ABSTRACT
Self-defence of a province, addressed as 'patria', was a right by law of nature. Gerhard elaborated the issue of self-defence in a case of necessity, such as against murderers in a forest. Within the realm of political theory, the rallying of patriots to defend their fatherland had been meant to be a response to imminent crisis, and the Duchy of Pomerania experienced a number of such crises from the 1620s onwards. As the Hessian and the Bavarian cases show, even during the worst turmoil of war the argument of self-defence never entirely lost its statutory framework. It is significant that the concept of 'self-defence' remained a contested category in struggles in which princes, the councillors of princes, territorial noblemen and peasants were involved. In the Empire, princes and Emperor swore not to wage war against each other. But leagues formed for self-defence, provided they did not intend war against the Emperor, remained legal.
