Burglehn
Encyclopedia
In medieval law, the term Burglehn described two things:
The Burgmen were given these houses by their lords as part of their remuneration as well as a feud. The area of the Burglehn and its inhabitants were under a special law. That is, they were neither subject to the territorial Lord, nor to the city Charter
, not even if the Burglehn was
within the city walls. In law, they were subject to the holder of the Castle.
Such houses were often also Freihauses
. There were frequent disputes between the people of the Burglehn and the adjacent town, about whether the inhabitants of these houses could exercise crafts that were otherwise regulated by the town's guilds.
The Burglehn began to be dissolved and placed under the local government in the 17th Century. This process was completed in the 19th Century. Some Burglehns lasted much longer than the associated castles, which had often lost their military significance. Even today in some cities a street name refers to the location of the former Burglehns.
- The castle with all its accessories as a feud, which the king could give to a vassal.
- A defined area outside the walls of a CastleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, where the houses of the BurgmannenBurgmannA Burgmann was a member of the low aristocracy in the Middle Ages who guarded and defended castles. They were hired by a lord of the castle to take on the burghut, the guarding and defense of a castle....
were found.
The Burgmen were given these houses by their lords as part of their remuneration as well as a feud. The area of the Burglehn and its inhabitants were under a special law. That is, they were neither subject to the territorial Lord, nor to the city Charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
, not even if the Burglehn was
within the city walls. In law, they were subject to the holder of the Castle.
Such houses were often also Freihauses
Freihaus
A Freihaus was a house that, although physically within the city walls of a medieval or early modern city, was legally outside it. That is, the residents of a Freihaus legally lived in the surrounding countryside and were outside the jurisdiction of the city Court and were exempt from municipal...
. There were frequent disputes between the people of the Burglehn and the adjacent town, about whether the inhabitants of these houses could exercise crafts that were otherwise regulated by the town's guilds.
The Burglehn began to be dissolved and placed under the local government in the 17th Century. This process was completed in the 19th Century. Some Burglehns lasted much longer than the associated castles, which had often lost their military significance. Even today in some cities a street name refers to the location of the former Burglehns.