The imperial ban (german: Reichsacht) was a form of
outlawry in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. At different times, it could be declared by the
Holy Roman Emperor, by the
Imperial Diet, or by courts like the
League of the Holy Court The Vehmic courts, ''Vehmgericht'', holy vehme, or simply Vehm, also spelt ''Feme'', ''Vehmegericht'', ''Fehmgericht'', are names given to a "proto-vigilante" tribunal system of Westphalia in Germany active during the later Middle Ages, based on a f ...
(''Vehmgericht'') or the ''
Reichskammergericht
The ''Reichskammergericht'' (; ; la, Iudicium imperii) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal ...
''.
People under imperial ban, known as ''Geächtete'' (from about the 17th century, colloquially also as ''Vogelfreie'', lit. "free as a bird"), lost all their rights and possessions. They were legally considered dead, and anyone was allowed to rob, injure, or kill them without legal consequences. The imperial ban automatically followed the
excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
of a person, as well as extending to anyone offering help to a person under the imperial ban.
Those banned could reverse the ban by submitting to the legal authority. The ''Aberacht'', a stronger version of the imperial ban, could not be reversed.
The imperial ban was sometimes imposed on whole
Imperial Estates
An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...
. In that case, other estates could attack and seek to conquer them. The effect of the ban on a city or other Estate was that it lost its
Imperial immediacy
Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...
and in the future would have a second overlord in addition to the emperor.
Famous people placed under the imperial ban included:
* 1180
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180.
Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...
, for refusing military support to
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor against the cities of the
Lombard League.
* 1225 Count
Frederick of Isenberg, for killing his uncle
Engelbert II of Berg
Count Engelbert II of Berg, also known as Saint Engelbert, Engelbert of Cologne, Engelbert I, Archbishop of Cologne or Engelbert I of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne (1185 or 1186, Schloss Burg – 7 November 1225, Gevelsberg) was archbishop of C ...
, Archbishop of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
.
* 1235 King
Henry (VII) of Germany
Henry (VII) (1211 – 12? February 1242), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Sicily from 1212 until 1217 and King of Germany (formally ''Rex Romanorum'') from 1220 until 1235, as son and co-ruler of Emperor Frederick II. He was t ...
, for his rebellion against his father the
Emperor Frederick II.
* 1276 King
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his dea ...
, for his capture of imperial lands from
Rudolph I
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death.
Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...
.
* 1309
John Parricida Portrait of John Parricida by Anton Boys in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna">Kunsthistorisches_Museum.html" ;"title="Anton Boys in the Kunsthistorisches Museum">Anton Boys in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
John Parricida (german: Johann ...
, for the murder of his uncle King
Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Habsburg (german: Albrecht I.) (July 12551 May 1308) was a Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Rudolf I of Germany and his first wife Gertrude o ...
.
* 1415
Frederick IV, Duke of Austria
Frederick IV (1382 – 24 June 1439), also known as Frederick of the Empty Pockets (german: Friedrich mit der leeren Tasche), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1402 until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg Leopoldian ...
for aiding the flight of
Antipope John XXIII
Baldassarre Cossa (c. 1370 – 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church now recognizes as t ...
from the
Council of Constance.
* 1512 and 1518
Götz von Berlichingen
Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen (1480 – 23 July 1562), also known as Götz of the Iron Hand, was a German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (''Reichsritter''), mercenary, and poet. He was born around 1480 into the noble family of Berliching ...
, the first time for
robbery, the second for
kidnapping.
* 1521
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
and his supporters, for claiming that some doctrines practiced by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
were contrary to the Bible or had no biblical basis.
* 1546
John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, for leading the
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century.
Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...
.
* 1566
Wilhelm von Grumbach
Wilhelm von Grumbach (1 June 150318 April 1567) was a German adventurer, chiefly known through his connection with the so-called "Grumbach Feud" (german: Grumbachsche Händel), the last attempt of the Imperial Knights to prevail against the power ...
, for
insurgency
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
.
* 1621
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both ...
, and his supporters
Prince Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg and
Georg Friedrich of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim
Count Georg Friedrich von Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim (September 5, 1569 – July 7, 1645) was an officer and an amateur poet.
Biography
Born in Neuenstein, Georg Friedrich was the son of Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim and his ...
, for seizing power in
Bohemia.
* 1706
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name.
The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names.
List of people
Monarchs
*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459†...
, and
Joseph Clemens, Elector of Cologne, for supporting France in the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
(ban reversed in 1714)
* 1793
Georg Forster
Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold ...
, for collaboration with the
French Republic.
The imperial ban imposed by the
Emperor Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...
on the city of
Donauwörth
Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...
after an anti-Catholic riot was one of the
incidents leading to the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
.
An imperial ban on Bremen preceded the
1654 Swedish attack on Bremen.
See also
*
King's ban {{Short description, Exercise of royal jurisdiction
''Königsbann'', literally king's ban ( lat, bannus, more rarely ''bannum'', from the OHG: ''ban''), was the exercise of royal jurisdiction in the Holy Roman Empire.
A specific ban (German: ''Ban ...
, a royal order or prohibition in the Holy Roman Empire.
References
{{Authority control
Punishments
Legal history of the Holy Roman Empire