![Eike von Repgow Oldenburger Sachsenspiegel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Eike_von_Repgow_Oldenburger_Sachsenspiegel.jpg)
Eike of Repgow (german: Eike von Repgow, also ''von Repkow'', ''von Repko'', ''von Repchow'' or ''von Repchau''; – ) was a medieval
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
administrator who compiled the ''
Sachsenspiegel
The (; gml, Sassen Speyghel; modern nds, Sassenspegel; all literally "Saxon Mirror") is one of the most important law books and custumals compiled during the Holy Roman Empire. Originating between 1220 and 1235 as a record of existing loc ...
'' code of law in the 13th century.
Life
Little is known about Eike of Repgow, but he is mentioned in several documents dating from the period between 1209 and 1233. He was a scion of the
Eastphalia
Eastphalia (german: Ostfalen; Eastphalian: ''Oostfalen'') is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern ''Gaue'' (shires) of the historic stem duchy of Saxony, roughly confined by the River Leine in the west and the Elbe a ...
n gentry and it is thought that his family were
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 ...
s of the
Magdeburg archbishops. His ancestors had moved to the ''
Gau'' of Serimunt, south of
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
, in the 12th century, where they acquired land in the village of
Reppichau
Reppichau is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Osternienburger Land. It is the birthplace of Eike of Repgow
Eike of Repgow ( ...
(in present-day
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
). Other members of the family are mentioned earlier in 1156 and 1159.
From his mention in court proceedings in 1209 it is inferred that he was born around 1180. Lack of mentions after 1233 suggests that he died shortly after that.
From the prologue to the ''Sachsenspiegel'' it is clear that Eike could read Latin as well as German. It is not actually known if he could write, since it was quite common, at the time, to employ scribes. He was versed both in
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
and
Roman law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
; so it is thought that he was educated at a cathedral school, possibly in
Halberstadt
Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...
, or more likely at Magdeburg under Archbishop
Wichmann von Seeburg
Wichmann von Seeburg ( – 25 August 1192) was Bishop of Naumburg from 1150 until 1154 and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1154 until his death. He became the first Magdeburg prince-archbishop in 1180
Life
Wichmann was the second son of the Sax ...
.
It is clear that he was a respected personage, but his precise place in the feudal hierarchy is not known with certainty, since he is sometimes listed among the free nobles and sometimes among the bondsmen (''Dienstmannen''). Eike of Repgow may have been a bondsman of Count
Henry I of Anhalt or of Count Hoyer of
Falkenstein, who then served as ''
Vogt
During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
'' of
Quedlinburg Abbey
Quedlinburg Abbey (german: Stift Quedlinburg or ) was a house of secular canonesses ''(Frauenstift)'' in Quedlinburg in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of the East Frankis ...
. Nevertheless, he was probably a free noble, one of the so-called ''schöffenbar freie'', which entitled him to sit in the Thing (baron's court). One theory is that he was of noble birth, but like many others, became a ''
ministerialis
The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire.
The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...
'' or bondsman, while retaining his noble status.
Works
''Sachsenspiegel''
Eike of Repgow translated the ''
Sachsenspiegel
The (; gml, Sassen Speyghel; modern nds, Sassenspegel; all literally "Saxon Mirror") is one of the most important law books and custumals compiled during the Holy Roman Empire. Originating between 1220 and 1235 as a record of existing loc ...
'' at the behest of Count Hoyer of Falkenstein between 1220 and 1233.
It was intended by its compiler to document existing, customary law, not to create new law. The work is of great significance not only as the first German legal code but also as one of the first major works of
Middle Low German
Middle Low German or Middle Saxon (autonym: ''Sassisch'', i.e. " Saxon", Standard High German: ', Modern Dutch: ') is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented i ...
prose. As the author writes in the verse prologue of the ''Sachsenspiegel'', he first wrote it in Latin and later, with some reluctance, at the wishes of Count Hoyer of Falkenstein, translated it into German.
The Latin version of the first part, on ''Landrecht'' (common law), has been lost, but the second part, on ''Lehensrecht'' (feudal law) was, as is now believed, preserved. This is the ''Vetus auctor de beneficiis'', which is written in verse. There was a debate as to whether this was the Latin original of the part of the Sachsenspiegel on feudal law or a later translation of it into Latin, and for some time the latter view prevailed. However, the current consensus is that the ''Vetus auctor de beneficiis'' is indeed the Latin original of the feudal law section of the Sachsenspiegel.
Where the original was compiled is unclear. It was thought to have been written in Quedlinburg or at Falkenstein Castle in the
Harz
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...
Mountains, but
Peter Landau
Peter Landau (26 February 1935 – 23 May 2019) was a German jurist, legal historian and expert on canon law.
After going to school in Berlin, where he was born, and Eisenberg, Thuringia, Landau studied law, history, and philosophy at the Free U ...
, an expert in medieval canon law recently suggested that it may have been written at the
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
abbey of
Altzelle (now Altzella).
''Sächsische Weltchronik''
Another work, the ''
Sächsische Weltchronik
The ''Sächsische Weltchronik'' ("Saxon World Chronicle") is a universal history written in German prose. It is not clear in which regional form of German the original was written. Of the twenty-four surviving manuscripts, ten are in Low German, ...
'' has been dated about 1230 and also been attributed to Eike, but this is now thought unlikely.
Commemoration
![Leipzig Reichsgericht außen Statuen 1 Eike von Repgow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Leipzig_Reichsgericht_au%C3%9Fen_Statuen_1_Eike_von_Repgow.jpg)
There are monuments to Eike of Repgow in
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
,
Dessau
Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...
,
Reppichau
Reppichau is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Osternienburger Land. It is the birthplace of Eike of Repgow
Eike of Repgow ( ...
and
Halberstadt
Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...
and at Falkenstein Castle in the Harz Mountains. There is a square named after him in Berlin, and there is an open-air museum devoted to him and the ''Sachsenspiegel'' in his village of Reppichau. There are also schools named after Eike of Repgow in Halberstadt and Magdeburg.
The Eike of Repgow prize, which comes with a statuette of Eike, a certificate, and 5,000 euros, is awarded jointly by awarded annually by the city of
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
and the
Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg
The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg () (''OvGU'') was founded in 1993, making it one of the youngest universities in Germany. The university is located in Magdeburg, the Capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 13.000 students in nine ...
for academic work of a historical or legal nature.
Eike von Repgow Preis
Famous words
The origin of the modern German saying "Wer zuerst kommt, mahlt zuerst" ("first come, first served", literally ''he who comes first, grinds first'') can be traced to Eike of Repgow, who wrote (in the ''Sachsenspiegel'') ''Die ok irst to der molen kumt, die sal erst malen'' (in modern English: ''He who comes to the mill first shall grind first'').
References
Additional sources
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eike Of Repgow
Legal codes
13th-century German writers
People from the Duchy of Saxony
Canon law jurists
Legal history of Germany
People from Saxony-Anhalt
Falkenstein, Saxony-Anhalt
1180s births
1230s deaths
German male writers
13th-century translators
13th-century jurists
Ministeriales