Blutgericht
Encyclopedia
Blood Court or high justice
in the Holy Roman Empire
referred to the right of a Vogt
(a reeve) to hold a criminal court
inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.
Not every Vogt held the blood court. Up to the 18th century, for example, the blood court of much of what is now the canton of Zürich
lay with Kyburg, even in the territory ruled by the counts of Greifensee
. The self-administration of the blood court was an important factor of Imperial immediacy.
The Blood banner (Blutfahne or Blutbanner) was a solid red flag.
It was presented to feudal lords as a symbol of their power of high jurisdiction (Blutgerichtsbarkeit) together with the heraldic banner of the fief. Some feudal houses adopted a red field symbolic of the blood banner into their coat of arms, the so-called Regalienfeld.
The Talschaft
(forest canton) of Schwyz
used the blood banner as a war flag
from ca. 1240 (see flag of Schwyz, flag of Switzerland
).
High Justice
High Justice is a 1974 collection of science fiction short stories by Jerry Pournelle. It was republished in a omnibus edition with Exiles to Glory in 2009 as Exile -- and Glory....
in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
referred to the right of a Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
(a reeve) to hold a criminal court
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.
Not every Vogt held the blood court. Up to the 18th century, for example, the blood court of much of what is now the canton of Zürich
Canton of Zürich
The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...
lay with Kyburg, even in the territory ruled by the counts of Greifensee
Greifensee
Greifensee is a small lake in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.- Geography :Lake Greifen is located to the northeast of the city of Zurich, separated by the Pfannenstiel from Lake Zürich...
. The self-administration of the blood court was an important factor of Imperial immediacy.
The Blood banner (Blutfahne or Blutbanner) was a solid red flag.
It was presented to feudal lords as a symbol of their power of high jurisdiction (Blutgerichtsbarkeit) together with the heraldic banner of the fief. Some feudal houses adopted a red field symbolic of the blood banner into their coat of arms, the so-called Regalienfeld.
The Talschaft
Talschaft
In Swiss politics and the history of the Old Swiss Confederacy, a Talschaft isthe body of voting population in a certain valley ....
(forest canton) of Schwyz
Canton of Schwyz
Schwyz is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne in the east and Lake Zurich in the north, centered around and named after the town of Schwyz....
used the blood banner as a war flag
War flag
A war flag is a variant of a national flag for use by the nation's military forces on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign — the battle ensign...
from ca. 1240 (see flag of Schwyz, flag of Switzerland
Flag of Switzerland
The flag of Switzerland consists of a red flag with a white cross in the centre. It is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of the Vatican City...
).
See also
- Blood court at CannstattBlood court at CannstattThe blood court at Cannstatt took place as Carloman in 746 invited all nobles of the Alamanni to a council at Cannstatt. According to the annals of Metz, the annales Petaviani and an account by Childebrand, Carloman arrested several thousand noblemen and executed them for high treason...
- Blood court of Verden