The ''Heerbann'' (also formerly ''Heermannie'', MHG ''herban'', OHG: ''heriban'', Mid. Latin: ''Heribannus''), in the

Imperial Military Constitution The Imperial Military Constitution (german: Reichsheeresverfassung, also called the ''Reichskriegsverfassung'') was the collection of military laws of the Holy Roman Empire. Like the rest of the imperial constitution, it grew out of various laws an ...

(''Reichsheeresverfassung'') of the

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 ...

, was the call to all free landowners capable of bearing arms to participate in a military campaign, i.e. in an imperial war (''

Reichskrieg A ''Reichskrieg'' ("Imperial War", pl. ''Reichskriege'') was a war fought by the Holy Roman Empire as a whole against a common enemy. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, a ''Reichskrieg'' was a formal state of war that could only be declared ...

''). According to the original meaning of the word (OHG: ''bannan'' = to 'demand' or 'prohibit', actually 'to speak'), the ''Heerbann'' was a 'call of the king or duke to military service;c.f
''Heerbann''
at Duden online 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 ...

. However, as the

feudal system in the Holy Roman Empire Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire was a Political economy, 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 ...

developed in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, the ''Heerbann'' became superfluous as a means of raising armies and increasingly fell into disuse after the death of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

. The ''Heerbann'' was particularly onerous for poorer landowners, several of whom had to equip a knight for war (one for every 3 hides), so they would attempt to withdraw themselves from his service and place themselves in the service of and under the protection of a more powerful lord, who would assist them in providing the necessary military equipment or even stand them down from military service entirely. Towards the end of the 10th century, this led to the reshaping of the entire military constitution. The armies of the king now no longer consisted of all free knights, but came from powerful imperial officials or

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 and their entourages; and those who rendered no military service had to pay a campaign tax (''Heersteuer''). The necessary organisation of the ''Heerbann'', needed thanks to constant campaigning by Charlemagne, was divided by him into seven levels or "shields of knighthood", the so-called ''

Heerschild The ''Heerschild'' (; lat, clipeus militarisStieber, Joachim. W. (1978). ''Pope Eugenius IV, the Council of Basel and the Secular and Ecclesiastical Authorities in the Empire'', E.J. Brill, Leiden, p. 124. ), also called the shield of knighthood, ...

e''. The campaigns, which were fought with the aid of the ''Heerbann'', were called ''Heerfahrten'', the participation of the vassals was known as ''Heeresfolge''. By the time of

the Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

, when the feudal system had reached its height, the ''Heerbann'' had almost totally disappeared in all European states.

References

{{Wiktionary Warfare of the Middle Ages German feudalism

See also

References