''Stadtluft macht frei''In Modern German it is pronounced . ("urban air makes you free"), or ''Stadtluft macht frei nach Jahr und Tag'' ("city air makes you free after a year and a day"), is a

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 ...

saying describing a principle of law in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The period of a year and a day was a conventional period widely employed in Europe to represent a significant amount of time. From the 11th century onwards, liberated serfs and other members of the

Third Estate The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

founded settlements alongside the old

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

or Germanic ones. It was customary law that a city resident was free after one year and one day. After this he could no longer be reclaimed by his employer and thus became bound to the city. Serfs could flee the feudal lands and gain freedom in this way, making cities a territory outside the feudal system to a certain extent. This created the conditions for the revolts such as the Münster Rebellion. With the Statutum in favorem principum ("Statute in Favor of the Princes"), this regulation of customary law was officially abolished for 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 ...

in 1231/32. According to the statute, cities under royal

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

were forbidden to protect serfs originally owned by the regional

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

s or their

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 ...

s. The statute is an example of power devolving from Imperial authority to that of territorial magnates during the drawn-out contest between the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

emperors and the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. The medieval concept of

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

was largely confined to traditional collective rights and privileges based in

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

and

precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...

and often expressed in Liberty (division), territorial ''liberties'' such as, to take English examples, the Liberties of the Tower of London or the Liberties of the Savoy. Historically, the development of individualism is a product of the ideology of liberalism, whose emphasis on modern ''individual'' liberties and freedom emerged in opposition to authoritarian oppression, in England culminating in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and in France surfacing during the French Revolution.

Notes

References

*Heinrich Mitteis (1952): "Über den Rechtsgrund des Satzes »" City air makes free ", in: Festschrift Edmund E. Stengel for the 70th Birthday, Munster-Cologne, p. 342-358. (also in"Die Stadt des Mittelalters", Vol 2, eds. C. Haase, Darmstadt 1976, p. 182-202. {{ISBN, 3-534-04680-3) http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/west/10/FC63 Medieval law German words and phrases Legal doctrines and principles

See also

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