ABSTRACT
Along with the Muhlhäuser Reichsrechtsbuch (2nd quarter thirteenth century), the Sachsenspiegel counts as the earliest vernacular law code in Germany. Whilst it is part of the wave of vernacular law codes which spread across Europe after the 4th Lateran Council (1215) and the rediscovery of Roman Law, it should also be seen within the context of specific German political developments. Frederick II’s willingness to make concessions in order to secure his succession in Germany as well as his own interests as Emperor in Italy meant that the secular princes made significant gains in the first half of the thirteenth century, which consolidated the development of German power structures away from particular feudal relations to larger scale territorial states. The territories seemed better suited than the older system for the maintenance of law and order, and the Sachsenspiegel is an exemplary model of their aims (see Heinzle 1984: 17–21). It was composed by Eike von Repgow, a member of the free nobility, between 1225 and 1235 probably in the milieu of the archbishop of Magdeburg – not, as often held, for the counts of Falkenstein (see Bertelsmeier-Kierst 2003b) – and contains two forewords (one in rhyme), two short prologues, and two main sections, Landrecht (in three books) and a shorter Lehenrecht. The work enjoyed prolific success: there are over 460 German MSS (see Oppitz 1990), translations into Latin, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Russian, and an unbroken line of transmission from the first MSS (which follow c.30–40 years after composition) right down to the current Reclam edition (Ebel 1993). Astonishingly, the code partially retained its juridical powers until the twentieth century: in cases where subsequent codes were found wanting, the Sachsenspiegel was binding – in Prussia until the Allgemeines Landrecht (1794), in Saxony until 1863 and in Anhalt, Thuringia and Holstein until the appearance of the BWG on 1 January 1900.
