The ''Landstände'' (singular ''Landstand'') or ''Landtage'' (singular ''Landtag'') were the various
territorial estates or diets 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 ...
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 ...
and the
early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
, as opposed to their respective
territorial lords (the ''Landesherrn'').
Usage
The structure of the ''Landstände'' was highly variable depending on the country and period of history. Furthermore, both the representatives of the older system, the ''Ständeordnung'', where the estates were predominant, and the parliaments of the newer people's representative systems were called ''Landstände''. The term ''Landtag'' was used, both under the ''Ständeordnung'' as well as the newer representative structures, for a general assembly of the estates or the parliament. The totality of the ''Landstände'' in a sovereign territory was also called the ''Landschaft''.
In the older feudal system, the estates originally consisted of the assembly of deputies of the privileged estates of a country, the
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
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 ...
, who had joined together to form an organised body. Later, representatives of the towns were added. In some cases (for example, in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
or
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
),
yeomen
Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century witnessed ...
(''Freibauer'') were also given the right to participate as representatives of the
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...
s.
[Herders Conversations-Lexikon. Freiburg im Breisgau 1855, Vol. 3, p. 704.] An unusual exception were the estates in the
land of Hadeln
Land Hadeln is a historic landscape and former administrative district in Northern Germany with its seat in Otterndorf on the Niederelbe, Lower Elbe, the lower reaches of the River Elbe, in the Elbe-Weser Triangle between the estuaries of the E ...
, which were formed almost exclusively of the farmers of large farms (''Großbauer'').
At the ''Landtage,'' the ''Landstände'' were divided into separate ''curiae'' (divisions). As a rule, three ''curiae'' were usually distinguished: the
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
s, the
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
s and the
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
s.
[Götzinger, E.: Reallexicon der Deutschen Altertümer. Leipzig, 1885., pp. 943-944.] However, the early ''Landstände'' initially only represented the rights of their own estate and could only indirectly be considered to represent the whole population in their domain at the same time. In the ''Ständeordnungen'', unlike
absolutist systems of rule, the prince could not raise new taxes or adopt new laws outside his own personal estate (''chamber goods'' or ''Kämmergüter'') without the consent of the ''Landstände''.
In some cases, the estates also shared in the administration of justice and other public affairs. The limits of their powers were not usually accurately determined.
Sometimes, the term ''Landstände'' was retained even for the constitutional assemblies of newer representative systems, which in many countries took the place of the privileged assemblies of the ''Ständeordnung'' during the 19th century.
History
Precursor
The ''Landstände'' first emerged in the 14th century, although the term itself was not used in
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...
and was probably first translated later from the
French word ''états''.
But it was not a new concept. The records of the Roman historian,
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
, show that co-determination was already being practised in the
classical period at important public occasions. And according to the old Germanic law, public meetings and court hearings - the so-called ''
things'' - were held, in the open. Even in the later
Frankish Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...
, alongside the general assemblies of the
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
and
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 ...
, so-called ''
placita'' are recorded; a form of representation of the people.
In individual tribes, for example the
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
ns and
Saxons
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
, there were such meetings too. However, these gatherings did not represent a formal grouping of the estates, as had evolved by the 14th century. Even the
imperial and knightly assemblies and the state ''things'' of the 12th and 13th centuries were structures that dealt with the general welfare of the land, but these meetings still lacked the character of an independent body.
References
Literature
* Kersten Krüger: ''Die landständische Verfassung''. Munich, 2003, (''Enzyklopädie deutscher Geschichte'', 67).
External links
Landtag (diète territoriale)at ''Les mots du Saint-Empire''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landstande
Social history
Medieval law
Early modern period
Estates (social groups)