An ''Afterlehen'' or ''Afterlehn'' ''(plural: Afterlehne, Afterlehen)'' is a
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
that the
liege lord has himself been given as a fief and has then, in turn, enfeoffed it wholly or partially to a lesser
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
or vassals. The term is German. It is variously referred to in English as a mesne-fief
[Fahrenkrüger (1801), 2nd Part, p. 26. Retrieved 11 May 201]
(in German-English)
/ref> or mesne-tenure,Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
these mesne fiefs even became inheritable over time and could have up to five "stations" between the actual holder of the fief and the overarching liege lord.''Despotism and capitalism: a historical comparison of Europe and Indonesia''
by Tilman Schiel (1985). Retrieved 8 Feb 2014.
An example of an ''Afterlehen'' is
Rothenberg Castle
Rothenberg Fortress (german: Festung Rothenberg) is a fortress on the eponymous hill, 588 m, near Schnaittach in the Franconian Jura.
Beginnings
The first fortifications were probably built between 1300 and 1330 by Dietrich von Wildens ...
in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
See also
*
Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire
Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire was a politico-economic system of relationships between liege lords and enfeoffed vassals (or feudatories) that formed the basis of the social structure within the Holy Roman Empire during the High Middle Ages. ...
*
Mesne lord
A mesne lord () was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. Owing to ''Quia Emptores'', the concept of a mesne lordship technically still exists today: the partitionin ...
References
Literature
* Jürgen Dendorfer/ Roman Deutinger (eds.): ''Das Lehnswesen im Hochmittelalter. Forschungskonstrukte – Quellenbefunde – Deutungsrelevanz''. Thorbecke, Ostfildern, 2010,
Review
* Fahrenkrüger, Johann Anton: ''Nathan Bailey's Dictionary English-German and German-English — Englisch-Deutsches und Deutsch-Englisches Wörterbuch. Gänzlich umgearbeitet. Zweiter Theil. Deutsch-Englisch. Zehnte, verbesserte und vermehrte, Auflage.'', Friedrich Frommann, Leipzig und Jena 180
(in German and English)*
François Louis Ganshof: ''Was ist das Lehnswesen?'', 7th edn., Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1989.
* Karl-Heinz Spieß: Stichwort „Lehn(s)recht, Lehnswesen.“ In: ''Handwörterbuch zur deutschen Rechtsgeschichte.'' Vol. 2, Berlin, 1978. Sp. 1725–1741
* Karl-Heinz Spieß: ''Das Lehnswesen in Deutschland im hohen und späten Mittelalter''. 2nd improved and expanded edition, Steiner, Stuttgart, 2009, {{ISBN, 978-3-515-09180-0