Free Judges
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The Free Judges were a class of land owners in the County of Kladsko (german: Glatz, pl, Kłodzko) who belonged to the Third Estate.


History

The history of the Free Judges is closely related to the settlement of ethnic Germans in Kłodzko Valley. This settlement began under King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia and grew during the reign of his son Ottokar II. Land was allocated to the Germans by the Burgrave of Glatz, in his capacity as royal
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
. The Free Judges descended mostly from German . These were people who had been granted special privileges by the King of Bohemia to reclaim and settle uninhabited areas. German law was gradually implemented in the Czech villages which already existed in the area before the arrival of the Germans. These villages were mostly located along the roads to Prague and Brno and were administered by a , an official appointed by the Burgrave. The German villages were administered by a , an official with a comparable position. In the first half of the 14th century, they were organized in an ''Association of Vogts and Judges'', who saw to the enforcement of various privileges. The Free Judges were first mentioned in a 1337 document. The laws applicable to them were handed down orally until the 14th century. They were first written down by King Charles IV on 13 July 1348, who referred to older laws. This document confirmed existing privileges and promised that Kłodzko would never be separated from the
Lands of the Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of B ...
, nor would it be sold or mortgaged. However, the King broke his promise only two years later, when his friend
Arnošt of Pardubice Arnošt of Pardubice ( cs, Arnošt z Pardubic, german: Ernst von Pardubitz) (25 March 1297 probably in Vestec (Náchod District), Hostinka – 30 June 1364 in Roudnice nad Labem) was the first List of bishops and archbishops of Prague, Archbisho ...
, Archbishop of
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, donated the two villages of Starków and
Szalejów Dolny Szalejów Dolny is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kłodzko, within Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is located in Kłodzko Land. It lies approximately south-west of Kłodzko, and sout ...
, which belonged to him and his two brothers, to the
Canons Regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
of Glatz. Since all subjects in these two villages would be under the jurisdiction of their new landlord, the King subjected the Free Judges of these villages to the Archbishop. Despite their objections, the King forced them to submit to the Augustinian priory. Unlike the Free Judges, the nobility in Kłodzko held their property only as a royal fief. This meant that they were not allowed to sell it, and it could only be inherited along the male line. If no male heir existed, the fief returned to the Crown. Consequently, the noblemen tried to acquire the estates of the Free Judges, which were unencumbered. The cities and the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in the area also tried to acquire these estates. Some of the Free Judges became wealthy and gained prestige and came to be seen as lower nobility. However, in the
Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
, they formed a third
estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...
, next to the
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
and the
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
. Legally, they were subject to the Court in Kłodzko. During the Bohemian Revolt of 1618, most of the Free Judges sided with the rebels. They elected Free Judge Hans Wolf of Długopole Górne as their leader. He excelled during the defense of
Bystrzyca Kłodzka Bystrzyca Kłodzka ( cs, Kladská Bystřice, german: Habelschwerdt) is a historic town in Kłodzko County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwestern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Bystrzyca Kłodzka. As of December 2021, the ...
. Nevertheless, imperial troops conquered the County of Kladsko in 1622. In 1625, 49 Free Judges were sentenced to fines, or loss of up to two thirds of their property. Almost all of the Free Judges were
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
s; in 1625 they were forced to choose between converting to
Catholicism 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 ...
, or emigrating. During this period, the Free Judges lost most of their wealth to fines, looting and war taxes. They also lost their legal privileges, however, these privileges were restored on 7 May 1652, after they paid Emperor Ferdinand III a large sum. These privileges included, depending on the deed in which they were granted, brewery rights, they right to license pubs and bars, the right to sell licences for various crafts, the right to hunt foxes and hares, fishing rights and the right to hunt birds. In the following decades, most of the land held by Free Judges was acquired by noble families. The villages of Łężyce and Strachocin were raised to
manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...
s. After
serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
was abolished, most of the privileges associated with the Free Judges' estates were lost. The estates continued to exist as landed estates.


Estates

The estate of a Free Judge was a separate legal entity with ''dominium'' rights. Such an estate would include land and forest, but also mills, craft workshops and often a pub, brewing rights and fishing rights. The subjects had to pay rent and provide certain services. An estate could be inherited by a child of either gender. When an estate was sold, the rights and privileges belonging to the estate were included in the sale. No taxes were levied on the estate itself, only on land added later.


Courts

Free Judges presided over the village court, which consisted of lay judges elected by the villages. The village court dealt with police matters and low justice. As judges, the Free Judges were completely independent of the land owner and the nobility. The Free Judge received one third of all fines imposed; the other two thirds went to the land owner. Free Judges only had jurisdiction over free farmers. After the
Hussite wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...
, the nobility gradually gained jurisdiction over the villages, and during the 16th century, the Free Judges lost their judicial role.


References

* Arno Herzig, Małgorzata Ruchniewicz: ''Geschichte des Glatzer Landes'', DOBU-Verlag, Hamburg, 2006, , p. 32–38. * Hugo von Wiese: ''Die Freirichter der Grafschaft Glatz'', in: ''Mittheilungen des Vereines für Geschichte der Deutschen in Böhmen'', 1878/79, , p. 259–284 and 321–353


External links


Genealogy of the families of Free Judges in the County of Glatz
{{in lang, de Medieval law Kingdom of Bohemia History of Silesia