TheSachsenspiegel (German:[ˈzaksn̩ˌʃpiːɡl̩]ⓘ;Middle Low German:Sassen Speyghel; modernLow German:Sassenspegel; all literally "Saxon Mirror") is one of the most importantlaw books andcustumals compiled during theHoly Roman Empire. Originating between 1220 and 1235 as a record of localcustomary law and rulings, it was used in places until as late as 1900. Some legal principles recorded in theSachsenspiegel continued to apply into recent time laws. It is important not only for its lasting effect on later German and Dutch law but also as an early example of written prose in a Low German language.[1] The Sachsenspiegel is the first comprehensive law book not inLatin, but inMiddle Low German. A Latin edition is known to have existed, but only fragmented chapters remain.
TheSachsenspiegel was one of the first prose works written in theMiddle Low German language. The original title isSassen Speyghel,Sachsenspiegel being a laterGerman translation. It is believed to have been compiled and translated fromLatin by theSaxon administratorEike of Repgow at the behest of his liege lord Count Hoyer of Falkenstein in the years 1220 to 1235.[2] Where the original was compiled is unclear. It was thought to have been written at Burg Falkenstein, but in 2007 Peter Landau, an expert in medieval canon law, suggested that it may have been written at themonastery of Altzelle (now Altzella).[3]
During the 14th century,Augustinian friarJohannes Klenkok of lower Saxony opposed theSachsenspiegel in a pamphlet known asDecadicon because he considered ten articles or principles to contradict the Christian gospel and decisions of the church of Rome, collected asCorpus Juris Canonici.[4][5] Klenkok presents criticisms on Sachsenspiegel's views of ecclesiastical and secular authorities, court procedure and private law. His position was that papal authority outrules every discussion of matters as legitimate procedure, the limitations of hereditary rights, the extent of testamentary power, the rights of novices and monks to family property, and the authority that determines superior and inferior legal norms and court decisions. So Klenkok's position was fundamentally a simple one: Papal authority supersedes every other political and legal authority.
The work sparked broad societal embitterment and irritation; the counselors of the city ofMagdeburg, for instance, wrote warning letters to 400 or more cities, princes and lords that an Augustinian brother was trying to weaken Saxon law. Following a written debate, Klenkok did expand hisDecadicon to twenty-one propositions of Saxon law and turned to his former disciple, French canonist, and cardinal of the Curia inAvignon,Pierre de la Vergne.[6] In the end,Pope Gregory XI condemned 14 articles with hispapal bullSalvator Humani Generis that was issued in 1374, but this did not reduce the success of theSachsenspiegel.[7][8] This controversy must be placed in the context of heavy papal inquisition campaigns against citizens opposing opinions of the church.
The rules, laws, court decisions and principles compiled in theSachsenspiegel have been influenced by much older (provincial) Roman law principles.[9]
TheSachsenspiegel served as a model for law books inGerman (Middle High German) like theAugsburger Sachsenspiegel, theDeutschenspiegel, and theSchwabenspiegel. TheDuchy of Saxony covered most of what nowadays is the northwestern part of Germany and eastern part of theNetherlands, but the rules spread more widely. The state ofUtrecht, for instance, in 1632 knew the rule "Who comes first, grinds first", as published in thePlacaatboek, a collection of decisions, rulings and local laws. The rule that married women stood under the custody of their husband, meaning that they could legally not act and had no say in juridical or childraising matters, was a rule of law in the Netherlands until 1956, in Belgium until 1958.
InPrussia, theSachsenspiegel was used until the introduction of theAllgemeines Landrecht für die preußischen Staaten [General Land Law for the Prussian States] in 1794. In Saxony, it was used until the introduction of the Saxon Civil Code in 1865. InAnhalt andThuringia, theSachsenspiegel was not replaced until the introduction of theGerman Civil Code in 1900. Its precedents continued to be cited as pertinentcase law as recently as 1932 by theReichsgericht (Supreme Court of the Reich) (RGZ 137, 373).
The influence of theSachsenspiegel, or at least parallels with it, can still be found in modern German and Dutch law, for instance in inheritance law, the law of neighborly relations (Nachbarrecht; e.g., nuisance, party walls, etc.) orusufructuary rights. TheSachsenspiegel is also important because, for the first time in history, the institution of slavery itself is condemned, because it is a violation of man's likeness to God.[10]
TheSachsenspiegel contains two branches of law: common law and feudal law.
Saxon customary law, orLandrecht, was the law of free people including the peasantsokemanry. It contains important rules and regulations concerning property rights, inheritance, marriage, the delivery of goods, and certain torts (e.g.trespass,nuisance). It also treats criminal law and the composition of courts. In other words, it deals with criminal and civil law. The customs of the people were not a stand-alone pack of laws but influenced by older law systems like Roman law.
Feudal law, orLehnrecht, determined the relationship between different states and rulers, for example the election ofemperors andkings, feudal rights, etc. Though it has no modern equivalent, it encompasses what one would call todaypublic law.
TheSachsenspiegel acquired special significance through its exposition of the sevenHeerschilde or "shields of knighthood":
Manorial tenants and burgesses (inhabitants of a borough) were not mentioned.
Four (of the original seven)illuminated manuscripts copies are still extant. They are named after their present locations: Heidelberg,Oldenburg, Dresden, and Wolfenbüttel, and date from 1295 to 1371. In total, over 400 versions of the manuscript exist today.[11]
The Dresden manuscript has been described as the "most artistically valuable" by theWorld Digital Library. It is located in the collection of theSaxon State Library and was created between 1295 and 1363 aroundMeissen, Germany. This version has 924 illustrations on 92 pages. The illustrations depict about 4,000 people. It sufferedwater damage after theBombing of Dresden in World War II and underwent restoration in the 1990s.[11]
An early printed edition of theSachsenspiegel was produced byAnna Rügerin in Augsburg, dated 22 June 1484. It is the first documented evidence of a woman working as a typographer.[12]
Some German and Dutchproverbs date from theSachsenspiegel:
Mit dem Sachsenspiegel] schuf Eike von Repchow nicht nur eines der ersten deutschen Rechtsbücher neben dem Mühlhäuser Rechtsbuch nach des Reiches Recht, sondern das erste deutsche Prosawerk überhaupt.
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