''Öffnungsrecht'' in the

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

was the right of a

liege lord Homage (/ˈhɒmɪdʒ/ or ) (from Medieval Latin , lit. "pertaining to a man") in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title t ...

, more specifically a territorial lord or protective lord, in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

to have gratuitous use of a

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 ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. During the earlier Roman Empire, Roman period it was common for wealthy landowner ...

or fortified town as a fighting base in the event of a conflict (e.g. war or

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

). Christopher Ocker, Michael Printy, Peter Starenko and Peter Wallace (eds). ''Politics and Reformations: Communities, Polities, Nations and Empires.'' Leiden/Boston: Brill (2007), p.8. It is a form of right of access.

References

Literature

* Christoph Bachmann: ''Öffnungsrecht und herzogliche Burgenpolitik in Bayern im späten Mittelalter.'' Beck, Munich, 1997, . * Horst Wolfgang Böhme, Reinhard Friedrich, Barbara Schock-Werner (eds.): ''Wörterbuch der Burgen, Schlösser und Festungen.'' Reclam, Stuttgart, 2004, , p. 193. * Friedrich Hillebrand: ''Das Öffnungsrecht bei Burgen, seine Anfänge und seine Entwicklung in den Territorien des 13.-16. Jahrhunderts unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Württembergs.'' Diss. phil. Tübingen 1967.

External links

*
Inaugural-Dissertation zum Thema Lehnsauftragung mit Erörterung des Öffnungsrechts
(pdf) {{Authority control Feudalism Medieval law Law of the Holy Roman Empire