''Weisthümer'' is a collection of partially oral legal traditions from rural
German-speaking Europe
by
Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of th ...
, published in four volumes (1840–1863), intended for use in research into
Germanic law.
The German term ''Weisthum'' (post-1901 spelling ''Weistum'') in the sense of "historical legal text" originates in the region of the middle
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
and the
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
. In southern Germany, equivalent terms were ''Ehaft'' or ''Ehafttaiding'', in the Alsace ''Dinghofrodel'', in Switzerland ''Offnung'', in Austria ''Banntaiding'', and in Low German ''Willkür'' or ''Beliebung''. Rural oral legal traditions are found primarily in the
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
c and
Austro-Bavarian
Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian.
Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million peop ...
regions of German-speaking Europe. According to the more recent research, ''Weistum'' texts are to be addressed as «a standardized artefact intended for a circumscribed circle of legitimate or addressed recipients, namely the "dominion" and the peasant landed gentry/court inmates.»
See also
*
Germanic law
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Landrecht (medieval)
*
Landsgemeinde
*
Lögsögumaður
A lawspeaker or lawman (Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic: , Faroese: ''løgmaður'', Finnish: ''laamanni'', kl, inatsitinuk) is a unique Scandinavian ...
*
Medieval Scandinavian law
Medieval Scandinavian law, also called North Germanic law, was a subset of Germanic law practiced by North Germanic peoples. It was originally memorized by lawspeakers, but after the end of the Viking Age they were committed to writing, mostly by ...
*
Vehmic court
References
*Dieter Werkmüller. '' Über Aufkommen und Verbreitung der Weistümer: nach der Sammlung von Jacob Grimm'' (1972).
*Jacob Grimm (ed.). '' Weisthümer''. 6 vols. (1840–1863), index volume ed. Richard Schröder (1878); reprinted Darmstadt 1957.
*
1863 non-fiction books
Germanic philology
Early Germanic law
Germanic studies
Legal history of the Holy Roman Empire
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