Imperial ban
Theimperial ban(German:Reichsacht) was a form ofoutlawryin theHoly Roman Empire.[1]At different times, it could be declared by theHoly Roman Emperor,by theImperial Diet,or by courts like theLeague of the Holy Court(Vehmgericht) or theReichskammergericht.[2]
People under imperial ban, known asGeächtete(from about the 17th century, colloquially also asVogelfreie,lit. "free as a bird" ), lost all their rights and possessions. They were legally considered dead, and anyone was allowed to rob, injure, or kill them without legal consequences. The imperial ban automatically followed theexcommunicationof a person, as well as extending to anyone offering help to a person under the imperial ban.
Those banned could reverse the ban by submitting to the legal authority. TheAberacht,[citation needed]a stronger version of the imperial ban, could not be reversed.
The imperial ban was sometimes imposed on wholeImperial Estates.In that case, other estates could attack and seek to conquer them. The effect of the ban on a city or other Estate was that it lost itsImperial immediacyand in the future would have a second overlord in addition to the emperor.
Famous people placed under the imperial ban included:
- 1180 -Henry the Lion,for refusing military support toFrederick I, Holy Roman Emperoragainst the cities of theLombard League.
- 1225 - CountFrederick of Isenberg,for killing his uncleEngelbert II of Berg,Archbishop ofCologne.
- 1235 - KingHenry (VII) of Germany,for his rebellion against his father theEmperor Frederick II.
- 1276 - KingOttokar II of Bohemia,for his capture of imperial lands fromRudolph I.
- 1309 -John Parricida,for the murder of his uncle KingAlbert I of Germany.
- 1415 -Frederick IV, Duke of Austriafor aiding the flight ofAntipope John XXIIIfrom theCouncil of Constance.
- 1512 and 1518 -Götz von Berlichingen,the first time forrobbery,the second forkidnapping.
- 1521 -Martin Lutherand his supporters, for claiming that some doctrines practiced by theCatholic Churchwere contrary to the Bible or had no biblical basis.
- 1546 -John Frederick I, Elector of SaxonyandPhilip I, Landgrave of Hesse,for leading theSchmalkaldic League.
- 1566 -Wilhelm von Grumbach,forinsurgency.
- 1621 -Frederick V, Elector Palatine,and his supportersPrince Christian I of Anhalt-BernburgandGeorg Friedrich of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim,for seizing power inBohemia.
- 1706 -Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria,andJoseph Clemens, Elector of Cologne,for supporting France in theWar of the Spanish Succession(ban reversed in 1714).
- 1708 -Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat,for supporting France in the War of the Spanish Succession. TheDuchy of Mantuawas confiscated by the emperor as a result.
- 1793 -Georg Forster,for collaboration with theFrench Republic.
The imperial ban imposed by theEmperor Rudolf IIon the city ofDonauwörthafter an anti-Catholic riot was one of theincidentsleading to theThirty Years' War.
An imperial ban on Bremen preceded the1654 Swedish attack on Bremen.
See also
[edit]- King's ban,a royal order or prohibition in the Holy Roman Empire.
References
[edit]- ^Starn, Randolph (1982).Contrary Commonwealth: The Theme of Exile in Medieval and Renaissance Italy.Berkeley:University of California Press.p. 23.ISBN0-520-04615-3.OCLC8052509.
- ^Marquardt, Bernd (2015)."Imperial ban".Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online.doi:10.1163/2352-0272_emho_sim_026352.
