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Rhineland (Rheinland) Court Records: Difference between revisions
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== Stadtrecht (city law) == | == Stadtrecht (city law) == | ||
In medieval times the law governing cities could be variable. Legal basis could be found in the Sachsenspiegel, Schwabenspiegel, Lübeck Recht and Magdeburg Recht etc. Cities adopted the law best suited for them, i.e., in Dinslaken the administration of justice leaned on precepts of the Sachsenspiegel among others. <br> | In medieval times the law governing cities could be variable. Legal basis could be found in the Sachsenspiegel, Schwabenspiegel, Lübeck Recht and Magdeburg Recht etc. Cities adopted the law best suited for them, i.e., in Dinslaken the administration of justice leaned on precepts of the Sachsenspiegel among others. <br> | ||
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== Gerichtsprotokoll (court transcripts)== | |||
<br>can serve as a historical memory. They were part of the city administration and can be found as part of the Stadtbuch. Next to statutes and privileges of a city, such a book contains the records of cases deliberated by the Stadtrat (city council) and the Schöffen (jurors). The guidelines to exercise jurisprudence changed over the centuries. Not harsh caesura and continuation of the once concluded, but parallel developments, new beginnings, the side by side of various legal traditions were development of criminal law.<br> | |||
The origins of criminal law are vague. Presumably they were initiated by the well to do, who wanted their property protected. Only when the oppression of the poor by the rich, when the wealthy became all powerful and when the less fortunate complained against the abusiveness they had to endure, did the laws change. Until the middle of the 18th century frequently severe punishments were administered. This changed in the second half of said century. As before, torture was used in often non-evident cases, now judgments were sought by considering the intent of the deed. Human weakness was considered when a punishment was issued. Severity of judgment had to be paired with mildness, i.e., the middle of the road had to be found. Punishments fall into three categories, namely those coming under the criminal law, the civil law or police law. Abusive husbands, disputes of right- away, the neighbor’s dog, theft and slander are everyday occurrences. But also fires, bankruptcy, trademarks, inheritances and divorces, abuses by master craftsmen towards their apprentices etc. are matters appearing in court transcripts. People of all walks of life plead their case before the court. <br> | |||
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<br>Historische Entwicklungslinien des Strafrechts. Center for Interdiscilinary Research at the Universität Bielefeld. 1999<br>Oekonomische Enczklopädie von J.K. Krünitz at http://www.kruenitz1.uni-trier.de/ <br> | |||
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