Stilkinger feudal court

The Stillekinger or Stilkinger Lehngericht was a regional medieval administrative court in the Bergisches Land .

Surname

The term "Stillekinger", shortened to "Stilkinger", refers to the seat of the court on the Lüdenscheider Hof Stilleking (still giving the name to a Bergisches nature reserve today, see Stilleking ).

function

The one or more-headed committee of feudal courts was appointed by the landlord as part of feudal affairs , fulfilled his judicial tasks in addition to or instead of other vassal functions - primarily army succession - and was proportionally remunerated from the court costs incurred. In contrast to the hereditary post of Erbrichters kept at Lehngericht the landlord an indirect control of the Niedere jurisdiction .

The Lord of the Stillekinger feudal court was the knight Rötger von Neuhoff , who installed the court to administer his property in and around Lieberhausen . The reason for choosing Hof Stilleking was on the one hand the proximity to Schloss Neuenhof , the ancestral seat of the landlord; on the other hand, Rötger v. Neuhoff Lieberhausen as not very opportune because of the ongoing disputes in this area between Count Gerhard von der Mark and his brother Duke Adolph von Kleve (see also Haus von der Mark ). The liege judges were appointed from the pulpit of the Lieberhausen Church, over which the two noble lines Neuhoff and Neuhoff called Ley alternately patronized.

Today's meaning

The files and documents of the Stilkinger Lehngericht are today a valuable source of first mentions of Oberberg place and person names. A large number of localities are mentioned here for the first time (verifiably).

literature

• Eberhard Fricke : Law and Court of the Stilkinger Lehnsverband, Lüdenscheid 1957