which consisted of three district deputies from each of the four districts of the country. The Knighthood Governor and the Knighthood Committee were responsible for managing the affairs of self-government and thus the executive branch of self-government in Estonia.

Courland Knighthood and Authorized Representative

The Courland knighthood originally consisted of two knighthoods, which were united in 1809. They did not provide chivalry captains, but an honorary state representative, who took on state and class duties and was the government representative of the Duke of Courland . The knight's house was located in the city of Mitau . After the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia in 1077–1721 , the Russian Tsar Peter the Great (1682 / 89–1725) guaranteed the cities and knighthood privileges in 1721, which led to autonomous self-government in town and country.

The Courland Knighthood performed state and class duties and was represented by the honorary state representative. “Under the leadership of the messenger marshal, the members of the Courland knighthood, legitimized by the possession of a manor, gathered every three years to pass resolutions at the state parliament in Mitau; In the meantime, the committee of the 'Brotherly Conference' decided by parish delegates on matters that could not be postponed. ”The manor owners, who were represented by the provincial representative, took over the costs of maintaining schools, roads, health care , welfare (including the Latvian Population), the seminars for the training of Latvian teachers were raised through voluntary contributions from the manor owners.

Livonian knighthood and country marshal

From the second half of the 16th century until 1920, the Livonian knighthood was the political and legal union of the Baltic German aristocratic families. The Livonian knighthood had its seat from 1755 to 1865 in the "old knight house" and from 1862 to 1920 in the newly built " knight house " in Riga .

The tradition of self-government has been preserved in Livonia since 1602. "Although the Livonian knighthood had obtained the promise of the corporate rights of the Harrisch-Wier knighthood in negotiations with Sweden in 1602, in 1634 the corporate rights of the Livonian nobility from the time before the Polish rule were restituted." In 1634 the Livonian knighthood received the right to to elect a knighthood captain ("Landmarschall"). In 1643 a six-member provincial council ("Landratskollegium") was set up based on the Estonian model. In 1648 the number of district administrators was increased to twelve. In 1694 the Livonian district council, which from a Swedish point of view was a royal gift and thus a Swedish institution, was abolished. According to the Swedish model, only the land-owning nobility were allowed to assemble at the state parliaments. The knighthood captain , who was dubbed "Landmarschall", was subsequently appointed by the governor general. The duties of the Livonian Landratskollegium consisted in the supervision of the implementation of the Landtag resolutions and the general welfare of the country.

Oesel's knighthood and country marshal

The Oeselsche Knighthood had its seat "Ritterhaus" in Arensburg . From 1655 to 1753 the knighthood was preceded by a knighthood captain, from 1753 until its dissolution the Oeselsche knighthood was led by a land marshal . His calling and tasks did not differ significantly from the other institutions of the Baltic knighthoods.

From a report by the state parliament (example)

“Reval, February 24th. In our reports on this year's Landtag, for the sake of easier overview, we will separate those items that have been brought before the assembled knighthood, from those that have been received by the Esthland noble credit-casse ... Each time the Landtag is held by one of the Knighthood Captain filed account of his 3-year administration and the administration of the Knight-Casse initiated ... During the last three years administration of Sr. Excellency of the Lord Captain of the Knights of Patkull, the knightly debt was repaid by the considerable sum of over 58,000 RBU. - After the election of the knight captain, in accordance with the Landtag order, immediately, if a vacancy is found, that of the Landrathe follows. This time there were two completed positions in the college, which, after the knight captain had refused a simultaneous election as district administrator, by the previous knighthood secretary, college assessor and knight Eduard von Fock on Sagga (Gaggad?) And the elected man court assessor currently member of the knighthood committee Baron Friedrich von Dellinghausen on Tois uu were occupied. The former willingly offered to undertake the business of knighthood secretary, which he had exercised with distinction for eighteen years, during this Diet, which was gratefully accepted by the assembly. At the same time the assembled Estonian knighthood requested their knighthood captain, Sr. Excellenz, the Landrath von Fock, in recognition of his merit, to pay their thanks for his loyal and active management up to now. "

- Weekly for Liv., Esthian and Curland history

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Definition of terms : Ritterschaftshauptmann rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de
  2. ↑ Baltic state self-government of the knighthoods oelm.at
  3. ^ Constitutional law of the Duchy of Estonia from 1721 to 1918 Verassungen.eu
  4. ^ Knighthoods in Courland. In: Private family research on the von Stackelberg noble family von-stackelberg.de
  5. ^ Private family research on the von Stackelberg noble family von-stackelberg.de
  6. ↑ a b History of the Courland Knighthood-History of the Knighthood
  7. ↑ Ralph Tuchtenhagen: Central State and Province in Early Modern Northeast Europe. compare: Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti 1561, §4. In: Capitulation of the Livonian knighthood and landscape. Pp. 2–23, here p. 8 f.
  8. ↑ Ralph Tuchtenhagen: Central State and Province in Early Modern Northeast Europe. cf. Royal resolution of August 6, 1634, §7. In: Collection of Laws. Vol. 2/1, p. 127.
  9. ^ Correspondence news, Repertory of the daily chronicle and micelles. In: Friedrich Georg von Bunge: The inland. A weekly for Liv, Esthian and Curland history, geography, statistics and literature, Volume 4. Kluge Verlag, 1839, original from the Austrian National Library, February 4, 2014, accessed on January 13, 2016 books.google.de